One of the most polarizing Dodgers since Gary Sheffield has been traded to the Chicago White Sox for a couple of Players to Be Named Later (reportedly two minor league pitchers). The Juan Pierre Era in LA has come to a close.
The problem with Juan was pretty simple: despite constant early arrivals for practice, an inspirational work ethic, and a speedy set of legs, his offensive output and defensive liabilities made the amount of money the Dodgers were paying for him unfathomable.
With the arrival of Manny Ramirez, Juan was left out in the cold, and despite a stellar month and a half of substitution last season, he still wasn’t worth how much the Dodgers were paying.
You can be a totally nice guy, a team player, and a paragon of community involvement … and still be totally over-payed during a stretch of financial inflexibility.
So, what more can we say than thanks for the help and good luck?
Not much else.
Maybe Jason Repko will finally get another chance at being the Dodgers’ 4th outfielder. He has (along with a couple of other players) the skills to equal or surpass Juan Pierre’s contribution, at several million fewer dollars. Just keep him away from Rafael Furcal. ;)
Finally someone that give’s credit to Jason Repko’s skill’s….I personally think Repko is a player that has the skills to be a starter and then well here not just a bench player . .
Ditto… Why are people so down on Repko..? I remember when he first came up with another no name player named Jason Werth.. Repko was far more polished back then as a fielder and a hitter and I think that he will be an apt replacement once ManRam’s contract is over… Then we can redeploy that money into a big time third baseman when Blakey is ready to hang up his spurs.. Go Blue!!
Only the Dodgers could trade away one of baseballs best lead off men, a guy who carried them when the great Manny went on the bench, maybe if they played Pierre instead of Manny iat the end of the season, and in the playoffs he could not have done worse then leave em stranded Manny. They the Dodgers need a better General Manager, Pierre was a great get of the other team and I belive a smarter GM would have gotten something for him and not be stuck paying most of his salary over the next two years. What a joke.
This trade could go either way. Juan Pierre will always be an average lead off man. When Manny was out for 50 games Juan had a great two weeks and after that proceeded to hit around 280-290 for the year. I will miss him in the clubhouse, but he is replaceable. Depending on the pitchers we get from the Sox, this could be a decent trade.