Yes, this is not news to most online fans, those who have been religiously following and commenting on every last organizational wiggle since the end of the 2009 season. Having been one of those bloggers and one of those fans in off-seasons past, I had to take a step back this time around. A sort of palate cleansing, if you will.

After the McCourts’ implosion news threatened to turn the 2010 baseball season into a year-long episode of Divorce Court, I took a mental step back from MLB and turned my attention to the Lakers’ title defense, the Kings’ rebuilding plan coming to fruition, World Cup 2010 preparations, and Landon Donovan’s successful run with Everton FC.

Which is not to say I haven’t been keeping up on Dodger developments.

Storylines I’m especially curious about at the moment:

• The Eric Gagné Experiment, now moved to the minor league camp.
• Just how awesomely lethal the Kemp-Ethier combo could be this year.
• Just how awesomely lethal the Kershaw-Billingsley combo could be this year.
• Whether Furcal is as revitalized as he thinks he is.
• Where James McDonald winds up pitching, and whether he’s starting or relieving.
• Is Ramon Ortiz for real?
• What’s the severity of Kuo’s current elbow injury?
• Whither Belisario?
• What’s up with Russell Martin?
• Will the revised Union Station -> Dodger Stadium shuttle stick this time around?
• What does Garrett Anderson have in the tank?

So, with my baseball batteries recharged, I can finally relax a bit, look forward to the Spring’s first hot dog at the first ball game, and feel excited about the Dodgers again. :)

Congrats!

Belated congratulations to Jon Weisman and Tony Jackson for their respective moves to ESPN Los Angeles. Not to mention blogger Bob Timmermann joining LA Observed. Much success to them all!

Finally, an especial congratulations and thanks to Trolley-favorite Nomar Garciaparra, who recently announced his retirement. Thanks for the classiness, the carne asada, and the memories.

Dodger webisodes provide an inside look at your beloved Dodgers from anywhere in the world – the world of Dodgertown.

This is awesome, as I’ve been wishing for an easier way to keep track of new videos on the site.

We have a scary, scary lineup.

• Furcal SS – S
• Hudson 2B – S
• Manny LF – R
• Ethier RF – L
• Kemp CF – R
• Martin C – R
• Loney 1B – L
• Blake 3B – R

Jon over at Dodger Thoughts posted a handy guide to the Dodgers’ pitching situation 2004-2009, showing that the current staff is not as iffy as it might seem.

Still, you can never have too much pitching depth. With that in mind, I’d like to echo others’ suggestion for one more Dodger pre-season move* — let us undo the great wrong perpetrated upon us and sign Pedro Martinez.

And with our long national nightmare at last at an end, just think of the Pedro/Manny reunion!

Unfortunately, it looks like Nomar won’t be in on the fun. More on this later.

* What’s up with re-signing Joe Beimel?

“Roaming Center with Andruw”

Excerpt from the last entry:

Fun is over, time for work

Andruw_1 It was fun, but it’s over now. Time to really get ready for the season. We got in our two games, got the chance to see a country I never thought I would ever see. We didn’t have a lot of time, but it’s something I’ll never forget. I didn’t do as much as a lot of other guys. Last night, I didn’t leave the hotel. I went to the lobby and bought a drink for everybody and shut it down. I don’t miss on getting my sleep. I was out of the hotel at 7:30 this morning, got to the clubhouse early and started stretching.

Ignoring last year when the Pirates futzed with him, his stats seem decent enough for the price.

Do the Dodgers wait out the 72-hour waiver to see if the Marlins drop him, or do they work out a trade to make sure they get him? Do they even want him?

Update: So much for that: “Giants Claim Jose Castillo”

That is just beautiful.

Congrats to Joe Torre and his new spread offense.

I chortled mightily.

From “Who missed the extra point?”

“Another day, another injured third baseman”

Tony Abreu, who yesterday played in his first game after being out of action with an abdominal injury, now has a gluteus injury (a pain in the, well, you know)….Joe and Ned met this morning, and pursuing a 3B from outside the organization was discussed, but don’t look for it to happen until later in the spring, after all other options are explored — and those options DO include trying Delwyn Young and Chin-lung Hu at 3B.

From a Wall Street Journal article dated December 17, 2004:

Adrian Beltre ended his run with the Los Angeles Dodgers, rejecting a six-year, $60 million deal with additional incentives for five years and $64 million from the Seattle Mariners. That robs the Dodgers’ lineup of 48 home runs and 121 RBIs supplied from a player who’s just 25, and has already-annoyed fans hopping mad.

From an LA Times article dated Mar 12, 2000:

Unable to reach agreement on a multiyear deal, the Dodgers renewed Adrian Beltre’s contract Saturday, upsetting Beltre’s agent and further complicating a difficult situation.

Facing Saturday’s major league player-signing deadline, the Dodgers renewed Beltre’s contract at $330,000 this season. Beltre, who made $220,000 last season, was given a one-year salary higher than most second-year players have received from the team, but that didn’t satisfy [Scott] Boras.

Assisted by the Major League Players Assn., Boras is trying to have Beltre declared a free agent because the Dodgers violated major league rules by signing him before his 16th birthday. The commissioner’s office punished the Dodgers by forcing them to suspend operations in Beltre’s homeland of the Dominican Republic, but the club retained Beltre’s rights.

[Andy LaRoche] has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb and will need surgery, which Ned said will take place in the next couple of days, probably in Los Angeles.

8-10 weeks is the word at the moment. Nomar’s been playing well, so thank goodness for that. Just have to figure out who the backup is.

On a nicer note, catcher Lucas May is getting some positive attention thanks to his performance this spring. We used to watch him catch 66ers games, so it’s awesome to see him get recognition.

Check out “Minor League Report: Lucas May” on MLB.com:

This is Lucas May’s first Major League camp and second Spring Training as a catcher, but he’s already starting to draw comparisons to Russell Martin.

Like Martin, May is a former infielder. Drafted as a shortstop, he was sent to the outfield before being moved behind the plate last year. He’s quickly become one of the best catching prospects in the organization, in part because of the power he showed while slugging 25 homers for Class A Inland Empire.

Another former 66er doing well is Ivan DeJesus Jr.:

Ivan DeJesus Jr. was plucked out of early Minor League camp to play in two Major League exhibition games, and he even started a split-squad game at shortstop when Rafael Furcal was nursing a strained hamstring. DeJesus went 2-for-3 with a double. He was a second-round Draft pick and is the son of former Dodger Ivan DeJesus.

We have a rule: never ignore players with Russian first names and Latino surnames.

Player   TEAM POS  G AB R  H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS  AVG  SLG  OBP
J Pierre LAD  OF   8 28 2  7 1  0  0  0    8 1  1  4  0  .276 .286 .250
A Ethier LAD  OF  10 26 6  7 0  0  2  3   13 6  1  1  1  .406 .500 .269
M Kemp   LAD  OF   9 30 5 10 1  2  2  8   21 1  8  2  0  .333 .700 .355
A Jones  LAD  OF   9 24 4  4 1  0  1  2    8 6  8  1  0  .167 .333 .333

Small sample size warning.

For his part, Brad Penny won’t miss pitching to [Andruw] Jones.

“He’s hit six homers off me. I’m sure glad we got him,” Penny said. “He’s a tough out. He likes fastballs and likes them up, and if he gets one, good-bye. In center field he’s definitely the best in the business — no offense to Juan Pierre.”

Torre said he was pleased with what he saw of the club’s first full workout. Particular attention was paid to baserunning fundamentals, with third-base coach Larry Bowa providing a station-to-station lecture.

Oh wait, yes I can. ;)

And let’s hope the Beimel Hair situation isn’t a Sampson kind of deal:

“[Torre] said he wanted me to cut my hair and I said, ‘OK,’” said Beimel. “It was looking bad anyway. It hadn’t been cut since August.”

Beimel said he consulted the wife of teammate and former Vero Beach resident Chad Billingsley for a recommendation of a stylist and was pleased with the results.

Beimel said he’s gone with long hair since 2004 Spring Training, when he reported to Pittsburgh Pirates camp with a shaved head, had a poor spring and was released.

from “Notes: LaRoche takes field with starters”