Category Archives: Tracy Ringolsby

Must Be Something in the Water Today…

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…because holy hell, is there a lot of stupidity to get to.


washburn.jpgNo, We Don’t Want Jarrod Washburn

According to the latest rumors, Ned Colletti is scouting Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn. He’s actually having a pretty nice season (3.24 ERA), despite having lost 5 decisions in a row, and has about $5 million left on his contract. He’s really a second-tier pitcher, but with guys like Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard fighting injuries, Washburn might actually be the most desirable starter out there along with Brad Penny. That can only mean one thing – that someone is going to overpay wildly for him.

If that means the price is going to be what I think it is, then the Dodgers should be staying as far away as possible. Look, Washburn’s a solid pitcher having a nice year. But is he going to be the guy to put you into the playoffs? No, the Dodgers look pretty likely to get there as is. Is he going to be the guy to help you win once you’re in the playoffs? I can’t see him getting a start over Chad Billingsley, Randy Wolf, Hiroki Kuroda, or likely Clayton Kershaw either.

I’m not blind to the fact that you want to limit Kershaw’s innings as the season wears on, and that guys like Kuroda and Wolf are prone to injury. I just think the Dodgers have enough rotation depth to compensate for issues like that (remember, you’ve still got Eric Milton, Eric Stults, James McDonald, Jeff Weaver, and eventually you have to do something with Jason Schmidt), so giving up the top price that Washburn would likely command to get someone who’d be LA’s 4th starter – at best – just doesn’t seem worth it.

Let’s leave him for the Mets and Phillies to fight over.

Tracy Ringolsby Lights Puppies on Fire For Fun

Just reading his name today made me remember the last time I wrote about Ringolsby, back in January 2008, when he was saying how the Dodgers didn’t have a good homegrown core and getting player names wrong. Today, he’s back at at it by saying that Manny Ramirez shouldn’t be allowed to go on a rehab stint before his suspension ends. I’d tear Ringolsby apart point-by-point, but I hate to make fun of the disabled. (Except for that time I did.) Also, Jon @ DodgerThoughts already took care of it for me:

First, this isn’t a Ramirez-only rule.  Every suspended MLB player has the right to a rehab assignment. J.C. Romero pitched in five minor-league games before returning from his 50-game suspension. 
 
Romero isn’t exactly a nobody; he’s an important part of the National League East-leading Phillies’ bullpen. His rehab assignment, in which he allowed runs in two of his five outings, helped prepare him to begin his 2009 major-league season with six consecutive scoreless games. Where was the outcry then?

I also like how Ringolsby whines that Manny’s only playing three games in Albuquerque before joining Inland Empire, so he could be closer to home. Because, sure, you definitely want to subject your best hitter to a 1,000 mile minor-league road trip to Omaha, when instead you could bring him closer to the home office. That makes complete sense.

Juan Pierre’s Only Good When He’s Not Being Juan Pierre

I knew there was going to be a few of these stories coming out, but I figured it’d at least be closer to Manny’s return: Gregg Patton of the Riverside Press-Enterprise doesn’t like that All-American God-Fearing Child-Kissing Door-Holding Old-Lady-Crossing-the-Street-Helping Juan Pierre is heading back to the bench in favor of the Great Satan, Manny Ramirez.

Sunday night, Juan Pierre picked up three hits, two RBI, a run scored, a stolen base, led the Dodgers to victory over the Angels — and got one day closer to a seat on the bench.

Maybe you heard. Manny Ramirez is returning from his 50-game, drug-related suspension, quite likely on July 3, at which point Pierre dusts off some room in between Mark Loretta and Juan Castro and becomes a selfless guy with a real good attitude.

Pierre had a good game on Sunday night, no doubt. I like to think that Clayton Kershaw’s seven scoreless innings and James Loney’s homer and outstanding defense is what really “led” the team to victory, but sure, whatever. When he’s “on”, he can really help the team out. Love that guy.

“He’s been a real good teammate for these guys,” said Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who will have the dubious honor of reinserting one of the greatest right-handed hitters of his generation into the lineup soon, and removing Pierre.

Dubious? That’s like telling Gary Cherone, “hey, thanks for coming to do Van Halen III… but yeah, we’re going to go back with David Lee Roth.” You do it, and you don’t think twice about it.

This is a no-brainer, of course. The idea is to win baseball games and Ramirez — like him or not — has to play. 

Remember this fact: Manny Ramirez will help you win more baseball games than Juan Pierre.

But for those who are feeling at all queasy about the return of the substance abuser, maybe a bit ill that someone of his now-tarnished reputation will slide so easily back into the Dodgers’ lineup, there’s something quite satisfying about Pierre’s superior play as a sub-in.

There is something satisfying about Pierre’s productivity since Manny’s suspension…I’d probably go with, “it’s a good thing the backup is playing well and helping us win games.”
pierreswings.jpgThis shouldn’t be that complicated; Pierre’s resurgence has been a welcome surprise.

The fact that the skinny veteran with the short, slap swing is playing so well and making people even think twice about the necessity of Manny Ramirez is a sweet addition to the story.

Absolutely no one is thinking this, I promise you. 

Since Major League Baseball banned Ramirez in May, Pierre has started all 41 games in left field. His three hits in the 5-3 victory at Angel Stadium bumped his average up to .337 for the season.

Half the story, though, isn’t it? Let’s break down those 41 games…

Games 1-20: .425/.495/.598  1.093 OPS
Games 21-41: .244/.284/.289  .573 OPS

It’s almost like the first three weeks were an incredibly well-timed hot streak… and the last three weeks have been vintage Juan Pierre. Which means, now is exactly the time that you should be wanting to sit him for Manny.

The stolen base was his 17th. And the two RBI gave him 24, not bad for a National League leadoff hitter who barely played the first month.

The RBI are nice, except that A) we all know how meaningless RBI are and B) it certainly doesn’t hurt when the guy who probably should be leading off, Matt Kemp, was hitting 9th and right in front of him.

Anyway, blah blah blah about Pierre in Sunday’s game until the end of the piece, where…

Anyone bothered by the casual return of the substance-abusing superstar will only have Pierre’s numbers, no words, to argue with.

This would be a heartwarming end to the story… except as we’ve seen on more than one occasion, it’s completely untrue. We’ve all heard Pierre bitch about being on the bench, and while I’d never blame a guy for simply wanting to play, let’s not pretend he’s going to be Mother Theresa over there on the pine.

Look, it’s really simple: Pierre was incredible at just the right time when he was needed. Since then, he’s regressed, and now a superior player is taking his spot. Let us not spill tears over a backup outfielder going back to the bench.

But I’m Sure No One Was Using on the 2004 or 2007 Red Sox, Right?

Loyal reader Tim writes in (and take note, friends, because I never get sick of people writing in) with a link to this section of Peter Gammons’ blog: 

“There is a lot of moral outrage being directed at Sammy,” one veteran said. “But, let’s be honest. Sosa, McGwire and Bonds made a lot of people a lot of money. The owners, the commissioner … all us players, whose salaries got dragged up.”

Now we have the Dodgers trying to get their fans to flock to San Diego for the return of Manny Ramirez on July 3. With all the fanfare that will be attached to his return to Dodger Stadium, it’s all about money. Period.

If Sosa could come back and help the Dodgers make money, they’d sign him in a heartbeat. Sammy can’t help them anymore, but Manny will be their cash cow, and their only regret is that he got caught and they are missing 50 games worth of wigs and MannyLand revenues.

See, here’s the problem with this, Pete. Everyone loves money. You think that the Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, or Toledo Mud Hens wouldn’t sign Sammy Sosa if they thought it would make them money?

Besides, don’t forget these two facts: A) the Dodgers are contractually obligated to bring Manny back. He’d never admit it, but if Frank McCourt could have voided the remainder of Manny’s contract the day he got suspended, you’d better believe he’d have thought long and hard about it. And B), this team is trying to win a World Series. There can’t possibly be any question that Manny can help them do that, is there? So what do you really expect them to do? Not play their best players, and then not try to capitalize off that publicity? All the righteous indignation is adorable, but you’ve got to at least offer viable alternatives, here.

Tracy Ringolsby Gives Me A Headache

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With the Angels trade for Mark Teixeira, yesterday, I’ve just been waiting for someone to write an article comparing the Angels with the Dodgers and how the Angels “do what it takes to win,” while the Dodgers are content with fading into oblivion, blah, blah, freaking blah.  All due to a trade deadline deal, of course.

Well, today, T.J. Simers sort of did it, and it’s just as boneheady, but this one takes the cake.

Take it away, Tracy Ringolsby!:

When Arte Moreno purchased the Angels after their run to the franchise’s first world championship in 2002, he became intent on having the team create an identity of its own and break out of the shadow of the Dodgers.

First step to doing that?  Changing the team’s name to… Los Angeles!

Moreno wants to win a title, and unlike the Dodgers, who spend plenty of time talking about what they want to do and rely on history — make that ancient history — to support their claim of greatness, Moreno backs up his statements with his actions.

Yes, he sure does.  He’s just been full of deadline deals since he’s been owner.  In fact, let’s play a game.  Let’s play “Guess The Notable Trade Deadline Deals The Angels Have Made Since Arte Took Over!”  The catch is… you can’t count this one.  O.K.?  Ready, set… go!

(crickets chirp)

O.K., I’m sorry, I admit, I tricked you.  Why?  Because there have been NONE before this move.

If anything, it’s been the Dodgers who have made notable deadline deals over the past 4-5 years.  From 2004′s Penny and Finley deals to getting Maddux and Lugo in 2006, this move is barely the first notable deadline move since Moreno has taken over.  Before yesterday, the biggest name the Angels had traded for at the deadline since Arte’s been owner was, what, Jeff Kennard?

And, believe it or not, that also extends to free agency.  Other than his big splash during the first offseason Moreno was owner (Vlad, Colon, Escobar, Guillen), the Dodgers have consistently signed notable FA’s every year such as Kent, Drew, Lowe, Nomar, Mueller, Lofton, Schmidt, Pierre, Gonzo, Jones, etc.

Keep in mind, I’m not saying that all of those are good signings; in fact, most of them are horrible, and we’ve made our position quite clear on many of those players and deals here at MSTI.  But if you want to accuse the Dodgers of anything, accuse them of making bad decisions.  Not for being cheap, not for an inability of being proactive: spending money they have, proactive they’ve been, and more than the Angels.  In fact, wasn’t that the criticism of Bill Stoneman?  Holding on to the kids too long, not making the big deal and hindering his team from taking that big step?

Was that an earthquake that struck Southern California on Tuesday afternoon or was it the aftershock over at Dodger Stadium?

You mean the earthquake that happened hours before the trade went down?

The Angels, already having their division under control, took the bold step to acquire Teixeira. The Dodgers, scrambling to get to .500 and overtake Arizona in the NL West, settle for the likes of Casey Blake. That says it all.

The Dodgers fall all over themselves trying to be the Yankees of the NL.

O.K., this is funny.  Let’s define the possible ways he meant the Dodgers are “trying to be the Yankees of the NL.”

1.  Perhaps Tracy means that we spend a lot of money and buy up talent.  If we were trying to be the Yankees, then, if anything, wouldn’t that INCREASE our chances of getting Teixiera?  If the Dodgers were all about just throwing money at players, then why would we settle for Casey Blake?  And, by the way, speaking of the Yankees, I seem to remember their big move at the deadline in 2003 was “settling” for a third baseman named Aaron Boone.  Yeah, didn’t really work out for them so well, that year, though… Tim Wakefield would totally agree.

2.  Or perhaps he is referring to our coaching staff, which include four former Yankees (Torre, Mattingly, Bowa, and Duncan).  Because of this, then somehow the Dodgers are trying to become the Yankees.  O.K., but if this is his definition, then do I REALLY have to go to the obvious place regarding the Angels’ coaching staff?  Come on, do I really have to?  And, for the record, if this is Ringolsby’s logic, then his earlier assertion of the Angels trying to “create an identity of its own” just went right out the window.

Earlier this season when former Dodger Eric Karros was in Denver in his role as a FOX analyst, the discussions turned to Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday and the fact he can be a free agent after next season. A Denver broadcaster mentioned that it would seem logical for Holliday to take a bit less to stay in Colorado rather than move to Los Angeles. Karros didn’t buy that idea.

Karros, in 11 years with the Dodgers, never played in a World Series game. Fact is the Dodgers haven’t been to a World Series in 20 years now. Heck, they have only won one postseason game in the last two decades. The Rockies won seven postseason games last October alone.

Oh really? Let’s see, Holliday, in his sixth year with Colorado, has already played in a World Series.

I would respond to this, but I played 9 years of Little League as a kid.  During my career, I was an All-Star, the star power hitter, and led my team to the District 23 Finals.

Tracy Ringolsby, on the other hand, only played 4 years in Little League.  Being regulated to a bench player, Tracy’s teams always finished last.  Therefore, his opinion is utter crap.

Yeah, see how nice that argument is?

They are frustrated they haven’t won a world championship in the first five years of Moreno’s ownership. They are frustrated that in making the postseason three of the last five years they have only won four October games.

But instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the Angels were willing to make a move to change all that.

As opposed to the Dodgers, who sulk every day and will soon be making an appearance on “The Dr. Phil Show.”

Ned: Doc, I try SO hard every day to make this team a contender… but the past 20 years make me so depressed that I instead just go to bed and cry.

Dr. Phil: You see, Ned, the thing you need to realize is that you don’t need to think clearly to dance like an idiot until your toes fall off.  You see, your team is like a shoe… but without a shoe string?  A camera… but without film?

Ned:  Huh?

Even though Teixeira is represented by agent Scott Boras, and shunned a $140 million extension in Texas a year ago before turning a deaf ear in the spring on extension talks with Atlanta, the Angels gave up the promising Kotchman without even asking for a 72-hour window to explore contract talks on Teixeira.

The Angels aren’t worried about next year and beyond.

They want to win.

So, now, it’s a virtue for a team not to give a shit about its future and just trade and spend recklessly?  Wait… isn’t THAT trying to be the Yankees of old?  I’m not saying that’s what the Angels did, but Ringolsby’s mentality is something of that ilk.  Even with this deal, of course the Angels care about their future, but their team is in a position to where they can afford to make this type of “go for it” move.  The Dodgers, as currently constructed, are not.  With the flaws this team has, would it really have been worth giving up a James Loney for two months of Teixeira?  I wouldn’t have minded getting Teixeira, if it were contingent on an extension.  But with the way he scoffed at the $140 million Texas offered him and with the inability to negotiate with Atlanta, chances are, he would have been a rental.  And, if the deal went down, then who plays first base come 2009, while the young, productive, and cost controlled Loney is in Atlanta?  With the ultra competitive landscape that is the AL, it’s a move the Angels had to make.  Good for them, but I’m glad we didn’t make it.  Context matters when evaluating these things, people…

And that whole “not being worried about next year and beyond” and “winning at any cost” mentality is kinda why the Dodgers haven’t really been that successful over the last 20 years, by the way.  How soon we forget the Kevin Malone era…

The Dodgers may enjoy talkin’ the talk, the Angels are intent on proving that they can walk the walk.

The Dodgers like to talk about their history, which was built under the ownership of the O’Malley family, and act like that nothing has changed.

The Angels, meanwhile, are looking to create a history.

Which is fine, and they’ve done well over the past 6 years.  But what cracks me up is how, for as much as Dodgers fans get accused of grasping on to their history in these debates, which some do, I admit, that’s what’s become of many Angel fans (not ALL, but many), and, for that matter, the media, who continue to grasp on to 1 damn year out of their entire franchise history. Yes, it was a great run they made, fine… but get off your fucking high horse, now.

How many more of these “the Angels did something, therefore the Dodgers should do it too” articles must we endure?  I’m probably going to go on a long repressed rant, now, but, as we’re on the subject:

Can someone tell me why the Dodgers need to aspire to become a team that’s 4-12 in the postseason since 2002 and has only one playoff series victory in that span?  That, despite these failures, which tend to mostly be ignored, they’re somehow using “The Dodger Way,” whatever vaguery that means?  Even if you take that term as the success the Dodgers had, then, last I checked, the “Dodger Way” also included being successful in the postseason, something I’ve only seen the Angels do once in the past 22 years, or twice, if you include their ALDS victory in 2005.  So, we’re supposed to aspire to just winning division titles only to get bounced a week later?  Well, forget that.

Even for as pathetically run as the Dodgers have been, it’s not like they’ve been the freaking Pirates and finish a bazillion games below .500 every year.  Since 2002, the Dodgers only have one less playoff appearance than the Angels (Angels: 2004, 2005, 2007, Dodgers: 2004, 2006).  And, sure, you might say: “Yeah, but the Dodgers got so easily manhandled and swept out.”  And that’s the point!  Hasn’t that also been the Angels’ fate in two of those three years?  What, were those 3-0 beat downs by Boston somehow more aesthetically pleasing?

So, that’s my problem with the debates.  Sure, some Dodger fans might wrongly rely on history, but many an Angels fan and media member rely on revisionist history.  If you want to say that the Dodgers have been the inferior team this decade and, in particular, this year, fine, you would be right.  Inferior management, inferior GM, etc.?  Check, and check.  They’ve been quite dysfunctional.  I get that.  The Angels have had their crap together, while the Dodgers, collectively, have not.  I’m right with you.  But don’t use that as an excuse to overestimate the success the Angels have had and make it seem like they’ve been, say, the Red Sox over the past 6 years or that they always make these winning moves, every year.  Facts say otherwise.  It’s time to see the Angels for what they’ve been: a (sometimes very) good, solid, albeit somewhat overrated team who has managed to become one of the better teams in baseball, but not the best, as their playoff woes continue to show.  If anything, to paraphrase Ringolsby, we’re still waiting for them to walk the walk and playing well until October 1st doesn’t cut it.  Perhaps this deal can put them over the top and, if it does, good for them, but, until then, stop with these horrible “Why aren’t the Dodgers more like the Angels?” articles.  They’re pointless, and I can only afford so much Tylenol.

Thank You.

- Vin vinscully-face.jpg

Tracy Ringolsby Has Never Watched The Game of Baseball

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Friends, lets talk about the newspapers for a moment, if we can. Now, it may be true that we here at MSTI are just lowly bloggers, baseball fans without a journalism degree amongst us. We are held to no rules of integrity; if I wanted to post that James Loney and Joe Beimel held up a liquor store in Tijuana, shot the clerk, and sold his kidneys on the black market in order to finance their illegal gun-running operations, well goddamn it, I could do that. And what would happen to me? Probably nothing, except that people would stop reading this blog because it would stop being about baseball, and start being about stupidity. Okay, more about stupidity. That’s the main complaint the ‘legitimate media’ has about bloggers – that we have no training and no repercussions.

Which sort of makes me wonder how someone like Tracy Ringolsby of FOXsports.com and the Rocky Mountain News can write something as unbelievably insane – and let’s face it, lazy – as this piece of crap that showed up today, and have no repercussions. It’s one thing to have an opinion I don’t agree with – and it’s quite another to be so wrong and/or uninformed that its actually offensive.

Let’s get on with it:

What’s changed: After shelling out a five-year, $44 million contract for CF Juan Pierre a year ago, the Dodgers major move this off-season was to give out a two-year, $36.2 million contract to CF Andruw Jones. Plan is to move Pierre to left, replacing Luis Gonzalez, who left as a free agent.

Okay. Nothing too bad here – you might think that giving $35 million to Hiroki Kuroda would warrant a mention too, but, fine.

Battle front: Stuck with Nomar Garciaparra for another year after the inexplicable decision to re-sign him last season for two years, the Dodgers had to move him from first base to make room last year for James Loney. Now Garciaparra will battle with prospect Andy LaRoche for the third base job.

Still nothing that wonky. The fact that his first two points are relatively accurate should give you an idea of just how bad this is going to have to get to pull this whole article down to the level of “uninformed crap.”

Story line: A team that has taken the approach that wasting more money will cover up the money already wasted now has decided to bring in manager Joe Torre and hope that the calming influence he provided in New York can overcome the fractured clubhouse with the Dodgers. There’s one problem. In New York there was a strong home-grown foundation built around SS Derek Jeter. In Los Angeles, there’s no basis to build on.

And here we go! First of all, when Torre joined the Yankees in 1996, Jeter was 21 years old and had all of 12 major league hits under his belt. Even when the Yankees were winning it all in 1996 and going back to the playoffs in 1997, Jeter was merely a league-average hitter (101 and 103 OPS+ in those years). Point being, while Jeter obviously blossomed into a Hall of Famer, Torre hardly landed in the Derek Jeter Leadership Show. Joe Torre as manager of the Yankees predated “a home-grown foundation built around SS Derek Jeter.”

Second, this isn’t about the Yankees. “In Los Angeles, there’s no basis to build on.” You’re really going to say this in the very next sentence after bringing up a strong home-grown foundation? Really? So no love for 24-year-old Gold Glove winner/Silver Slugger winner/All Star starter/arguable best catcher in baseball/home-grown Dodger Russell Martin? Have we forgotten 22-year-old, .894 OPSing, home-grown Dodger Matt Kemp? Not interested in 22-year-old, already better than average and occasionally dominating, home-grown Dodger Chad Billingsley? I was going to come up with fun quips for Jonathan Broxton, and James Loney, all ending with “home-grown Dodger” – but you don’t need me to outline their achievements; if you’re reading this site, you know who they are.

The point is, there’s a pretty damned good home-grown foundation to build on. Which makes Tracy Ringolsby either wrong, ignorant, or both.

Strength: RH Takashi Saito has become a dominant closer and had particular success within the NL West last year. He was 2-1 with a 1.52 ERA and 16 saves in 18 opportunities within the division.

Alright. I might have gone with Martin here, but picking Saito as a strength is hardly a sin. Moving on:

Weakness: Besides SS Rafael Furcal and CF Andruw Jones there isn’t an average defensive player on the field, and that takes a toll on a team’s pitching staff.

Oh boy: here we go. Urge to kill… rising… rising… Come on! This is just ridiculous. Remember two paragraphs ago when I pointed out Russell Martin won a Gold Glove? Yet he doesn’t count as an “average” defensive player? By one metric from Baseball Prospectus, Andre Ethier was the 8th best defensive RF of 24 ranked in baseball last year. That would put him in the top 1/3 – yet Ringolsby asserts that he’s not even “average”? And James Loney? Already one of the smoothest first basement around. I’ll give you that Pierre is horrible, Kemp is inexperienced defensively thus far, and Kent has no range. So if by “not an average defensive player other than Jones or Furcal”, you really meant to say “Jones, Furcal, a Gold Glove catcher, and two other excellent fielders in Ethier and Loney”, that would make sense.

Unfortunately, I’m thinking what you, Mr. Ringolsby, really meant to say was, “oh, Andruw Jones and Rafael Furcal – those are names I’ve heard of. They must be good, and everyone else sucks.” I’m getting a little embarassed for you.

But it gets better!

Sleeper: LHP Clayton Kershaw is the top prospect in the system. If the Dodgers ever decide to truly give home-grown players a chance, the lefty will take charge.

GAHHH! I’m starting to bleed out of my forehead. Has this “journalist” ever watched a Dodger game? Or even a baseball game? Have we not already been through the fact that Martin/Ethier/Kemp/Billingsley/Broxton/Loney are enormous parts of this team, and have all already proven themselves at the big league level? Who hasn’t gotten a “chance” yet? LaRoche? He had a bad back most of 2007, and is likely to get every shot to beat out Nomar in 2008. Why does this myth persist? We are likely to have five under-27 home-grown starters this year, and six on days Billingsley goes. But, hey, we’re not “giving home-grown players a chance.” This is worse than just laziness – this is criminal.

Off-season dealings: Major free agent additions were CF Andruw Jones and backup C Gary Bennett. Major free agent losses were LHPs Randy Wolf, Mark Hendrickson and David Wells, RHP Roberto Hernandez, Olmedo Saenz and Rudy Sanchez, Cs Chad Moeller and Mike Liberthal, and OF Luis Gonzalez.

Gary Bennett. Barring injury, backup catcher for the Dodgers is about as strenous of a job as backup QB for the Packers. Yet he and his one-year deal to sit on the bench is a “major free agent addition”, while Hiroki Kuroda and his $35 million don’t even get a mention. Absolutely phenomenal work, here.

Oh, and Tracy? If you want to pretend to be a baseball journalist, could you at least, you know, spell the players names correctly? I don’t know who “Rudy Sanchez” and “Mike Liberthal” are, but somewhere Rudy Seanez and Mike Lieberthal are embarrassed for you.

As am I. Simply atrocious.

- Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness msti-face.jpg