As a Dodgers fan I look at this trade and cringe a little bit. The rival DBacks going out and getting a big thumper for their line up is never an encouraging headline to read after 2 tough walk off loses. So, as I sat down to really think about this trade, I started to wonder how well this trade will really work out for those dirty snakes. A team with the 4th worst BA in the NL at .251 needed to add a little “umph”, but was a guy that carries a .233 BA (.247 career) qualify for their needs? Now, Dunn actually has a very good OBP, even with that terrible BA, so he’s still a quality offensive weapon. He draws a ton of walks, and crushes balls further than most. But, where there are positives there are negatives, and his big, big negative is that strikes out with the best of them. On the outside you’d say that a guy with 32 HR this year would be plugged straight into the 4 hole and would be great protection for their blossoming 3 hitter, Conor Jackson. As I looked back on Dunn’s career, I noticed that he never really settled down into a certain spot in the line up. From 2-7, Dunn never held down a spot for an extended period of time. That makes me wonder where he’ll bat in that line up. Without Orlando Hudson, Arizona will already be down graded defensively, adding Dunn won’t make that fielding percentage go up. Some have projected Arizona to possibly move Conor back to 1B, move Tracy to 3B, and move Reynolds to 2B. That would compromise LF in a park where LF plays very large, but may be their best option. Conor will be solid at 1B, Tracy should be solid at 3B as long as his surgically repaired knee holds up, and moving Reynolds might be the best part of it. Hiding his glove at 2B could be very beneficial to their team. As a Dodgers fan, I’d like to see Dunn stuck at first base, and enjoy watching little event, too bad that would just be too good of a dream. So all that being said, it should be very interesting to see how this trade plays itself out. The Reds did get a former top prospect, and two of the infamous “players to be named later.” A source reported earlier that the 2 PTBNL are actually quality players, 1 of which may be a MLB player. Going to the under achieving NL West, on paper, looks like he should be able to tear it up. But, Adam is going to have to deal with a few key things down the stretch. 1. Better pitching, and 2. Much MUCH MUCH tougher ball parks to hit in.
My prediction… The DBacks and Dodgers will battle through August, but the Dodgers will prevail in September. With the Dodgers win vs. Philly tonight they sit one game back, with only 10 out of division games left vs. teams with a winning percentage over .500 (16 total including AZ). The Dodgers have couple things that I believe put them in a better spot. 1. The Dodgers shot a jolt of energy into Dodger Stadium with their addition of Manny Ramirez. A jolt that Adam Dunn or any other trade can’t match in Arizona. The fans love Manny, and the players love Manny. His dreadlocks along give the city of LA electricity and hope for a long ball for the first time since Adrian Beltre was crushing 48 HRs and hitting .334 in ‘04. 2. They have a much easier schedule to finish out the year. And, 3. They have something Arizona doesn’t, a back end to their rotation. The DBacks have the bold names of Webb and Haren to outshine Billingsley and Lowe, but the Dodgers back end of Penny (could prove to be a front end guy), Kuroda, and recently recalled and recently impressive rookie Clayton Kershaw to outshine the likes of Randy Johnson (who has actually rebounded a bit of late), Doug Davis, and either Micah Owings (who has equivelant thump to Adam Dunn) or Yusmeiro Petit. In the playoffs, in a 5 game series, the DBacks might be a better pick, but we are talking 44 more games. So, with 44 games left, I have to give the advantage to the team with the best ERA in the bigs, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
No Comments Yet
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
