Trade With The Daily Dimwit: Kemp, Koufax, Russ Martin, Carlos Santana, and A Host of Others

BONUS QUESTION # 1 for the contest debuts tomorrow. So come and get your free points! And again, if you have yet to enter said contest, you can do so here.

I completed my third trade with Sam from The Daily Dimwit, and it was a doozy. You can find the first here and the second here. This latest trade took months to complete, and we did not even work on it for much of that period, just letting it sit as we each found cards the other would like. You can see what I sent Sam here.

Sam sent me some great cards, and they are so fantastic I'll give him a pass for spelling my last name wrong on the bubbler he sent my way. He's not the first to do so, and he certainly won't be the last.

Now, on with the relic-y (and non-relic-y) show.

052/180

I actually have two Hansons, so one is available.

Just need a Blake Smith RC to complete the Trifecta.

1798/2011

Thanks for another great trade Sam!

Trade With BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet: Lindblom Letterman Auto, Hits Galore

I completed a great trade with Mike from BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet a few weeks or so ago. I sent Mike a wide variety of cards, which he already recapped here. In return, he sent me some really cool hits and other assorted goodness.

The card that started it all:

5/5

Mike also sent along three Dodgers' hits:

And to rap the hits up, a pair of UCLA Autos, with the players depicted being a mystery to me until I had the cards in my hands.

The Donnie Edwards Auto not only fits into my UCLA Hits PC, but also fits into my Chargers PC, as Donnie wore both uniforms. Edwards' signature has changed quite a bit, but in a unique and different way. Usually players shorten their signature after making the pros, but after looking up some of his autos, it appears that his signature now encompasses his full name, while these '96 sigs were a short, short version.

Just something I found interesting.

Mike sent over a number of other great cards, but I just don't have the patience to include them all. Thanks for the great cards Mike, hope you enjoyed yours and I look forward to trading again!

Trade With The Great Sports Name Hall of Fame: Broxton, Manny, Martin, Hu, Kershaw, '70s Dodgers

An awesome trade to recap, with Tim (better known as SpastikMooss) from The Great Sports Name Hall of Fame. Tim e-mailed me and said he had a few cards he could knock off of my Want List, and a couple that were priorities for me. After a few e-mails back and forth, and a quick look at each others' Trade Bait, we worked out a sweet deal. Lots of layers to this trade, so let's get right to it and break it down.

I swapped two autos (Cody Ross, Steve Pearce) for this pair of Dodger hits:

Tim had these four cards available, and I jumped on all of them. They're awesomely awesome.

1992 Topps Manny RC
I've now got 5 of Manny's 7 rookie cards. I'll post all

seven whenever I acquire the last two.

Tim hit up my Most Wanted list with this

2002 Bowman Draft #BDP3 of Big Brox. Much appreciated!

A new Kershaw!

2000 Bowman's Best Gagne

Look at Gagne creeping in the background on the right.

He'll snatch yo people up.

On top of an already great haul, Tim sent along these cards:

1978 Topps

1979 Topps

Minis from 1992 Panini

I sent along a couple of cards for his brother (including a jersey relic), a pair of Madison Bumgarner cards, a Paul Pierce card, a stack of Browns and Patriots cards, a bunch of cards of guys who names made me laugh (and will hopefully make him chuckle as well), and three cards featuring cups in them. Drinking cups, of course. And last, but certainly not least, an item of an unknown nature. Unknown to Tim, that is. I do believe the mysterious part of the trade will be the highlight of the deal for Spastik, along with the cup cards.

Thanks so much for the awesome cards Tim, I look forward to many trades in the future! I hope you enjoy yours, especially the mystery item. They went out today, so they'll be at your humble abode in no time.

Trade With Ryan's Memorabilia Blog: Jay Bruce, Mat Latos, Sandy Koufax, and More Dodgers

Yet another trade to recap. I e-mailed M. Ryan from Ryan's Memorabilia Blog, inquiring about a jersey card he had posted in a trade bait post. After a few e-mails back and forth, I sent him two football game used jersey cards and some other assorted Orioles cards (including a handful of Cal Ripken, Jr. cards), plus a Ravens card I had.

Here's what he sent my way.

2010 A&G Jay Bruce Jersey (my first Bruce Game Used or Auto)

2010 A&G Mat Latos Jersey

2007 UD Masterpieces Sandy Koufax

2009 Topps Chrome Chad Billingsley

2009 A&G National Pride Hiroki Kuroda

2010 A&G Minis of Russell Martin (Regular Back) and Manny Ramirez (A&G Back), a number of Chin-lung Hu cards, including two rookie cards, and other assorted Dodgers goodness.

Thanks again for the swap, hope you enjoyed the relics and other cards.

Dodgers Notes From Wednesday's Game 6/23/2010

Anaheim 2, Dodgers 1

Box Score.

• John Ely went 7 excellent innings, rebounding from a string of bad starts (2 Runs [1 ER], 3 Hits, 6 K, 2 BB, 97 pitches - 58 for strikes).
• Bullpen: 1 IP, 0 Runs, 1 Hit, 2 K, 1 BB.
• Andre Ethier (2 Singles, BB) reached base 3 times.
  
• The offense struck out 7 times, drew 2 walks, and had 1 extra-base hit.
• Matt Kemp was robbed twice tonight, to go along with his final at-bat last night.
  
• Rafael Furcal returned from the bereavement list. Chin-lung Hu heads back to AAA Albuquerque.
• Ramon Ortiz is a Met, signing a minor league deal.
• That 9th inning was....interesting.
  

Dodgers Notes From Thursday's Game 6/17/2010

Cincinnati 7, Dodgers 1

Box Score.

• John Ely went 4.2 innings (7 ER, 8 Hits, 3 K, 3 BB, 3 HR Allowed [one to the opposing pitcher, ugh], 78 pitches - 47 for strikes). Well, he DID get back one of those runs with an RBI single. That's.....something.
  
• Bullpen: 3.1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 4 K, 0 BB.
• Casey Blake (3 Singles) Jamey Carroll (3 BB) each reached base 3 times, while Blake DeWitt (2 Singles), James Loney (Single, BB), and A.J. Ellis (2 BB) each reached base twice.
• The offense struck out just twice, drew 7 walks, but had 0 extra-base hits.
• Rafael Furcal hit the bereavement list to tend to an ill member of his family in the Dominican. Chin-lung Hu was called up to ride the pine. Jamey Carroll replaced Furcal in the lineup.
• Manny Ramirez again got a day game off after a night game, but I assume it's just to rest up for the weekend series in Fenway. He needs time to re-acclimate himself to the interior of the Green Monster. I imagine he spent the game watching video of him and the wall from his past glory days.

[AP Photo, via True Blue LA]

Dodgers Notes From Tuesday's Game 5/4/2010

Milwaukee 11, Dodgers 6

Box Score.

• Clayton Kershaw got rocked. On the bright side, 3 of the 4 outs he recorded were strikeouts.
• Bullpen: 7.2 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 4 K, 1 BB, 1 WP. 3 Relievers.
• James Loney hit his 2nd HR, and both have come at home. He had all of one at home in 2009.
• Matt Kemp doubled, singled, and walked. He's reached base 8 times in his last 13 plate appearances. 
• Nick Green sucks. At least Chin-lung Hu plays a mean shortstop.

Rafael Furcal, Dodger Rotation Updates

John Ely gets himself another start, this one coming this Thursday.

----------------------------

Rafael Furcal will apparently hit the DL after all, and unfortunately, it's looking more and more likely it won't be Chin-lung Hu, excellent defender, taking his spot. Instead, Nick Green, awful defender, will get the call. Neither can hit a lick, but Green is a veteran! Oooh, veterans, so sexy and productive.

That last line is a direct quote from Joe Torre and Ned Colletti. At least I imagine that's what they would say.

Dodgers Links On A Sunday Late Afternoon

If Rafael Furcal does have to go on the DL, which is still uncertain (and unlikely according to what's come out about his injury), Chin-lung Hu would be the most likely call-up. And hopefully he starts because Jamey Carroll is dreadful defensively at shortstop.

George Sherrill has been warned about taking to much time to warm up before beginning a game he entered on April 14th. Sherill took the letter from MLB, posted it on his locker, and added a message of his own:

"With more strikes called, the game is faster," read Sherrill's hand-written note on the typed letter.

"First time I got something like that," Sherrill said. "It's my seventh year in the big leagues, and I've never gotten one before. The thing is, you sit there and watch a game, and guys are throwing strikes on top of strikes, and [the umpires] are not calling them. That's why games are taking so long, not because a guy has a little extra time to warm up."

Vicente Padilla is out through May with his forearm injury.

"He's better, he's feeling better, but not having thrown for a while, I don't see him helping us this month," Torre said. "That's not anything, I think, unusual."

Rafael Furcal Injured

Rafael Furcal injured his left hamstring (tightness is the current diagnosis) in Game 1 of the doubleheader, but finished the game out, though he would have been pinch-hit for if his spot came up at the end of the game.

"He didn't feel he tore it, it just felt tight," said Torre.

He's doubtful (and quite frankly shouldn't play) for the rest of the series and potentially for the weekend.

Of course, this can only mean one thing: Jamey Carroll!

Jamey Carroll, 36 years young-ish, who, before reaching base 4 times in Tuesday's doubleheader, had a .308 OBP and .261 SLG%.

Chin-lung Hu, where are you?

Three More Optioned To AAA

Xavier Paul, A.J. Ellis, and Chin-lung Hu were optioned to AAA Albuquerque after Saturday's preseason game.

Ellis's optioning means Russ Martin will in fact be ready for Opening Day on Monday, though Joe Torre admits Martin "may still be a little behind on the offensive side".

Dodgers In Taiwan

Dodgers Sign 3 More To Minor League Deals

Ned Colletti signed Nick Green, Scott Dohmann, and Argenis Reyes to minor league deals on Monday. Each player has also been invited to Spring Training.

Green, 31, has 1108 plate appearances over 5 seasons spent with Atlanta, Tampa Bay, the Yankees, Seattle, and Boston. Over that time, he has amassed an amazingly putrid line of .239/.307/.352/.660, with an OBP of .303 in 2009. Yes, that's a worse 2009 OBP and a worse career OBP than noted base-clogger Juan Pierre. Green is coming off of back surgery, and could conceivably not even be ready by Spring Training or the start of the 2010 regular season. If he is ready, I would imagine he will basically be handed the backup shortstop job, what with his veterany status and inability to hit, something the Dodgers seem to find especially tantalizing from their bench players.

There is nothing, quite frankly, that Nick Green does that Chin-lung Hu, aged 26 when the season begins anew, can't do. Not to mention the higher upside The Hu (copyright KempKershaw - trust me, no need to look into this any further) presents. Apparently the Dodgers are anti-Hu. Are you anti-Hu? I'm certainly not, and as Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness points out, Hu is the superior player, and is not coming off of back surgery, and is not behind schedule from the aforementioned back surgery. If either of these two gentlemen see significant time in 2010, there's a problem. But if that did happen, wouldn't you want the younger, higher upside player playing? I would. Especially since Nick Green, baseball backup, sucks.


Dohmann, 31 and a relief pitcher, has made 164 appearances over 5 seasons with Colorado, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay. He has a career WHIP of 1.6, a K/9 IP mark of 8.7, and has walked 5/9 IP. He has a 5.04 career FIP.


Reyes, a 27-year-old middle infielder, has 139 career plate appearances, all with the Mets between 2008 and 2009. His career line stands at .205/.246/.228/.475, with an OPS+ of 27. His 2009 OPS+ , over 18 plate appearances, was -22.


Chin-lung Hu should have the backup shortstop gig unless he physically can't play. Physically can't play, you know who that reminds me of? Nick Green. And I don't mean because he's a 31-year-old who just had back surgery and is behind schedule; I mean it because Nick Green is an atrocious player who can barely produce a .300 OBP. Seriously, a .303 on-base percentage in 2009? A career .307 OBP?

Christ, that's epically horrendous.

Lame.

Juan Castro Signs With Philadelphia

According to Castro's agent, the deal is basically done, pending a physical.

Castro has a career .270 OBP and a .601 career OPS.

In 2009, Castro had an OBP of .311 and an OPS of .650, while looking at his calling card, defense, we find a UZR of -0.1 and a UZR/150 of -3.9, albeit in a small sample size.

Chin-lung Hu, 25, can easily replace the 37-year-old Castro as the Dodgers' utility infielder.

Links On An Early, Early Monday Morning

Hong-Chi Kuo and Chin-lung Hu hosted a baseball clinic Sunday in their native Taiwan. Great work from these two gentlemen. [Dodgers' Kuo, Hu Host Clinic In Taiwan]

Jon Weisman over at Dodger Thoughts has a great write-up of why trading Chad Billingsley is short-sighted and, quite frankly, idiotic beyond reason. Those last words are mine, not Jon's. [Trading Chad Billingsley For Roy Halladay Would Create More Problems Than It Solves]

kensai over at Memories Of Kevin Malone talks about the backlash at Keith Law over his NL Cy Young ballot. To be forthright, I love Keith Law and his baseball acumen and opinions, I agree with his selection of Tim Lincecum, and kensai always has intelligent posts and he and I share the same philosophy on baseball. So yeah, this is pretty much the perfect baseball storm of genius for me. [I Love People]

Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness relives the pain of the Casey Blake for Carlos Santana trade. Ugh, why Ned and Frank, why!?!? Come back Carlos Santana, come back home. [Baseball Prospectus, Why Must You Taunt Me?]

R.J. Anderson over at FanGraphs discusses Keith Law's NL Cy Young ballot and the ridiculous backlash over it. Jon Heyman and Buck Martinez, idiots you are. Law knows more than the two of you plus Joe Morgan combined. [Defending Law]

Notes From Sunday's Game

1. Brad Ausmus managed the team in today's final regular season game.
2. Vicente Padilla went 5 excellent innings (1 ER, 4 Hits, 10 K, 0 BB, 1 HR Allowed, 87 pitches - 59 for strikes). He struck out the first 5 batters he faced (where have I heard that before?).
   
3. Bullpen: 4 IP, 2 Runs, 4 Hits, 7 K, 1 BB.
4. Doug Mientkiewicz (3 Singles) reached base 3 times, while Andre Ethier (2 BB), Orlando Hudson (Double, BB), Chin-lung Hu (Double, Single), and Juan Pierre (Triple, Single) each reached base twice.
5. A.J. Ellis collected his first career hit.
   
6. Pierre stole 2 bases to finish the season with 30 steals. And 12 caught stealings.
   
7. The offense struck out 7 times and drew 3 walks.
   

Roster Additions

Blake DeWitt and Chin-lung Hu were recalled from AAA Albuquerque earlier today. DeWitt has been on the major league roster six times now.