Saturday, June 30, 2007

Dodgers Ink Top Pick

By George G. Garvin
Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES ---- Less than one week after the draft started, the Los Angeles Dodgers have announced they have signed their first overall pick.

On Wednesday the Dodgers selected Reginald Norsworthy with the 14th pick. Norsworthy (pictured to the right),
a third baseman in high school signed for $1,184,500.

"We had him high up on our draft board and for him to fall all the way to No. 14 was a blesssing," said GM Tommy Lasorda. "Not only can he hit the ball but he can play great defense."

With an arm rated at a maxed out 10, Norsworthy carries a rating for both the hot corner and first base. But with Peter Pimentel already at third base and Matthew Mott getting ready to turn 35, Norsworthy will be moved across the diamond.

"I don't care where I play," he said. "As long as I get a chance to play."

Norsworthy is already ranked No. 82 among all other prospects in the ISBL and he will be sent t0 Double-A Jacksonville.

Below is the history of the Dodgers draft since sim season 2006.

  • 2006 - RF Tony Gwynn Jr. ---- Traded to Minnasota for Dave Kelton after underperforming for the Dodgers in the minors for four years. Has now become one of the most feared hitters in ISBL.

  • 2007 - P Maurice Miller ---- He spent a decade in the minor leagues before getting called up in 2017. He pitched 52 innings, and went 0-9 with a 9.35 ERA. He was released the next spring training.

  • 2008 - 1B Robert Stiller ---- No information available

  • 2009 - Not available

  • 2010 - P Jose Garduno ---- After two years in the minors, Garduno was called up in 2012 and he went 5-15 with a 4.86 ERA. He hasn't been able to pitch well since, and is a combined 10-30 with a 6.40 ERA. He was taken by Boston in the Rule V draft in 2014 and was released two years later.

  • 2011 - OF James Robertson ---- After hitting 71 home runs in Single-A in 2013, he was left off the 40-man roster in a bonehead move where he was quickly snapped up by San Francisco. After spending the season on the bench during his rookie campaign, in which he had only 100 ABs, he has since become a great hitter, thanks to some timley upgrades at the hands of the Astros GM. He has joined the 30-30 club each of the past three seasons.

  • 2012 - P Ricardo Cruz ---- Sensing a trend yet, Cruz was also taken in the Rule V draft. A five-star stud when drafted, Cruz was not able to recover from the time he spent on the of the Tigers and is now a 1-star flunkee. He was demoted by the Tigers midway through the season and the Dodgers gave him a shot in 2017 and 2018 hoping he would improve on his ratings, but no such luck. He is a dreadful 6-25 with a 7.85 ERA in his lifetime. He is still
    pitching for the Pirates in AAA.

  • 2013 - P Lance Broadway ---- A stud since the minute they drafted him, Broadway lasted less than one year as the Dodgers traded him to pick up some much needed offense down the stretch run in 2014. To date, GM Tommy Lasorda calls it the worst trade he has ever made. Broadway is now a legit No. 1 starter for the Mets and has won 16 or more games each of the past four seasons.

  • 2014 - C Taylor Teagarden ---- Another first round pick. Another bust. Teagarden was taken with the 11th pick and has done nothing for the Dodgers, expect fill a spot up in AAA for the past three seasons.

  • 2015 - 1B Jerry Simmons ---- Simmons is an interesting case. At the time of his draft, the Dodgers farm system was in deep trouble and Simmons was all we had. So we wereoffered three quality specs for one quanity spec. Five years later, Simmons is producing for Charlotte. However, he is not excatly living up to his potential. But the three guys the Dodgers got for him are doing okay. Matt Antonelli started two seasons ago and produced, but was relegated to backup duty in 2019 and Steven Roman started last season and did well. Jl Lupo was taken in the Rule V draft (ANOTHER ONE) and is a 5-star prospect. However, he won't ever live up to his pots because he was stunted in the majors.

  • 2016 - 2B John Huseby ---- Finally a winner. The 2016 draft was a great one for the Dodgers as they nabbed Huseby, their starting second baseman, current No. 5 starting pitcher Bryant Duque in the third round and starting center fielder Malcom Williamson in the second. But Huseby is the creame of the crop. The 21-year-old has a career batting average of .344 in 1600 at bats and has had 200 hits or more each of the past two seasons. And to top it off, he had 113 RBIs last year.

  • 2017 - P Chet Lohmann ---- Another trend is starting to show up ---- successful drafts. Lohmann, taken with the fifth pick has pitched very well and is only getting better. He has already wona Gold Glove, but injuries have hurt him over his career. If he can stay healthy, the sky is the limit.

  • 2018 - 3B Peter Pimentel ---- The third straight success story. Pimentel won the Rookie of the Year last year, the second such award for the Dodgers (the last was starting pitcher Cesar Mazza). He hit 30 home runs and had 97 RBIs in a great freshman year. More is expected of the young third baseman during his sophomore year.

  • 2019 - OF Garrett Henry ---- After one year in the minors, Henry is ready to go. Henry hit 31 dingers in AAA last season to go with his .332 batting average. With the trade of DeShawn Erhart, the door is open for Henry to continue the Rookie of the Year theme for the Dodgers.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Season Preview

By George G. Garvin
Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES ---- In 2019, the Los Angeles Dodgers had their best year in four years, breaking a string of three straight seasons of 100 losses or more.

In 2020, they are looking for something that hasn't happened ever since the Internet Baseball Sim League was formed in 2002.

Finish in first place.

"Some years we have great offense and some years we have great pitching," said General Manager Tommy Lasorda. "But this year we feel we have a good mix of both."

With the addition of ace Richie Jackson (pictured right) from St. Louis over the weekend and the announcement that the Dodgers signed 11 free agents, including eight middle relievers the Dodgers bolstered what they felt was their biggest weakness last year.

The Dodgers tripled their payroll, adding more than 41 million dollars in payroll.

"Like the saying goes, you have to spend money to win," Lasorda said. "We have had a low payroll for the past few years so we have been able to save a lot of cash to pay for the players we aquired."

Jackson, who will be the highest paid player on the Dodgers makes $16.5 million and is the higest paid player in the league. But Lasorda said that contract will be paid down with the overabundance of cash the Dodgers have aquired over the years. Jackson said he is excited to be a Dodger.

"This is the second time I've been traded in the past 12 months," Jackson said, refering to the July 1st deal that sent him to the Cardinals. "But I feel this is the place I belong. Cardinals GM Mike Williams said the Dodgers made the biggest push to get me and that shows with how many prospects they gave up to get me. It is a nice
feeling knowing someone wants you."

Jackson will join an already impressive starting rotation that includes Ricky Romero, Chet Lohman and staff ace Juan Gonzalez. All four starters are 30 years old or younger.

"We have a good core of pitchers and with the addition of the middle relievers in free agency, this team is going to be much improved," said Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. "They are going to make my job a lot easier."

With so much focus on pitching, the Dodgers left most of their offense alone. Expect for trading leadoff man Deshawn Erhart, the Dodgers are not worried with incoming rookie Garrett Henry ready to take the reigns. Los Angeles has a good idea of what to expect of their rookies, as 2019 rookie of the year Peter Pimentel will tell you.

"They don't put any pressure on you and just tell you to perform like you always have," said Pimentel, who hit .275 with 30 home runs with 97 RBIs to claim the award. "That allowed me to enjoy the season and have fun."

But they aren't done yet. They know they need a legit No. 5 starter and depth is also a problem. But they are problems that are fixable, unlike last years problems.

All last year we kept telling ourselves we need a No. 1 starter and middle relief help," Lasorda said. "But none was available and we just kept kicking ourselves because there were so many games we should have won but didn't because of our pitching."

The Dodgers were 19-19 in one-run games and 5-5 in extra inning games. "That will be much improved," Lasorda said. "Count on it."

One more thing that must improve is their record versus National League West opponents. The Dodgers went 7-12 versus the rival Padres, which isn't bad versus a 100-win ball club.


However, they went only 12-7 versus the last place Giants, who went 45-117.

"With these additions and the expierence this team gained playing in close games and for the first time in many of their careers, games that count things are going to change," Lasorda said, "They have only gotten better because of it."

As one American League GM said, "It looks like the Dodgers are ready for a playoff push

That push would only be the second time Los Angeles has made the playoffs since 2002, a streak that Lasorda said must end.

"We can't go out and pay all this money and tell our fans that we are better and expect them to show up to the ballgame if we don't put out a quality product," he said. "It is the playoffs or bust for us."

2020 should be an interesting year, unlike 2019.

First Post

Welcome to the ISBL Dodgers GM Blog. I am the General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the ISBL (Internet Simulation Baseball League). ISBL has been around a long time and I have been with it since day one. But back when it started, I was the Baltimore O's. After taking a two-season break, I took over the reigns of the Dodgers in sim-season 2005. In 2004, they went 42-120. Two years later they won 100 games. Since then though, things have been tough.

That is about to change.

Enjoy. Respond and let's play ball.