Heyman's Latest: Dodgers, Braves, Fuentes, Downs

McCourt needs to hire someone he can trust to do THEIR job. He can't play puppet master with his GM and then give a scout VETO power...

My personal vote is make White the GM and let Ned go.

Why would the Mets trade Aaron Heilman, a good right handed reliever who they have under team control for 3 more years, and is constantly rumored to be converted to a starter, for 2 months of Fuentes, who would be the 4th lefty in the Mets pen?

lateral move for the mets to take fuentes for heilman. heilman is not going to be a starter as a met and thank god because he stunk in that role.

White is one of the main reasons why The Dodgers have such a great farm system. He should be in Colletti's seat at the end of the season or if the Dodgers fall out of contention.

"heilman is not going to be a starter as a met and thank god because he stunk in that role."

So did Mike Pelfrey until about 6 weeks ago, now hes our second best starter.

"So did Mike Pelfrey until about 6 weeks ago, now hes our second best starter."

Pelfrey and Heilman are two different animals. Pelfrey is a 24 year old flame thrower with limitless potential. Heilman is almost 30 and will always be a setup man.

"White is one of the main reasons why The Dodgers have such a great farm system."

One might also look to Paul DePodesta for his one really good move.

Heilman for Fuentes is nothing but a lateral move. It makes no sense. The Mets already have 2 lefties, not counting Wagner, in their pen. They don;t need Fuentes at all.

"heilman is not going to be a starter as a met and thank god because he stunk in that role. "

Yeah, I mean he had numerous chances to win the job (rolls eyes). He had like a handful of starts to win a job, and this was like 4 years ago. He never got a fair shake at the rotation. He has the stuff to start. He throws in the mid 90's, he throws an outstanding 2 seamer, a devestating changeup and a slider that is atleast good enough to keep hitters off balance. I think there is a good chance that next year they try him in the rotation, seeing as how they are going to need 2 starters, and Heilman is already on the roster and will be very cheap. Even signing a number 4 guy in free agency will cost you 10 mil a year, and Heilman can most likely be a good number 4 pitchers for crumbs. It seems likely only because he has started throwing his slider much more this year, and the knock on him was always that he couldnt start becase he only threw 2 pitches (even though John Maine throws 1 pitch, his secondary stuff is just dreadful, Pelfrey has been throwing 80 percent fastballs, and Santana almost never throws his slider), So I dont know why that is a legit excuse. But yeah, Heilman for Fuentes makes no sense at all. Even Heilman for Street does not really make sense.

Dodgers have had MAJOR issues ever since the Nightline Implosion. This should hardly come as a suprise. Also shouldn't come as a suprise that the title of "Dodgers General Manager" is often simply that, an impotent title. Ask Fred Claire post-Fox purchase, as he had a puppet master in Chase Carey--at least for one dreadful transaction.

Shocking.

Ooops, make that two puppet masters, even worse if you count Peter Chernin

I freely admit that I'm a huge Dodgers fan and don't have any special knowledge of baseball. But when I look at the following things:

1. how the Dodgers stack up against the best 4 teams in the NL

2. Next year's free agent market

I don't understand why any Dodgers fan wants them to make a big trade right now. There's nothing they can conceivably do that would make them good enough to get past the first round of the playoffs. The only moves they should make would be longer-term things which would bolster them for next season, while keeping them competitive for this one.

I doubt the Mets have anything the Jays would want for Downs. He wouldn't come cheap at all.

I would also like to see Heilman get a shot at starting because I don't want to give out a ton of money and being stuck with a crappy pitcher like Carlos Silva.

"I don't understand why any Dodgers fan wants them to make a big trade right now. There's nothing they can conceivably do that would make them good enough to get past the first round of the playoffs. The only moves they should make would be longer-term things which would bolster them for next season, while keeping them competitive for this one."
Although very true, the same could be said for 1988. The Mets owned the Dodgers at the tune of a 11-1 regular season record, and as for the A's, well that team was legendary for what it did (and ultimately) and didn't accomplish. As bad as their record is right now, all they would have to do is play the remaining schedule and win 2 more games than Arizona, however "daunting" the task may be. Major trades? No, maybe a tweak. Replace DeWitt? Go back to '88---remember Jeff Hamilton? Best bet for LA is to reinforce their strengths, not build Rome with one phonecall. It's not wrong to not count on Nomar staying healthy for the rest of the season, but what if? The Brewers are playing for now because they know that Sheets and now Sabathia are walking, and hats off to them for going for it. LA does not have to do this; a "tweak" here and there should be fine. Smaller trades, such as whatever they can get for Lowe, for an "adequate" middle infield like an Orlando Cabrerra, then get Maddux (supposedly on the cheap) then wait for Penny & potentially Schmidt for 45-60 days would be much better than kissing away a solid 3-6 year core of players they have developed (minus Ethier who was obtained via trade of course).

"I doubt the Mets have anything the Jays would want for Downs. He wouldn't come cheap at all."

Every team in baseball could acquire Downs if they wanted to. He is a loogy. Every team has something that they could trade for a loogy. You are not getting top prospects from anybody for Scott Downs, and it makes literally no sense at all that the Mets are rumored with all these left handed relievers, unless of course they have a trade in place to move Show or Pedro.

Agree with abcrazy4dodgers in that you should go for it. You never know in the playoffs. Gotta get there first. Dodgers can get there without sacrificing much. But I think it would be a mistake to trade starting pitching away. Dodgers can't afford to trade away Lowe and rely on Penny, Schmidt, and/or Kershaw (he's just not ready yet). Schmidt was struggling before he got hurt and you know he's going to come back with a slow fastball. You can't rely much on Maddux either. When it comes down to playoffs, you need 3 solid starters. If you take Lowe out of the equation, you don't give yourself a chance to win. If you recall the '88 team was built on pitching. Hershiser carried them. Don't forget Belcher either. Good pitching, and timely hitting.

I'd like to pick up a SS without giving much up. Colletti has made some dubious free agent signings. Jones, Schmidt, Furcal (because of injuries), Pierre, but he has kept the youngster intact. I'd be most willing to part with LaRoche, Hu, and DeWitt. But not sure if that is enough to get a quality SS. Please, do not overpay for a Casey Blake.

Downs has better numbers than both Street and Fuentes and has 2 extremely reasonable years under contract past this season. He's one of the top 5 set up men in baseball, and should have quite a fair bit of value.

It would be awesome if the Tigers could ditch Renteria. He is clearly a National League player.

"Schmidt was struggling before he got hurt and you know he's going to come back with a slow fastball."

Schmidt was struggling because he was hurt. Remember, he had an excellent year in 2006. As for his velocity, they have been clocking him in the low to mid 90s in his rehab assignments. His fastball really isn't the concern, rather whether he can still get his breaking pitches over without hurting himself.

"Hershiser carried them. Don't forget Belcher either. Good pitching, and timely hitting."

Don't forget that they also dealt a soon to decline Pedro Guerrero for John Tudor, who was a huge stretch and playoff contributor. Not to mention Tim Leary, who was one of the best pitchers in baseball that year and completely overshadowed by Hersheiser's amazing year.

"Colletti has made some dubious free agent signings. Jones, Schmidt, Furcal (because of injuries), Pierre"

Furcal's signing was anything but dubious. The ankle injury was a freak accident and the back probably developed from overcompensation. Other than that, he has been the Dodgers best player over that time next to Martin.

Pierre was a mistake if only in the amount and length of time. He should have probably gotten a 3 year deal for a little less money, but that signing was more a knee jerk reaction to J.D. Drew's classless opt out. Remember, the thinking in the organization was that Kemp was another year away, which is why they also signed Gonzo. In retrospect, Gonzo was the waste of money more than Pierre was.