Randy Johnson on Dodgers Radar

Sign 'em up!

I'd take Randy Johnson for $7 to $8 million for one year. He's more of less going to get you 10-12 wins and will fit perfectly as the 4th or 5th starter... The Dodgers haven't had a half decent leftly starter since Fernando.

this would not be a decent lefty. johnsons time is done. do not do this ned. we have been thru this enough lately

The Big Unit is the most obvious FA signing for the Dodgers. He would a lot less expensive than other starters, and would fill the gap for a year or two until the club can assess Kershaw, McDonald, Elbert, etc.

J. Canuck

There are better lefty options. Stay away from CC. I'd prefer Oliver Perez or Randy Wolf. For the past 2 or 3 years LA has wasted money on older veterans who did not produce or were on the DL.

Why? He's too old. Is he supposed to replace our old guy (Maddux) in the starting rotation?

I have a feeling this off-season is going to be rough and we're not going to sign anyone significant while all of our free agents bail....including Furcal (please please please don't go to the Gnats).

Why? He's too old. Is he supposed to replace our old guy (Maddux) in the starting rotation?

I have a feeling this off-season is going to be rough and we're not going to sign anyone significant while all of our free agents bail....including Furcal (please please please don't go to the Gnats).

The White Sox should sign him. He would fit well into their plans and also would bring in fans. He is only 5 wins away from 300 and he would cost alot less money than a Derek Lowe or some one along thoselines.

great blog.

Sign him. Randy is 45. He will not want to go to a team too far from Phoenix. He still can pitch. I expect that he will take a reasonable 1 year deal. He wants his 300th win. He can mentor the young Dodgers and pay dividends long after the year is over.

The Big Unit should be in the 'Burgh in 2009. That would be awesome and miracolous.
http://theburghblues.mlblogs.com

jhbarber you are an idiot. ..Perez and WEolf both had 4+ ERAs.....Wolf is 32 and was a proven failure for the dodgers. Oliver Perez is basically the same as Zack Duke....can give you a few quality starts, but in the long run will hurt more then help.

Sign Randy for 5 Mil for one season.
Resign Casey Blake.
Assassinate Andruw Jones.

Wht is this fixation of Coletti's for overpaying has-beens? We are supposed to be building a young team from our farm. Could we please stop cluttering up the roster with fragile old "players" that were once good. One definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing over and over, while expecting a different result. Let's just have the faith and guts to stick with the young guys and sweep away the antiques.

Please no. Johnson was not that good last year. He's injured a lot and his era keeps climbing while his fastball keeps declining. Coletti never ceases to amaze me. Besides the couple of innings Maddux pitched in the playoffs he didnt even pitch that well. He'd pitch well for a while but seemed to have that inning where he gave up 5 runs. Why not Randy Wolf or anyone in their 20s or 30. I hope this report is false. I can see it now, Randy Johnson 3 years 45 million. Don't do it Ned!!!

I agree with srobins2's comments about continually going after players well past their prime; especially injury-proned players, thinking that the result will be different! Sure, Randy Johnson is destined for the Hall of Fame and at 45, may even still have some good games left in him, but to go after him this early in off-season negotiations doesn't send a very promising message to die-hard Dodger fans for 2009. I've been a die-hard fan for 40 years and will continue to be no matter what, but if they continue with their same MO, I'm going to make a major cut in attending future games and I know I'm not the only fan who feels that way, especially with the economy on life support. Who cares about that proposed stadium complex project?!? What about a SERIOUS run at the world championship? The only reason we got as close as we did this year was because we got Manny for NOTHING! Now that we'd have to actually pay his salary, they make him an offer that they know won't be the best on the table. If not Manny, than please get somebody that'll give us some real hope! Where's the real committment from ownership? At this point, I really have to question that.

I agree with srobins2's comments about continually going after players well past their prime; especially injury-prone players, thinking that the result will be different! Sure, Randy Johnson is destined for the Hall of Fame and at 45, may even still have some good games left in him, but to go after him this early in off-season negotiations doesn't send a very promising message to die-hard Dodger fans for 2009. I've been a die-hard fan for 40 years and will continue to be no matter what, but if they continue with their same MO, I'm going to make a major cut in attending future games and I know I'm not the only fan who feels that way, especially with the economy on life support. Who cares about that proposed stadium complex project?!? What about a SERIOUS run at the world championship? The only reason we got as close as we did this year was because we got Manny for NOTHING! Now that we'd have to actually pay his salary, they make him an offer that they know won't be the best on the table. If not Manny, than please get somebody that'll give us some real hope! Where's the real commitment from ownership? At this point, I really have to question that.

This would be a major mistake. He is a cancer. Bad for the club and real bad in the locker room. He is all about himself
not a real team player. He is old, and getting soft. He maybe could be a reliver (one enning), but not a starter.
I hope the Dodger organization will reconsider, and look elsewhere for a pitcher. Dodger club you can do better!!

Johnson was not good last year? His fastball is deteriorating? Colletti is going to overpay? Are you people naive, or just dumb?

1) Randy Johnson pitched better than both Randy Wolf and Oliver Perez last year. Here is their compared key stats:
-Johnson: 11-10, 3.91ERA (post all-star it was 2.41), 184 IP (30 starts), 178 K's, 44 BB's.
-Perez: 10-7, 4.22ERA (post all-star 3.97), 194 IP (34 starts), 190 K's, 108 BB's
-Wolf: 6-10, 4.78ERA (post all-star 3.57 with Astros), 119.2 IP (21 starts), 105K's, 45 BB's.

Overall Johnson pitched better than those two, had better a better record, and pitched more innings per start (6.13 innings/start for Johnson, 5.68 for Wolf, and 5.71 for Perez). Yep, Johnson is definitely less durable than the failed experiment of Randy Wolf, and doesn't pitch deeper than hit or BIG MISS Perez. I mean, come on, 108 walks? That's over twice the walk rate Johnson has? And he posted one less walk than Wolf despite pitching over 50 innings more.

NUMBER TWO: I am a Dodgers fan and I watched Johnson pitch a few times this year. His fastball is consistently 89-92/93MPH. He can he 95 if he wants/needs to, but his bread and butter pitch, the slider, is still terrific. And he is a control machine. Even if his fastball isn't nearly as electric as it was, he doesn't need to worry about that because he has such good control. Oliver Perez, as far as the scouting reports I have, doesn't pitch much harder (90-94MPH), and Wolf is about the same. So is Johnson's fastball being 1MPH less really a big deal?

NUMBER THREE: Colletti is NOT going to overpay. First of all, Johnson would receive a 2 year deal, AT THE MOST, laden with incentives (given his previous couple years of injuries). Perez will most assuredly cost more, at 3-4 more years. Wolf will cost around the same, but his effectiveness and injury history is worse than Johnson's. At the most we will pay Johnson an annual salary, with all incentives of up to around $11-13 million. He said he was willing to take a 50% pay cut (from a $13 million annual salary) from the D-Backs, and I wouldn't suspect he isn't going ask for anything like his previous deal.

NUMBER FOUR: The Dodgers have a young rotation (Billingsley, Kershaw, and probably McDonald next year, with Kuroda), we are looking for a good VETERAN pitcher that can take over the role of Maddux in mentoring our young pitchers. Perez isn't a veteran, and he surely can't teach the younger guys (a la 108 BB's). Wolf is too injured, and hasn't been really a true stud pitcher ever, so why him? Johnson is the only logical option. Mind you Schmidt will be coming back next year, and it could only create positive competition for the rotation spots available.

THINK PEOPLE BEFORE YOU SPEAK...THINK!!!

Plus, I hope everyone on here realizes that the offer made to Manny was a "we're letting you know we are interested offer", rather than a truly serious offer. If you honestly think that a 2 year deal, plus an option third that pays, at the most, $60 million, is the best Colletti can come up with, you need to take a much closer look at baseball as a whole rather than a passing fancy.

Colletti will pursue Manny much more seriously, and is waiting to see what kind of other offers are going to float around on Manny. He wasn't going to just straight up give out the 6 year, $130+ million contract right away; that would be foolish.

Take a course, or read a book like, if it exists, "How to be a Baseball GM: For Dummies".

ill sign him for one year 7-8 million dollars
he pitched pretty god last year

Don't forget that Johnson was pitching in Arizona --- a hitter's park and still had a very good year. He is not the number one starter anymore which means the Dodgers will need an additional starter, but as a 4 or 5 he would be an excellent addition. Perhaps he can teach Kershaw, Elbert, and MacDonald how to throw one of the best sliders ever. And, the way Torre makes certain that his starters are not overworked should benefit Johnson.

Even more so, Johnson offers something else that we need in a starter this year: postseason experience, and The Big Unit has TONS of it. Plus he has been pretty successful in the postseason throughout his career.

This is a good replacement for Derek Lowe and Brad Penny. It seems that Lowe won't be back and Penny is definitely out. Johnson also hase experience under Torre. Get Johnson, Manny, Hudson, and resign your core players, and Dodgers fans will be happy. Being a Yankee fan I love Torre so I want to see him do good in LA.

Drummer...I wouldn't go after Hudson because of the salary he will command. His range at 2nd has also gone down every seasons since leaving Toronto. He isn't a bad player, he just isn't what we need. I'd rather re-sign Furcal, than land Hudson.

You're right. I mean like I said I'm a Yankee fan so I don't know the entire Dodger situation. Although from what I've heard Dewitt is a good young player for 2nd base. Furcal definitely has more value and is more consistent than Hudson. I'd like to see them get Blake back. But again, last year he had a good season and isn't guaranteed to do it again. Good luck to the Dodgers though!

Thanks dude. Blake DeWitt is a good young player (1st round pick if I recall correctly), and he shares my first name =D

We'll probably get a third-baseman (Casey Blake and Joe Crede are the two that come to mind) and have DeWitt play second (even though he is better at 3rd defensively).

If Furcal isn't signed, I wouldn't mind signing Orlando Cabrera. He's good defensively, and would fit in nicely in the #2 spot in the lineup; or lead-off if need be.

Our biggest need is a proven slugger (enter Manny). I say give him the 4 years, and if he really starts to go downhill defensively, trade him to the AL in year 3 or 4. He wouldn't mind, I'm sure, and I'm sure his hitting skills won't diminish by then, and some AL club would love to slide him in as the DH.

Wait a minute Madddox was replaced in the rotation. Randy Johnson is a nasty old man and he is going to mentor no one. Isaw him for two years as a Yankee fan and he blames everyone but the fact he is finished. Retire like a man and stop blaming everyone else.

Fans are willing to commit $100+ million to a player with a well documented attitude problem (the Boston players voted him off the team and David Ortiz even said it was best for the team that Manny leave) and yet unwilling to pay $6 million for one year for a pitcher with the stats Johnson put up in 2008, and will be fully recovered from his back surgery in 2009! Thank goodness you are not the Dodgers GM!

SIGN HIM...... JUST PLEASE DONT OVERPAY HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Asidor,You really did your homework.Nice job!Before I read your blog, I was against the possible signing of "Big Unit",but you ve sold it to me.I would prefer Sheets ,Garland, or Burnett.

My "bad", I gave credit to the wrong person. Blake,you did a great job !