Furcal breaks thumb, thinking about retiring

[Roy Hobbs]

Is it getting closer to Dee Gordon time?

[Roy Hobbs]

Double-A Chattanooga’s Dee Gordon went 3-for-5 and hit his first homer on Thursday.
It was a happy 22nd birthday for Gordon. The Dodgers’ No. 1 position prospect is batting .340/.368/.472 with three steals in 13 games in the Southern League.

[Hammer]

I have no idea what possessed me to own this fragile china doll this year.

[amcg]

And news, of course, came out on a damn Monday...

[Gregg]

What about DeJesus?

[joncarlos]

I'm guessing that in the short term, Carroll will move over to SS and Miles will play some 2B.

[Roy Hobbs]

I'm guessing that in the short term, Carroll will move over to SS and Miles will play some 2B.

I agree, but you would think that if Gordon is playing well his call up will get accelerated. When do you forsee a Gordon call?

[Judge Jude]

I bid 23 for Furcal 10 days ago - but lost out to a 24-unit bid.

I own Gordon for 5 units, at whatever point he gets called up pre-September of any year.

I am not frowning.

[joncarlos]

I agree, but you would think that if Gordon is playing well his call up will get accelerated. When do you forsee a Gordon call?

They also have Uribe, so I think as long as they are getting some production from the mess of Blake/Uribe/Miles/Carroll, it won't happen. Or even if they're not, if Kemp keeps carrying them then they won't be as worried about it. Unless Furcal really does retire (which I think is VERY unlikely) I still think Dee is in the minors until September.

[Roy Hobbs]

"Coming into the season it was my defense, now it's just my all-around game. I feel like I've responded [to the need to improve] my defense this winter [in Arizona]. Now it's just stealing more bases, getting caught less times, getting on base, everything. I'm not going to have a ton of power, so it's hitting balls in those alleys, taking the extra bases, scoring runs for my team."
- Dee Gordon

He is said to have 80 speed on a scale of 20 - 80, meaning you can't be any faster then Dee Gordon. He is said to have great lateral range at SS, taking enough hits away that his many errors are not indicative of his value on defense. He hits left-handed, which means he can take further advantage of his speed.

The Good: Gordon's athleticism generates plenty of excitement. He has good bat speed and a knack for contact, while his top-of-the-line speed makes him a danger to beat out any ground ball to the left side. He should be able to steal 50-plus bases per year. He has tremendous range to both sides and a strong arm.
The Bad: Scouts have difficulty wrapping their head around Gordon, as he'll turn 22 in April yet still plays with the rawness of an 18-year-old. He needs to develop a more patient approach at the plate, and while he has all of the tools to be a plus shortstop, he's so sloppy there that some scouts would like to see him tried in center field. His thin, lanky frame has no power projection.. Baseball Prospectus


SS, Grade B: I still love the speed and athleticism, but he needs to do a better job using it. Stolen base success ratio and error rates are troublesome. - John Siskels

Fastest Baserunner, Best hitter for average, Best athlete, and Best defensive infielder - Baseball America

Strengths: Plus speed. Athleticism/projectability, moderate bat speed/moderate power/BA, arm strength.
Weaknesses: Raw/inexperienced.
Comments: Son of former MLB reliever Tom Gordon had a solid consolidation season at Double-A. Plus (4.1) raw speed, athleticism, and ability to put the bat on the ball make him into a true top-of-the-order hitter. Stole 73 bases in '09 and 53 in '10. Is still raw defensively, but has the athleticism to stay at the position or be an impact player in the majors. Should see his professional debut at some point in '11 and could become a SB leader for years to come. Baseball HQ

[Roy Hobbs]

A not so nice write up about Dee Gordon

Dee Gordon was a steal in the fourth round in a draft of later round steals for Logan White. Still, for all the excitement Dee Gordon generates, the numbers in 2010 didn't really back it up. At 22 years old he did okay in the Southern League considering he jumped a level, but then DeJon Watson has told us he doesn't really consider moving from the Midwest League to the Southern League a jump. A peer of his, Starlin Castro - who, at barely 20 years old, is two full years younger then Dee - put up a .990 OPS before being recalled to the major leagues, where he ended up with a .755 OPS. That, my folks, is turning a raw skill set into real production.

We keep hearing how raw Dee Gordon is because he didn't play much high school baseball, but he's now got 2 1/2 years of professional baseball under his skinny belt. When the 2009 MVP season ended the scouts said he had gap power, but you don't have 80 scale speed and hit a measly 17 doubles per season if you have gap power.

If it was not for the scouting reports, he would not make my top ten. As a singles-hitting, error-prone SS, whose only skill appears to be speed, he is not my cup of tea, but you can't discount what most of the the scouts say, so hopefully they are right, and he is more then just another speed merchant, but is a baseball player.

Still you can't stay raw forever, at some point, that "athletic ability" has to start turning ground balls into outs, and not extra bases for the other team, has to start learning how to steal bases at a better clip then what his "80" speed has shown so far, and simply has to do a better job of getting on base. According to most of the scouts, he has the athletic ability to be an exciting major league baseball player; hopefully in 2011 the numbers start to back up what the scouts have been telling us since they first saw him play in 2008, because he's on the perfect time table to be the Dodgers starting SS in 2013, if not 2012.

Sure no one cares about errors in the minor leagues, but at AA I kind of care. Maybe I shouldn't, but unless this kid is really taking more hits away then he's giving away I think Ned will care. It is time for that error trend to reverse and not keep growing.

[Moonlight J]

Gordon has 80 speed but his bat is not pretty

Furcal has a clause in his contract that locked in his 2012 season if he hit a certain number of at bats and now that's not going to happen.

[ThatRogue]

...

We keep hearing how raw Dee Gordon is because he didn't play much high school baseball, but he's now got 2 1/2 years of professional baseball under his skinny belt. When the 2009 MVP season ended the scouts said he had gap power, but you don't have 80 scale speed and hit a measly 17 doubles per season if you have gap power.

...

If Gordon only played one season of high school baseball and one season of NAIA college baseball before arriving in the minor leagues, then it makes a lot of sense that it is taking time to turn him tools and talents into on-field production. The Dodgers would be wise to keep him on the slow-and-steady development path to the majors in order to maximize his potential and not waste his skill set by rushing him.

[Roy Hobbs]

If Gordon only played one season of high school baseball and one season of NAIA college baseball before arriving in the minor leagues, then it makes a lot of sense that it is taking time to turn him tools and talents into on-field production. The Dodgers would be wise to keep him on the slow-and-steady development path to the majors in order to maximize his potential and not waste his skill set by rushing him.

As much as I would like to see Gordon in Dodger blue, I have to agree with you. I've seen too many players ruined that way.

[overkill94]

Unless Gordon absolutely tears up AA I doubt they'd throw him into the fire this early, especially since it'll probably only be for 4-6 weeks. I'm guessing DeJesus will get some starts at 2B/SS, but it'll mostly be Uribe at 2B, Carroll at SS, and Blake at 3B.

I was watching the game and it sure didn't look like a play where a broken bone would occur. There wasn't even a stoppage in play when it happened and Furcal played a whole inning afterwards. I guess some guys are just made of glass.