Mark Trumbo Gets Angels Rally Over Dodgers Started

The Freeway Series has historically pitted the Angels and Dodgers against each other prior to the start of the regular season. Since interleague play, it has lost its sizzle, but it was quite a thrill watching Angels prospects Mark Trumbo, Mike Trout and Hank Conger all chip in on group deflating of Jonathan Broxton in front of 19,000 paid attendance at the stolen land of Chavez Ravine and listening to Vin Scully bemoan the botching of a routine grounder by Dodger prospect Ivan DeJesus Jr.

It might be Vinny's last year, it might be Frank McCourt's last year and it might be new manager Don Mattingly's last year if he keeps wheeling out gasless Broxton to face major league hitters with the game on the line.

Meanwhile the future looks bright ahead for the guys wearing red as the top prospects list came to life in the ninth inning when, with one out, Mark Trumbo, slated to be the starting 1B for LA of Anaheim because of a growing foot on the part of Kendry(s) Morales, hit a single to RF and was close to being thrown out on a DP grounder off of the bat of Alexi Amarista. With runners on 1B and 3B, Mike Trout singled as the SS covered 2B and the game was tied. Amarista then scored form 3B on a sacrifice fly to the warning track by Hank Conger. Halos Heaven was in midseason form, with over 1,400 comments on the Game Thread here!

The winners host the losers in Orange County tomorrow. The future may be unwritten, but the pen seemed to be dipped in the Los Angeles ink well of Anaheim tonight......

2011 Dodgers Player Profile: Juan Uribe, The Costly Upgrade

Heading into the offseason, the Dodgers identified their top needs as starting pitching (only Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley were signed) and a middle infielder.  In 2010, Dodgers' second basemen were underwhelming, hitting a combined .253/.339/.330 with three home runs. The Dodgers decided to upgrade from Ryan Theriot, who was arbitration eligible, and did so with free agant Juan Uribe, fresh off a World Series win with the Giants.

But oh, what a price the Dodgers paid.

Uribe was a valuable player for the Giants in the last two seasons. He hit a combined .266/.318/.464, a 105 OPS+, with 50 doubles and 40 home runs in 2009 and 2010 combined, and played all over the infield. Uribe started 131 games at shortstop, 56 games at second base, and 55 games at third base in two years with San Francisco. Not bad for somebody who signed a minor league deal before 2009, and made a total of $4.25 million in two years as a Giant.

The Dodgers signed Uribe for a whopping three years and $21 million. His versatility played a part in his signing, as the Dodgers have the injury-prone Casey Blake at third base and Rafael Furcal at shortstop, and although both have options for 2012, it seems likely that at least one of them, if not both, won't be back next year. Even this year, though the plan is for Uribe to play mostly second base, Uribe will open the season at third base with Blake on the disabled list.

On one hand, Uribe seems like a clear upgrade over what the Dodgers had last year at second base, even if a few of the projections below might suggest otherwise. Much like the case with Rod Barajas, the Dodgers appear to have traded some on-base percentage for power. But even if one accepts that Uribe is in fact an upgrade, giving him the richest contract this winter for a second baseman seems like a risky venture....