Moves By Dodgers Of Yesteryear

Well, we all know that there ain't much more happening in Colletti-land for the rest of this off-season (cries). But at least we can keep up with some former Dodgers and where they're headed!

• The Arizona Diamondbacks signed 41-year-old Takashi Saito for one year, $1.75M. So I guess we'll see Sammy around Chavez Ravine a bit more in 2012 (relative to when he played for the Brewers).

• Pending results of a physical, peppy but oft-injured Rafael Furcal will return to the world champion Cardinals, having signed a two-year, $14M deal. I was sad to see Raffy go last year but glad he got a ring with St. Louis. I would feel less sad if Dee Gordon really worked out in 2012, particularly from the plate.

• The Giants are re-signing Guillermo Mota (reported $1M, one year). I'm fine with having Mota and his 3.81 ERA up there, despite the fact that he tends to do pretty well against the Dodgers; I sort of feel like he's always on the precipice of a total meltdown, a la recent Jonathan Broxton efforts. We can get to him.

But wait! I stand corrected; it's not quite completely moribund for the Dodgers, at least if you classify talking with corpses as "action." Apparently, we're interested in Coco Crisp, who hasn't played regularly since 2005 with the Indians. Yep, that sounds like a typical Colletti pickup to me. I'm guessing two years minimum. (We're also still interested in Mike MacDougal and the recently non-tendered Hong-Chih Kuo, reflecting our penchant for self-flagellation.)

(cries)

Post-Game 11 Thread: One Through Four, Then Pray to Score

GIANTS 5, DODGERS 4

Three runs off Tim Lincecum with Chad Billingsley on the mound should be enough to win, but not today. Andre Ethier (2 for 4) and Matt Kemp (2 for 2) roughed Timmy up, but the black hole of the bottom of the lineup sucked the Dodger offense into nothingness. True, James Loney (1 for 4) and Juan Uribe (1 for 3) had an RBI each, but check out the batting averages of our five through eight hitters:

• Loney: .163
• Uribe: .147
• Barajas: .206
• Miles: .150

It's still early, but we sure could have used some batting presence in the sixth inning, when the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out. Out went Timmy, in came old friend Guillermo Mota, who needed all of six pitches to dispatch Barajas and Miles.

Chad was all right, throwing 99 pitches over five innings and allowing four earned. He made some mistakes, but he also managed to curtail damage when it could have been worse. So much for the ol' win-win theory.

Rubber match tomorrow — will the Dodgers allow the Giants back in the season series, or will they put them in their place?

Dodgers Win Mota Sweepstakes By Allowing Giants To Pick Him Up

I am ecstatic that one of the many minor-league invitation deals we signed this off-season will not include Guillermo Mota, who was signed by the Giants yesterday:

The Giants have agreed to sign Guillermo Mota to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. The Dodgers and Rays were also considered finalists for his services.

Mota, 37, appeared in 56 games for the World Champion Giants in 2010, pitching to a 4.33 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. He then chipped in another 2.1 scoreless innings in the postseason. According to PitchFX, he was still flirting with the mid-90's with his fastball.

Yeah, and according to my imagination, I'm still flirting with Olivia Wilde. Mota was awesome in 2003-2004 for the Dodgers (ERA+ of 205 and 192) and even somewhat servicable in his second stint in 2009 (ERA+ of 116). But ever since he was associated with steroids back in 2006, he hasn't been as effective--in fact, since we dished him to the Marlins in 2004, he has had only one season besides 2009 with us which topped an ERA+ of 100. I'm glad we're passing on a third stint (for now).

He's all yours, Frisco.

Get Your Red-Hot Dodgers Trade Rumors (Swirling Around Room-Temperature Players)

First, MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Dodgers are among the finalists for Guillermo Mota, and when they say "finalist" I hope they mean "the party furthest away from any possible chance in hell of signing:

Guillermo Mota has been offered minor league contracts from five clubs and the "finalists" for his services are the Dodgers, Giants and Rays, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes on Twitter [Sax's note: I can't read Spanish so I hope this is right]. Mota, 37, signed a $750K minor league deal with San Francisco last winter, but it paid off in the form of his first World Series ring. Mota posted a 4.33 ERA in 56 relief appearances last season, including 2 1/3 scoreless innings in the Fall Classic.

The well-traveled Mota has pitched for seven teams in his 12-year career, and it would be his third stint in Dodger blue if he were to sign with Los Angeles.

Luckily for us, we know that Ned Colletti never signs former Giants who are hoping for an additional tour of duty with the Dodgers. Nosiree, Bob.

MLBTR goes on to say that the Dodgers, along with the Yankees, are among the front-runners in a four-team frenzy for the services of Bill Hall:

The Yankees and Dodgers are the "most aggressive" of the four teams interested in Bill Hall, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe [Sax's note: this tweet, I can read]. We heard about the Yankees' interest in Hall last month, and the Astros and Pirates are probably the other two clubs in the hunt.

Again, lucky for us, Colletti never chases a .240-ish hitter (admittedly with 18 HR for Boston last year, mostly playing left field). Yep, we're safe.

STGT: @ Angels, 7p

James Loney and Manny Ramirez greet old friend Guillermo Mota.

Donnie and Preston Baseball.

From Dodgers.com:

The Dodgers will travel down the 5 Freeway to Anaheim to play the Angels in an exhibition game at Angel Stadium on Friday at 7:05 p.m. PT. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw will make his final Spring Training tuneup before he's scheduled to start in the second game of the regular season against the Pirates on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

photos by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers

Actual. Baseball. News.

Thanks to Josh S. for the tip:

• Dodgers To Sign Alfredo Amezaga (MLBTR)
• Giants Sign Guillermo Mota (MLBTR)

Both are minor-league deals. Everything about Amezaga screams veteran utilityman; he has experience at every position except catcher and pitcher.

Bullpen, Dugout Goings-On

George "Brim Reaper" Sherrill pitches in last night's game against the Brewers.

Guillermo Mota and Ramon Troncoso visit the White Memorial Hospital yesterday.

Junior Seau (with clubhouse manager Mitch Poole) was an honorary batboy on Tuesday. I'm guessing Junior didn't have to pick up any dirty uniforms.

Sherrill photo by Jill Weisleder/Dodgers; Mota/Troncoso photo by Amber Matsumoto/Dodgers; Seau/Poole photo by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers

Furious Fielder Angry At Post-Game Spread Disparities

Though many news sources are covering Prince Fielder's post-game outburst as a potential confrontation with Dodger pitcer Guillermo Mota, SoSG has heard that Fielder's attempt to enter the Dodgers clubhouse was really motivated by the news that the Dodgers' home-team post-game spread was more expansive than the food offerings available in the visitors' clubhouse.

"What, no Tapatio?" screamed Fielder, moments before he stormed into the stadium tunnels toward the Dodgers' locker room. "This is outrageous!"

After the outburst, Fielder was able to articulate his displeasure more coherently. "It's just not fair. They get a nice well-lit clubhouse, with a full portfolio of food choices, local delicacies from Canter's Deli, a full bar, even private label pizza trying to masquerade as premium-priced fare. And we get a dimly-lit, crowded clubhouse where the best offering is an extra scoop of meat in a bowl of Camacho's Nachos.

"Seriously, I feel like I'm a fan stuck here on the loge level, while the home team relaxes on the field level. And they won't let me down the staircase to the better food offerings. It's unjust, I tell you."

-----------------

In all seriousness, check out the video on the accompanying link (above; the first one). It's pretty obvious that Russell Martin is saying something to Fielder as he's laying on the ground, smarting from the Mota pitch. Martin's half-hearted effort to catch the ball inside is another tell-tale sign.

As Mr. LA Sports Fan eloquently wrote in last night's Game Thread: "Payback's a bitch, Prince."

Should be a great game tonight! Bring your hot sauce!

Of Course You Know This Means War

Dodgers are red hot, while Brewers' Fielder is just hot (LA Times)
Fielder angry at Mota after Brewers' loss (ESPN.com)

photos by Gus Ruelas/AP

I Guess That Means Piazza Won't Be Coming Back

From Dylan Hernandez at the LA Times:

Dodgers agree to terms with Guillermo Mota

The Dodgers added an arm to a bullpen that is days removed from losing closer Takashi Saito by agreeing to terms of a one-year contract with right-hander Guillermo Mota, according to baseball sources who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter. The deal is pending a physical, which Mota is scheduled to undergo Tuesday.

Mota, 35, pitched for the Dodgers in 2002 and '03, posting a 2.60 earned-run average as Eric Gagne's setup man. He was 5-6 with a 4.11 ERA in 58 games with the Milwaukee Brewers last season.

The Paul Lo Duca Goodwill Tour Continues

Sonia Lo Duca posed for Playboy's Sexy Girl Next Door spread in 2001. She married Paul in 2000, before his first full season in the majors, in which he hit .320 for the Dodgers.

—MSNBC

From "New Blue Jay Thomson rips Lo Duca's catching" (AP/ESPN.com):

TORONTO -- John Thomson was surprisingly candid Wednesday about one of the reasons he chose the Toronto Blue Jays over the Mets: He didn't want to pitch to New York catcher Paul Lo Duca.

Thomson agreed to a $500,000, one-year contract with the Blue Jays on Tuesday and will get a chance to win a spot in their rotation during spring training. The right-hander said the Mets also offered a major league deal, but he wasn't interested.

"As far as just looking at Paul Lo Duca across the field, I'm not really into how he acts behind the plate," Thomson said on a conference call. "I know a bit about [Toronto catcher] Gregg Zaun and I know he wants to win and he's not going to let anything get in his way to do that, and I like that.

"And then with Vernon Wells in center field, I'm not really concerned about the outfield with him out there. ... Just watching the Mets' outfield, if Cliff Floyd is still there it's not a real good fit for him out there. He can hit the ball, but as far as defense, he's a little shaky.

"I just liked what's happening in Toronto."

What happened to the Paulie we knew and loved? First it was the gambling thing, then the teenage affair and divorce from smokin' hot wife (baby-daughter-caught-up-in-mess division) thing, then the "fuck the Dodgers" thing.

Frankly, Paulie, we were behind you...until the "fuck the Dodgers" thing.

Oh, and way to burn bridges, John Thomson. The Sparkletts Man you are not.

UPDATE: And also not a researcher. From MLB Trade Rumors:

The thing is, the Mets have a guy in center field, goes by the name of Beltran...he's not too shabby with the glove. Other thing is, Floyd is a free agent and won't be back with the Mets. Still, in general, the Jays do have a better defensive outfield than the Mets. Mostly because of Shawn Green.

UPDATE: More Paulie hate, reported by Ken Rosenthal at FOXSports.com:

Blue Jays right-hander John Thomson is not alone in his criticism of Mets catcher Paul LoDuca. Many rival players believe LoDuca is overrated defensively, and some Mets officials are still miffed that LoDuca allowed right-hander Guillermo Mota to abandon his changeup in a pivotal at-bat against the Cardinals' Scott Spiezio in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. Mota got ahead 0-2 on changeups, but Spiezio hit a two-out, two-run double off a fastball to tie the score.