*OFFICAL* L.A Dodgers Spring Training Thread! Vol. Baseball is almost here!

Dodgers reel in Kuroda with contract
Japanese righty agrees to three-year deal worth $35.3 million
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
12/15/07

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers won the bidding war for Japanese right-handed starter Hiroki Kuroda, reaching an agreement Saturday on a three-year, $35.3 million contract.

The Dodgers have set a press conference for noon PT Sunday to officially announce the deal.

"Kuroda was arguably the best starting pitcher on the free-agent market and will be a great addition to our staff," said general manager Ned Colletti. "There was a lot of competition for a pitcher of his ilk, and we're thrilled that he's chosen to become a Dodger and to make Los Angeles his home."

Kuroda, 32, will join a rotation that already features Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and Chad Billingsley. The fifth starter will come from a group of candidates that includes Jason Schmidt and Esteban Loaiza.
 
I'll take kuroda's price - as long as we didnt give up our farm system for a pitcher im goooooood.
 
Merry Christmas Dodger fans!!!

Can someone post the 08' dodger schedule?
We have a series with Boston?

If so I gotta get those tickets.
 
The series with Boston are exhibition games.

March 28 - 30. March 29 will be at the Coliseum, can't wait to check it out.
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Update - spring training cant come soon enough.

(all per mlbtraderumors.com)

The Dodgers have signed 11 players to minor league deals with invitations to Spring Training: RHP Tanyon Sturtze, RHP Mike Koplove, RHP Brian Falkenborg, RHPRick Asadoorian, RHP Fernando Desgue, RHP Greg Jones, LHP Brian Shackelford, OF John-Ford Griffin, 1B John Lindsey, IF Angel Chavez and C Danny Ardoin. Theaddition of Sturtze, coupled with the presence of Scott Proctor, gives Joe Torre two of his favorite abuse cases over the past few years.

Colletti Wants To Hang Onto Kemp

We've heard his name linked to potential trades for Miguel Cabrera, Erik Bedard, and Johan Santana, but if we're to believe Ned Colletti's currentstated position, Matt Kemp won't be going anywhere.

"I don't have any interest in trading Matt Kemp," general manager Ned Colletti said after new center fielder Andruw Jones was introduced to themedia on Wednesday.

Kemp has the potential to be a middle of the order force, and seeing as he's only 23 years old, he could fulfill that role for many years to come. Dishinghim as the centerpiece of a Cabrera, Bedard, or Santana deal would have made a degree of sense, but he was oftentimes mentioned alongside names like ClaytonKershaw and Jonathan Broxton.

This means the Dodgers plan to go into the season with Andruw Jones, Andre Ethier, and Juan Pierre as outfielders in addition to Kemp. Clearly, taking Pierreout of the starting lineup is the smart and logical move -- Kemp and Ethier project better at the corners, with Jones in center. But the $36.5 million left inhis contract probably keeps him in the starting eight.
 
News & Notes via www.dodgers.com

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Over the past 10 years, only 12 position players invited to Major League training camp have made the Dodgers' Opening Day roster.
Among them were Olmedo Saenz, who turned it into a four-year pinch-hitting gig, and Ramon Martinez, who is one of the 10 candidates in camp this spring. Martinez pulled it off in 2006 and played well enough to earn a guaranteed contract for '07, but he's back this year fighting for a utility job.

Here's a rundown on the non-roster position players invited to this year's Major League camp:

Danny Ardoin, 33, C: He has the Crash Davis resume of spending at least some time at Triple-A in each of the past nine seasons. He's logged 141 big league games behind the plate for Minnesota, Texas, Colorado and Baltimore, and was essentially the Rockies' starter in 2005 until tearing up his knee in a plate collision with Jose Cruz Jr. against the Dodgers. In 2007, he played for three organizations -- Washington, Houston and St. Louis.

Angel Chavez, 26, INF: The Panamanian is linked to both general manager Ned Colletti and manager Joe Torre, having spent six years in the Giants' system with Colletti and the last two in the Yankees' Minor League system. He played all four infield positions for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year, mostly at third base.

A.J. Ellis, 26, C: Andrew James Ellis is on a return trip to big league camp. He's got a big body (6-foot-3, 240 pounds) and is considered a defensive specialist. He started to show some power at the end of last season at Double-A, hitting five of his eight homers in August.

John-Ford Griffin, 28, OF: Anybody who has had Triple-A seasons of 30 and 28 home runs is intriguing, even more so for a 28-year-old former Yankees first-round Draft pick. The left-handed slugger was traded in the Jeff Weaver deal and played in the Blue Jays' organization since 2003. Shoulder problems ruined his 2006 season, but he says he's healthy now. Last season, he hit .252 with 26 homers and 83 RBIs in 133 games for Triple-A Syracuse.

Gabriel Gutierrez, 24, C: He's smaller than Russell Martin, but he was rated by Baseball America as the best defensive catcher in the Dodgers Minor League organization two years ago. He was signed by Mike Brito out of Mexico, where he played winter ball after spending the entire 2007 season at Class A Inland Empire. On the organizational depth chart, he seems to have been passed by converted third baseman Lucas May.


John Lindsey, 30, INF: After two seasons of playing in independent leagues, Lindsey returned to the organization and slugged more homers (30) and drove in more runs (121) than anyone else at any level, while splitting time between Triple-A and Double-A. Then he played winter ball in Mexico. Despite his power, he's never reached the Major Leagues.

George Lombard, 32, OF: The grandson of the dean of the Harvard Business School, Lombard hit .244 with four homers and 11 RBIs for Washington's Triple-A Columbus affiliate in a season marred by a thumb injury. He was a second-round Draft pick of Atlanta and a former Minor League teammate of Andruw Jones, and Lombard spurned a football scholarship to the University of Georgia to sign for $425,000, but his career has been sidetracked by various ailments.

Martinez, 35, INF: Martinez has nine full seasons of Major League experience, including the last two with the Dodgers, but here he is again, forced to make a club off a Minor League contract. He played all four infield positions for them last year and became only the second Dodger in recent history to finish a season with more RBIs (27) than base hits (25), but he batted only .194.

Rene Rivera, 24, C: Rivera never quite lived up to the hype of being a second-round Draft pick by Seattle out of Puerto Rico. He debuted in the Major Leagues at age 20 and had service time with the Mariners three consecutive years from 2004-06, but spent the entire 2007 season at Double-A.

Terry Tiffee, 28, INF: Tiffee is a 28-year-old insurance policy at third base. He's a switch-hitter who's spent most of his career with Minnesota, with a brief stint in Baltimore's system. He made big league appearances in three consecutive seasons, but missed out in 2007 and signed with the Dodgers as a six-year Minor League free agent.


The Bold are the ones I think are a possibility to look out for. I feel bad for Ramon, dude plays his guts out night in and night out and always ends up as a camp invitee. Goodluck to dude.
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