Tony Gwynn Jr. was non-tendered by the Padres, but ESPN Los Angels reports that he may be good enough to start for the Dodgers:
As he prepared to leave baseball’s quarterly owners’ meetings, [Ned] Colletti said Gwynn’s speed and defensive ability were strong enough that if he can return to form offensively — he hit just .204 for the San Diego Padres last year — he could wind up as the regular center fielder, withMatt Kemp moving to right and Andre Ethier to left.
I don’t know what “return to form” means in DodgerLand, but Gwynn has hit just .244/.323/.314 in 1,054 plate appearances. He’s 28. What you see is what you get.
Which doesn’t mean he’s useless, of course. He’s got a great glove and he’s fast. If he can pull off even a slight uptick from his career norms – if he can get just one extra flare a week, just one – a gork, a groundball, a groundball with eyes … if he can get a dying quail, just one more dying quail a week — he could be a useful starter.
Personally, though, I’d rather have Matt Kemp in center and a nice platoon in left involving Jay Gibbons and someone.
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- Utley's Hair - Jan 13, 2011 at 5:47 PM
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A Dodger? That would make for some contentious dinners with Dad, wouldn’t it?
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- clydeserra - Jan 13, 2011 at 9:45 PM
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Chris Gwynn, tony’s brother, was a dodger for some time. Also, I doubt major league baseball players care.
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- ramsbladdercup - Jan 13, 2011 at 5:49 PM
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Ya know, for a chick flick, that movie had some pretty good baseball lines.
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- cup0pizza - Jan 13, 2011 at 8:21 PM
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The Dodgers are gonna SUCK.
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- xpensivewinos - Jan 13, 2011 at 9:50 PM
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That collective “woo-hoo” you hear is the rest of the NL West……
He’s just lousy.
