Matt Kemp and Orlando Hudson have accomplished what no other tandem in Dodger history have done: winning Gold Glove Awards.
The National League winners were announced today, and Kemp and Hudson each won the prestigious award. For Hudson, it's his fourth, and for Kemp, it's his first. Both led the way for a Dodger team that won 95 games and went to the NLCS.
Both Cesar Izturis and Steve Finley won the award in 2004, but Finley was acquired at the trade deadline. Hudson and Kemp are the first pair in team history to win it while being with the club all season.
Hudson finished with a .988 fielding percentage, while committing only eight errors. He made the All-Star team for a terrific first half, though he was eventually replaced by a hot Ronnie Belliard as the playoffs approached. Still, Hudson's slick glove was a pleasure to watch all season long.
Kemp improved by leaps and bounds this year, as he turned untapped potential into the real thing. He was third in the majors with 14 outfield assists and made only two errors. His speed gave him range all over the outfield. He was basically a highlight waiting to happen at any moment.
Each of their gloves was a big factor in giving the Dodgers 95 wins, an NLCS berth, and a .986 fielding percentage, good for fourth in the league.
Showing posts with label Hudson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hudson. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Don't expect O-Dog back
It appears as if Orlando Hudson will be one-and-done with the Dodgers.
After being benched during the playoffs in favor of Ronnie Belliard, the chances of Hudson resigning with the Dodgers are slim at best. He will once again test his worth on the free agent market.
There's a couple of reasons for this. The first is obvious - he was benched. To his credit, he didn't make a fuss about this at all, but nonetheless, it was a blow to him. Who knows how well he would have done if he was the starter, but Belliard ended up getting at least a hit in all eight games for a .300 AVG.
The second reason is that Hudson will be one of the top second baseman on the open market, much like last year. His top competition are names like Freddy Sanchez, Felipe Lopez, and, ironically, Belliard. So, it looks like he'll have plenty of options.
Hudson had quite the roller coaster year. His average through May was .332, and he earned an All-Star nod. He ended the year with at .283, including an awful .222 in June and .237 in September. His role of hitting in the second spot went away, along with playing time to Belliard.
The Dodgers seem like they have three choices here. The first two are to resign either Hudson or Belliard to be the starter. The other is to possibly call upon Blake DeWitt again. But, I would think they'd want to resign Hudson or Belliard.
It's never easy to tell where free agents will go, and keep in mind that Hudson went unsigned for a very long time last offseason. There's always a possibility of coming back, but after going from All-Star to benchwarmer in October, it looks like that ship has sailed.
After being benched during the playoffs in favor of Ronnie Belliard, the chances of Hudson resigning with the Dodgers are slim at best. He will once again test his worth on the free agent market.
There's a couple of reasons for this. The first is obvious - he was benched. To his credit, he didn't make a fuss about this at all, but nonetheless, it was a blow to him. Who knows how well he would have done if he was the starter, but Belliard ended up getting at least a hit in all eight games for a .300 AVG.
The second reason is that Hudson will be one of the top second baseman on the open market, much like last year. His top competition are names like Freddy Sanchez, Felipe Lopez, and, ironically, Belliard. So, it looks like he'll have plenty of options.
Hudson had quite the roller coaster year. His average through May was .332, and he earned an All-Star nod. He ended the year with at .283, including an awful .222 in June and .237 in September. His role of hitting in the second spot went away, along with playing time to Belliard.
The Dodgers seem like they have three choices here. The first two are to resign either Hudson or Belliard to be the starter. The other is to possibly call upon Blake DeWitt again. But, I would think they'd want to resign Hudson or Belliard.
It's never easy to tell where free agents will go, and keep in mind that Hudson went unsigned for a very long time last offseason. There's always a possibility of coming back, but after going from All-Star to benchwarmer in October, it looks like that ship has sailed.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Dodgers land 3 All-Star berths
Congratulations to Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, and Orlando Hudson for earning a trip to St. Louis for the All-Star Game on July 14.
Billingsley has been an ace for the Dodgers this season with a current record of 9-4. His ERA, BAA, and K's are in the top 10 of the National League. His development into the main guy on the staff has been huge as the Dodgers lost Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, and Greg Maddux from last season.
Broxton has just been an absolute monster this year. He has 20 saves, blown only two, and has gathered six wins. Like Bills, he's stepped up into a key role after the departure of Takashi Saito. Simply one of the best closers in the game, and only getting better.
Hudson is one of two reserve second basemen along with Freddy Sanchez of the Pirates. O-Dog has been a fantastic signing this offseason, as his glove has been every bit the Gold Glove that it's been in the past. A very rough June at the plate has made his average tailspin to .288 (it was .332 on June 1), but he's still a key component in front of Manny Ramirez.
Billingsley has been an ace for the Dodgers this season with a current record of 9-4. His ERA, BAA, and K's are in the top 10 of the National League. His development into the main guy on the staff has been huge as the Dodgers lost Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, and Greg Maddux from last season.
Broxton has just been an absolute monster this year. He has 20 saves, blown only two, and has gathered six wins. Like Bills, he's stepped up into a key role after the departure of Takashi Saito. Simply one of the best closers in the game, and only getting better.
Hudson is one of two reserve second basemen along with Freddy Sanchez of the Pirates. O-Dog has been a fantastic signing this offseason, as his glove has been every bit the Gold Glove that it's been in the past. A very rough June at the plate has made his average tailspin to .288 (it was .332 on June 1), but he's still a key component in front of Manny Ramirez.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Orlando Hudson signs with the Dodgers
Not long after I got done writing about the possibility of adding Orlando Cabrera, it was the original Orlando that signed on the dotted line. The Dodgers just announced that Orlando Hudson has signed a 1-year, $3.38 million deal with up to $4.6 million in incentives.
I'm glad I said before that I'd rather have Hudson, because now I feel pretty darn good about this deal. He has a great glove to shore up the middle of the infield with Rafael Furcal. The Dodgers have to be feeling really good about their defense in the infield now.
I've talked plenty about Hudson's OBP, which was at .367 last year. That's the main reason I liked him over Cabrera, because he can move Furcal over or get on base himself. If the Dodgers do get Manny Ramirez back, then a Furcal-Hudson-Manny trio at the top of the order looks really good.
Kudos to the Dodgers for making this happen. But my feeling is that none of it will matter if Manny doesn't come back. Well, it'll matter simply because signing guys like Hudson and Randy Wolf are good decisions regardless if Manny returns. But still, they need him back in order for every piece to fall in place.
Other than Manny, about the only move I can see left is adding another reliever. A couple names I've seen are Denys Reyes and Jason Isringhausen.
I'm glad I said before that I'd rather have Hudson, because now I feel pretty darn good about this deal. He has a great glove to shore up the middle of the infield with Rafael Furcal. The Dodgers have to be feeling really good about their defense in the infield now.
I've talked plenty about Hudson's OBP, which was at .367 last year. That's the main reason I liked him over Cabrera, because he can move Furcal over or get on base himself. If the Dodgers do get Manny Ramirez back, then a Furcal-Hudson-Manny trio at the top of the order looks really good.
Kudos to the Dodgers for making this happen. But my feeling is that none of it will matter if Manny doesn't come back. Well, it'll matter simply because signing guys like Hudson and Randy Wolf are good decisions regardless if Manny returns. But still, they need him back in order for every piece to fall in place.
Other than Manny, about the only move I can see left is adding another reliever. A couple names I've seen are Denys Reyes and Jason Isringhausen.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Hudson still being targetted
While the world is still waiting to see if Manny Ramirez will grace the Dodgers with his presence, the Dodgers are still the front-runners to sign 2B Orlando Hudson. Even with the pursuit of Manny, GM Ned Colletti says that he has flexibility to add Hudson as well.
As of now, the Dodgers have about $75 million committed to this season, well below the $120 million from last season. But, you have to remember that Manny's deal could easily push that up another $20-$25 million, plus Hudson's potential deal. Hudson originally wanted $10 million per, but that's just not going to happen. They still won't be near last year's salary even if both come in, though.
A double-play combination of Hudson and Rafael Furcal could be fun to see, but how often can we expect to see that? Both are coming off major injuries last year that kept them out a big chunk of the season. Hudson broke his left wrist last year, keeping him out for 2 months. Could that injury be making GM's gun shy about signing him? It's a possibility.
In my mind, I think signing Hudson could be a nice boost, but it's not extremely important like getting Manny back would be. He's always been a solid player, as his glove is among the best in the league. But he's also handled the bat pretty well the last 2 years, with AVG's of .294 and .305 and OBP's of .376 and .367. He'd be a nice option in the #2 hole to move Furcal over and get on base himself.
Blake DeWitt fans may not be crazy about this, and I understand that. But he is still is only 23 and has plenty of time to progress. He had his share of ups and downs last season, and was clearly overmatched in the NLCS against the Phillies. I'm sure he'll be fine.
Here's a scenario to consider from RotoWire: if Manny doesn't resign and Hudson does sign, then perhaps Hudson plays 2nd, DeWitt 3rd, and Casey Blake goes to LF. I'd be very surprised if that does happen since good ol' Juan "For Five" Pierre is still there with that huge contract.
As of now, the Dodgers have about $75 million committed to this season, well below the $120 million from last season. But, you have to remember that Manny's deal could easily push that up another $20-$25 million, plus Hudson's potential deal. Hudson originally wanted $10 million per, but that's just not going to happen. They still won't be near last year's salary even if both come in, though.
A double-play combination of Hudson and Rafael Furcal could be fun to see, but how often can we expect to see that? Both are coming off major injuries last year that kept them out a big chunk of the season. Hudson broke his left wrist last year, keeping him out for 2 months. Could that injury be making GM's gun shy about signing him? It's a possibility.
In my mind, I think signing Hudson could be a nice boost, but it's not extremely important like getting Manny back would be. He's always been a solid player, as his glove is among the best in the league. But he's also handled the bat pretty well the last 2 years, with AVG's of .294 and .305 and OBP's of .376 and .367. He'd be a nice option in the #2 hole to move Furcal over and get on base himself.
Blake DeWitt fans may not be crazy about this, and I understand that. But he is still is only 23 and has plenty of time to progress. He had his share of ups and downs last season, and was clearly overmatched in the NLCS against the Phillies. I'm sure he'll be fine.
Here's a scenario to consider from RotoWire: if Manny doesn't resign and Hudson does sign, then perhaps Hudson plays 2nd, DeWitt 3rd, and Casey Blake goes to LF. I'd be very surprised if that does happen since good ol' Juan "For Five" Pierre is still there with that huge contract.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Dodgers could make big moves very soon
After all the talk this offseason about signing Manny Ramirez, it appears as if he's not the only one who could be targeted. Sources close to the team are saying that within the next few days, both Manny and Orlando Hudson could land in LA.
We all know the impact of getting Manny back would have. He basically is the difference between the offense being a factor every night and having to scratch and claw for every run like before. If he's there, the confidence of the Dodgers would understandably be sky-high.
So now, let's focus on Hudson. The "O-Dog" played his last 3 years with the Arizona Diamondbacks as their 2nd baseman. He declared himself a free agent in the offseason hoping to find a big deal, but that hasn't happened. Coming to the Dodgers would probably be only for a year and between $5-$7 million.
Offensively, he's not at all a power hitter, maybe getting about 10 homers a year. But he can get on base, as he's gathered OBP% of .367 and .378 the last couple of seasons. The story with him is his incredible fielding ability. He has a career .985 fielding %, to go along with 3 straight Gold Glove awards in 2005-2007. He probably would've extended that last season had he not dislocated his left wrist, forcing him to appear in only 107 games.
We'll see what, if anything, comes from this. Getting Manny is huge, but Hudson would probably be met with mixed feelings. On one hand, he'll make your defense that much better, and can team with Rafael Furcal at the top of the order to set the table. But, that could also stall the development of Blake DeWitt, which I'm not sure is the right thing to do now. We need to remember that DeWitt is still young, so having him be a bench player for now might not be the worst thing in the world.
We all know the impact of getting Manny back would have. He basically is the difference between the offense being a factor every night and having to scratch and claw for every run like before. If he's there, the confidence of the Dodgers would understandably be sky-high.
So now, let's focus on Hudson. The "O-Dog" played his last 3 years with the Arizona Diamondbacks as their 2nd baseman. He declared himself a free agent in the offseason hoping to find a big deal, but that hasn't happened. Coming to the Dodgers would probably be only for a year and between $5-$7 million.
Offensively, he's not at all a power hitter, maybe getting about 10 homers a year. But he can get on base, as he's gathered OBP% of .367 and .378 the last couple of seasons. The story with him is his incredible fielding ability. He has a career .985 fielding %, to go along with 3 straight Gold Glove awards in 2005-2007. He probably would've extended that last season had he not dislocated his left wrist, forcing him to appear in only 107 games.
We'll see what, if anything, comes from this. Getting Manny is huge, but Hudson would probably be met with mixed feelings. On one hand, he'll make your defense that much better, and can team with Rafael Furcal at the top of the order to set the table. But, that could also stall the development of Blake DeWitt, which I'm not sure is the right thing to do now. We need to remember that DeWitt is still young, so having him be a bench player for now might not be the worst thing in the world.
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