DODGERS ACQUIRE PITCHER BALDWIN.Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer Defying injury and most baseball logic proved to have an added bonus for the Dodgers on Thursday. It earned them a new starting pitcher Noun 1. starting pitcher - (baseball) a pitcher who starts in a baseball game baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; . The surprising Dodgers, who have remained in playoff contention despite losing three members of their rotation, received a needed boost when the White Sox sent veteran right-hander James Baldwin Noun 1. James Baldwin - United States author who was an outspoken critic of racism (1924-1987) Baldwin, James Arthur Baldwin to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. for the relatively cheap price of three minor-leaguers and a reported $500,000. Baldwin, 30, was 7-5 with a 4.61 ERA for the White Sox. But after getting off to a slow start following offseason arthroscopic shoulder surgery, Baldwin has won five of his last six decisions. To acquire Baldwin before Tuesday's trading deadline, the Dodgers gave up left-handed reliever Onan Masaoka Onan Kainoa Satoshi Masaoka (born October 27, 1977, in Hilo, Hawaii) was a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 3rd round of the 1995 MLB amateur draft, Masaoka would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Los Angeles , right-hander Gary Majewski Gary Wayne Majewski (born February 26, 1980) is a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds. He graduated in 1998 from St. Pius X High School in Houston, where he was unanimously selected for Houston Player of the Year for his achievement of maintaining a 1.64 ERA and a 14-3 record. and outfielder Jeff Barry. The Dodgers, who have won 20 of their last 27 games despite losing starters Darren Dreifort
``It speaks volumes and sends a very loud statement to all of us that (club management) sees what we've been doing, appreciates it very much, and they're going to give us an additional opportunity and a much better chance of continuing our journey to try and get to the postseason in October,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy
The Dodgers rotation was being held together by one established starter (Chan Ho Park), a converted reliever (Terry Adams
At Mary G. Montgomery High School he went 12-2 with a 1. ), two young pitchers (Eric Gagne, Luke Prokopec), a 36-year-old journeyman knuckleballer (Dennis Springer), spit and chewing gum. ``Considering the number of people who have gone down and been hurt, everybody who comes in steps up and does a great job,'' Dodgers chairman Robert Daly said. ``We looked around and had an opportunity to pick up a pitcher who could really help us. ``If we weren't playing well, it's a whole different ballgame.'' The Dodgers already had the National League's highest payroll at $110 million and Baldwin is owed approximately $2 million more on his $5.95 salary for this season. Baldwin, who has battled inconsistency throughout much of his six-year career (69-53, 5.09 ERA), will become a free agent at the end of the season. The deal was largely engineered by Dan Evans, senior advisor to interim general manager Dave Wallace. Evans spent his past 19 years in the White Sox organization. When asked last weekend in Colorado about Baldwin, Evans said there were better pitchers to go after because Chicago's asking price was too high. In fact, sources said the Dodgers were trying to get Albie Lopez of Tampa Bay (traded to Arizona Wednesday) and Gil Heredia of Oakland. Evans said the landscape changed on Baldwin when the White Sox lowered their asking price earlier in the week. Baldwin will be reunited in Los Angeles with Chad Kreuter, previously his personal catcher with the White Sox. Kreuter is already the personal catcher of Park, keeping their leading hitter, Paul Lo Duca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York) is a catcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the New York Mets. Previously, Lo Duca played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2004) and Florida Marlins (2004-2005). , out of the lineup at least once every five days. Dodgers officials said Kreuter was not going to also catch Baldwin and further reduce Lo Duca's playing time. Wallace said picking up Baldwin does not eliminate the Dodgers from making an additional deal. ``Absolutely not,'' Wallace said. ``He who hesitates is last in line. It's like fishing. You get a lot of bites and then all of a sudden you get a hit.'' The Dodgers are discussing a possible deal with Kansas City: shortstop Rey Sanchez for shortstop Alex Cora and a minor-leaguer. Sanchez will also be a free agent in the offseason. Baldwin, scheduled to start Sunday, said the Dodgers had not discussed extending his current one-year deal. ``I'm not worrying about that right now,'' Baldwin said. ``The great thing about this is, I'm going to a contending team.'' Baldwin had the look of an ace last year, when he started the season 7-0 before finishing a career-high 14-7 with a 4.65 ERA. Barry is a 32-year-old outfielder and Majewski only came to the Dodgers this season in the deal from the White Sox for Antonio Osuna. However, Masaoka is only 23 and a hard-throwing left-hander, and despite a disappointing 1999 season with the Dodgers, is considered a prospect. ``I think we're looking at this at re-establishing this organization to make people feel and believe, that we're in this for the long haul,''Tracy said. SHOT IN THE ARM A look at James Baldwin's performance both this year and for his career. The right-handed starting pitcher was traded Thursday to the Dodgers for three minor leaguers. 2001 - Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are a professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the White Sox have played in U.S. W L ERA IP H BB SO 7 5 4.61 95.2 56 38 42 Major-League Career W L ERAIP H BB SO 69 53 5.04 1,015.2 1,094 387 666 WHO'S GONE? A look at whom the Dodgers gave up to get James Baldwin ONAN MASAOKA 2001 - Las Vegas 51s The Las Vegas 51s (formerly the Las Vegas Stars) are a minor league baseball team. They are the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They play at Cashman Field (capacity 9,334) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team competes in the Pacific Coast League. (Triple-A) W L ERAIP H SO 1 1 4.00 27 23 27 Major-League Experience G W L ERA IP H SO 83 3 5 4.23 93.2 78 88 GARY MAJEWSKI 2001 - Vero Beach Dodgers (Single-A) W L ERA IP H SO 4 5 6.24 75 103 41 JEFF BARRY 2001 - Las Vegas 51s (Triple-A) G AB H R HR RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in 48 12633 20 3 15 Major-League Experience G AB H R HR RBI 104 217 53 25 5 28 CAPTION(S): photo, 2 boxes Photo: (color) no caption (James Baldwin) Box: (1) SHOT IN THE ARM (see text) (2) WHO'S GONE? (see text) |
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