December 19, 2005
Young Diamond
It looks like Kenny Lofton will sign with the Dodgers, according to this report in the Arizona Republic. The Diamondbacks were attempting to sign the veteran outfielder. This means that Chris Young, the prospect the Diamondbacks obtained from the White Sox has a better chance of making the team in the spring.
re: Kenny "ageless" lofton
last year, the phillies CF platoon of Michaels and Lofton actually had more than 20 win shares collectively, more than ten from Lofton and more than ten from Michaels. Collectively, it was one of the most productive OF spots in the majors, let alone the National League.
However, given that Lofton did not perform as well the prior two years, he will probably regress to the mean this year. Also, at age 40 something, he has a chance of complete career collapse.
Dodger Stadium will not hurt his game, which is mostly slap and grounder hitting at this point.
It's hard to remember, but in his 20s he was a ferocious hitter who could hit the ball anywhere and hit from 15-20 triples and 10-20 homers a year, and stole upwards of 50 bases a year. Lofton in his decline phase is still a very fine player.
--arthur john kyriazis