Uribe donning a stylish getup in the Dodgers clubhouse.
Juan Uribe is the current starting third baseman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He underwent one of the most dramatic redemptions by any Dodger in recent history, going from whipping boy to folk hero.
Signing[]
On October 11, 2010, Mike Petriello wrote a blog post outlining his offseason plan for 2011, which included signing Uribe to a $5 million 1-year deal. When the Dodgers signed Uribe to a $22 million 3-year deal, Mike wrote another blog post saying that while there were some upsides (including guaranteeing that Ryan Theriot wouldn't be returning), he disliked the signing since it was for too many years and too much money. "Look forward to paying Uribe $10 million in 2013!" he sarcastically concluded.
2011[]
Despite the opinion that he was overpaid, Mike did not dislike Uribe as a player at first, even proposing that the Dodgers bat him 2nd in the lineup against right-handed pitchers before the start of the 2011 season.
Uribe did not get off to a bad start, and on April 29th he was batting .256 with a .742 OPS. That proved to be his high point, though, as he slumped terribly in May and June. By July 24, he was batting .204 with only 4 home runs, and lost his job in the starting lineup. The signing was now hailed as a disaster, and Mike bet that Uribe would not even hit 1 home run per million dollars on the remainder of his contract.
The 404 page of MSTI.
2012[]
At the beginning of the 2012 season, Mike revamped his site and changed the 404 page to feature a jab at the underperforming player.
Uribe was given another chance as starting third baseman, and again got off to a mediocre but not terrible start. In April, he batted .267 with a .313 OBP. He slumped horribly in May and June, however, and again lost his position as starting 3rd baseman to Luis Cruz.
2013[]
Mere words cannot describe the turnaround Uribe had in 2013. Memorable moments abounded including a game winning HR in the Carlos Quentin brawl game and a 3-HR game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 9th. Juan ended the season with a TSL of .278/.331/.438 and 12 home runs which coupled with his stellar defense at third netted him a 5.1 fWAR on the season, making him the 7th most valuable third baseman in baseball for the 2013 season.
In the 2013 NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, Uribe earned his status as a folk hero. In Game 3, he hit a 2-run home run in the 4th inning to put the Dodgers up 10-4. The next night the Dodgers entered Game 4 up 2-1 in the series and sending Clayton Kershaw to the mound on 3 days rest. Despite Kershaw throwing a great game, a few costly fielding errors left the Dodgers trailing 3-2 going into the bottom of the 8th inning. After a double by Yasiel Puig to lead off the inning, Uribe was asked to bunt. After fouling off the first two pitches, Uribe worked the count to 2-2 and then did this, a two-run home run to put the Dodgers up 4-3, a score which would hold up as the Dodgers took the series against the Braves 3-1. Furthermore, the home run was his 20th as a Dodger, leaving him just one short of causing Mike (who was in attendance for Games 3 and 4) to lose his bet.