ishXdavid

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 11:48:16 -0800

Great post, and I feel your pain. Have heart though because the future is still bright. As bad as the Pierre deal seems, the worst off-season pick-up was Jason Schmidt. Granted, the free agent pitching market was thin last year but throwing away $47M for a washed-up power pitcher who can't break 90 on the gun set the club back more than wasting $45M on a slap-hitting centerfielder. The Dodgers are power-deficient, but Kemp and Ethier didn't a full season, and we're now finding out that Loney does indeed have some pop in his bat. For A-Rod to opt out of his deal now, he'd have to almost be sure that he would get a more lucrative deal than the record-smashing one he signed back with Texas. I don't think the Dodgers can afford $25M+/year nor do I think they should attempt to dedicate such a large percentage of the payroll to one player. The NL West is a pitcher's division and the Dodgers pitching will be a huge question mark next season. If I'm not mistaken, Derek Lowe's contract is up this season so that leaves us with Brad Penny, Chad Billingsley, and a bunch of stiffs. The FA pitching market is supposed to be worse off this year, and there aren't any reinforcements coming from the farm system as our top prospects are still 1-2 years away.

LAist: With the Number Four Goes the Death of the Season

ishXdavid