Dodger’s Off-Season:
After a season in which the Dodgers surprisingly tied San Diego for the second-best record in the National League and earned a wildcard playoff spot, and after the bitter taste of a first round playoff sweep at the hands of the Mets dissolved, off-season expectations included the potential return, given the appropriate personnel moves, to the status as one of the game’s consistently powerful organizations. Watching the Dodgers stumble in the post-season, the team’s foibles became glaringly obvious: a lack of power and insufficient pitching arms in the bullpen. The latter was due in part to the season-ending injuries suffered by both the team’s closer, Eric Gagne, and set-up man, Yhencey Brazoban, and to the drunken off-field inequities of Joe Beimel.
Failing to acquire a top-tier power hitter and, in fact, losing last season’s home-run leader, J.D. Drew, the Dodgers settled on re-signing fan favorite Nomar Garciaparra and tendering a one year deal to aging slugger Luis Gonzalez. Hoping that Rafael Furcal’s 2006 power surge was not an aberration and that the shortstop will be able to consistently hit in the three hole, Ned Colleti added the soft hitting, but cheetah-fast, centerfielder Juan Pierre. Though Pierre’s five year contract might seem excessive, if championships are built up the middle, Pierre, Furcal, and catcher Russell Martin are the potential all-star foundation of the Dodger’s hope for near-future success.
The largest off-season maneuver for Los Angeles was the free agent signing of pitcher Jason Schmidt. The acquisition serves a dual purpose by, first, bolstering a strong, though aging, starting rotation and, second, by swiping the ace away from the rival Giants. Along with the signing of south-paw Randy Wolf, and the re-signing of Mark Hendrickson, the addition of Schmidt gives the Dodgers arguably eight pitchers to choose from to fill out a starting rotation.
For Dodger supporters, perhaps the most difficult emotional transaction was the loss of closer Eric Gagne whose presence in the ninth inning captivated even the most fickle of Los Angeles fans. However, Colleti’s resolution represents both the fleeting and ephemeral existence of the career of a sports figure as well as a sound business decision. It is hard to imagine that Gagne will return to his pre-injury form. In less than two years, Colleti has stamped this organization with his own seal and has tightened the screws on what was, two years ago, a rapidly crumbling edifice. Perhaps the most important off-season decision that the general manager has made is one that does not involve a transaction at all: the steadfastness to sit on the highly touted minor league prospects that reside in the Dodger farm system. Colleti has the unenviable task of putting a winning team on the field now and ensuring perpetual future success. The 2007 Dodgers are a solid bunch and will compete for the National League West crown, but the off-season transactions, full of veteran acquisitions, are merely a holding pattern until the homegrown kids can be assessed to see if potential will translate into success.
