I forgot Jason Repko
He is also eligible for arbitration. That makes four guys -- Ethier, Martin, Broxton and Repko -- that the Dodgers will go through the process with. Just a primer, the way it works is that the club will try to reach agreement with each of the four in advance of arbitration -- that is what is known as ``avoiding arbitration.'' If a player doesn't reach an agreement, he will exchange salary figures with the club, then go to a hearing in early February in Phoenix, where a three-person panel will choose either the club's figure or the player's figure, with no wiggle room in between. There is also a period between the exchanging of figures and the actual hearing when the two sides still can reach an agreement and avoid a hearing.
I would think that the Dodgers are a SS away right now from the Opening Day starting lineup with that SS likely arriving via a trade. Sad but true, but the OF is too crowded, barring a trade, for a Manny signing (not to mention the cost of "Dream Fields"). Starting pitching has become a priority in my eyes. There are some very intriguing name son the FA list here are some that caught my attention:
Ben Sheets (knows Lasorda from Team USA), Mark Mulder (reclamation or cooked?), John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Randy Johnson and Andy Petite (ex-Yankees discussed in rumors ad nausium). Some neet "second-second tier" guys as well with names like Bartolo Colon, Jon Garland, Chuck James (b*tch!), Jason Jennings, and Shawn Estes.
I would not be surprised to see one or two of those names on the back of some Dodger jersey's next year.
"Ned Man Walking"
My guess is, the off-season moves to bolster the offense will be complete after the Jack Wilson for Hu and Young trade (hopefully upgraded to include Grabow for Greg Miller and choice of AJ Ellis/Lucas May) in addition to the FA signings of Tony Clark and Angel Berroa. Colletti is basically a Lame Duck GM. The guy is on the last year of his contract and ownership is unloading salary like a garage barge.
Our pitching needs are obvious and have been addressed by the coaching staff numerous times in published reports. At the same time the FA market for starting pitchers is thinner than Johnny Depp’s mustache so it is gonna be fun!
Dont' sign Manny; Let Jones/Pierre/Schmidit contracts expire...sign LeBron in 2010...
Bruin,
FYI, Pierre's contract still has 3 years and $28.5 million remaining.
Does this mean the Dodgers have no chance at LeBron?
The Lakers might sign him if the Cavs are dumb enough to let him go. ;-)