With incompetent general mangers like Fred Claire, Kevin Malone, Dan Evans, and Ned Colletti, the Dodgers have made some of baseball's worst decisions over the last couple decades. Here are a few trades, free-agent signings, and general baseball decisions that make many Dodger fans want to throw up.

• 1966 - Trading Maury Wills
• 1977 - Bill Buckner for Rick Monday
• 1978 - Allowing Tommy John to leave LA for NY
• 1980 - Signing Dave Goltz & Don Stanhouse
• 1981 - John Franco for Rafael Landestoy
• 1982 - Rick Sutcliffe for Jack Fimple
• 1983 - Ron Cey for Vance Lovelace
• 1983 - Dave Stewart for Rick Honeycutt
• 1983 - Sid Fernandez for Carlos Diaz and Bob Bailor
• 1988 - Pedro Guerrero for John Tudor
• 1989 - Not trading Hamilton and Wetteland for Bonds
• 1990 - Signing Darryl Strawberry
• 1991 - Belcher and Wetteland for Eric Davis
• 1992 - Passing up Vladimir Guerrero (twice)
• 1993 - Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields
• 1998 - Trading Mike Piazza
• 1998 - Konerko and Reyes for Jeff Shaw
• 1998 - Signing Carlos Perez to an extension
• 1998 - Johnson and Cedeno for Todd Hundley
• 1998 - Signing Devon White
• 1999 - Forcing Mike Scioscia out of the organization
• 1999 - Not trading Ismael Valdes for Jim Edmonds
• 1999 - Eric Young and Valdes for Terry Adams
• 1999 - Breaking the bank for Kevin Brown
• 2000 - Signing Darren Dreifort to a 5-year deal
• 2000 - Todd Hollandsworth for Tom Goodwin
• 2001 - Mike Fetters for Terry Mulholland
• 2002 - Grudzielanek and Karros for Todd Hundley
• 2003 - Signing Fred McGriff
• 2003 - Trading for Daryle Ward
• 2004 - Trading Paul Lo Duca and Guillermo Mota
• 2005 - Trading Shawn Green for Dioner Navarro
• 2006 - Duaner Sanchez for Jae Seo and Tim Hamulack
• 2006 - Signing Brett Tomko
• 2006 - Trading Tiffany and Jackson for Baez and Carter
• 2006 - Trading Joel Guzman for Julio Lugo
• 2007 - Signing Jason Schmidt
• 2007 - Signing Juan Pierre
• 2008 - Signing Andruw Jones

After the 1966 season, the Dodgers traded team captain Maury Wills to Pittsburgh for Bob Bailey (.227 in two seasons with L.A.) and Gene Michael (.202 in his only season in blue). Wills was traded primarily because he refused to accompany the team on a post-season tour of Japan. Maury wanted to be paid for the tour (as he and the other players should have been) but Walter O'Malley wouldn't pony up the dough. Wills was the only one who stood up to the old man, and for that he was shipped to Pittsburgh. Years later, the Dodgers reacquired Wills, but many fans still harbored bitterness over the original trade.

On January 11, 1977, the Dodgers traded Bill Buckner, Ivan DeJesus, and a minor leaguer to the Chicago Cubs for Rick Monday and pitcher Mike Garman. From a baseball point of view, the deal had to be done. Buckner's knee was shot, and he could only play first base (which belonged to Steve Garvey in L.A.). Buckner hit around .300 for a number of years after the trade, and Monday had some great moments as a Dodger depite his nagging back injuries. This trade, however, was ultimately a terrible one because it eventually led to Monday to a seat in the Dodger broadcast booth.

The Dodgers acquired Tommy John from the Chicago White Sox for Richie Allen on December 2, 1971. (That's two guys, and four first names, by the way.) John put up terrific numbers in six seasons as a Dodger, winning 87 and losing only 42. And, of course, he rebounded after his famous 1974 elbow surgery. As a re-entry free-agent after the 1978 season, however, John signed with the Yankees because the Dodgers were too cheap. John won 43 games in his first two seasons in New York, and continued to pitch productively for a number of years.

After the 1979 season, the Dodgers signed reliever Dave Goltz to a $3-million deal for six years. He was a complete bust, going 9-9 with a 4.61 ERA, and was released after two games in 1982. The worst part was that the Dodgers wound up bidding against themselves, making the final three offers Goltz received. Then they signed reliever Don Stanhouse to a five year, $2.1 million deal (remember, this is 1979). Stanhouse fared even worse than Goltz, lasting only one year and posting a hideous 5.04 ERA. Can't blame Fox for these deals.

John Franco, one of the most successful relievers of all-time, was drafted by the Dodgers in the 5th round of the 1981 draft. He made it as far as Triple-A in the Dodgers organization, and was traded to the Reds for infielder and piece of crap Rafael Landestoy on June 8, 1981. Franco has gone on to save 422 games in the majors. Landestoy has gone on to save 422 boogers from his goddamn nose.

In 1982, the Dodgers sent Rick Sutcliffe (two years removed from being Rookie of the Year) and Jack Perconte to the Indians for Jack Fimple, Jorge Orta, and Larry White. Fimple went on to hit .250, .192, and .077 in parts of three seasons with the Dodgers (before taking a job at Jiffy Lube). Orta hit .217 in his one year in blue. Sutcliffe—who was essentially traded because of a feud with Tommy Lasorda—went on to win the Cy Young Award in '84, play for 13 more seasons, and win 149 games.

Ron Cey was definitely in the twilight of his career in 1983, but he was beloved in L.A. and certainly worth more than Vance Lovelace and Dan Cataline, two minor league pitchers in the Cubs organization. Turns out Cey still had a bit left, hitting 88 home runs for the Cubs and A's after the Dodgers traded him. Lovelace, meanwhile, never made it to the majors with the Dodgers, and only briefly made it at all—five years later. As for Cataline, well, you've seen the guy selling oranges in the median...

In limited use with the Dodgers, Dave Stewart was effective, putting together a 16-13 record over three seasons. But on August 19, 1983, the 26-year-old was traded to Texas for starter Rick Honeycutt. Stewart went on to win 152 more games in the major leagues while Honeycutt, a star with Texas, would do poorly in Los Angeles. In 4 seasons with the team, Honeycutt was 33-45. Good enough, however, to later become the team's pitching coach.

Sid Fernandez began his career with the Dodgers, appearing in two games in 1983. Despite a couple no-hitters in the minors, the Dodgers quickly gave up on Fernandez—primarily because of his weight. In December of '83, he was shipped to the Mets in exchange for utility man Bob Bailor and pitcher Carlos Diaz. Fernandez soon blossomed, striking out 180 batters in 170 innings in 1985, finishing with a 2.80 ERA. He went on to win 114 games in his career and have a respectable 3.36 ERA. Meanwhile, Carlos Diaz spent three unmemorable years with L.A., and Bailor knocked in a grand total of 15 runs before retiring.

Pedro Guerrero had always been sketchy in the field for the Dodgers, but was always solid with the bat. Since he was eligible for free agency at the end of the 1988 season, however, the Dodgers decided to deal him and strenghten the team for the stretch run. What they got in return, however, was John Tudor. The Mets hit Tudor hard in the '88 LCS, and Tudor had to take himself out of Game Three of the World Series in the second inning with an elbow injury. The same injury limited him to just 8 1/3 innings the next season. Tudor never really wanted to be a Dodger, making that clear when the trade was made, and eventually returned to the Cardinals in 1990. Guerrero, meanwhile, had one good season in St. Louis and a few mediocre ones, and then ran into off-the-field trouble after his career ended. Even so, the trade ranks up there as one of the more lousy ones.

Little is said about a 1989 deal that would have brought Barry Bonds to the Dodgers, but this much is known: The Pirates were shopping Bonds in the winter of '89. Rumors swirled of a Jeff Hamilton and John Wetteland for Barry Bonds trade. Fred Claire acknowledged that he was having ongoing talks with the Pirates, and Pirates GM Larry Doughty denied that the deal was about to take place—which is usally a sign to the contrary. Within a week, however, the Dodgers went out and picked up Juan Samuel and Hubie Brooks, lessening the need for another outfielder. Presumably they weren't ready to give up on their third baseman of the future, Jeff Hamilton, and Fred Claire killed the Bonds deal.

Amid much fanfare and media attention, the Dodgers signed Darryl Strawberry to a $20.25 million, five-year contract before the 1991 season. In his first and only full season with the team, Strawberry hit 28 home runs and knocked in 99. The honeymoon—if you can call it that—was over shortly thereafter. Strawberry played only 43 games in 1992 before going on the DL for the third time that season. He underwent season-ending back surgery and really never physically recovered. He spent more time on the DL in '93, playing in only 32 games, and posting a horrendous .140 average with 5 HR and 12 RBI. Apparently bored with nothing to do, Strawberry was arrested that September for striking Charisse Simons, the 26-year-old woman he lived with. On April 3, 1994, Strawberry failed to show up for the Dodgers' final exhibition game against the Angels, and wasn't located until later that night. After a stay at the Betty Ford Clinic (which would obviously prove to be a complete waste of time), Strawberry was released by Dodgers on May 26th, but not before he was given $4,857,143—which included half his 1995 salary. Sadly enough, releasing Strawberry actually proved to be one of the Dodgers best moves.

In November of 1991 the Dodgers threw in the towel on 23-year-old John Wetteland and traded him to the Reds along with Tim Belcher for Eric Davis and pitcher Kip Gross. Wetteland went on to save 330 games in the majors—just one of those with the Dodgers. Belcher played for another 9 seasons, and though he didn't put up spectacular numbers, he was a solid pitcher. The Dodgers had high expectations for the injury-prone Eric Davis, but he played in just 76 games in 1992, suffering a fractured left wrist, a sprained left shoulder and a herniated disc in his neck. His reunion with childhood friend Darryl Strawberry proved to be a disaster, and Davis was gone halfway through the '93 season. As for Kip Gross, well, it's not even worth the time.

Dodger scouts in the Dominican Republic were first in line to sign Vladimir Guerrero. Five hundred dollars, however, separated Guerrero from what the Dodgers were offering. The Dodgers ended up with his piece of crap brother Wilton, and Vladimir, of course, signed with Montreal, where he's gone on to put up hall-of-fame numbers. They'll spend $6 million on Gregg Olson, but won't shell out another $500 for a promising young outfielder. Of course, Vladimir would haunt the Dodgers again in 2004, this time signing with the Angels after the unresolved Dodger ownership situation prevented Dan Evans from offering him a deal.

This may be the most lopsided deal in baseball history. After going 10-5 as a Dodgers rookie in 1993, Pedro Martinez was traded to Montreal in a straight-up deal for second baseman Delino DeShields. Pedro Martinez could have been a lifelong Dodger. The Impact: Martinez went 55-33 in four seasons in Montreal and won his first Cy Young Award in 1997, when he went 17-8 with an ERA of 1.90. Then, after being dealt to Boston, Pedro won two more Cy Youngs, was elected to the all-star team six times, and continued to prove he's one of the best pitchers of all time. As for DeShields, he played just three seasons with the Dodgers and never hit better than .256... which he later blamed on the Dodgers' lack of black guys.

May 15, 1998... a day that will live in infamy. After rejecting the Dodgers' $84 million contract offer, Piazza was traded to the Marlins along with Todd Zeile for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, and Tourettes-inflicted Jim Eisenreich. While Sheffield certainly paid dividends for the Dodgers, putting up solid numbers for three years he was in LA, the Piazza trade marked the beginning of the end of Dodger tradition. It was Fox's first major move, and it showed how much they knew about baseball: nothing. The move was engineered by two TV guys, Peter Chernin and Chase Carey. Fred Claire, as lousy as he was, would never have made such a move--trading a certain Hall of Famer in his prime, the cornerstone of the organization, a guy loved by fans. After the trade, Piazza went on to hit 250 more home runs. Still sickening.

Getting rid of fat Dennis Reyes was a good thing. Losing Paul Konerko was not. This was Tommy Lasorda's biggest move in his short time as general manger, and odds are even he'd admit that he didn't know what the hell he was doing. As it turned out, Shaw had an out clause in his contract he could have exercised, and the Dodgers could have easily been left with nothing. Luckily, for Lasorda's sake, the Dodgers managed to convince Shaw to stay. Dodger fans weren't so lucky, though, witnessing Shaw's countless blown saves and close scares. Konerko, who was only 22 at the time and considered the best hitting prospect in the Dodgers organization, has gone on to hit almost 300 home runs and become one of the best hitters in baseball.

After coming to the Dodgers late in the 1988 season and making a few good starts, Perez was signed to a ludicrous $15.5 million, three-year contract. Thus began his total collapse. He stunk in '99, got worse in 2000, and was finally released in May 2001 after spending parts of two seasons back in the minors. Over the course of his contract, Perez was 7-18 with a 6.28 ERA in the majors, and 3-4 with a 6.51 ERA in the minors. One of the more memorable Perez moments involved him slugging a water cooler with a bat in the Dodger dugout after being removed from a game in '99. Of course we can't forget his drunk-driving arrest in Vero Beach or his attack on a Delta flight attendant, who eventually sued the team, claiming Perez roughed her up and threatened to shoot her during a charter flight. What an asshole.

As bad as the Piazza trade was, at least the Dodgers ended up with a solid, young catcher. Charles Johnson wasn't the greatest hitter, but those who know baseball know that being good behind the plate is a hell of a lot more important. Johnson had a great arm, and pitchers loved throwing to him. So what did the Dodgers do after the '98 season? In what was essentially a three-way deal, the Dodgers traded Johnson and Roger Cedeno to the Mets for catcher Todd Hundley. The Mets--who by that time already had Piazza behind the plate--then sent Johnson to the Orioles for Armando Benitez. Dodger management clamied that Charles Johnson didn't have enough of a stick. Good call, geniuses. In the 3 seasons after the trade, Johnson hit 96 home runs and batted a respectable .271. Hundley, of course, was never healthy as a Dodger, hitting poorly and throwing even worse.

Skipping over Steve Finley and others under the age of 70, Kevin Malone signed Devon White to a $12.4 million, three-year contract after the 1998 season. The contract given to him looked bad at the time, and appeared even worse as the months passed. Malone, however, seemed to think it was a great idea. "We needed to make a move quickly, I think, to get a player of this guy's ability," said Malone. "We're now locked in for the next three years with a premier, premier center fielder. That's comforting to know." Yeah, about as comfortable as a coffee enema. What the hell was Malone smoking?

On September 20, 1999, it was very quietly announced that Mike Scioscia was "leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities." A Dodgers catcher for 13 years, Scioscia had spent the last six years as a well-respected Dodgers instructor. He had been the organization's catching coordinator, then major league bench coach, and finally AAA manager at Albuquerque. With the class he had always displayed as a player and coach, Scioscia simply said, "I think this is a good time to explore other opportunities in the game." He chose not to bash the Dodgers, so we'll do it for him. Those running the team at the time (the Fox guys in suits) knew nothing about baseball. What they did know, however, was that Scioscia knew too much. He would never be a good puppet. So they opened the door, and swept him out. "We respect what Mike Scioscia has done for the organization, but those [managerial] opportunities are limited here," said Kevin Malone. Yeah, very limited. The Dodgers were only hiring a new manager at the time, what, every year?

During--and after--the 1999 season, rumors swirled about a straight up Ismael Valdes for Jim Edmonds deal. The Angels were looking to dump Edmonds and were in need of pitching, and the Dodgers seemed willing to part with Valdes, whose toughness had long been questioned. At times this deal appeared imminent, but it never came to fruition. Instead, Edmonds was dealt to the Cardinals and Valdes was sent to the Cubs. Why didn't the Edmonds/Valdes trade happen? Who knows, butwe'll blame Dodger management for blowing what could have been one of the greatest Dodger trades of all time.

While Terry Adams proved to be a solid starting pitcher for the Dodgers, this December 1999 trade was an odd one. The Dodgers traded a starting pitcher (Valdes) and a hard-nose leadoff man (Young) for a middle reliever (Adams). For a couple years after the trade, the Dodgers struggled to replace Young's speed and on-base percentage. For some reason, manager Davey Johnson had a problem with Young, and that, probably more than anything else, led to the trade. Kevin Malone took a lot of crap for the trade, and rightly so. His defense was this: "It's more than a talent issue; cost efficiency is what we're trying to do. It frees up $9 or $10 million this year and $4.5 million next year. The dollars are big. Last year we had All-Stars at practically every position. We need a better mix." That's one of Malone's best quotes. Too many All-Stars. Need to mix some crappy players in there. Well, at least he did a good job of that.

While the $105 million seemed ridiculous from the start, we all expected Kevin Brown to perform. (Well, those who know Dodger history may have been a little less optimistic.) Numbers tell the story: Brown made 68 starts his first two seasons in L.A. and just 29 in the next two. He finished the 2002 season with a 4.81 ERA, his highest in almost 10 years. The other key number was 35, Brown's age when the Dodgers (namely Kevin Malone) decided it would be smart to give him a 6-year contract. Injuries quickly weakened the ornery son-of-a-bitch, and by 2004 he was clogging up the payroll. Thankfully the Yankees came along to bail them out.

Afraid that a division rival might snatch him up, the Dodgers rewarded Dreifort with a five-year, $55-million contract after the 2000 season. Rewarded him for what, no one knows. He was 33-34 in three full seasons in the rotation and had a history of serious arm trouble. Dreifort missed the entire 1995 season with reconstructive surgery, missed a month in 1997 due to elbow tendinitis, and had his 1998 and 1999 seasons cut short after problems with his right shoulder. Many baseball officials believed the Dodgers overpaid for Dreifort. Homeless retards also agreed. And go figure... Dreifort blows out his elbow in mid-2001 and misses almost 2 full seasons. He returns for 10 games in 2003, only to go down again. Miraculously, however, a sickly-looking version of the old Dreifort begins the season with the team in '04 and pitches in 60 games. That was all his feeble body could handle, though, because he was on the DL by August and was to never pitch again. What did the $55 million buy the Dodgers? Nine wins.

In July 2000, after going half the season without a decent leadoff man, the Dodgers made a decision: they'd go the rest of the season without one. So to ensure this, they traded for 32-year-old Tom Goodwin. Fast as hell, but unable to get on base in the first place, Goodwin never did shit for the Dodgers. Hollandsworth, injury-prone but full of potential, went on to hit .323 for the Rockies in 2000 and .368 in 2001. If you added together Goodwin's averages from his entire career, it's doubtful it would even equal .300. Let's also not forget that Kevin Malone threw in two minor leaguers, outfielder Kevin Gibbs and young left-handed pitcher Randey Dorame.

Mike Fetters may not have posted the greatest numbers, but the guy was hardnosed and intense. To his shock, he was traded (along with a minor leaguer) on July 31, 2001 for over-the-hill lefty Terry Mulholland. Not only was Mulholland over the hill, he was so fucking far past the hill that he couldn't see it with binoculars. Even if the Dodgers had traded just a half-eaten Dodger Dog to the Pirates for Terry Mulholland, it would have been a bad deal. In just less than a year with L.A., Mulholland posted some of the most embarassing numbers of anyone in the league. Before being traded on July 28, 2002, Mulholland's ERA was at 7.31—which was as low as it had been all season.

Since Hundley did so much in his first tour of duty with the Dodgers, they had to get him back. In two years with the Cubs (after leaving LA the first time), Hundley put up absolutely terrible numbers (.187 and .211), driving the Cubs to search for a taker. Enter Dan Evans. Looking to dump the aging Karros and Mark Grudzielanek (simply because Jim Tracy had something against him), Evans decided that taking on Hundley's contract—with two years remaining—was the only way to do so. And the deal was made. And then Dan Evans replaced Karros with someone even older (Fred McGriff). Who got the best of the deal? Well, Hundley spent the majority of the 2003 season on the DL while Grudzielanek and Karros each hit around .300 and made it to the NLCS. Hundley, of course, then missed the entire 2004 season. Shocking.

After trading Eric Karros to the Cubs after the 2002 season, the Dodgers needed a first baseman. So Dan Evans turned to Fred McGriff, who was even older and proved to be more fragile than Karros. McGriff was just 22 home runs short of reaching the 500 milestone, and it was assumed his quest would give the fans something to cheer for. Instead, McGriff spent the majority of the season on the DL, and ended up hitting just 13 home runs. Four million dollars in the garbage.

On January 23, 2003, the Dodgers traded minor leaguer Ruddy Lugo to Houston for giant outfielder Daryle Ward. While Lugo has yet to make it to the majors, this is about Ward. In announcing the trade, Dodgers' GM Dan Evans said, "Our scouts really liked his upside, liked his power. He's hit home runs in the big leagues and he's had some success off the bench." Well, not with the Dodgers he didn't. Ward hit .197 in L.A., and didn't hit a single home run. By August, he was down in the minors... but still making $1.35 million. The next year, of course, Ward hit 15 home runs with Pittsburgh.

Intent on ruining the Dodgers' chemistry that had carried them through a remarkable four months of the 2004 season, Paul DePodesta dealt Paul Lo Duca, the heart and soul of the Dodger ballclub, to Florida along with talented set-up man Guillermo Mota and outfielder Juan Encarnacion. In return, the Dodgers got pitcher Brad Penny, mediocre first baseman Hee Seop Choi, and minor league pitcher Bill Murphy (who they dealt the next day to Arizona for Steve Finley).

The Dodgers had just finished an amazing month of July in which they went 21-7 and at one point had an incredible streak of eight consecutive come-from-behind wins. Their reward? Losing the one guy who, more than anyone else, bled Dodger blue. Lo Duca was highly respected by both fans and players and had helped to turn the Dodgers into a team people actually enjoyed rooting for. It was a team that had spirit, energy, and truly enjoyed being together—not just on the field, but apparently off as well.

In Lo Duca they lost the spark, and in Mota they lost a guy who had begun to perfect the art of being Eric Gagne's set-up man. Mota didn't figure to be a Dodger for life, but his value had never been higher, and the Dodgers did not get equal value in return. It's clear that DePodesta thought he was paving the way for Randy Johnson's arrival in Los Angeles, but the deal for the Big Unit fell through (as did one for catcher Charles Johnson), and the Dodger GM was left scratching his brainy head while Dodger fans prepared to riot. Meanwhile, three days after the trade and without Mota, Jim Tracy turned to Eric Gagne for a three-inning stint—the beginning of the end for Gagne's arm.

Penny, of course, made just two starts for the Dodgers in '04 before injuring his arm, and continued to have arm problems in '05. Choi did nothing for the Dodgers in '04 or '05, and was eventually released. Meanwhile, Lo Duca hit a pinch-hit home run in his first at-bat with Florida, and continued to post good numbers for the New York Mets... before cheating on his beautiful wife.

As part of a three-way deal that sent Randy Johnson from Arizona to New York, the Dodgers dealt Shawn Green and $8 million to Arizona for catching prospect Dioner Navarro along with minor leaguers Danny Muegge, William Juarez, and Beltran Perez. Finalized on January 11, 2005, the deal angered many Dodger fans who were still fuming from the Paul Lo Duca trade. After posting career highs in a number of categories in 2001 and 2002, Green's production dropped off a bit in '03 and '04. Paul DePodesta felt Green was overpaid, and felt that Navarro had a huge upside—even though the Yankees had tired of his work ethic. Green didn't post incredible numbers with the Diamondbacks and Mets after he left LA, but Navarro left little legacy with Dodgers. What did Navarro ultimately fetch the Dodgers? Mark Hendrickson and Toby Hall.

After posting an ERA in the mid threes in two seasons as a middle reliever with the Dodgers, Ned Colletti decided the Dodgers had plenty of other options. In January 2006, Sanchez was traded to the Mets along with reliever Steve Schmoll for pitchers Jae Seo and Tim Hamulack. Seo was coming off a good season, and the Mets found a sucker in Ned Colletti. After going 2-4 with a 5.78 ERA for the Dodgers, Seo ended up being dealt to Tampa Bay just three months into the season. Hamulack pitched in 33 games for the Dodgers, giving up 24 runs in 34 innings. Meanwhile, Sanchez pitched great for the Mets in '06, posting a 2.60 ERA in 49 games before getting hurt.

The Dodgers would have been better off paying Tomko's wife (Playboy Playmate Julia Schultz) $8 million to stand in the dugout and flash her tits. Instead, Ned Colletti signed Brett, who he knew from his days in San Francisco, to a 2-year, $8.7 million contract in January of 2006. Thirty-two at the time, Tomko was coming off an 8-15 season in 2005. He had a career record of 81-73 with a 4.26 ERA for five teams. The plan was for Tomko to be the Dodgers' number four starter, but that didn't quite work out. Neither did him being the number five starter either. In almost two seasons with the Dodgers, Tomko bounced back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen, pitching poorly in both capacities. He finished the 2006 season with an 8-7 record and a 4.73 ERA. It got much worse in 2007, when he went 2-11 with a 5.80 ERA. He lost his confidence, and then finally lost his spot on the roster, getting released in early September... only to be immediately picked up by San Diego—where, of course, he won his first two starts.

In a deal made to shore up the Dodger bullpen in case Eric Gagne wasn't able to stay healthy, Ned Colletti traded prospects Chuck Tiffany and Edwin Jackson to Tampa Bay for Danys Baez (the Devil Rays closer) and reliever Lance Carter (the former Devil Rays closer) on January 14, 2006. Jackson had begun to fall out of favor with the Dodgers, but Tiffany had considerable value. What did that value fetch? Well, Baez recorded nine saves for the Dodgers—and blew seven. Lance Carter only made ten appearances for the Dodgers, but it was ten too many. Carter posted an 8.49 ERA and was quickly demoted to the minors.

With Jeff Kent on the disabled list approaching the 2006 trading deadline, Ned Colletti traded for Julio Lugo—a shortstop. Even with the Dodgers' trade of Cesar Izturis (which went down the same day), the Lugo trade gave the Dodgers four shortstops (Rafael Furcal, Oscar Robles, Nomar Garciaparra, and Lugo). While with Tampa, Lugo refused to play second base, saying he had a fear of being blindsided. Well, he played second for the Dodgers, and then moved to third base when Kent returned from the DL. It certainly showed that he was out of position, as he made five errors over the next couple months and never looked comfortable in the field. He didn't look much more comfortable at the plate, either. Despite Colletti's assertion at the time of the trade that "Lugo is more of an offensive player," Julio hit just .219 in 49 games with the Dodgers. Guzman was touted by the Dodgers as being a future power hitter, but fell out of favor after complaining about not making the team out of spring training in '06. Guzman has yet to play for Tampa... but even if he never plays, the Devil Rays got the best of this deal.

As if signing an ex-Giant isn't reason enough to be wary, Jason Schmidt had a history of arm trouble and wasn't getting any younger. That didn't discourage Ned Colletti, though, who snatched up Schmidt for 3 years, $47 million before the 2007 season. Schmidt won his first start for the Dodgers, on the road in Milwaukee. Then, at the home opener on April 9th, Schmidt gave up a run in the first inning to the Rockies and two more in the fourth. He homered in the third inning off of Jeff Francis, which turned out to be the highlight of his season. In the fifth, he hurt his leg covering first base and left the game. Five days later against the Padres, Schmidt couldn't make it out of the second inning, giving up five runs and leaving to a chorus of boos. He would go on the DL two days later with shoulder inflammation and wouldn't pitch again until June 5th. Two weeks later he'd back on the DL and done for the season... and 2008 as well. So far, $31 million and one win.

Coming off a Pierre-like season with the Chicago Cubs (.292, 58 SB, 87 runs), Juan Pierre signed a 5-year, $44 million deal with the Dodgers in November 2006. " Juan's ability to hit combined with his speed make him a perfect catalyst for our lineup," said general manager Ned Colletti. "His work ethic and character are second-to-none and he knows what it takes to win. He's dedicated to the community and I truly believe the city of Los Angeles is going to love this player."

Yeah, not so much. The signing was immediately met by criticism (after all, the Dodgers were touting Matt Kemp, and $44 million for an outfielder with no power and no arm?), and it just got worse from there. Pierre played in 162 games in 2007 and hit .293, but he was a liability in the outfield and his OBP (.331) was hideous for a leadoff guy. By the winter of 2007, the Dodgers were shopping for a new centerfielder, and when Spring Training 2008 began, Pierre was moved to left. By the time the season started, he wasn't even a regular in the lineup. He ended up playing in 119 games, spending much of the season coming off the bench.

Andruw Jones put up some amazing years in Atlanta, and then in 2007, hit .220... while his weight hit like 230. Just an abberation, believed Ned Colletti. So in December of 2007 he gave Jones a two-year, $36 million contract—including a $12 million signing bonus. Three months later, Jones reported to Vero Beach in the worst shape of his life. There was little talk about it at first, but as Spring Training wore on, and then the season began, Jones' weight and work ethic began to be questioned. With each strikeout, he smiled, and with each interview, he complained. By the end of May he was hitting .165 and was placed on the disabled list. He came off the DL on the 4th of July, went back on in the beginning of August (less because of injury and more because the Dodgers didn't know what to do with him), and he finished the season with a .158 batting average, 3 home runs, and 14 RBIs. For those counting at home, that's $3 million per home run.