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> NOVEMBER 2008 November 23, 2008
The uncertainty surrounding Billingsley just adds, of course, to the uncertainty across pretty much the entire Dodger roster. Other than knowing that Nancy Bea Hefley will be behind the organ for about thirty seconds during each game at the stadium, there’s little else that’s set in stone. Why, you ask? Well, because Ned Colletti’s head is filled with raisins and leaves. He lets Penny and Lowe go, doesn’t make an effort to re-sign Rafael Furcal (maybe the biggest mistake of the offseason), and obliges Frank McCourt by making a phony offer to Manny Ramirez. Ned’s shown no interest in any of the free-agent closers—apparently confident in Jonathan Broxton’s right-down-the-fucking-middle fastball and Takashi Saito’s 39-year-old elbow—and evidently doesn’t believe in effective set-up guys, letting Joe Beimel walk. The Dodgers are shedding more than $60 million in payroll—and charging $90 a ticket for some of the seats in Arizona this spring—and so far it looks like the only thing that money may buy them is a year of Randy Johnson’s mid-40s. They’re supposedly interested in CC Sabathia, but are we supposed to believe they’d match the Yankees’ $140 million offer when they won’t even pony up $45 million or so for Furcal—the guy who’s been the heart of the Dodgers’ offense the last few years? And if they get CC, then do they fill in the rest of the holes Ned made with a $3.99 tub of spackle? Looking good, guys, looking good. November 5, 2008
So if they don’t land Sabathia, you ask, how can they afford to let Penny go—especially when Derek Lowe figures to be playing elsewhere next season as well? You could also ask another question: If Colletti felt that Esteban Loaiza and Randy Wolf were each worth $8 million a year after coming off entire seasons on the DL, how could Brad Penny not be worth the $7.25 million difference between his option and his buyout? I’m not a huge Penny fan, despite some of the numbers he put up as a Dodger, but I can’t see another year of him in Blue being a particularly bad thing. But what’s done is done, and now the Dodgers can move on and give up half their team for Jake Peavy. Also on Wednesday, the Dodgers made an “offer” to Manny Ramirez—but at just two years for $50 million, Scott Boras is trying to decide just how loud to laugh in Ned Colletti’s face. “"We owe it to the player and Scott to hear them out and for them to hear us out," Colletti had said earlier in the week. Owe it to the player and Scott? How about owing it to the fucking fans? Or how about the team? Regarding his offer, Colletti said he didn’t expect to hear a response from Boras before the Dodgers' exclusive negotiating window expires in a week. Gee, can’t imagine why he doesn’t expect to hear anything. Maybe because the offer is total bullshit? Nah… not Frank McCourt’s Dodgers. They would never try to deceive their fans. So Manny’s officially gone, and Rafael Furcal might be right behind him—another colossal mistake if Colletti lets it happen. According to the LA Times, the Dodgers had a short meeting with Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer, who’s now convinced that his client will be left to test the market. So the Dodgers don’t want Furcal? No, they do, according to Colletti... apparently they just have a funny way of showing it. Meanwhile, there was some sad news: the Dodgers have parted ways with backup catcher Gary Bennett, buying out the final year of his contract for $50,000 (about twelve dollars in baseball terms). Quick, head down to the stadium and gets those last Bennett jerseys before they’re gone forever. |
Hmmm, Brad Penny suddenly isn’t sounding too bad, is he? Two weeks after kissing Penny goodbye by buying out his option—and watching him join Derek Lowe on the market—the Dodgers learned on Saturday that Chad Billingsley had a plate inserted in his goddamn fibula. Billingsley slipped on an icy step Friday night, breaking a bone in his leg and jeopardizing his spot in the Dodgers’ rotation (if you can actually call it a rotation). Doctors say Billingsley could start throwing again in January, but they failed to actually say what he’d be throwing and from where he’d be throwing it. My guess is a wadded up napkin, and from his couch.
Obviously having little faith that Brad Penny would return to his 2007 form, the Dodgers declined Big Boy’s $9.25 million option on Wednesday, buying out the remaining year of his contract for $2 million. You could look at it a number of ways, but there were probably a few factors behind the decision: (1) his history of injury, (2) his shitty attitude this past season, (3) Frank McCourt’s desire to save a buck. You’d like to think the savings from Penny would go toward someone like CC Sabathia, but the chances are slim that McCourt would approve a huge long-term contract after some of Ned Colletti’s recent disasters.