There is a lot of buzz around town now that the Dodgers have inked future Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre. If you drive around LA on a daily basis, maybe you have seen the billboards high above the street that feature Mr. Torre in his new uniform. There is wide speculation that bringing in the former Yankee skipper makes the Dodgers the preseason West Division favorite. However, while Torre’s four World Series Championships speak for themselves, he is going to need help from Big Blue’s front office if he is going to take this team to the next level.
Say what you want about George Steinbrenner, but the guy wasn’t afraid to dish out the cash to get the players he wanted. While he provided Torre many a “Maalox momentâ€, “the boss†also got him every player he ever dreamed of. The major question going into the season, is will the Dodgers spend the money to bring in big name talent? So far they have dropped $40 million on veteran center-fielder Andruw Jones. Jones was far from brilliant last year, hitting only .222 and hit his fewest amount of home runs since his first full year in the league. He is also the heaviest he has ever been since his pro baseball career began, which isn’t going to help him track down a ball in the power ally’s any quicker. Hopefully Jones sheds some pounds in the off-season and his production improves on account of it. Regardless, this signing was a good move for the Dodgers. It gives them a gold glove outfielder and a legitimate power stick in the middle of the line-up. No longer will Jeff Kent be relied on to supply all the power. Jones may not be worth $40 million at this stage in his career, but unfortunately that’s what the bar has been set at for good outfielders and it was a smart move by the Dodgers to pick him up.
The question is where will the front office go from here? The pitching faltered down the stretch last year and remains a concern for the club. In three years as a Dodger, Derek Lowe is a mediocre 40-37 with a 3.70 ERA, and has posted losing records two out of the three years. It may be time to part ways with the 34-year old right hander and see if there aren’t some teams willing to deal another outfielder for him. Pitching is at a premium and the Dodgers may be able to get a lot for him. If Jason Schmidt can come back from his injury, he and Brad Penny are a good one-two punch to build a rotation around. If Lowe could be traded for a big bat in the outfield, then the Dodgers could pursue one of the many free agent pitchers on the market and have a solid three starters to carry them throughout the year.
Having Joe Torre in the clubhouse will provide the Dodgers with proven winner who is always well liked by his players. Chemistry in the locker room has always been a well publicized problem for Los Angeles. If Torre can bring the squad together and the front office makes an effort to wheel and deal, then the Dodgers should be able to make a serious run at a division title. If the ownership rests on the guidance of Torre alone, and keeps their wallets closed, this team will be no better than last year and fans will once again be forced into bringing beach balls to the game so that they can be entertained.
1 response so far ↓
1 Jose Sanchez // Dec 13, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Stats are good but you have to watch the games too. He would have had a winning record but Lowe had no run support in his outings, and was the only Dodger to pitch 3 complete games last season, 2 of those were loses. He went 16-8 the year before. He is not going anywhere. And it’s $36.2, not $40 million for Jones. Sorry, but that’s my squad.
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