Let's Play GM

Even though it’s only been a few days since the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Mets and the National League Championship Series won’t begin until tomorrow, it’s not too early to start thinking about what the Dodgers can do to improve for next year. While it was disappointing to see the team get swept, I still think making the playoffs was a feat in itself and hopefully it’ll be something to build on.

Since I’m basically just a bandwagon fan when it comes to the Dodgers, I had to turn to a couple of friends, Big Money and Johnny Ringo, to pick their brains. We all thought that the biggest priority for the Dodgers should be their starting pitching. Fortunately, there’s a guy out there that’s going to be a free agent that could really help them out: Barry Zito. Zito went 16-10 last season with a 3.83 ERA. His numbers aren’t as good as they were his first few years in the league, but he’s still one of the better pitchers in the league.

Unfortunately, Zito will have many suitors this off-season, especially if he does well during the rest of the playoffs. After losing to the Tigers, the Yankees will be sure to target Zito to improve their pitching. Hopefully, Zito’s ties to California - he went to high school in San Diego and college in Santa Barbara before transferring to USC - will persuade him to stay on the west coast, albeit a little farther south. Plus LA would probably be a better fit for the somewhat eccentric Zito than New York.

If the Dodgers aren’t able to acquire Zito or decide they have more money to spend on another free agent, Alfonso Soriano would be another excellent target. My friends and I agree that pitching should be the Dodger’s priority, but Soriano would be an excellent consolation prize after becoming only the fourth player in league history to hit 40 homeruns and get 40 stolen bases.

However, signing Soriano might be a problem if he insists on playing second base since the team already has Jeff Kent. After grumbling about playing second before the season started, Soriano relented and played in the outfield this season for the Washington Nationals. He didn’t have much of a choice. As a free agent, Soriano will have all the leverage he needs to get to play in the infield. But I would imagine if the price is right, Soriano would be willing to play any position.

If the Dodgers aren’t able to lure either of those two big name free agents, one other possibility is to look into trading for Alex Rodriguez. Some of my buddies might get a kick out of that suggestion since I’ve been calling Alex Rodriguez a loser since that first season with the Texas Rangers. I thought his decision to go to the Rangers was incredibly greedy and he deserved to rot on a losing team for the rest of his career. What really upset me was when he described his decision as what was best for his family, as if half of the $250 million he signed for wouldn’t have been enough.

I actually spoke to my buddy Heavy Hitter, a big Yankees fan, after the second game of the Detroit/New York series was rained out. I told him I was sure the Yankees would win the World Series this year, even with A-Rod on the team. I guess the A-Rod effect was too strong. Of course it wasn’t completely Rodriguez’s fault, although going 1 for 14 in the series didn’t help. So why on earth do I want to see him on the Dodgers?

Because he’s still one of the best offensive players in the game and I think that the Yankees might be desperate enough for the Dodgers to get him for a lot less than he’s actually worth. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that the Dodgers should give up all their best young players and mortgage the future for A-Rod. But if the Dodgers could package Brad Penny (or J.D. Drew), Andre Ethier, and one or two other pieces for A-Rod, I think they should pull the trigger, assuming A-Rod is convinced to waive his no-trade clause. The Dodgers might never win the World Series with A-Rod on the team, but they should be able to win their division and that would be some nice improvement.

Finally, there is still the question about what to do with some of the players that were on the squad last season like Nomar Garciaparra, Greg Maddux, and Eric Gagne. It really is a shame that Nomar had to tear his left quadriceps muscle in the series against the Mets, especially since it was on the eve of winning the NL Comeback Player of the Year award. Nomar had a wonderful season and exceeded all of my expectations, but he just seems too fragile to give a big contract. It would be great to see him return next year, but I would only give him a two-year deal at most for no more than he made this year.

The same goes for Maddux. The Dodgers wouldn’t have made the playoffs without Maddux but at this stage in his career, you have to wonder when the tank is going to be empty. I would try to bring him back but I wouldn’t break the bank for him. As for Gagne, I'd just let him walk away. Johnny Ringo thinks we should offer him an incentive-heavy contract, but I doubt he would take it, especially with Scott Boras as his agent. He had a couple of tremendous years with the Dodgers but it's unlikely he’ll ever regain his form.

Hopefully Ned Colletti, the Dodger's real GM, will pull of the right moves this off-season. He’s already made a fan out of me by getting the Dodgers in the playoffs. Let’s see if he can get them back there next year.