Head West Young Man

by Phil Gurnee on Oct 29, 2007 9:48 AM PDT in News Comment 7 comments

Okay, I just threw this together for some fun.

Top 10 reasons why Arod coming to LA is A-Okay with me.

The Dodgers in 2007 lacked power. Arod provides the greatest infield power from 2nd - 3rd base in baseball.
The Dodgers lacked a clear cut clean up hitter. Arod is a perfect clean up hitter.
The Dodgers "considered" 3rd base to be their weakest link. You don't do much better then getting the best player to fill your weakest link.
With Arod, the Dodgers will sell 4 million tickets and while he may or may not bring a championship, his addition should enable them to compete for a playoff spot during the 1st 5 years of his contract.
Arod does work hard and plays hard. Nothing wrong with letting the kids see how one of the best players in the game goes about his business.
By 2009 the Dodgers can easily afford Arod without breaking the bank. They are one of the few teams that has the perfect storm of affordability. With Lowe, Kent, Nomar, and Furcal all coming off the books and being replaced by quality prospects they can do this. Lowe - Kershaw, Furcal - HU, Nomar - bench player, Kent - Abreu.
A 2009 team of

1st - Loney
2nd - Abreu
SS - HU
3rd - Arod
C - Martin
RF - Kemp
CF - Pierre
LF - Ethier
Rotation
Penny, Billingsley, Schmidt, Kershaw, McDonald or Elbert
Bullpen
Saito, Broxton, Meloan, Adkins

Plus whatever you'd get from trading LaRoche, Dewitt, Josh Bell.

Gold Glove Defense up the middle in Abreu/Hu, plenty of power in Arod/Kemp/Loney/Martin/Ethier, a big 3 in 2009 of Penny,Billingsley,Kershaw that should be able to do some damage in the playoffs. Martin and Arod are already the two best players at their position. Kemp could make it three. Even with Pierre in CF this team should do some serious damage. If they find a way to move Pierre by 2009 and just get an average replacement, then it is yea baby.

Later in his career he should be able to move to the outfield and continue to provide above average offense. Can he do a Yount like move to CF? I don't see why not.
By buying Arod you don't have to trade prospects for perceived help. You get the best of both worlds, the best prospects stay and you just bought the best player available.
Arod has been one of my favorite players since he hit the league. It even forced me to root for the Yankee's once in a while. The last time the Dodgers acquired my favorite player was when the Toy Cannon came our way in 74.
Extra Bonus - If Arod wants to play SS then I think it even gets better. I'd rather see a future lineup of Loney/Hu or Abreu/Arod/La Roche then Loney/Abreu/Hu/Arod. Defense will suffer and this is just a subjective opinion but man what an offense. Arod's arm is still strong, and his are hands are still solid. His only problem would be how much range has he lost. If Jeter can play SS with his range I don't see why Arod couldn't. Does he want to?

Reasons why Arod should pick the Dodgers:

His wife will love Los Angeles
The media will grovel at his feet, except for TJ who will try to belittle him
Hollywood beckons
We have a great young nucleus that he can take credit for when it all comes together
He could play SS again, if he so chooses
He could take credit for bringing life back into the NL
He would feast on the NL pitching
He'd get to hit in Coors
Once Kobe is traded he would own this town like no baseball player since Piazza
What better place then Los Angeles to break Barry Bonds home run mark

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Comments

All good reasons

with the one about drawing 4 million the one that gives the best chance of this happening.

If he'll play short, Ned should see if the Cubs would take Furcal and Pierre for prospects (or even nothing). That would free up a lot of cash, and maybe Furcal is enough to get the Cubs to take Pierre.

Also, I like the idea of A-Rod migrating to second base when Hu is ready, leaving LaRoche and his power in the lineup instead of (future utility man) Abreu.

by Nicks on Oct 29, 2007 11:36 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

You don't

want a 30 million man playing 2nd. To much risk of injury when taking the duece with a runner bearing down from your blindside.

by Phil Gurnee on Oct 29, 2007 12:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like the Idea of Trading with Cubs..

who will surely give up Felix Pie on the cheap. I doubt Arod will move to 2B though. I'm sure he'd play short, if given the chance, or he'll stay at third until he's moved from the position.

by wiffle ball legend on Oct 29, 2007 12:17 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Why

do you think the Cubs would give up Pie for cheap? Have they soured on him after that brief trial?

by Phil Gurnee on Oct 29, 2007 12:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, then that just leaves

trading away LaRoche. That may not be all bad--his stock is high, is it not?
Is there any chance of a Hanley Ramirez for expensive/soon-to-be-expensive style trade with the Marlins to get Cabrera (.313/.388/.542, 24 years old)? He got $7.4 million in arb last year, but could get more expensive. If we're willing to pay, this makes WAY more sense than Kemp for Bay (who turns 30 next season).
When the Sox got Becket and Lowell, it was kind of like the Furcal/Pierre idea I floated above: the Marlins wanted out from under the Lowell deal. Unfortunately, they no longer have any such contracts, and a total payroll lower than A-Rod will be getting, so I assume that
a) They will keep Cabrera, or
b) They'll want a lot more than just LaRoche and filler.

Any thoughts?

by Nicks on Oct 29, 2007 1:46 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Anything

makes more sense then a Kemp for Bay deal.

If we don't get Arod I would not be surprised to see Ned go very hard at Miggy but so will many other teams. His future is probably back in LF or 1st base or if he keeps eating, DH. If so I expect it would take at least 2 A prospects and maybe 3. Were talking about one of the top 3 best young hitters in baseball.

It really depends on what Arod is looking for. Does he want to play SS again? Does he only want the most money? Does he want to go to a team that can compete for a championship?

by Phil Gurnee on Oct 29, 2007 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Another Reason

A-Rod's dad really wanted A-Rod to be drafted by the Dodgers. I can't recall if it was because his favorite team was LA or if he wanted his son to play in a bigger market than Seattle, but it got to the point where A-Rod actually called Seattle and told them not to draft him (fat chance). If A-Rod's dad is a Dodger fan, he could come play for his dad's favorite team, which was Jeff Kent's 'reason' for coming to LA.

by Rich on Oct 29, 2007 5:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs