August 28, 2012 -- You knew I had to weigh in on the happenings in Boston after the mega-deal went down this weekend. To be honest, I think this is a good deal for both sides. The Dodgers, fresh with billions of dollars to spend (or so it seems) have put together even more pieces to their championship puzzle. The Red Sox relieved themselves of about $260 million of unproductive salary. Now, let's see what happens.
In my opinion, Ben Cherrington is blowing up Theo Epstein's vision in Boston. Hey, don't blame John Lackey, Adrian Gonzalez, Dice-K, and Carl Crawford for taking the Sox' money -- I would have too! Now, Ben is putting his stamp on what should be his club, though one could argue that the ownership group (i.e. Larry Lucchino) calls the shots. However, after last season's epic collapse and this year's unproductive start, it seems that ownership is giving Ben a chance to start over and clearing salary space is the first step. As for the prospects Boston received in return for the big name stars, time will tell. As with most prospects, not all of them reach the big leagues and become stars, but this situation is different. Don't get me wrong, if Boston couldn't find a way to clear so much salary space, then this deal would make no sense. Just don't expect miracles to happen until 2014. And don't expect Bobby Valentine to be around much longer after the season; he wasn't on Ben's short list if you recall and the GM will want to work with HIS handpicked manager and staff. (Jason Varitek maybe ...)
As for LA, well they remind me of another favorite team of mine, the Washington Redskins. Dan Snyder acquired the Skins several years back and he immediately went into a free agency buying frenzy. Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders happily took the money Mr. Snyder offered, but the franchise went nowhere. Sure there was a lot of fanfare and tickets were sold, but the team never advanced in the playoffs very far and have become a cellar dweller way too often. Only until they smarted up, traded three first rounders and a second rounder for Robert Griffin III (RG3) do they have a chance to succeed (sounds like a reboot of Boston proportions.)
Can the same happen in Los Angeles? The new ownership group invested over $2 billion dollars to acquire the club and they are determined to make a big splash, to rejuvenate the franchise, and bring the fans back to the ballpark. In one tumultuous season, the Dodgers have traded for Hanley Ramirez, Joe Blanton, Shane Victorino, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford (forgive me if I missed anyone!) We're talking mega-millions here folks! Their desire is obviously to win now and with this team they should at the very least make some noise in the playoffs. But as history tells us, nothing is for certain. What should worry the fans is what's going to happen a couple of years down the road when these bloated contracts hinder the club to go after more players and rebuild, which all teams need to do in time. Unless, of course, they "have a plan." I'm not sold on that idea, other than the win now scenario I just mentioned.
At the very least, this trade has given baseball something new to talk about, a new "Evil Empire" on the West Coast, and a very interesting post season to be.
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