No. 3 Dodgers: L.A. hopes big spending delivers rich season, trip to World Series Tim Brown | Yahoo! Expert 15 hours ago Editor's note: Yahoo! Sports will examine the offseason of every MLB team before spring training begins in mid-February. Our series continues with the Los Angeles Dodgers. MLB Springboards: No. 30 Astros | No. 29 Marlins | No. 28 Mets | No. 27 Rockies | No. 26 Twins | No. 25 Pirates | No. 24 Indians | No. 23 Mariners | No. 22 Padres | No. 21 Cubs | No. 20 Brewers | No. 19 Red Sox | No. 18 White Sox | No. 17 Royals | No. 16 Orioles | No. 15 Phillies | No. 14 Diamondbacks | No. 13 Athletics | No. 12 Rangers | No. 11 Yankees | No. 10 Rays | No. 9 Cardinals | No. 8 Giants | No. 7 Tigers | No. 6 Braves | No. 5 Angels | No. 4 Reds 2012 record: 86-76 Finish: Second, NL West 2012 final payroll: $129.1 million Estimated 2013 opening day payroll: $210 million Yahoo! Sports offseason rank: 3 OFFSEASON ACTION When the Dodgers opened the 2012 season in San Diego, the day Frank McCourt and Magic Johnson sat beside each other and shared a large popcorn (not really) near the third-base dugout, Dee Gordon was at shortstop, Juan Rivera in left field, James Loney at first base and Juan Uribe at third. Clayton Kershaw was the starting pitcher, of course, and the next day he'd be followed by Chad Billingsley. In an offseason that started mid-summer – not because the Dodgers were that bad, but because the Dodgers had become that rich – times and lineups have changed. Assuming everyone shows up and gets/stays healthy, the Dodgers will open against the San Francisco Giants with Hanley Ramirez at shortstop (or third), Carl Crawford in left field (perhaps), Adrian Gonzalez at first base and probably not Uribe at third. When Kershaw is done, it will be Zack Greinke's turn to start. When all the accounting is done, including cutting the luxury-tax check, the Dodgers will have spent something close to $250 million on payroll and payroll-related costs. Magic Johnson and Dodgers ownership gave Zack Greinke a $147 million deal. (Reuters) This is a franchise that only a few years back couldn't afford Casey Blake. In 2013, the Dodgers owe Manny Ramirez $8.3 million and Andruw Jones $3.2 million and still swing the biggest wallet on the block. A television deal worth up to $8 billion over 20 years hasn't even kicked in yet. After taking on the contracts of Gonzalez, Crawford, Josh Beckett and Hanley Ramirez, and already having extended Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier's contracts, and with Kershaw under club control for two more seasons, the Dodgers still went aggressively after Greinke. Because Chad Billingsley suffered from a partially torn elbow ligament last season and generally isn't anybody's No. 2 anyway, and because Beckett is something of a mystery, the Dodgers believed they needed a starter of heft behind Kershaw. Six years and $147 million later, Greinke is that hefty starter. Otherwise, they committed $36 million to Korean lefty Ryu Hyun-Jin, $22.5 million to reliever Brandon League, $2.85 million to reliever J.P. Howell, and traded for utilityman Skip Schumaker. When the first Dodgers arrive at Camelback Ranch, eight of them will be legit starting pitchers, including Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano and, if healthy, Ted Lilly. It's possible, therefore, the Dodgers' offseason will extend well into spring training. continued... __
REALITY CHECK Early in the press conference that introduced Zack Greinke to Dodgers fans, a question was raised – to no one on the dais in particular, really – about the Dodgers' funds, and if they had no bounds. Magic Johnson, all eight feet of him, raised slowly from his chair, covered the stage in a half-stride, leaned into the microphone and said, "We wanna win." He returned to his chair. There'd be no follow-up questions. No apologies, no excuses, no moral victories, no stepping away from the best players because all that money was going to lawyers and hair stylists. Johnson knows how stars work in L.A., because he was one. Is one. And the Guggenheim guys agreed. Carl Crawford is returning from elbow surgery after playing just 31 games last season. (AP) The result is a team that should win the NL West, a division that has turned out the World Series champion twice in the past three seasons. Stars hit behind stars. Stars pitch behind stars. The plan, of course, is for stars to win alongside stars. And that, of course, is the hard part. Matt Kemp returns from shoulder surgery, Carl Crawford from elbow surgery. Adrian Gonzalez hit three home runs in 145 at-bats as a Dodger. Hanley Ramirez may no longer be a shortstop. When all the pieces settled in last summer, the Dodgers became not a juggernaut, but a .500 team. And the Giants ran off. So, the fresh start means a full spring training, a new hitting coach in Mark McGwire, a lame-duck manager in Don Mattingly, as many questions as stars, and World Series-or-bust expectations for an organization that hasn't been there since 1988. SAVIOR The day before the Boston Red Sox and Dodgers would come to agreement on a blockbuster trade that would unburden the Red Sox and restock the Dodgers, Crawford underwent Tommy John surgery. Six months later, the Dodgers are somewhat confident Crawford can be their left fielder, hit first or second in the order, and resume a career that was All-Star caliber in St. Petersburg and tanked in Boston. A whole Crawford rounds a lineup that struggled to score runs even after Ramirez and Gonzalez (and Shane Victorino) arrived. Kemp, Gonzalez, Ethier and Ramirez will better do their things if Crawford is capable of doing his. For $20 million or more for each of the next five seasons, Crawford's production becomes even more critical, even for the flush Dodgers. __
As Kemp goes, the Dodgers go. Simple as that. If he is one of the best players in baseball, we are going to roll. If he's a shell of his former self after his surgery, we're fucked. We go from perennial WS contenders to a team scratching to make the playoffs. NO matter how strong our pitching is. Kemp decides where we go.
I think ou guys have enough talent sans Kemp to be a very good team. I agree with the assertion that you wont be perennial WS contenders without him...but given your current lineup and rotation you will be good even if he isn't fully healed. If i was a Dodger fan i would be excited about this season, i don't buy that both Hanley and Adrian just all of a sudden forgot how to hit. There were other issues and factors involved for Hanley and i have a feeling he is going to pick things up. I have a feeling they are both going to be back to their old selves... The rotation could compete for tops in baseball too. Kershaw if hes fully recovered from the hip will be his usual fucking nasty self....Greinke is a beast and this ryu kid looks promising. Then your 4th and 5th starters are Billingsley and Beckett......and even then you have other guys capable of starting and filling a rotation spot if one of those guys goes down. If you guys had horrid hitters outside of kemp...id be scared, but if hanley and adrian can reclaim their old tricks...mixed in with andre and others you have a lineup good enough without kemp to win games with that pitching staff. If kemp is fully healthy you guys compete for the WS this year and for a for a while.
props to yahoo only washington and toronto ranked ahead of us!:woot::moshpit: :thumbsup: arty: of course espn will probably rank us way lower and well behind the giants and angels
The keys, IMO, are Crawford, Hanley and Beckett. If they have seasons that they are capable of, we are gold.
The Dodgers have the money, that is for sure... They have the talent but the one thing that is going to put this team over the top is going to be the chemistry... This team and maybe the Braves are the only teams that I would root for if for some reason the Cardinals don't make it but I don't see that happening.. The Dodgers are going to get there respect guys but for some they want to see the team chemistry before they start drinking the blue Kool-Aid... I for one think that they just didn't have enough time and some of the players were pressing..
