Doink

Despite the esteemed words on Manny’s fate from our beloved Editor, looks like the Baseball Gods have spoken and Manny is packing his bags and heading west. After watching the Angels outbid the Dodgers to acquire the services of Vlad and Tex, it’s nice to see Colletti pull the trigger on a deal that must have fallen into his lap. Giving up LaRoche and Bryan Morris, (who I’ve never heard of but found some scouting reports from 2006 that had him listed as a potential first round pick) seems about right for a two-month Manny rental.

The Dodger outfield takes a huge upgrade with Manny taking over duties in left, but after that things get a bit muddled. I think starting Kemp in center and moving Ethier to right would probably make the most sense — the Ravine, PetCo and whatever they’re calling San Francisco’s park these days have three of the most spacious outfields in the league, and Kemp’s speed and arm will certainly be tested. And I’m giving Ethier the nod over Pierre in right because, well you know, he’s better. They could go with Pierre in center and Kemp in right, but I’ve got a bad feeling that will lead to an awful lot of triples on balls hit to the gap in left-center. Adding Manny makes L.A. the team to beat in the NL West, which is sort of like being Lord of Flies, but still, I’ll take it — as a Dodger fan I couldn’t be any happier right now; Management has done what it needs to do to show us all that they are committed to winning now.

Arizona comes into town to play four starting tonight — I’m buying tickets for Saturday’s game now.

More Trade Winds Blowing

Buster Olney is reporting the Dodgers are aggressively showcasing Andy LaRoche (big brother Adam is KILLING it on my fantasy team at the moment) in a trade and I can only assume they’d try to package him with another player, ideally for an impact bat but again with Colletti’s spotty record he will probably end up targeting a Huston Street or a Jack Wilson and we’ll finish in the exact same spot we would have without them, only at the expense of our farm system.

If LaRoche is sent packing I’m assuming the plan is to play Nomar at third, at least until the next injury sets in and spell him with DeWitt as needed. The Dodgers were in the hunt for Adrian Beltre until they realized that his no-trade contract blocks him from returning to LA. Whoops. Here’s a look at who’s currently in their system at the hot corner:

Blake DeWitt: Still in the discussion here and looks to have the potential of a good glove, no pop third baseman in the Bill Mueller mold.

Terry Tiffe: Currently in AAA and almost 30 years old, looks to be an organizational guy that will probably never get a shot at the Ravine.

Shane Justis: Has gotten the majority of the looks at AA, in 81 games he boasts a respectable .360 OBP but only 1 HR. Pass.

Joshua Bell: We have to look to A ball for our first real contender in the form of J Bell, in only 51 games he’s managed 6 HRs, 21 RBI and a solid .373 OBP. He’s at least a few years away but at least he’s someone to keep an eye on.

And there you have it. We could use some options, no? Having missed out on A-Rod, Miggy Cabrera and even Troy Glaus in the offseason the pickings are a bit slimmer if they look outside the organization for help. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make a run at a Hank Blalock type of player either. I know, I know, not very appealing.