Week of 2006-12-02 17:00 to 2006-12-09 16:59

I’m hoping they do a dual news conference for Jason Schmidt and Luis Gonzalez like they did for Juan Pierre and Randy Wolf, because I would love the over-the-top surreality of seeing two former foes donning Dodger Blue simultaneously. With their names on the back.

Schmidt, while not the over-powering monster he once was, can still bring it — witness his striking out 16 Marlins in this complete game last season. From what I’ve read, he is bolstering the not-as-high heat with crazy changeups, so keep an eye out there. (Of course that was 6/6/06, so perhaps the Devil was involved that day. ;)

The 39-year-old Gonzalez is a long ways away from his own salad days, but he will likely still be able to contribute with doubles (52 in 2006) instead of homers. He isn’t the powerful corner outfielder with the big bat we need and were hoping for, but that particular item might still be in the works.

So far this off-season, the Dodgers are being touted as the big winners, at least in the National League. Even the newspapers in rival NL West cities seem to like the moves so far.

San Diego Union Tribune — “Dodgers early leaders in I-5 road rally”

Ned Colletti is only in his second year as general manager of the Dodgers, or any club, but to this point he’s the one burning up the NL West. Whether paying above market value or not – and $44 million to Juan Pierre is above and beyond – he’s putting together a club that would be favored to win the West if the season began Dec. 11.

San Francisco Chronicle — “Dodgers are close to a winner”

While the Giants pin their hopes on a man who turns 43 in July and will face a season’s worth of innuendo about Human Growth Hormone or post-steroid breakdown, depending on how his body holds up, it’s important to notice what’s happening in the rest of the division. The Dodgers, for example, are one strong move away from clinching it right now.

The Arizona Republic — “Dodgers emerge as big winners”

Hard to imagine a team signing future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux and having only the second-best success in its division at baseball’s annual winter meetings.

But that’s pretty much what happened in the National League West this week.

The Dodgers outdid everyone.

The Denver Post — withholding comment so far. ;)

An exciting time, even if it is still December. Much like how hard it is for kids anticipating Christmas this time of year, waiting months until Spring Training is going to be tough.

What’s the name of that Cory Doctorow book? Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town. Well, it looks as if the departing Greg Maddux will be replaced by a certain free-agent pitcher who was last with a certain Northern California team.

“Schmidt says he’s joining Dodgers”

The Dodgers apparently are on the verge of acquiring the power pitcher they’ve coveted, as free-agent right-hander Jason Schmidt on Wednesday told former Giants teammates he accepted a three-year, $47 million offer to pitch in Los Angeles.

In acquiring Schmidt, Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti would succeed in a key step of his offseason Plan B — accumulating surplus starting pitching that not only improves his starting rotation, but could lead to the culmination of Plan A, a power hitter.

We could, for example, turn around and trade Brad Penny in a package for a corner outfielder with plus power. Or we could go into the season with this crazy-good rotation:

1. Jason Schmidt
2. Derek Lowe
3. Brad Penny
4. Randy Wolf
5. Hong-Chih Kuo/Chad Billingsley

And that doesn’t count Mark Hendrickson, Brett Tomko, or Elmer Dessens.

Of course, sports news outlets and blogs all over the country were falling over themselves making “Schmidt” puns. A sampling:

• “Schmidt Will Happen In L.A.”
• “Schmidt happens: Dodgers land free-agent pitcher” (They also couldn’t resist “A piece of Piazza: A’s reach agreement with catcher”.)
• “Dodgers Get Their Schmidt Together”
• “Oh Schmidt! Jason leaves Giants for hated Dodgers”
• “Schmidt-less in St. Louis”

There are plenty more out there. I hope the LA media can show some restraint in the years to come. ;)

Meanwhile, the Mike Lieberthal signing is officially official, so we now have our backup catcher locked up for the season. The ticking just got louder on the Toby Hall countdown timer.

“Mike is a veteran catcher who can help our club in a lot of different ways,” said Colletti. “As a former Gold Glove Award winner, he has a lot to offer Russell Martin and he’ll be able to provide valuable leadership in the clubhouse. He’s another local player who knows what it means to be a Dodger.”

Late today, a report emerged that the rumored signing of Luis Gonzalez was in fact, fact.

The deal is expected to be officially announced Thursday, the final day of the Winter Meetings. The club has targeted Gonzalez, who spent the last eight seasons with Arizona, for outfield help since J.D. Drew’s departure and beat out the Orioles and Cardinals for the veteran’s services.

So, a relatively better news day than yesterday, although there are still questions to be answered.

Apart from the welcome signing of Takashi Saito, this has not been a great day for Dodgers news.

First up, the Red Sox are apparently creating the east-coast equivalent of our last year’s Blue Sox strategy by signing both J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo. Can’t say I’m really sad to see either of them go, but I am concerned about where we will make up Drew’s production such as it was.

Meanwhile, back in the NL West, Greg Maddux is reported to have signed a deal with the San Diego Padres, leaving the Dodgers after a partial season. The one-year deal has now been reported as final on ESPN and elsewhere, although it has not shown up as an official release yet (see my Hot Stove League rules in the previous post) on the Padres homepage, instead being listed as “Padres awaiting Maddux’s decision”. There’s also an article on the Dodgers site from earlier this evening that said:

Boras said rumors that Maddux had agreed to a contract with the San Diego Padres weren’t true, saying only “we’re moving positively in a couple directions.” Maddux wants to remain in Southern California. The Padres are believed to be ready to guarantee a second year, while the Dodgers are not.

Take that for whatever it’s worth. Again, see rule in previous post about Boras. ;)

That article, by the way, is one with the sad title “Dodgers likely parting ways with Gagne”.

Eric Gagne isn’t completely gone yet and neither is Greg Maddux, but agent Scott Boras has them on the verge of becoming ex-Dodgers.

One day after general manager Ned Colletti indicated the Dodgers wouldn’t guarantee significant dollars to Gagne without assurances that he’s healthy, agent Scott Boras virtually cut ties on his client’s behalf, saying it was “very likely” that Gagne would be signed during the Winter Meetings, which close on Thursday.

Both of these could well be Boras trying to play Colletti against himself. No one knows for sure what’s true. Only time will tell.

A couple of other tidbits from that article: the Rangers have asked about Jason Repko (perhaps to bring back some relievers?), and the news about Mike Lieberthal’s signing is being delayed to see if they can trade Toby Hall.

So again, apart from Saito, this has been rather a sobering day for Dodger news. Things are really uncertain right now. Watching ESPNews, it almost feels like an exodus is beginning, even though it isn’t at all what’s going on. I’m looking forward to some more positive news.

The Man from Miyagi is back! The Dodgers announced today that Takashi Saito has re-signed for another year. It’ll be great to see his smiling face and pumping fist in Chavez Ravine.

Saito, who will be 37 when Spring Training opens, went 6-2 with a 2.07 ERA and successfully converted all but two save opportunities in 2006. With a repertoire that includes a moving fastball in the low-90 mph range and a sharp slider and splitter, Saito struck out 107 batters in 78 1/3 innings and limited opponents to a .177 average — right-handed batters hit only .129 off him.

The oldest rookie in Dodgers history, Saito was a four-time All-Star in Japan as a starter and a closer, but he was an outright free agent last winter, and the Dodgers were not required to post a fee to earn the rights to sign him. He has turned out to be quite a bargain in light of the $51 million Boston has anted for the right to sign Japanese starter Daisuke Matsuzaka.

There’s noise that Eric Gagne may be signed by somebody this month. Never mind who that will wind up being — who knows if he even can even pitch for reals any more.

Greg Maddux is likely headed for San Diego now.

As far as all the other rumors go, I think the only way to make it through Hot Stove Season without a migraine is to follow these simple assumptions:

1. The Red Sox are insane; Red Sox fans, doubly so.
2. Corollary to #1, Manny Ramirez will never, ever be traded.
3. You can tell if Scott Boras is lying if his lips are moving. As Jabba the Hutt might have said about him, “This agent is my kind of scum: fearless and inventive.”
4. No deal is true until it has shown up as a press release on the team’s website.
5. Even then, wait until tomorrow to see if it’s still up there.
6. Anybody who says they know what’s going to happen is either lying or deluded.
7. And that includes the players.