Game Over Revisted?

Eric Gagne is back in Dodger Blue. Four years after he threw his last pitch for the Dodgers, Gagne and the Dodgers have reached an agreement to bring the former Cy Young winner back to L.A. Gagne will sign a minor league deal worth $500K with an invitation to Spring Training, which officially gets underway Saturday at The Ranch when pitchers and catchers officially report. Should Gagne make the team, he could earn an additional $500K in performance incentives, and would likely be the sixth inning reliever for the Blue, although I doubt he makes the team based on his recent ineffectiveness.

We all remember how Gagne electrified Dodger Stadium crowds from 2002 to 2004 with his ninth inning dominance. During that span, Gagne had a whopping 152 saves, including a Major League record 84 straight over a two-year span, to go along with ERAs of 1.97, 1.20 and 2.14. In his five seasons as the team's closer from 2002 to 2006, his strikeout ratios were among the best in baseball with his strikeouts per 9 IP ratio ranging between 12.5 and 15.0. His strikeouts to walk ratio was even more impressive as he posted ratios between 5.18 and 7.33 between 2002 and 2005.

Gagne won the N.L. Cy Young Award in 2003, but injuries in 2005 and 2006 limited him to just 16 total games even though he was a perfect 9 for 9 in save opportunities in those last two seasons. Prior to 2002, Gagne struggled to get his groove in the Dodger rotation after making his Major League debut in 1999.

Gagne signed with Texas as a free agent before the 2007 season and pitched well enough that Boston acquired him mid-season for the stretch-run. He struggled mightily with the Red Sox but would end up being part of Boston's 2007 World Series Championship team. He then pitched for Milwaukee in 2008, continuing to struggle before spending last season with a Canadian independent team. He didn't fare much better there either.

Gagne's name showed up in the Mitchell Report in 2007, and many have attributed his injuries and sudden down fall in 2007 and 2008 to possible steroid use, though no hard evidence suggested he ever used.

Here's hoping he proves me wrong and does make the team!

Frank McCourt Interview

Jon Weisman recently sat down with Dodgers owner Frank McCourt for a one-on-one interview. In it, McCourt discussed a number of things surrounding the state of the team, including personnel moves, arbitration, player development, the budget, and his perception and belief in himself and the decisions he makes.

Great column and interview. It's long, but well worth the read.

Obviously some people will still disagree with half of what McCourt says, whether he's telling us everything or not, but Weisman did a fantastic job asking questions that many of us as fans are concerned about when it comes to the Dodgers.

And I think Weisman hits the hammer on the nail when he says this:

Of course, what McCourt believes about himself ultimately isn't relevant. What's relevant is whether the Dodgers organization will thrive going forward. And I'm going to go this far: This team will live or die on its judgment – on the judgment of McCourt and the people he employs – rather than on McCourt's finances. His bank account, despite what most people have concluded this offseason, is not destroying the team.

I'm an objective person, and I truly believe, as Weisman notes, that the demise of this team going forward is going to be based on the development of players and other personnel decisions rather than how much they can spend or save based on the payroll budget. I'm a true believer in spending for the right reasons, and spending wisely, and not spending just for the sake of spending. To me, it seems that the Dodgers are, at the very least, trying to make decisions for baseball reasons, and not necessarily for budgetary purposes, at least this off-season.

Stealing Headlines on Super Bowl Sunday?

Ok, this is getting ridiculous. Now it just seems like all the Dodgers are doing is signing random players to minor-league deals and hope something sticks after they've been thrown at a wall.

The latest victim is Brian Giles, four years too late.

Giles almost became Ned Colletti's very first signing as the Dodgers' GM in the spring of 2006 when Giles opted to return to San Diego at the last minute. Because of that, Colletti wound up signing Rafael Furcal instead.

Now Colletti and Giles have come full circle.

Giles will likely compete to be a fifth outfielder. But because of the Dodgers recent history of carrying 12 pitchers out of Spring Training, the chances of Giles making the team as such is virtually remote and non-existent. He's never played first base either so the chances of him seriously challenging Doug Meintkiewicz for the back-up there is slim to none, as well.

The Dodgers need a legitimate power left-handed bat off the bench. Meintkiewicz doesn't have any power, and Giles left his in Pittsburgh.

So why was Giles signed?

Beats me.

And I'm sure Reed Johnson's wondering the same thing.

*****

We can also officially say farewell and bon voyage to Orlando Hudson, who signed up with Minnesota late this past week for one year and about $5MM.

I'm particularly disturbed by how the Dodgers shunned him at the end of last season and virtually let him walk without even picking up a phone and saying, "Hey Orlando, we loves ya!"

Send us a postcard from the Twin Cities, O-Dog! You are a true pro!

And Yet Another...

And this one's a familiar face. Jeff Weaver is returning to the Blue on a minor league deal rather than a Major League deal because of roster restrictions on the 40-man roster. He should make the team out of Spring Training as the long-man/spot-starter out of the bullpen once they figure out the 40-man roster dilemma.

Also, Guillermo Mota has jumped shipped and signed a minor league deal with the Hated Ones to the North.

Another Signing

And another outfielder. This time it's Alfredo Amezaga to a minor league deal.

Reed Between the Lines: Johnson Signs

He gets a one-year deal to serve as the Blue's fourth outfielder and his signing all but assures three things:

1. Doug Meintkiewicz will make the team as the only left-hander off the bench.
2. Ronnie Belliard will be the team's everyday second baseman.
3. Blake DeWitt will not make the team, and will start the season in Triple-A, again.

All this is made possible by the simple fact the Dodgers generally go with a 12-man pitching staff rather than 11. This means the Dodgers will likely go with five bench players rather than six.

Jamey Carroll is the super-utility guy, and recently re-signed Brad Ausmus is Russell Martin's back-up. Johnson is the fourth outfielder, and either Nick Green, Angel Berroa or Chin-Lung Hu will be the back-up middle infielder. All of these players are right-handed hitters, leaving the team with just one bench spot left and just one guy at this point to be the primary lefty off the bench: Meintkiewicz.

With most pitchers being predominantly right-handers, this leaves the Dodgers with a predicament, unless they plan on going with just 11 pitchers instead. Or, they could perhaps still sign yet another outfielder such as Garret Anderson or Brian Giles, unless they go with Xavier Paul, all left hand hitters. Anderson or Giles could conceivably be brought in as a back-up first baseman, as well, though between them they've only played one career game at the position making this scenario highly unlikely.

Don't get me wrong, I love Meintkiewicz as a player, but he simply has no power in his bat, and that's what the team sorely needs.

Any way you slice it though, the Dodgers have an interesting problem on hand, and only time will tell how they decide to shape out the remainder of the roster.