CENTER OF ATTENTION...

The Dodgers have been looking for a power hitter for the entire offseason, so on wedenday the Dodgers inked Juan Pierre to a 5 year deal worth $45 million. The move makes sense in many ways. It gives the Dodgers a tremendous 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup, and concistency on the team. Juan Pierre has not missed a game in more than 4 years. Juan can also be counted on to get around 200 hits, and steal at least 45 bases. Despite his many accents, he does have a number of flaws in his game. Juan has one of the weakest throwing arms in the game today, and Brad Penny has more pop in his bat. Juan is a good player, but in no way is he a $45 million player. One has to question the motive behind this move. If Ned Colletti is throwing around money, then might as well throw it at players who fill the team needs. I have not heard a single news report on the Dodgers targeting Barry Zito, and only hearing whispers on Jason Schmidt. Ned needs to get on the ball. Now that "El Caballo" Carlos Lee has signed with the Houston Astros, the free agent pool for power hitters is all but gone. Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, and Cliff Floyd are the last of what you can call "middle of the order" hitters, and these guys are on the downward slope of their careers. It is time that the Dodgers part ways with some of their prospects in order to bring in a legit power hitter. I have been opposed to trading prospects, but I will relent my thoughts if they are able to bring in the likes of Vernon Wells, Andruw Jones, or Miguel Cabrera. Ned needs to do something to bolster the middle of the lineup. At the present time, our projected 3-4-5 hitters are Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent, and Andre Ethier. I doubt this three-some is making anyone cringe.

I was unable to post anything in sometime due to some personal matters. So I was unable to share my thoughts on the Nomar, but needless to say, I am quite happy. During that span, the Arizona Fall League came to an end. I will post my thoughts on how our prospects farred.


BELIEVE IN BLUE!