Joe Crede from MLB.com

So this is a little bit of old news from this weekend, but I’m finally catching up.  It’s amazing how much harder it is to keep up with posts when you have an 8 month old daughter who has been up 4-6 times a night for 3 nights.  Yeah…enough said.

Anyway, this one didn’t make a lot of noise in the baseball world, but it definitely caught my attention as a Dodgerfan living in Giants territory.

The Giants wanted Joe Crede.  They have wanted him for 2 years.  They went after him last year and this year, and twice they came up empty.  I’m sure some Giants fans are happy, because he like Orlando Hudson and Rafael Furcal are injury risks, but it’s the fact that they lost him twice that stings.  To lose him twice means he really turned the Giants down.  Who knows if it was money, or location, or negotiations, or that his family likes the snow better, but either way, he didn’t want to play for the Giants.  That has to hurt management, and it probably means other guys felt the same way.

The Giants are plugging this guy Pablo Sandoval to compete for third base.  He came up big at the end of last year, and honestly, a lot of Giants fans see him as the savior to their need for offense.  Being a catcher switching to third base, we’ll see how it goes, but he could be a good spark.  Either way, it still is a second option to Joe Crede.

As a Dodgerfan, I never want to be too mean, but I have no problem seeing the Giants lose who they wanted.  The weaker they are, the sooner the Dodgers can pass them.

Superbowl Logo from NFL.com

So I’m sitting here waiting for the big game to start, with a few minutes to add a post. I always love the Superbowl, one because I’m a football fan, but more because it means one thing: Baseball season is finally here again. Truly, as football ends, fans turn back to baseball. Sounds good to me.

So as I looked at the Cardinals and Steelers, it’s pretty clear why the two teams are there. The Steelers have the best defense, and a very good offense. The Cardinals have an explosive offense, and very solid defense. I’m totally rooting for the underdog Cardinals in this game. I love Kurt Warner and think he is great for football, and life in general. He’s a true hero kids can root for.

So as I tried to tie the Superbowl back to the Dodgers, I started to get a little discouraged. Look at the two teams – their best traits are solid defense and explosive offense. As of this day in the off-season – how many of those do the Dodgers have…none. Yeah, none.

If they get Manny, they could have the explosive offense, but still not to the likes of the Rays, or Yankees, or even the Phillies.

As for Defense, going with Furcal and DeWitt, gives some, but definitely not top tier. It’s even worse if you add pitching to the mix. So does that mean the Dodgers will be bad? Not necessarily, but I do believe it will be hard to win the big show given the team they have right now. I think it will be hard even if they get Manny. I just don’t feel the pitching will be strong enough. If Schmidt comes back, they’ll be closer, but even if Billingsley becomes Lincecum, they’ll still need a strong number 2 and 3.

We’ll see as the season starts – but Colletti still has work to do.

Well – the Steelers just settled for a Field Goal. I haven’t see all the commercials yet, but that first Doritos commercial was hilarious.

Comments on my Dodgers – Cardinals/Steelers comparison. Let me know.

Mark Loretta from mlb.com

Casey Blake from mlb.com

Rafael Furcal from MLB.com

So it’s been a little while since a post since I was traveling.  I took my family down to So. Cal to see the family for Christmas.  We drove down the coast on the way down and then through the valley on the way up.  My kids Grandpa and Grandma had over 1′ of snow in Crestline, so it was great fun to play in the snow.  I knew I was getting close to L.A. when I saw a Dodgers license plate holder in Ventura at a gas station.  I just don’t see enough of those up here.

So since I last posted, the Dodgers signed Mark Loretta, Casey Blake and Rafael Furcal.

First – Loretta.  It’s a nice pick up.  Nothing against him – he’s been a good ball player for a while.  Hopefully off the bench he can hit in a pinch and help the team.  I still think Garciaparra off the bench could be better option, but I bet he still wants to play consistently, and not just off the bench.  Honestly Nomar, you should consider off the bench until you can get rid of the reputation that your legs give out too fast, then go for the full time contract again.

Second – Blake.  I love Casey Blake.  He got mixed reviews in L.A., but he’s a solid player.  2 years would have been better, but at least there is a solid 3rd baseman for 3 years.  He’s not going to be A-rod, but he did great for the Dodgers this last year at times, especially with clutch hits.  He is streaky…but he’s always been that way.  He will be solid.

Finally – Furcal.  There were lots of stories around, but the thing I love is that he wanted to be a Dodger.  It’s obvious he wanted to go to the Dodgers, but wanted a minimum price.  The Braves gave the prices, so he was considering them.   Then the Dodgers realized they would rather have him than anybody else, so they met the price.  Furcal got the team and price he wanted, and the deal was done.  Since he wants to be there, he should be fine.  I’m betting his work in the winter league really influenced this, since his body seems to be back intact…pun intended.

In all three cases – the Dodgers are really re-creating the team from last year.  Now if they can just get some pitching and then Manny – they will be good to go.  The focus has been on Manny, but the Dodgers really need a #1 horse.  Actually they need a #1 and #2 in case one of the other guys goes down.  I’m starting to wonder if they think Jason Schmidt will pitch this year as they didn’t go as hard after C.C. as I thought they would.  We’ll see.  At least they are working on the holes.

Rafael Furcal from MLB.com

So Furcal rejected the A’s offer of 4 years last week, but at a lower per year salary. Now, the A’s are talking to him again. I know Rafael came to Oakland and since I live in the Bay Area, I really wonder what that was like. Here’s the deal…the area around Oakland stadium is a rough area. Flat out…it can be a dangerous area. Even more, the stadium is old and is shared with the Raiders. Definitely not Dodger Stadium up on the hill. I’m sure Billy Beane pitched the new stadium, but it may still move locations and still be 4 years out. There are some nice parts of Oakland in the hills, but the stadium is old and the area around it is rough. If I’m Furcal looking at a new home, that would definitely affect me.

Now, if the A’s can up the ante with 4 years…Furcal might just come…but probably not live in Oakland.

I wonder what Matt Holliday thought of the stadium area….

So my last post on Arbitration was a classic case of being the bay area and being disconnected from L.A. I took Rafael Furcal not getting Arbitration as a potential good thing….according to the L.A. Times I’m a little off. I also finally got the L.A. Times RSS feed on the News page fixed, so hopefully this won’t happen again.

Anyways, here’s the link to the L.A. Times article.

Basically, they didn’t offer arbitration because he played so little last year (not a Type A or B free agent), and they don’t want to pay him more than last year.  Fair from the Dodgers point of you, but if he really can get a 4 year deal from the A’s, then he’s probably gone.  It may change, but it does seem that Coletti really favors the short contracts. 

It will be an intereting off-season, because the team may look very different next year without Furcal, Manny, Kent, Nomar, Penny and Lowe.  The team always makes a splash, but they may end up with more holes again.