"Jon, can you check to see what the Del Monte canned peas cost? I have a coupon."

might be?

You just gave me chills, Bob.

If we sign Molina then Navarro would probably only be in Vegas about 2 weeks or as long as it takes for Sandy to need surgery again, Then Navarro gets the call up. Molina then has some type of hamstring problem and Martin is called up in june. Molina is then traded with OP for Adam Dunn and the Dodgers win the world cup.

I'm torn.

On the one hand I'd love to see a mix of veterans and rookies. I'd like to see that team compete. It would be fun to watch and a joy to root for them.

On the otherhand 1988 was 18 years ago. If the Dodgers could put a World Series run together in 2006 then just be decent for 2-3 years after that I'd seriously consider taking that trade-off.

This could be the second time this offseason that Colletti makes a deal showing that he regrets an earlier deal. For example, if he had signed Garciaparra earlier, would he ever have signed Bill Mueller to play 3B? And if he had known Molina would be available at this price, would he have signed Alomar Jr.? I wouldn't mind having Molina as a pricey but solid second catcher to split time with Navarro. But having both him and Alomar doesn't make sense.

Does adding Molina make this a World Series contender? I don't think think the Dodgers are ready to win a World Series, with or without Molina.

5. If this team wins the world series I will eat my Dodger hat.

If we sign Molina we would be getting him at a greatly discounted price so the price of Alomar added with the price Molina is right now is nowhere near what Molina was worth at the beginning of the offseason. And chances are Alomar gets injured.

My family shopped at Lucky Markets. The Danys Baez of super markets.

10 - my family shopped at Stater Brothers, the Garret Anderson of supermarkets.

Molina could be okay on a one year deal, but this really depends on whether the team thinks Navarro is their starting catcher of the future, or a player without as much potential as Russ Martin. It'll be an interesting sideways comment on the farm if they do decide to pick up Molina, that's for sure. I just wouldn't go beyond a one-year deal anywhere.

7 - this isn't a title team. It's not even a particularly good team in the context of the NL; I expect them to continue getting steamrollered by the likes of the Braves, Cardinals, and even the Mets (if everything is clicking for that club). But they could make another postseason appearance if they get lucky and those offseason surgeries don't turn into extended DL time.

Agreed. Enough is enough already. Give us one young player to root for, and proof that this team won't always be made up of one-year free agent signings.

Fans that did not follow this offseason are in for one big "who the hell is this team?!" on opening day.

I'm scared. We don't really know what direction colleti intends to take the Dodgers in. I just pray he doesn't take them to the same place the Giants are in right now. Navarro came up and did a great job for half a season, I think that warrants an opportunity to be the teams starting catcher.

Does anyone know whether Alomar's salary is guaranteed? If it's contingent on him making the team out of Spring Training, then signing Molina makes more sense. We end up with Molina/Navarro, and Sandy starts his coaching career.

Even if the contract IS guaranteed, it's a drop in the bucket and they would surely waive him instead of sending Navarro down, wouldn't they? Who wouldn't rather have Navarro over Alomar?

Whole Foods is the Manny Ramirez of supermarkets.

If this is how Ned is at home, he must rearrange his living room every 3 months. Sheesh, let's leave well enough alone at this point.

Didn't see this mentioned before, but Baseball Prospectus has a nice off-season analysis of ol' Ned's chess moves...

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4712

Off Topic::

Does anyone know if Spring Training is covered in Extra innings? I did'nt purchase it last year until opening day.

On Topic::

I dont see why Navarro backing up Molina is that big of a deal. Why would anyone assume it would be Alomar backing up Molina? Why is Navarro as back up for 1 yr scary? Why is 1 yr of rentals certain doom for the Precious(Jackson5)?

Rob, did I see on your site that your company moved to Westwood? You're now commuting from Garden Grove there? I feel for you.

Jon, I couldn't agree with you more. When I saw that perhaps the Dodgers would Molina, I was very suprised.

I am hoping that this is a smokescreen to drive up his price elsewhere. The only way I'd approve this is if there were plans to ship Navarro and Odalis (or Lowe) and maybe Cruz to Philly for Abreu or something like that.

I want to think that Colletti has a plan.

Let's say that we do sign B. Molina and plan on keeping Dioner. How do you split the time between two guys who clearly hit LHP better than they hit RHP?

It seems like this would add another redundancy to the roster. Colletti seems determined to have a team that can withstand injury at any position. And... well.. that's good considering he's added guys like Nomar, Alomar, Lofton.

I'm surprised that those of you who are so ready to trade Eric Gagne don't see the potential yield from trading Navarro. No, I don't want to see him go, but the logic of "sell high" applies more to Navarro than any other Dodger player right now. The guy had a good 1/3 of a season, playing a position where many teams are deficient, and he's still years away from arbitration. The line forms on the right.

22 I'm not sure that anyone would disagree with that. I think the anxiety comes from the worry that there is no plan and that the team will start ST with Molina, Alomar, Navarro and Martin all in the system.

The Dodgers are going to have a killer split squad in ST.

If anyone's interested, Grady Little is doing an online chat at 2 p.m. today, hosted by Dodgers.com.

Who said he's old-school?

23 - I personally don't have that worry. I don't even know if I'm worried.

26 - didn't mean to speak for you.

25 - I can see Grady closely examining the keyboard for the 'x'.

25 - Me! Wait until you see his responses.

27 - It's cool.

I don't like the feel of what Colletti is doing, and there are individual moves that I disagree with completely. But I'm really just trying to avoid "worry" mode.

"Oh look, Shake and Bake, two for one! Oh and the beets are on sale too!"

22 - I'm totally with you on this ... except I don't see an obvious trading partner, inasmuch as nobody is rushing out to sign B.Molina. I do think that trading Navarro now and prepping the heir-apparent Martin by signing B.Molina is a good decision ... if Martin is, in fact, superior to Navarro.

Something to consider: Navarro was a DePodesta pursuit, Martin drafted by the White-Ng-Evans regime.

When I was a kid, the worst thing was having to go to the bank with my mom. Talk about endless.

Not to date myself, but that was pre ATM days.

HQ Projections
Name/HR/BA/OBP/Slug%S/Comments
Molina/14/283/321/422 90% contract rates and excellent line drive ability
Navarro/5/265/336/379 Excellent patience support BA

Bill James
Molina/13/274/315/405
Navarro/7/263/335/371

Hard to see how the increase in slug that Molina will give us is worth the 3-5 million it would take to sign him. At this point they are about the same value with Navarro giving up power but gaining in OBP and the fact he is not glacier slow. Unless Ned is planning on signing Molina for one year while Martin percolates and then trading Navarro in combination with someone else for a significant player I can't see signing on for the deal even though in the beginning I thought one year of Bengie would have some value.

7 & 8

How can you be so sure the 2006 Dodgers won't make a World Series run? Those '88 guys weren't mashers. Would anyone have thought in late '87 early '88 that Hershiser would be Cy Young and Gibson would have been the MVP? Eh, you never know.

My point is the debate for trading prospects is to contend now. The flip is you'd rather play with what you have and hopefully get better.

I've been patiently waiting since '88 for another Dodger World Series. If Colletti pulls that off this year I'm fine with losing Edwin Jackson, Chuck Tiffany, Milton Bradley, Antonio Perez, and possibly even Dioner Navarro.

the bank was nothing, how about the dept. store? I have less that fond memories of Mom saying, "I just want to stop by the shoe dept. for a minute". Right!

35 How about going into the appliance section and not being allowed to touch anything? Might as well take me to the candy store and say, "OK, time to look but don't ask me to buy it."

34 I think the more important point is how much Molina increases the odds of the Dodgers becoming a world series team.

The worst was suit-shopping with my Dad. He was fussy, wanted to try on everything in the store.

There is only so much amusement to be had from looking at yourself in a three-way mirror.

The worst was home furnishings. Furniture, sheets, towels, etc. I'd rather have sat in the car, in the summer sun, while my Mom scored crack.

In the dept store I would hide under the round racks. My mom would be yelling for me and i would jump out at her when she was close by.

At the grocery store (Vons BTW) I would chill at the magazine rack, sit on the floor and read the sporting news.

At the bank, id ask for they keys and go sit in the car. I'd turn everything on, the radio at full blast, the wipers, the lights and when my mom would start the car everything would go ape-stuff.

yes, i have no kids yet and soon what comes around will go around. (my poor wife, lol)

It's amazing that a 12-year old boy and a 40-year old man can have the same expression on his face when forced to go shopping when he doesn't want to.

I didn't see this mentioned here, but Gurnick did his write-up for the catcher's position yesterday. According to Gurnick, it is all about the youth, with Navarro and Martin. He even mentions twice that the Dodgers didn't pursue a vet like Molina as they did with other positions on the field. Is there any reason to think that this debunks any Molina rumors? Would the Dodgers allow this to be published on their webpage and then sign Molina a couple of days later?

42 I don't see why not, they'd just say "We didn't think he'd be available, but we couldn't pass up a catcher of Bengie's caliber, Gold Glove, pennant experience, blah blah blah."

Sounds like an agent trying to squeeze more money out of Toronto. I'm sure he advised Molina not to take the NY offer and is skating on thin ice right now. Lots of players I'd like to see screwed by the FA process but Bengie was not one of them.

Does anybody know if we sign Bengie if we lose more draft picks?

The absolute worst for me was getting dragged to the doctor's office and waiting for her to come back from behind the glass door. I had a choice of reading either Sunset Magazine, or Highlights. I hated Highlights.

Goofus hated Highlights. Gallant read Highlights with enthusiasm and pride.

If the breaks go the Dodgers way they could be a WS team. This is how I could envision it happening.
Step 1 - Mueller blows out his knee and Nomar takes over at 3b with Choi filling in at 1st base. Nomar stays healthy and slugs 500 while Choi does his expected 250/375/500 when given at bats.
Step 2 - JD Drew is able to play 120 productive games
Step 3 - Kent does not show any age decline
Step 4 - Penny/Lowe combine to be a solid 1/2.
Step 5 - Seo proves last year was not a fluke and posts another < 3.00 ERA.
Step 6 - Odalis stays healthy, when healthy he contributes at a decent clip.
Step 7 - Tomko shows he really does love pitching in LA and become average instead of pure puuky.
Step 8 - Billingsly gives us what Matt Cain gave the Giants last Sept
Step 9 - Jose Cruz hits like he did in Aug/Sept
Step 10 - Jason Werth recovers his power and gives us a solid platoon in CF with Lofton
Step 10A - Gagne/Baez/Yhancy/Broxton/Kuo close doors like the 2003 team.

A simple 10 step process that will find the Dodgers good enough to knock off the Mets/Cardinals/Phillies/Braves.

46- Trips to the Doctors as a kid made me the push-the wood ring-on the rainbowed wire track-roller coaster champion that I am today. To this day I find it hard to resist the urge to push a wooden ring on a rainbowed wire track.

42-43 I agree. This is one of the reasons I come here and other sites, to get news, not PR crap. Remember, the Dodger site also said every move we've made this off season was a good thing. It's their job, I don't blame them, but I also wouldn't rely on them wholly for news.

47 I was pretty-much Goofus until I turned 30.

I did like "My Weekly Reader" however. I remember learning about Bot's Dots from that paper.

49 - I haven't seen one of those in years, but I can't resist them, either.

What are some of the Questions you would like to ask Mr. Grady Little?

I think I might ask what he thinks about Hee Sop Choi and how he feels about awkward arm angles.

19 - dear sweet mother of Jesus, yes.

http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2006/01/wtny-2006-top-10.html

The wifey and I are half-heartedly considering a move to the Westside, maybe Beverlywood or Culver City. I actually had to make the commute during rush hour today (normally I get in around 10:30 - 11:00 or so), which wasn't as awful as I expected, but still pretty much solid stop-and-stop from La Tijera to the 10, and that was without any "incidents".

47 - A long-ago friend of mine who used to work at Disneyland in one of the not-quite-but-almost lowliest-of-the-lowly jobs there (bathroom maintanence) told me once that there were two kinds of employees in the Magic Kingdom: those who really believed and lived all the Disney propaganda -- and those who were actually subversives. She was the latter kind, and as a result, a ton of fun to be around.

That, I always thought, was the kind of guy that Goofus was. Or maybe Gallant on his days off.

Oops, the link in 55 was supposed to be

http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2006/01/pickoff-moves-waiting-for-goddamn.html

How did that get by Jon's censor?

One more thought on Molina, I almost want him to be signed out of mercy due to the fact that if Ned does not sign him he will be forced to sign with Toronto and no one should have to sign with a candian team no one.

45 - The Angels didn't offer Molina arbitration...so the Dodgers would not lose any draft picks for signing him.

57- Why would you ask Grady that?

As I kid, I never really minded the supermarket trips (the mini-aisle with the cap guns and water balloons kept me reasonably entertained) or the bank trips (remember those pre-ATM drive-throughs where you'd put your depost in the tennis ball cannister, which would shoot through tubing?), but the trips to the wallpaper store, God, those were torture.

Regarding Molina: I never realized just how slow he really is until a couple of years ago. He grounded to third to start what would turn into a triple play. And when the ball reached first, two outs later, they still got Bengie by three steps.

I would like to see us sign Molina...trade navarro, gagne and izturis for Man-Ram...I know navarro isn't a real fit with Beantown, but I could see some moves if Molina is signed.

Aahh, the pneumatic tubes at bank drive-ups. I remember my sister putting a bunch of coin rolls in the cannister and then looking quizzically as she heard a loud THUMP come from the tube. The teller's voice then came through the speaker saying "what did you put in there!".

58 - ?

64- Toronto is in Canada correct? If not then I really have to take a geography class.

It was meant to be a sympathetic comment in that the weather up there is way colder then SoCal and the people are a little different plus where would you find a good mexican restaurant in Toronto? Not that Molina likes mexican food but if I'm ever in Toronto are there any recommendations?

62-huh? Take on Manny's big ego/personality and his salary? For Izturis, Gagne and Navarro? From my point of view, I don't see how one Manny = Izturis/Gagne/Navarro.

65- Maybe he meant 57. If he didn't, I'll admit that I don't understand what 57 meant.

67-In 56 in the link the phrase GodDamn appears and I would assume the poster was confused as to how that phrase was left unfiltered.

I loved going to the grocery store, because starting at about age 8 or 9 we were allowed to ride our bikes to Ray's Market, about 5 or 6 blocks from our house, and buy whatever mom needed for dinner that night. I couldn't imagine letting my kids do that now.

67 - No, I meant 58. And I'm still digesting (no pun intended) 65.

68- Ah. Thanks.

This isn't BTF. The only filters exist between our brains and the keyboard.

Think about how slow Molina is in warm weather now multiply that by 10 and thats the speed you will get from Molina in Toronto, due to cold weather, and I feel that type of embarassment is inhumane and we as humans should spare Bengie the humiliation that Toronto would cause him.

65
Not that Bengie is Mexican. I'd rather be sent to Toronta and play in the Dome then be sent to Washington/Florida and suffer the gnats and humidity.

Quick unrelated question: has the CSS file for the site changed recently? The comments look... funny... in Safari.

If you think that arguement is thin wait till you hear my thoughts about why patatoes are the greatest food on the planet.

72
True, but Jon normally points out very nicely whenever someone forgets.

73 - from http://www.toronto.ca/quality_of_life/diversity.htm

"Multiculturalism — it's what sets Toronto apart from other big North American cities. Toronto is home to virtually all of the world's culture groups and is the city where more than 100 languages are spoken."

I think those who are against an acquisition like Molina (or Lofton, Garciaparra, Furcal for that matter) are operating under the assumption that the Dodgers are working within the confines of a medium sized 80-85 mill budget cap. If true, those arguments are certainly valid arguments. However, if say the Dodgers are now a 100 mill budget (or even 110+), then those arguments start to make less and less sense.

I'd love to see Dioner get a full year as starting catcher, if the alternative choice is to use up salary that is better devoted elsewhere due to a specified salary limit. But if there is no limit, why wouldn't you want a guy who has posted above-average offensive numbers for a catcher, AND has two gold gloves under his belt already, especially given the problems Navarra has had throwing out runners? How is he NOT an improvement over Navarro if $ was not a serious issue here?

My point is maybe this is a sign that Frankie is freeing up more dough, sick of losing, finally turning some of that 3 mill attendance $ back our way, and if so, who wouldn't want to add a gold glove catcher, one of the best shortstops in the game, and a former perennial allstar who was halted by injuries but is now healthy? Sure, we can't offer 60 million dollar guaranteed contracts left and right like the Yanks or Red Sox, but it's an improvement.

Curtis 18 regarding MLB Extra Innings....I had the MLB.com subscription last season (MLB All Access) and they had the radio broadcasts for just about all spring training games. The TV coverage was spotty.

Related topic to this...did anyone out there have the MLB All Access package in years past? And if so, did you like the Condensed Games feature?

I specifically got it for that last season (I'm an East Coaster who has to get up at 5:00 am Eastern, so staying up until 2:00 am every night isn't possible), and was quite underwhelmed with it. They rarely showed the complete game, missed half innings many times, skipped base hits, etc.

Just wondered what anyone else thought as I'm debating on getting it again this season.

66 - I'd take on Manny's ($19M) 40 HR 130 -140 RBI for Gagne ($12M option) 45 saves(maybe - health?) Izturis ($3M) inconsistant bat - gold glove - health issues and Navarro (or Werth or Repko for Sox CF).

With Furcal, what are we going to do with Izzie? Trade him.
If you trade Navarro, Molina is a place sitter until Martin comes up from Vegas.
Gagne is salary is going to go through the roof. Baez is a 1/3 the price.

share your thoughts...

IIRC Bengie is Puerto Rican. Not sure what kind of foot Mrs. Molina serves them, but it doesn't seem to be helping. IIRC he actually dropped about 30 pounds at the beginning of 2005 and he was a step or two quicker, but for Bengie, that just meant he was closer to average.

When you can say 1000 languages are spoken then someone from LA might be impressed. Other then that, 100 languages is just an Orange line/Red Line trip to Union Station.

79
Navarro has no problem throwing out runners. He had a 31% rate in the minors. The Dodger pitchers have a problem holding on runners. Even Pudge could not overcome the lax attitude of D Lowe and company when it comes to baserunners.
My problem with the trade is that at this point Navarro is already just as good as Bengie without the injury history.

Would signing Molina send some fencewalkers (Angels/Dodgers) the Dodgers way?

Gagne has way better Hygeine than Manny.

81 - Baez is 1/3 the price this year. But at free agency, what will he command - 7-8 mill per year? Then he's 2/3 the price.

But I agree, I'd trade Gagne for a big bat.

79 - That's my Dad's theory.

75 - Yeah, something was/is up. It'll get fixed.

I didnt say mexican food implying that he's mexican. I said it as how could anyone from SoCal be happy moving somewhere with no or cheap mexican food. I know I would not be bale to survive without Quality mexican food.

84 - How is Navarro "already as good as Bengie"? because he batted .275 and 3 hr for half a season, all of which in practically meaningless games? 2 gold gloves, playoff experience, 3 years of offensive production versus half a season of promising play. RIght now, for one year, Molina is the better player for sure.

79
I think those who are against an acquisition like Molina (or Lofton, Garciaparra, Furcal for that matter) are operating under the assumption that the Dodgers are working within the confines of a medium sized 80-85 mill budget cap. If true, those arguments are certainly valid arguments. However, if say the Dodgers are now a 100 mill budget (or even 110+), then those arguments start to make less and less sense.

Exactly, there are ALOT OF PEOPLE around here that complain about salaries, EVEN IF ITS A 1 YEAR CONTRACT, alot of penny pinchers around here that are consumed by the moneyball aspect of payroll (sorry to be blunt about this).
What does it matter IF ITS ONLY A 1 YEAR CONTRACT, since mccourt has said he will spend to win.
But with that said, i don't want molina because navarro deserves a shot to start and we need to filter in some youngsters instead of them all arriving at the same time.

73. Yeah, because it is generally really cold during most of the baseball season. Also, I don't know if you've ever been to Toronto, but it is really one of the best cities I've been to for a number of ethnic cuisines, a Chinatown that is equal to any I've been to in the US, the only significant concentration of Portuguese restaurants that I know of, and yes a Mexican population that is pretty decent sized compared to anywhere outside of Mexico, the American southwest, and Chicago.

87 - And your dad is wise, right?

Whatever kind of food Bengie Molina likes to eat, he can find it in Toronto. Toronto is not a city full of Bob and Doug McKenzie types.

It's somewhat like L.A. except with good public transportation and less garbage on the streets.

83 Well, the number of living languages used by more than a small percentage world wide is like, 160-something. In fact I think that's roughly the number of living languages in the US. 1000+ is a stretch anywhere but maybe africa... ah, screw it, I just looked it up on Ethnologue (http://www.ethnologue.com/ethno_docs/distribution.asp?by=size).

Still, 1000+ is a stretch for anywhere that's not a continent.

90 - Agreed. I actually don't feel that Molina would be that much of an upgrade over Navarro, but definitely an upgrade. That's different from whether or not I'd LIKE to see Navarro start the season as starting catcher. For my own selfish reasons (invested time into following him, went through pain in giving up players for him, curious as to whether last year was legit), I'd like to see Navarro play. But if the criteria is solely fielding the best DOdger team for 2006, Molina is the better catcher than Navarro.

91- Doubt it. I dont trust your restraunts anymore since according to you the Restraunts you attend do not allow the wearing of hats and condone the act of food spitting if a hat is worn. And yes it is a great deal colder than Anaheim during the baseball season.

I just looked at pictures of Toronto and it does look like a beautiful place to visit however I was unable to find any information regarding mexican eatery's.

http://tinyurl.com/8eumy

http://tinyurl.com/dw9lw

Toronto is a good food place. St. Louis has some surprisingly good ethnic places. Heck Nashville will give LA a good run for the money in Ethnic eating (the best indian place I have eaten at is run from a taqueria type trailer). Less than five minutes from my house are great Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Persian, Turkish, Sushi and Mexican places. Alas, no real mongolian. And ah for some good lebanese grape leaves. I'm hungry now, but that's better than childhood memories of traveling store with my mom.

98-Thanks for the links but I doubt they are any good. Is there such a thing as Canadian food?

99- I doubt anywhere would give LA a run for its money.Sushi in Nashville?

96. So when you say that Toronto is a good deal colder than Anaheim during the baseball season are you specifically refering to June, when the difference in the average temperature of the two cities is 2.5 degrees, or July, when the difference is 1.1 degrees, oh no, it must be August, when the difference in temperature is is a whopping 2.7 degrees.
And should your tastes even count when you consider a baseball hat acceptable attire for a romantic evening out?

100. Really, because I have never seen a decent Ethiopian place in LA, and even cities like DC have decent Ethiopian places.

101- I doubt your numbers. And why not? In a world where millions can be made bagning on trash cans while painted blue is it really so bizarre to wear a cap out for a romantic evening?

Navarro should net us at least a Rudy Saenez, if not an Al Reyes.

102- Ethiopian huh?

102

You sure about that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ethiopia,_Los_Angeles,_California

106. Hopefully it has improved since the last time I ate Ethiopian in LA in 1994, but it really was god-awful compared to anywhere else.

103. As for not believing my numbers why don't you google the average monthly temperatures of Toronto and Anaheim to check for yourself? And as for painting yourself blue and banging on trashcans, do you trust those people to make restaurant recommendations for you?

I'm curtailing the international restaurant wars with a new post up top.

Aw shucks.

95

Most seem to be looking at this as a Molina or Navarro equation, but wouldn't it really be Molina AND Navarro? Can anyone seriously imagine the Dodgers sending Navarro down so Alomar can play?

If this is a prelude to another trade, that's a different matter. But it's plausible that they're looking at Bengie because they think they can contend and are having second thoughts about Alomar.

102 I've eaten here a few times and it was very good.

Nyala
1076 South Fairfax Ave.

Los Angeles, CA. 90019

Tel 323•936•5918
fax 323•936•1261

111 I'm no Ethiopian food expert, but I hear there are quite a few good places on Fairfax.

111. Why thank you, I don't think that was open the last time I was in the area, so the next time I am there, I will be sure to give it a try.

47 - Jon's Goofus/Gallant comment was brilliant. I'm having flashbacks of the dentist's office...