Its hard to get serious about whether Joe B. is worth under or over 2 mil after spending a while thinking about Santana and Schmidt. I sort of decided Schmidt was worth gambling a few tens of millions, while Santana wasn't worth a large part of a billion ( contract plus several players under team control for 5 or 6 years). I guess I would try and sign Biemel at close to his figure.

1 yeah that is the thing I was contemplating. the dodgers are going to quibble over several hundred thousand dollars with beimal, but with Jones they would up the few hundred thousand just so he was the highest paid center fielder.

i guess it is a philosophical business stance the dodgers must be taking.

Do we have any other lefties in the pen? If not, sign him. Unless you think Kuo can fill that role.

1 by the way, i wanted to post this comment on the previous post. it is a bit long winded, but that was such a furious and enjoyable commentary on the last post, that i wanted to get my last two cents in.

(from previous thread)Yeah, money is the key thing because if you take into account the amount of money that baseball makes, especially an affluent club like the Dodgers, it is really build a great farm system, like the Braves, and make key FA signings whenever possible. The Dodgers are really in a great position and I think that is why guys like Peter Gammons says quotes like "get ready for the next Dodgers dynasty." I thought the Andruw Jones signing goes right with this philosophy. Big money for a short time.

I understand that not all FA's are going to sign like Jones did, but I think there is a trend that clubs aren't going to automatically go big years anymore. Maybe that is a bit of collusion, but this years FA market was quite a bit different than last years. Really what I am saying is that the Dodgers have positioned themselves where they don't have to make overzealous signing's anymore. Maybe Colletti is learning how to manage his club. I like where they are at. Now we just have to hope that Kemp, Laroche, etc. really turn it on.

My prediction this year is that Loney wins the batting title. I called it. Maybe that will cause a little controversy?

I think Meyer's has more than a shot at making the club as a NRI.

Dodgers Mailbag: Outfield logjam an issue?

http://tinyurl.com/375ccc

4 I'm going to predict that it would be Kemp, except he's going to be one PA (AB?) short of the required number. As a result, it's going to go to Pierre.

This trade is turning into quite an embarrassment.

O's denying reports of Bedard deal

>> More news cropped up late on Monday, when the Baltimore Sun reported that the negotiations have reached a standstill. <<

## As of now, Bedard is still Baltimore property and doesn't appear to be headed anywhere. ##

http://tinyurl.com/2nk6fh

7 are you talking about the batting champ for the team or the league? i was predicting for the league title.

6 Quoting Ken Gurnick in that article: "As soon as you trade Pierre and Jones gets hurt, then what?"

A Young-Kemp-Ethier outfield would provide acceptable amounts of production, wouldn't it?

7 League. Bison all the way.

6 The outfield will be Eithier in left, Jones in center, and Kemp in right. Isn't that correct?

The Dodgers seem to like playing hardball with Beimel. Arbitration hearings two years in a row, and it's also hard to see the Myers and Martin signings as anything but a slap in the face to him.

Can YouTube Guy testify in Joe's favor?

13 If the Dodgers prevail against Beimel, the $450,000 that the team saves will probably pay for two top tier scouts for the year, including their travel expenses.

Did anyone else notice that with one simple change, the Wednesday Dodger caravan group could have included Kuroda, Eithier, Kent, Kemp, and Loney?

Have the Dodgers released any details (time/place) about the Dodger Caravan this year?

I don't imagine anybody saw this over at Dodgers.com's message board, but the board moderator, BennyP, who knows Logan White, said this about in a comment in a thread: "Character is almost more important to Logan White than raw talent. He believes that character will see Greg Miller through his pitching problems and I believe him." I too am keeping a good thought about Miller, but I find it very hard to believe that "character" can correct Miller's control problems, which is not to say that the problems aren't correctable.

Logikreader's Super Bowl Party update:

Well sports fans, before I posted my options (family/friends/LA friends) I decided to spend it with family as I have done for more than 20 years.

Sometimes I split time between venues, but this year it will be a family affair.

Jon: I am not posting the TV specs to indicate that it factors into my decision, but just to illustrate the kind of atmosphere in each place. Nevertheless, I love HDTV.

---

I think 2 million for Beimel is a good investment. If the Dodgers punt on Joe, who could they use as their go-to lefty out of the bullpen? Beimel figures to have learned from 2006.

16 Yes, go to Dodgers.com and if it is not posted on the main page, go to "News" and click "Official Releases" and you will find the press release.

A general calm must prevail on DT. Pedro Feliz signs with the Phils, and whatever discussion that might've taken place about it is over. (I didn't go on the prior threads -- been flying all day.)

Colletti has made wary believers of all.

Can't really give Ned much credit for not acquiring Feliz, when we already have Nomar.

In essence, one mistake prevented another.

20 21 Every time Ned passes on a former Giant, an non-Anaheim angel gets his wings.

Wal-Mart announced Tuesday that it will chop prices between 10 to 30% this week on groceries, electronics and other home-related products in an effort to keep its cash-strapped consumers excited about shopping

Predatory pricing, anyone?

23. I would agree if Wal-Mart ever started practicing monopolistic pricing, which is the next step in predatory pricing. I have yet to see any study on Wal-Mart that shows that prices that consumers pay in an area ever go higher on a real basis than prices were before Wal-Mart showed up.

I'd say that the people this program will hurt the most will be Wal-Mart's suppliers, who will be squeezed even more than they have been.

I'd say that the people this program will hurt the most will be Wal-Mart's suppliers, who will be squeezed even more than they have been

Which, by extension, means the people in China et al. who work for those suppliers, in very poor conditions and for very little money.

Not to mention WalMart employees, who already get locked in over night and don't get paid for over time or health insurance.

25. Well, those people in China are their suppliers, so yes, that is part of the people I was referring to. As for the employees, I doubt there will be that much change for them, so I would not put them in the group of people that will be hurt most by this price cut. I still don't understand why you think that this is predatory pricing.

NPUT.

Does anybody really care how much Beimel makes? As long as he doesn't cut his hand with a glass of beer and he's ready in the bullpen when called upon.