It’s possible, but unlikely A-Rod’s going to Dodgers
Do you trust the Parking Lot Attendant?
Do you believe Frank McCourt when he talks about the possibility of the Dodgers signing Alex Rodriguez, and says, “If Ned [Colletti] and Joe [Torre] were to come to me and say, this is smart, wise and will help us in the future, I’m all ears.â€
By almost all accounts, the Parking Lot Attendant struggled, borrowing as much as he could to buy the Dodgers for $430 million three years ago. Does he have what it takes now to make a $300- to $350-million commitment to one player for the next decade?
Just how much will it cost to park at Dodger Stadium 10 years from now?
DO YOU consider Torre naive -- one week on the job and still getting to know everyone -- when he says, “It’s possible, it’s possible, it’s possible†the Dodgers might sign A-Rod?
“All I can tell you,†Torre is quoted as saying in published reports, “I know the McCourts are certainly dedicated to putting the Dodger franchise on the right track. They understand the pride factor. We talked about that a lot.
“But again, they’re businesspeople. They’re certainly going to take into consideration what they can do that makes sense. And the fact that they have a lot of young players certainly could help make their decision too.â€
The Dodgers have a roster of young, promising and cheap players -- cheaper yet had Colletti not overpaid Rafael Furcal, Juan Pierre and Jason Schmidt -- but still maybe the perfect payroll to absorb such a high-priced individual.
Three years ago, McCourt took the names off the back of Dodgers jerseys because, he said, it’s all about team.
So does McCourt make it all about one player now, beginning every season for the next 10 years paying A-Rod $30 million and then surrounding him on the cheap with 24 other players?
It’s great for marketing to even suggest such a thing, but do the Dodgers pull the trigger and become the next generation’s Barry Bonds/Giants?
When you start every season paying someone $30 million, there’s very little margin for payroll error (Schmidt, Bill Mueller, Randy Wolf). And Colletti still is the Dodgers’ general manager. It might require Frank’s Old Lady to wear the same dress more than once.
A-ROD AND Torre, though, sound like such a winning pair. Wouldn’t it be cool to give them a chance to win a World Series -- something they could never do together while in New York?
Wouldn’t it be fun to see just how good they really are together -- minus the huge payroll the Yankees had to back them up the last few years?
You would think A-Rod would be looking for a team that wouldn’t put him in the playoff position of embarrassing himself again -- making the Dodgers his perfect home.
But forget it.
I BELIEVE A-Rod will be playing in Anaheim. It’s only a guess, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s already a done deal.
A-Rod walked away from the final three years of his Yankee contract calling for an annual salary of $27 million, and holy J.D. Drew, I don’t believe he does that unless agent Scott Boras knows where A-Rod will draw his paycheck next season.
Dodgers fans thought the heartless Drew was nuts when he walked away from the final three years of a deal calling for $11 million a season to sign for an average of $14 million a season for the next five years with Boston.
The Yankees have said they’re done with A-Rod. The Mets have the best left side of the infield in baseball. The Cubs are for sale and broke the budget a year ago. Boston has the World Series MVP and the key to their clubhouse chemistry in Mike Lowell. San Francisco looks like a retirement home for over-the-hill baseball players, just re-signing a 40-plus shortstop.
It would be hard to identify another team with the money and big city stage A-Rod requires, given his march on 700-plus home runs and more than 3,000 hits.
Boras knows all that, of course, the number of suitors for A-Rod’s expensive services thereby limited, and yet his client cut out the Yankees and the bidding leverage they might offer.
Why? I believe Boras has known for some time A-Rod will play for the Angels. I also believe owner Arte Moreno has known for some time that A-Rod will be wearing an Angels’ uniform.
Maybe they haven’t talked to each other yet -- easing the concern of the baseball tampering police -- but it makes the most (cents).
Boras is the best at what he does, charged with the assignment of getting the most for his clients, and who has the most to offer?
Moreno has the bucks and has been willing to spend them for some time now on a big bat to support Vladimir Guerrero -- missing out in one way or another on Miguel Tejada, Paul Konerko, Alfonso Soriano, Manny Ramirez, Mark Teixeira and I’m sure I’m forgetting someone else.
A-Rod has hit 518 home runs playing for an American League team, hitting .332 in the 77 games he’s played in Anaheim with 29 home runs and 66 RBI. He’ll fit right in at third base.
When the window of opportunity opened a few years back allowing someone to sign Guerrero, although his payroll was already set, Moreno grabbed him.
He now has the chance to land the best player in the entire game -- maybe to ever play the game, and although I imagine there was some haggling or will be some haggling when it comes to the final price tag, I believe A-Rod will play for the Angels.
And I believe parking prices at Dodger Stadium will still continue to climb.
STOPPED BY the Kings-Ducks game in Anaheim and someone handed me a news release. FSN Prime Ticket asked hockey fans to give a name to the Kings-Ducks rivalry. Surprisingly, “Who Cares†didn’t win.
“Freeway Face-Off†was selected, and as you might imagine, a contest like this drew tremendous interest -- with 65 submissions from the 16 million or so folks who live in the area.
THE DUCKS were winning, 3-2, in the third period, making the prospect of overtime a real possibility -- so I left.
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T.J. Simers can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.
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