Berkeley Haas

Just got the call today, I'm In!!!

DePodesta from Harvard???

Okay, first of all I have to say I respect Paul DePodesta. He became the GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers at age 31. But with all due respect, WTF is he thinking??? I don't claim to be a Dodgers fan, but I do follow the team and I am completely preplexed as to where he is going with the team!

So what is DePodesta doing?
A) Rebuilding
B) Cutting Payroll
C) Increasing Payroll
D) All the above.

Answer: Beats the crap out of me.

His first (non)move of the offseason was to watch the runner-up to Barry Bonds in the NL MVP voting walk to Seattle for a cool 5 year $64 million dollar deal. Okay, so maybe the Dodgers are rebuilding and cutting payroll? Nope, instead, almost as a reactionary move, they go out and sign J.D. Drew for 5 years $55 million dollars. Hmmm ... There is no doubt that Drew is exceptionally gifted, but he's played only one full (145 games) in 6 seasons! Plus Beltre is 4 years YOUNGER than Drew, he's a fan favorite, and he's been with the club since he was 15 years old! I wouldn't trade Adrian Beltre for J.D. Drew and $9 Million dollars, would you?

After the Beltre fallout, DePodesta gets involved in the Randy Johnson deal. But its not to acquire the Big Unit, its to HELP the Yankees out!! Huh? Uh ... okay ... instead of pulling the deal, the Dodgers get cold feet and pull the plug, which draws the aire of the Yankees and raises eyebrows around the league. After thinking that it was all over, the Dodgers then complete a seperate deal to trade Shawn Green and $10 million dollars for a handful of prospects that won't make their top 10 list. Wow, all that to save $6 Million dollars? All that so DePodesta can prove that trading LoDuca and Mota for Brad Penny and Hee Seop Choi last year wasn't a bad deal?

My last grip is with the signing of Odalis Perez and Derek Lowe. I think Perez is a good pitcher, but I don't think he had a lot of suitors. I think the Dodgers got pinned in a corner with the deadline to sign Perez or lose him and they overpaid. And speaking of overpaying, Derek Lowe had a 5.13 ERA last year. 4 years $36 million?? That's a bit excessive isn't it? Especially considering no one else was really interested?? You'd think the Dodgers would have learned from the Kevin Brown deal. But its pretty obvious they didn't - Scott Boras ripped a new one for the Dodgers ... again ...

I'm sorry, I'm not a fan of what DePodesta has accomplished this offseason and I'm not alone (LA Times). However, maybe I'm wrong. It's possible that Beltre was a one-hit wonder and will fade in the background in gloomy Seattle. Perhaps J.D. Drew will stay healthy and contend for the MVP award. Maybe Shawn Green doesn't bounce back to his .320 avg and 42 HR and Choi actually proves that he belongs in the big leagues. Its also not hard to conceive that Lowe will return to his 2002 form and contend for the Cy Young.

I'm rooting for you DePodesta! Show me that Harvard education wasn't a waste of $200K!!!