As reported by Jon Heyman at CBS,
Although they managed to stay under the radar all the while, the Los Angeles Dodgers pushed hard for weeks to try to sign Prince Fielder and thought for a while they might have a legitimate shot at their own secret signing.Yawn! Sure... it's nice to know the Dodger aren't passively sitting on the sidelines. It was even better imagining a lineup that featured Kemp, Ethier and Fielder. But, based on the numbers released we never really had a chance. From Ken Rosenthal:
You know what? I've changed my mind. After all, I'm a cynic at heart.As it turned out, the Dodgers recognized that they stood little chance on Fielder nearly a week before he agreed with Detroit. At that point, Boras informed them that were $50 million to $60 million short of an offer that he already had — the offer that turned out to be the Tigers’.
“It didn’t get to the ninth inning. It got to about the sixth inning,” the source said.
This whole thing is starting to sound like a ruse to me. I don't believe that the Dodgers were ever really in the hunt, but were more than willing to throw their name in the ring as a sign that they aren't just sitting on their laurels. On top of that, McCourt could use the positive publicity showing that at least they tried.
Here is what we know. Based on the actions of the team this winter the Dodgers do not have the budgetary flexibility to sign a big name like Fielder.
We know this is true, so why bother imagining that we can. We are better off focusing on the upcoming season with what we have, and the intentions of the future owner once they are selected. Big free agent signings is a luxury we will only experience after McCourt is gone.
The flip side is that the pursuit of Fielder is what hampered the Dodgers' spending on people like Kuroda.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that we know the money to pay Fielder is there, thanks to the sale and the upcoming TV contract - it's been falsely portrayed as a McCourt issue, but he wasn't going to be the one responsible for paying him.
I see no evidence that everyone involved, including Boras, is faking the existence of these negotiations.
I don't think the discussions between Colletti and Boras were fake, by any means. I believe they did in fact happen. I just believe we never had a shot at it, and I think all of the parties knew that.
DeleteHeck, I've been in sales for a long time, and I know that there is never anything wrong with throwing in a bid, just in case. You never know if the fish will bite.
It's just that the cynical part me this is all fun and games.