Mookie!

Holy Moly!

Are you kidding me?

After weeks and months of speculation the Dodgers appear to have pulled off a trade that only a patient architect could achieve. The Dodgers waited and cajoled, negotiated like this was a leverage buyout and then struck when it was right... And now, we arguably have one of the most dynamic ballplayers in the game coming to Los Angeles.

Exact details are not yet available, but we do know this... The Dodgers get both Mookie Betts and David Price from the Red Sox, and it didn't cost any of our top prospects. We get to keep Gavin Lux, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Will Smith, Edwin Rios, Keibert Ruiz, Zach Reks, Kyle Garlick, Kody Hoese, Michael Busch, DJ Peters, Josiah Gray and Jeter Downs. Heck, as it stands right now, the Dodgers did not have to relinquish one player from their top-30 prospects list, via MLB Pipeline. Wow!

Unfortunately, a trade like this does not come without losses... And these losses kinda hurt.

Young outfielder Alex Verdugo will be going to Boston, and this is no surprise. It has been long speculated that any deal involving Betts would, at minimum, require sending Verdugo to the Red Sox. Also gone is sometime starter/sometime reliever Kenta Maeda -- who is now a Twin. Lastly, Joc Pederson is moved to the Angels to make room in the outfield for Betts. All three of these players were well loved by fans, so seeing them in another uniform will take some time getting used to. Nevertheless, this is the trade we've all been waiting for. This is the trade that may ultimately cement the legacy that the Guggenheim ownership has been trying to achieve.

On another note, I am wondering how prescient am I?

A couple of weeks back I ran across the above t-shirt design and knew I had to have it. It features the main protagonist from the Spike Lee classic Do The Right Thing, Mookie, sporting his Jackie Robinson Dodgers jersey while holding a Sal's Pizza box and doing his best "Jumpman" impression. It's a classic looking "t" of a classic film that happens to be very timely. I think I'll be wearing this when I go to my first home game.

Stay tuned. I will certainly have numerous fantasy custom baseball cards to share soon.

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