DODGERS PLAYING TO WIN

THE DODGERS & RED SOX BOTH WINNERS WITH EPIC TRADE 

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The new Dodgers ownership has deep pockets and they aren't afraid to dig in. We all know the Guggenheim Group has changed the outlook of the team drastically in less than a season. Think about it last season we were still  talking about parking lot safety and no one was going to the games. Now the Dodgers are in a playoff race and with these recent acquisitions they are the talk of baseball. When was the last time the Dodgers have led SportsCenter? Stan Kasten has dropped some serious paper on 4 superstar players and a Hawaiian in an attempt to create a major buzz in the crowded competitive LA sports market. 

Hanley Ramirez is set to make $15.5 million dollars, Adrian Gonzalez 22 million, Carl Crawford 20.4 million and Josh Beckett is going to make $17 mill next season. The Dodgers are ALREADY locked in to pay $192.6 million dollars next season. That would be over a $100 mill over that of  Frank McCourt's Opening Day lineup. The 4 new contracts listed above, alone would be more payroll than the entire Diamondback's Opening Day Roster. The time has finally come Dodgers fans, the Dodgers are now Yankees West - the way it should be. Big Market = Big Dollars Spent = Consistent Contenders 

Of course there are people saying the Dodgers got the worse of the deal. That is still to be determined but the last thing the Dodgers are worried about is overpaying a few players. Do you really think having to over pay Crawford and Beckett 5 million dollars a year more than they are going to be worth means anything to them? The new owners needed to do whatever it took to get Adrian Gonzalez and they did. Guys like A-Gon don't exactly become available very often. 
Carl Crawford was never a good fit in Boston and much like Albert Pujols did with the Angels put to much pressure on himself after signing such a big contract. He already shook off last season and was having a solid season before going down with elbow injury. A .282 average this season shows he was regaining his stroke before snapping his elbow, while going 5-5 in steal attempts shows nothing is wrong with his legs. It's clear he can still play and if he can get back to All-Star caliber that would make the Dodgers Out Field the best in all baseball. 

But what about Josh Beckett he has been horrible for 2 seasons now! False. He was pretty damn good last season but the media certainly won't tell you that. The guy was 13-7 with a 2.89 ERA pitching in the AL East. (The great Matt Cain currently has a 2.83 era this season getting to pitch in the NL West) Beckett had a  sub 3 era and you would think the guy was a bum if all you did was listen to sports talk. True he is tanking this season but lets look at it this way, that was with another team certainly not the Dodgers problem he has a clean slate starting tonight. Let's be honest if Josh Beckett pitches .500 ball the rest of the season and the Dodgers get into the Playoffs and he wins a playoff game everyone will love the guy. The guy is one of the best pressure game pitchers the game has ever seen essentially for Beckett his value is going to come down to how he pitches in the postseason... if the Dodgers get in. With Chad Billingsley on DL and Beckett's reputation as a great post season arm he would probably start game 2 of a playoff series behind Clayton Kershaw. 

The Guggenheim group sits on 125 Billion dollars in assets. The Dodgers are already in negotiations for the upcoming TV contract which is about the expire. Stan Kasten is not a stupid guy he realized to get the maximum value out of the tv deal a lineup that had Adam Kennedy hitting cleanup (yes he did hit cleanup some games this season) was not going to cut it. Not in a market that is shared with the Angels and their high powered offense featuring Albert Pujols and Mike Trout. Not when the Lakers went out and added 2 more future Hall of Fame guys to their starting lineup. Stan realized a star powered lineup and a perennial contender will lead to a much bigger Cable deal after all it only makes sense the moves are not only genius but simply good business. How big of a deal are the Dodgers looking to get? Early estimates have the new Dodgers Television deal going down for roughly $4 Billion. Remember the ownership paid 2.6 Bill for the team. That would mean in just television rights alone they will come close to doubling their money. You think the Dodgers Ownership knows what they are doing? I do.