Why Dodgers -- despite it all -- can still win the NL West

Because they play in a division where there is always hope. Every season, for most every team. Like it's required.

Parity hasn't simply arrived in the National League West, it's taken up residence. Not some shingle temporarily hung on the wall, but carved in granite at the front door.

The Arizona Diamondbacks finished last in the NL West in 2010 and then won the division last season. In five of the last six seasons, an NL West team coming off a losing season advanced to the postseason the next year.

The Dodgers are filled with "ifs" and crossed fingers and gambles. Not unlike every team in the division.

If Andre Ethier and Juan Uribe return to form, if James Loney hits like he did in the second half, if Matt Kemp approaches his 2011 season, if Juan Rivera can keep up his RBI form, if Dee Gordon can perform over a full season, if young closers Javy Guerra and Kenley Jansen can keep it going, if new starters Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano pitch effectively ... then the Dodgers win!

There is no juggernaut in the NL West, no powerhouse team, nothing even approaching a dominant club.

Dodgers officially wave goodbye as Hiroki Kuroda signs with Yanks

Nearly six months after they tried to trade him to save $4 million in salary and get a prospect in return, only to have the right-hander nix the deal, Hiroki Kuroda is officially gone.

Kuroda reportedly signed a one-year deal with the Yankees Friday for $10 million.

So long, best of luck, but can’t pretend to understand it.

Kuroda was supposedly so loyal to the Dodgers, he exercised the no-trade clause in his contract last July. The thought then was, in 2012 he would either return to the Dodgers or go back to pitch in Japan.

The Dodgers thought so too, at least initially. But he was apparently trying to get close to the $12 million he made last season, so General Manager Ned Colletti filled his rotation by signing veteran starters Chris Capuano (two years, $10 million) and Aaron Harang (two years, $12 million).

Both will make $3 million next season, or 60% of what Kuroda ended up signing for. Of course, you could certainly argue they’re about a combined 60% as good as Kuroda.

Kuroda went a misleading 13-16 last season, actually pitching much better than his record indicated. He had a 3.07 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP and struck out a career-high 161. And even though he’ll turn 37 next month, there was no doubt he could still pitch and the Dodgers wanted him back.

Dodgers Web musings: Are the Angels now L.A.'s No. 1 team?

Heard that one before.

Heard it when Disney bought the team. When the Angels won their first World Series in 2002.  When Arte Moreno bought the team and signed Vladimir Guerrero. And when Frank McCourt drove the Dodgers into bankruptcy.

And, of course, now that the Angels' off-season has been just a tad more impressive than that of the Dodgers’.

You sign the best hitter of his generation, Albert Pujols, and the top starter available, C.J. Wilson, and people tend to notice.

The Times' T.J. Simers said the Angels' moves were clearly in response to the Dodgers signing Aaron Harang and Jerry Hairston Jr. Wrote Simers: "There’s only one Los Angeles baseball team that anyone cares about and it isn't located in Los Angeles."

Added ESPN/LA’s Tony Jackson: "The Dodgers are all about history and tradition and lore. The Angels are all about the here and now, and the future, both short- and long-term."

For the Dodgers, it's a bad convergence of the darkest point in their franchise history and one of the highest for the Angels. And it should be noted that last season the Angels, for the first time, outdrew the Dodgers in attendance.

Also on the web:

-- The roster is looking full, but General Manager Ned Colletti tells Dodgers.com’s Ken Gurnick: " ... There's also more work to do. We're by far a finished product. Take the rest of the winter off? No."

Colletti can't seem to stop his love affair with utility infielders. Gurnick wrote that the Dodgers had been trying to trade for the Mets' Daniel Murphy.

-- The Times' Bill Shaikin and Kevin Baxter explain how Frank McCourt enabled the Angels to finance their stunning signings by maximizing their own TV-rights deal.

-- The Times’ Esmeralda Bermudez and Eric Spillman have more troubling details about James Loney's arrest last month on suspicion of driving under the influence.

-- Gurnick also has Clayton Kershaw's agent saying they're in no hurry to sign a long-term deal.

-- The Times' Joe Flint writes that the gloves are coming off between Time Warner Cable and Fox Sports in the battle over Dodgers media rights. The 2004 contract that prevented the Dodgers and Time Warner from partnering for a regional sports network doesn't apply to Time Warner Cable, that company argues, because it was spun off as its own seperate operation in 2009.

-- True Blue L.A.'s Eric Stephen has an overview of all the Dodgers' player moves this off-season.

-- Scott Boras, funny man? Who knew? Speaking to The Times’ Dylan Hernandez on the off-season spending of the Dodgers and Mets: "Normally, they're in the steaks section, and I found them in the fruits-and-nuts category a lot."

-- Dodgers individual spring training tickets are now on sale.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Angels owner Arte Moreno, left, introduces Jerry Dipoto as his general manager in October. Credit: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press

Dodgers announce signing of Aaron Harang

Aaron Harang’s two-year, $12-million deal with the Dodgers was officially announced on Thursday.

Like the two-year deals signed by Mark Ellis, Chris Capuano and Jerry Hairston, Harang’s is heavily backloaded.

The projected No. 4 starter will earn $3 million next season and $7 million in 2013. The contract includes a vesting option for 2014 that could be worth $7 million to $8 million, depending on how much he pitches over the next two seasons. If the option doesn't vest, the Dodgers can buy it out for $2 million.

If Harang pitches 400 innings over the next two seasons, the vesting option would be worth $8 million. If he pitches 380 innings over the next two seasons, including 180 in 2013, the option would be worth $7.5 million. If he pitches 360 innings over the next two seasons, including 175 in 2013, the option would be worth $7 million.

ALSO:

Strong winds leave even Dodgers feeling blue

James Loney should give Dodgers real concern

Dodgers can hold early sale of TV rights, judge rules [UPDATED]

-- Dylan Hernandez in Dallas

Photo: Aaron Harang delivers a pitch during a game between the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants on Sept. 12. Credit: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

Dodgers trade pitcher Dana Eveland to Orioles

The Dodgers made a minor trade on Thursday before leaving the winter meetings, sending non-tender candidate Dana Eveland to the Baltimore Orioles for a couple of minor leaguers.

The move was made to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Aaron Harang, whose two-year, $12-million deal is scheduled to be announced later in the day.

In exchange for Eveland, the Dodgers received 22-year-old left-hander Jarret Martin and 23-year-old outfielder Tyler Henson.

Martin was 5-12 with a 4.96 earned-run average for Class-A Delmarva last season. He was an 18th-round draft pick in the 2009 draft.

Henson, who turns 24 next week, hit .247 with three home runs and 36 runs batted in for Triple-A Norfolk last season. He was a Double-A all-star in 2010 and a Class-A all-star in 2007. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2006 draft.

ALSO:

Strong winds leave even Dodgers feeling blue

James Loney should give Dodgers real concern

Dodgers can hold early sale of TV rights, judge rules [UPDATED]

-- Dylan Hernandez in Dallas

Photo: Dana Eveland. Credit: Gene Puskar / Associated Press

Aaron Harang on verge of becoming a Dodger

The Dodgers’ starting rotation is about to be set.

The bankrupt ballclub is expected to finalize a contract with Aaron Harang on Wednesday, when the right-hander is scheduled to undergo a physical examination, according to people familiar with the situation.

The deal would be worth $12 million over two seasons, according to multiple reports.

When Harang's signing becomes official, the Dodgers will have five starters signed not only for the upcoming season, but for 2013.

The development clouds the future of 21-year-old Nathan Eovaldi, a hard-throwing right-hander who was impressive in six major-league starts last season.

General Manager Ned Colletti said he still views Eovaldi as a starter, but acknowledged there is a possibility he could move to the bullpen.

ALSO:

Pricey free agents don't fit into plans, Dodgers' Ned Colletti says

In the L.A. sports viewing market, a clash of media titans

Dodgers sign Jerry Hairston Jr., work on deal with Aaron Harang

-- Dylan Hernandez in Dallas

Photo: Aaron Harang delivers a pitch during a game between the San Diego Padres and Dodgers on Sept. 24. Credit: Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press

Dodgers' 2012 rotation: Few thrills, but could have been worse

And that pretty much wraps up your 2012 Dodgers roster. All goose bumps, are you?

Word that the Dodgers are about to sign right-hander Aaron Harang would lock up their projected rotation, and pretty much close their offseason shop.

If the signing of Harang doesn’t exactly have the faithful reaching for confetti, neither should it leave them screaming into the night. He had a nice bounce-back season for the Padres in 2011 and is certainly a fine back-of-the-rotation starter. As was the recently signed Chris Capuano.

Trouble is, neither is a frontline starter, which essentially is what Hiroki Kuroda was, and now he’s officially cast adrift. After Clayton Kershaw, Kuroda was actually the Dodgers’ No. 2 starter last season.

Now the Dodgers 2012 rotation shapes up this way (with 2011 numbers):

                                    W/L      ERA     WHIP   SO/9

Clayton Kershaw            21-5    2.28    0.98    9.6

Chad Billingsley             11-11  4.21    1.45    7.3

Ted Lilly                       12-14  3.97    1.16    7.4

Aaron Harang               14-7    3.64    1.36    6.5

Chris Capuano              11-12  4.55    1.35    8.1

As a unit, after Kershaw it doesn’t have much wow factor. The rest are of the capable variety, which is probably two too many of those for a team that wants to contend for a title.

Still, they figure to give the bankrupt Dodgers a chance to win most nights, which is better than where this could have been headed.

Of course, the latter three aren’t exactly kids, nor are they known for keeping the ball in the ballpark. Lilly turns 36 next month and gave up 28 homers last season in 192 2/3 innings. Capuano is 33 and surrendered 27 homers in 186 innings. And Harang turns 34 in May and gave up 20 homers in 170 2/3 innings.

Hope Matt Kemp is doing plenty of offseason sprints.

Harang led the National League in strikeouts back in 2006 and came back with 218 strikeouts the next year. But he suffered through three consecutive losing seasons with the Reds until turning things around last season as a fly-ball pitcher for the Padres in pitching-friendly Petco Park.

He was probably the Padres’ best starter last season, though they declined their half of a $5-million mutual option for 2012.

As a final piece, he leaves the Dodgers with a solid enough rotation, though unlikely to leave the Giants all envious. And with all that age, injury seems inevitable.

But with his payroll being cut up to $20 million from a year ago, General Manager Ned Colletti is in the make-do business. When you’re making do, goose bumps are not required.

— Steve Dilbeck

Dodgers working toward deal with Aaron Harang [Updated]

The Dodgers might not be done shopping after all.

The bankrupt club is continuing to work toward a deal with starting pitcher Aaron Harang, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because an agreement hasn’t been finalized.

[Updated at 1:48 p.m.: A source said the Dodgers were now very close to finalizing the agreement.]

The Dodgers, who are three days removed from signing right-hander Chris Capuano, are viewing the 33-year-old Harang as a potential No. 4 starter.

Harang would be a far less expensive alternative to Hiroki Kuroda, whom the club has ruled out re-signing.

Harang, who won 16 games in both 2006 and 2007 for the Cincinnati Reds, had a bounce-back season with the San Diego Padres this year. Harang was 14-7 with a 3.64 earned-run average, including 8-5 with a 3.05 ERA at pitcher-friendly Petco Park.

The Dodgers opened a spot on their 40-man roster Monday by placing minor-league outfielder Jamie Hoffmann on outright waivers. Hoffmann was claimed by the Colorado Rockies.

-- Dylan Hernandez in Dallas