Dodgers Web musings: Clayton Kershaw and the long term [Videos]

Plenty to get to today, leading off with … so the Dodgers have signed Clayton Kershaw to a two-year, $19-million deal. Exactly right for the moment or does more have to be done?

Buster Olney argues in this ESPN video that the new owner’s first order of business should be to sign Kershaw to a long-term deal. He argues Kershaw would be only 26 in his first year of free agency and free-spending teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies would be circling.

Olney estimates a five-year deal for Kershaw would cost between $100 to $120 million.

Meanwhile, Robert Timm at Dodger Dugout argues there is risk in signing any pitcher to a long-term deal and the Dodgers were smart to settle for a two-year agreement.

Also on the Web:

--The Left Field Pavilion has organized a charity softball tournament of teams representing several Dodgers blogs on Saturday at the Big League Dreams fields in West Covina.

Play starts at 8 a.m. Admission is only $3 and includes a drink. Fans are asked to bring a box or bag of food for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

--It never ends: USA Today thinks the Dodgers could be in line for a $5-billion TV rights deal. Guess that $3 billion Frank McCourt wanted to sign up for with Fox might have been just a tad low.

--Eric Stephen at True Blue LA has his Dodgers preview. He doesn’t think Jerry Sands makes the 25-man roster, but Josh Fields does.

--FanGraphs’ David Laurila has a lengthy and detailed Q&A with Dodgers scouting director Logan White, while Dodgers Thoughts’ Jon Weisman interviews farm director De Jon Watson.

--MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin looks at the Dodgers' top 20 prospects, while ESPN’s Keith Law (Insider status required) rates their system 12th overall in the majors.

--The Times’ Dylan Hernandez talks to James Loney about his bizarre freeway accident. Loney blames it on a blow to his head.

--The Times’ Bill Shaikin adds an 11th and, really, possibly final Dodgers bidder in Michael Heisley, the 75-year-old owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. He could bring Jerry West into the deal.

--ESPN’s Baseball Tonight crew looks at what could be next for Matt Kemp.

--Reuters’ Sue Zeidler writes that the second round of bids on the Dodgers is due around Feb. 23.

--NBC Sports’ Tony DeMarco thinks that with the right owner the Dodgers could be a power fairly quickly.

--Fox Sports' Mike Martinez checks in with shortstop Dee Gordon. Gordon on how many bases he’s capable of stealing: “a hundred.”

--Daily News columnist Tom Hoffarth is auctioning off a Kershaw-autographed copy of his new book, “Arise,” on EBay to raise funds for a Watts literacy center.

--Daily Breeze columnist Mike Waldner looks at the Dodgers auction situation: “McCourt's first, last and always goal has been to line his pockets.”

--Oh, goody: Russell Martin tells the New York Daily News he’s all giddy the Yankees have added Hiroki Kuroda.

--And finally, Roberto Baly of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy has found a video of a vintage TV commercial, this one from 1981. Warning: Hope you like looking at a shirtless Bill Russell.

 

-- Steve Dilbeck

 

Dodgers Web musings: Bryan Stow lawyer suggests settlement to MLB

The lawyer for the family of the Bryan Stow family has approached Major League Baseball about working out a "reasonable settlement’’  in its lawsuit against the Dodgers, ESPN/LA’s Ramona Shelburne reports.

Stow, the Giants fan who was brutally beaten in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day, is the largest unsecured creditor. The Stow family lawyer, Tom Girardi, has suggested that damages could approach $50 million.

Whoever buys the Dodgers will inherit the lawsuit, so Girardi reasons it is in the best interest of  Frank McCourt, the Dodgers and MLB to know what the damages will be heading into the sales process.

Also on the Web:

-- The Times’ T.J. Simers thinks you can’t go home again, and believes Peter O’Malley is the wrong man to take the Dodgers into their future.

-- Unlike me, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal isn’t convinced that the looming team sale means the Dodgers are out on Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.

-- ESPN/LA’s Tony Jackson tries to walk through the still complicated process that lead to the Dodgers’ ultimate sale. A new owner by opening day looks like a pipe dream.

-- Oh, that’s all it took. Yahoo Sports’ Jason Cole thinks the Dodgers pending sale could hasten the NFL’s return to L.A.

-- The Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzales takes a look at the background of Dennis Gilbert, the L.A resident and White Sox executive who has expressed strong interest in Dodgers ownership.

-- The Times’ Dylan Hernandez writes that  Tommy Lasorda is big on the prospect of O’Malley returning as the Dodgers owner.

-- In a video, Lasorda tells CBS Channel 2’s Jim Hill that  he wants an owner with L.A. roots.

   

-- NBC Sports’ Matthew Pouliot and MikeSciosciasTragicIllness’ Mike Petriello both think Ned Colletti rushed and seriously overpaid outfielder Juan Rivera at $4.5 million.

-- True Blue L.A.’s Brandon Lennox looks at the Dodgers adding Scott Van Slyke and Alfredo Silverio to their 40-man roster and there isn’t much room to add other minor leaguers with the roster at 33 and free agents still to sign.

-- In a video, Fox Sports’ Rick Harrow -- the sports professor -– examines why that  despite their problems, the Dodgers will still attract a hefty sales price.

 

-- ESPN/LA’s Jon Weisman said one good thing to come out of the team’s sale is that it almost ensures that the new owner will sign Clayton Kershaw to a long-term deal.

-- Jackson, also reports that Dodgers assistant general manager DeJon Watson has withdrawn his name for consideration as the Orioles GM.

-- MLB Trade Rumors has its list of projected arbitration salaries, and it is estimating Matt Kemp could earn $16.3 million, Andre Ethier $10.7 million and Kershaw $8.4 million.

-- A Times’ editorial slams McCourt and his attorney for trying to cast blame on Stow.

-- In a video, MarketWatch.com’s Matt Futterman and Dennis Berman explain why they think the Dodgers may yet attract the largest sales price of a professional team in American sports history.

 .

 -- Steve Dilbeck

Dodgers' assistant farm director leaving to join MLB

The Dodgers are losing another member of their front office staff to Major League Baseball.

Chris Haydock, the team’s assistant farm director, is leaving to join MLB to work on international projects, The Times' Dylan Hernandez reports.

This seems less a rats-jumping-ship move than simply moving on to a better position.

Haydock had been with the Dodgers his entire career since graduating from Indiana in 1996. The Dodgers' farm director, De Jon Watson, recently interviewed for the general manager's position with the Orioles.

Haydock had a good working relationship with Kim Ng, the Dodgers' former assistant general manager, who left last spring to join MLB as an assistant vice president to operations under ex-Dodgers Manager Joe Torre.

Ng recently interviewed with the Angels for the general manager’s job that went to Jerry Dipoto.

— Steve Dilbeck

Dodgers Web musings: Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw & all that cash

Money, money, money. Not the kind you and I make, and not the kind we can even imagine spending.

We're talking the big money that star players make. The Dodgers currently have two mega-stars, and unfortunately at this bankrupt time, both are approaching major contracts.

Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw are arbitration-eligible this off-season; Kemp for the last time, Kershaw for the first.

Kemp’s situation makes his long-term signing more pressing, but his agent, Dave Stewart, inferred to The Times’ Dylan Hernandez that the Dodgers best not expect a significant hometown discount to sign him.

Last year at age 32, Jayson Werth signed for $126 million and 30-year-old Carl Crawford for $142 million, both for seven years. Kemp is only 27 and coming off an MVP-caliber season.

Though Kershaw remains under team control, Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors said it could cost the Dodgers as much as $35 million just during his arbitration years. Mike Petriello of MikeSciosciasTragicIllness thinks the Dodgers' unwillingness to gamble and tie up Kershaw prior to his breakout season is going to cost them serious dollars.

Dodgers Web musings: Frank McCourt and all that jazz

It’s hard to live up to a titanic build-up, but I’m thinking the Frank McCourt versus Bud Selig face-off is going to pull it off just fine.

The bankruptcy showdown is scheduled to begin Monday in Delaware, but the pre-court filings have continued to come and they aren’t getting any sweeter.

Now Major League Baseball has attempted to put a precise number ($189.16 million) on how much money McCourt took from the team for his personal use –- or as MLB called it, "looting."

The Times’ Bill Shaikin has that update, plus how Bryan Stow could prove pivotal in the case and McCourt’s claim that Selig appointing a task force to examine stadium security after Stow’s beating was largely responsible for the attendance decline. Wrote Shaikin:

"Two days after Stow was beaten, and two weeks before Selig appointed the task force, the Dodgers drew their smallest crowd in eight years for a weekend Giants home game. The crowds remained small -- the Dodgers' attendance dropped 18% this season -- and the team blamed Selig for trumpeting his dispatch of a security task force and a trustee to Dodger Stadium within six days in April.’’

Right, that’s why attendance plummeted. Everybody was talking about that task force. Or it could be 99.9% of the fan base knew nothing about it.

Orioles to interview Dodgers' De Jon Watson for GM post

Dodgers farm director De Jon Watson will interview for the Baltimore Orioles’ vacant general manager position, according to a baseball source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Watson has been the Dodgers’ head of player development for the last five years. His system sent the likes of Javy Guerra, Dee Gordon, Jerry Sands, Nate Eovaldi and Justin Sellers to the major leagues this year, sparking a turnaround that allowed the bankrupt club to finish above .500.

Watson hasn’t had much to work with: The Dodgers rank last in player development spending, according to a filing in bankruptcy court by Major League Baseball.

Watson interviewed for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ general manager position last year, losing out to Kevin Towers.

-- Dylan Hernandez

Tough duty: Dodgers hire new director of contract negotiations

I love titles.Particularly in the business world. They get so wound up in themselves, so discombobulated, it’s hard to even guess what the person actually does. For example, take my official title here: Greatest Blogger in the History of Mankind, All Nine Planets and the Rest of the Solar System Who Covers the Dodgers for The Los Angeles Times.

For convenience sake, we shortened it to Dodgers Blogger.

I know, rolls right off the tongue.

The Dodgers made a new hire Thursday, and if his title is a doozy, wait until you hear the actual job description. Meet Alex Tamin, the Dodgers new director of baseball contracts, research and operations.

Said General Manager Ned Colletti in a statement: “Alex will be a tremendous asset to the baseball operations staff. His background has given him a wealth of experience in contract negotiation and arbitration cases and we think he adds an important element to our team.”

A little Dodgers miracle: Ned Colletti still GM despite Frank McCourt's vote of confidence

And in today’s news upset, Ned Colletti remains general manager of the Dodgers. Hey, Mikee, get out the big type!

This is not news because Colletti has done a miserable job as the Dodgers general manager -- a discussion for another day -- but simply because earlier this week owner Frank McCourt gave him the dreaded vote of confidence.

Actually, McCourt didn’t utter a word about Colletti, but offered his support through his newest mouthpiece, Steve Sugerman.

This came, apparently, after the hot rumor of the day at the All-Star break in Phoenix was McCourt was about to can Colletti and promote one of his assistants, Logan White or DeJon Watson.

"Any rumors about Ned being replaced are inaccurate, false and utterly unfounded," said a statement issued by Sugerman. "He has Frank's support."

See, McCourt didn’t actually say it, but Sugerman. Just imagine how much better Colletti must have slept after that.

Origins of a rumor can be difficult to track down, particularly when it spreads like wildfire through a mass media gathering at the All-Star game. This one appeared multi-headed, which still leaves it at pure rumor.

Now, I don’t have to remind anyone McCourt has a healthy list of wacky things he’s done, but I tend to think this actually was rumor.

The All-Star break seems an odd time to determine your general manager is not up to snuff, particularly when you’ve left him semi-handcuffed by a shrinking payroll and taken the franchise into bankruptcy. Talk about your dream GM jobs.

Certainly, the Dodgers have been disappointing this season, but that’s largely disappointing because they are the Dodgers and not because anyone really looked at that roster in the spring and started visualizing a return to glory.

The only possible reason for axing Colletti now would be if McCourt figured he needed a scapegoat. And here’s a private word just for McCourt: At this point you’re light years beyond unearthing a scapegoat, although you do have to wonder what a spurned Vladimir Shpunt is capable of.

Still, nothing seems to portend Colletti’s time has come. Save for that vote of confidence, which is typically issued mere days or weeks before a manager or general manager is shown the door.

Pretty sure McCourt has enough going on in his life right now that he doesn’t need to shake things up further by canning his GM. Anyway, that’s the rumor.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Ned Colletti. Credit: Hannah Foslien / Getty Images

The door is open, but can Scott Elbert step through?

Two appearances does not a spring training make. The season opener remains four weeks away.

Still, the concern for left-hander Scott Elbert is very real.

The setup is about as good as it could get for Elbert. The Dodgers have need for a situational lefty in the bullpen. And two more spots in the bullpen opened up when Vicente Padilla had surgery and Ronald Belisario stayed home in Venezuela.

As ESPN/LA’s Tony Jackson noted, a bullpen spot was probably Elbert’s to lose. It probably still is, though in the early returns, he is losing it.

In his initial two outings Elbert has faced 10 batters, retiring four and walking the other six. Wednesday against the Royals, he threw 21 pitches, only six for strikes.

After shoulder surgery in 2007 and his still-unexplained disappearance last season, the Dodgers hoped the former first-round pick had gotten himself back together after reappearing in the Arizona Fall League and striking out 15 in 11 2/3 innings.

Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly, who managed Elbert in the fall league, told Jackson:

"I'm sure he is frustrated. But it's like everything else in the spring, we're going to take the whole package and see what happens. I have seen a lot of good from him, a ton of good. But that was the fall league and not here. For me, this was just one day that wasn't great. We'll see how he bounces back from it.’’

In a curious bit of timing, Dodgers farm director DeJon Watson was a guest commentator in the broadcast booth Wednesday with Charlie Steiner during Elbert’s struggles.

Watson was singing Elbert’s praises, calling his stuff electric as the left-hander threw most everywhere but over the strike zone. Watson promised better days from Elbert, and you’d better hope.

Wrote TrueBlueLA’s Eric Stephen: "Elbert needs to show some control before he even sniffs the 25-man roster."

Control problems are nothing new for Elbert, and MikeSciosicasTragicIllness’ Mike Petriello argues that a slow start should not be a deciding factor in whether Elbert makes the club because unless he came to camp and dominated, he should have been ticketed for triple-A Albuquerque.

"He’s always had control issues, walking 5.0/9 in the minors, and last year that went up to an untenable 7.1/9. That’s of course before his well-publicized but little-understood leave of absence that meant he didn’t pitch after June."

The Dodgers could certainly use Elbert to step up, but right now they’re more wishing for it to happen than seeing it.

Elbert is still in a position of having to prove himself, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. Ultimately it matters less that he was a No.1 pick or left-handed or has great stuff.

What matters is that he demonstrates the ability to get it done at the major-league level. The bulk of spring training remains and he’s only 25, but his promise is still to be fulfilled.

Also on the Web:

-- The Times Dylan Hernandez writes that outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. got a lift before camp opened when his father, Tony Gwynn Sr., completed his cancer treatment and started acting more like himself.

-- Baseball Savvy’s Howard Cole has his second piece on Dodgers bloggers, this time focusing on TrueBlueLA’s Stephens.

-- ESPN/LA’s Jon Weisman compares how Frank McCourt and Charlie Sheen try to live by their own rules.

-- Dodgers.com’s Ken Gurnick said Marcus Thames disputes his reputation as a poor defensive outfielder and says he has worked hard in the off-season to improve his fielding.

-- ESPN’s Mark Simon said concern with Matt Kemp’s fallen production last season should not be limited to his offense, but that his defense this spring deserves scrutiny.

-- Yahoo Sports’ Steve Henson takes a look at the loose pregame meetings of Angels Manager Mike Scioscia, who learned from the master, Tommy Lasorda.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Dodgers moving their Cal League home from San Bernardino to Rancho Cucamonga

The Dodgers’ vagabond existence in the Class-A California League continues. Home is not where the heart is, it's where you sign your next agreement.

The Dodgers announced Tuesday that they are leaving San Bernardino and moving to Rancho Cucamonga, signing a two-year player development agreement with the Quakes.

The move is apparently driven by two factors: The Epicenter in Rancho Cucamonga is approximately 20 miles closer to Los Angeles than San Bernardino; and a desire to hook up with the Brett Group, led by George Brett and brothers Bobby and John.

The Angels are probably less than thrilled, because their Class-A affiliation had been with Rancho Cucamonga for the last 10 years. They will, presumably, move to San Bernardino.

The Dodgers can't get a Cal League team that's any closer than Rancho Cucamonga. Its stadium is approximately 45 miles east of Dodger Stadium.

"We feel like the move to Rancho not only brings our high-A partner closer to Dodger Stadium, but is a strong fit for our organizational goals," De Jon Watson, a Dodgers assistant general manager, said in a statement. "We're excited to partner with Brett Sports and look forward to a long-lasting relationship."

This is the second time the Dodgers have left San Bernardino. They spent the last four seasons there as the Inland Empire 66ers.

In addition to their two stops in San Bernardino, the Dodgers have also called Bakersfield, Lodi and Santa Barbara their Cal League home.

-- Steve Dilbeck