Adding Pieces

So, I was out and about today, and I finally got around to checking the news, and what did I see?

Well, lookey here. The Dodgers resigned Ronnie Belliard and Brad Ausmus.

And like almost every thing we've done this offseason, I am just ... feeling ... blah ... about it.

Ausmus is fine. He did well enough as a backup catcher last year, and he'll be back this year relatively cheap. If he continues to play adequately and maybe impart some old catcher wisdom on some of the younger players, then he's a good guy to have around.

Plus, he's got connections.

Ronnie Belliard is a bit of a different story. Don't get me wrong. I love what Belliard did for us down the stretch last year, but I didn't really want him back this year. He was playing way over his head in '09. A 1.034 OPS over 24 games?! Let's all be honest, that's not Ronnie Belliard.

Which I guess brings me to why I'm so unsure about Belliard. What is his point? Is he here to start or come off the bench? And if we have Belliard, what's the point of Jamey Carroll? They play the same positions. Both bat right handed. Carroll gets on base better. Belliard slugs better. Neither excels at both. It's just a little ... blah.

On the bright side, Yahoo! Sports reports that Belliard's contract comes with a stipulation that is both sad and funny:

"The infielder’s $825,000, one-year contract, which was announced Tuesday, will become guaranteed only if he reports to spring training at 209 pounds or less. If he reports at over 209 pounds, the Dodgers can release him and owe only termination pay."

Basically, show up fat and you lose everything!

I can only imagine the horribly depressing conversation that would take place between the coaches if Belliard doesn't show up in shape in Spring. The inevitable: "Is Ronnie looking sluggish?" question. The debate whether or not to bust out the scale. The decision on whether or not to cut him for being 215.

"Are we supposed to add the weight of dreadlocks, too?"

Say what you will about the signings, but at the very least they've added a little bit of suspense to Spring Training.

And really, isn't that all you can ask for in a blah offseason?

Hey Everybody! Vicente's Back!

The Dodgers announced today that they have resigned Vicente Padilla to a one year contract worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million.

Now, I'm having trouble deciding how I feel about this.

For one, I don't care much for Vicente Padilla, the man. And that's not just me, lest we forget his Rangers teammates threw a small party when they learned he was let go from the team last year. But this is also the guy who mysteriously got shot in the leg this offseason. Seriously, did we ever get the straight story about what went down? The article on Dodgers.com said he did it, but until I just read that, I was pretty sure his bodyguard did it. Look, this has obviously nothing to do with his pitching skills. I'm just saying that this guy seems to have trouble follow him around wherever he goes.

Also, is it Vincente or Vicente? That always messes me up.

But personal feelings aside, Vicente Padilla the pitcher is a bit of a question mark.

Which Padilla is going to show up for us in 2010? Is it going to be the one who posted a 4.92 ERA in Texas for the good part of 2009, or the one who showed up in Los Angeles and had a 3.20 ERA over seven starts and made two excellent starts in the playoffs?

Also, how many innings can we get out of Padilla? In his last six seasons, Padilla only made over 30 starts and cracked 200 innings just once, in 2006.

To be honest, I was hoping to fill the #4 starter spot with Jon Garland (or someone like him, though, really, I'm too lazy to think of a comparable name on the Free Agent market). Garland is someone who has made 30+ starts in each of his last eight seasons and has gone 200+ innings in five of those (the other three ending with him in the 190 inning range). Garland's ERA, though similar to Padilla's over that stretch, seems to be slightly lower. Oh, and, in each of those eight seasons, Garland was never run out of a city, nor has he been shot or shot somebody (or both, at the same time).

But, I guess you go into the 2010 season with the team you have, not the team you want. Look, Padilla isn't horrible. He isn't good, but he'll probably give us 20 something starts and a 4.00 ERA, which for a #4 starter at $5 million isn't horrendous.

It's just, after Milton Bradley, Jeff Kent, and Manny, you start to get a little tired of the headcases.

This Is What It Has Come To

So, I haven't written a blog post in almost a month. But can you really blame me? There hasn't really been a substantial bit of news in that time.

Matt Kemp is dating Rihanna? Good for him, but how sad is it that the biggest news the Dodgers have had in the last month was reported by TMZ?

Big News.

What then, you might ask, is this post about? Well, a small bit of Dodger news was reported today and I'm jumping all over it for two reasons. One: Guilt for not posting anything for about three and a half weeks. Two: I'm starving for any kind of Dodger news. I keep checking Dodger news sites and blogs just hoping for some sign of a pulse in this team's offseason.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that pulse was found today!

The Dodgers have signed ... RUSS ORTIZ!

HUZZAH! HUZZAH! ...

Wait a second. Russ Ortiz? RUSS ORTIZ?! WHAT?! WHY?!

Look, normally I'm a sucker for these stupid "Local Boy Comes Home to Pitch for Dodgers" stories, but even I can't get behind this one.

Russ Ortiz? Russ Ortiz who's last "just above average" year was 2004? Russ Ortiz who's has been dreadful in every following year (and I mean dreadful, ERAs: 6.89, 8.14, 5.51, 5.57)?

Russ Ortiz, seen here being slightly above-average.

No, no. This is bad. Granted, it's a minor league deal, but my God do I not want to see us have to use Russ Ortiz this year.

Oh, and the Dodgers signed Michael Restovich, too, which immediately places him 7th on the Dodger outfielder depth chart, behind Jamie Hoffmann, who's on another team.