Can the Dodgers afford Oswalt?

"the question is can the Dodgers afford Oswalt?"

That is a trick question, with a solid loyal diehard fanbase, 85 million dollar paying, highest attendance in MLB, LA memorabilia all over the place, expensive parking, expensive beer, the answer is YES, the Dodgers can afford him and another like him, we should have at least a 110 million dollar payroll, 25 million more than currently. And next year Kuroda, Manny, part of Pierre, and Sherrill's contracts come off the books, making next years estimated payroll currently at 61,430,000 and that includes the 17.5 million that pays people who no longer play for the team...that means next years player payroll will be 43,930,000. Yes we can afford Roy Oswalt.

Frank McCourt cant afford the damn lawyers he is paying to desperately keep the team from his loyal, loving, beautiful, sweet, kind, generous, dick sucking ex wife, Jamie (see I'm on her side now...GO JAMIE). He is trying for a miracle owning this team like Roger Doran ran the Indians.

Dodger fans dont kid yourself that Xavier Paul is a top prospect, he is B caliber at best, and Dodger fans dont kid yourself that Jansen throwing and getting noticed in the MLBs isnt an audition...would Ned throw him in a deal, yes he would. Oswalt will be centered around Withrow and Jansen, with one of Dewitt/Paul/Dejesus and one of the low A ball kids throwing well.

@Lasorda - I agree with you that for as an money making, no-fail, attendance-laden machine like Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers are NOT a below $100 million dollar team.

However, McCourt has to keep up his weak-ass lie that he made publicly about how the divorce in no way impacts the Dodger's payroll. That being said, Matt, it's not out of the question. It depends on what the Astros are demanding levied on whether Oswalt will play in LA. That's a tight squeeze.

As far as trades go that come from the current roster, the only ones that I see possible is DeWitt, Martin, and possibly Billingsley if the Astros want a pro pitcher as part of the deal. Trading any outfield or relief right now is in the exact opposite direction on the field in which Ned is looking to buy. If they do get traded, Ned is going to want cheap veteran talent to replace them.

That's not necessarily bad though. Colletti surprised me with Carroll, but I don't know man. I think Jansen's a stud and a very cheap one at that. He struck out the heart of the Mets line-up on fastballs alone. Ned's not going to chase his tail for Oswalt especially when he can make another run at Cliff Lee this winter and keep potential for next year.

Dodgers pitching is looking pretty steady behind the top four. Kuroda and Billingsley are a bit skiddish though and that's why we're talking about Oswalt.

I wasnt a fan of the Carroll signing, at all, and all he has done is shown how solid and valuable he is, and made his contract look cheap. In fact if we were sellers he would be the most sought after player, everyone wants a solid bench player like him.

If we trade for Oswalt, I agree that Martin, Dewitt and Bills are the major league talent we have available. If we trade Bills for Oswalt that still leaves us one pitcher short and seeking a fifth starter. If Bills isnt in the equation then our pitching is set, and we will only need to replace Kuroda next year. Dewitt and Martin can both be traded as they arent the stars of this team, they are only complimentary players, although some might think Martin can rebound (not me).

Max I'm curious to what you thought about the farm system rankings Matt put up a couple of days ago. Although keep in mind that Castro is the greatest SS to ever play the game and isnt to be compared to anyone.

You know, I don't follow the farm system very much, just AAA. It seems like we have a couple fast infielders and some possible relief pitchers. But the best thing that's happened to the Isotopes in recent months IMO is they finally unloaded Jason Repko.

Repko's solid defense and average bat is nothing great, but would never make the squad and could easily play utility for somebody like the Royals, same as Delwyn Young etc.

From what Matt put up, I'd have to say I pretty much agree except I would have had harsher grades for some of the pitchers down at the bottom. Like, adios.

The only ones in AAA that still have much of a repeat chance with the Dodgers at all are Ely, Paul, and possibly Miller. But I'd take the new 98-mph throwing 2-year prodigy in a heartbeat if he can stay consistent. (side note: He looks like a solid replacement for Farnsworth. However, if we had Farnsworth too, I think they'd have a possibly better bullpen than the Padres, 2-R and 2-L)

I think Xavier Paul and Montesterious (sp?) are both consistent enough on a DeWitt scale to get MLB time. With the Dodgers?...That remains to be seen.

Repko's days were numbered when he crashed into Furcal, at one point I was high on him, but that was five years ago.

Paul/Dewitt/Monasterios/Ely are all the same MLB caliber players, nothing special but all can be used in utility roles or as a fifth starter

Even if Jansen is the real deal we still will need one proven reliever who can strike someone out.

Yeah, to say that the Dodgers are a good bet for the playoffs without any trade is just not accurate IMO.

I give 'em 20 to 1 odds currently at 3rd place in the wild card.

Whatever happens, you're right. The Dodgers need at least one more proven reliever or their odds look like 5% to me.

Better than 2007, but still not good enough.

The Dodgers have underperformed in a couple areas that I didnt expect us to.

1. The bullpen w Bellesario/Sherrill/Troncoso all taking a complete dive one in rehab, one cant buy a scoreless inning and another in the minors. Jansen helps replace Bellesario and Schlits with Troncoso but we need one more guy to put this pen in its rightful place, as the best in baseball.

2. Defense - solid last year, and better than expected play at SS by Carroll, but CBlake and BlakeD have made big game costing errors, and Kemp's first half in CF was a catastophy! CBlake has 11 errors, Martin 9!, Dewitt 6, and Kuroda has 3. Furcal leads the team as SS should but he has 13 errors which is better to me than he was last year. Anyone else think he is playing good SS?

3. Kemp - after a gold glove season, and silver slugger, everybody including Rhianna thought he was going to take an even bigger step this year. He should be our second 30hr 100RBI guy on the team. His SB% is pretty bad too, and glove sucks in CF, 4 errors for an outfielder? Only if you make the big plays, which he hasnt so far.

4. Bills hasnt stepped up like I hope he would, although he is currently pitching quite well the last two games with 2W 0.00ERA 15inn, but only 7ks and 4bb. He needs to string a few more together before I think he has underperformed this year. I had hoped he bounced back to his 09 first half form.

Pitching gets you to playoffs, and I have confidence in the offense getting hot with its current roster, but adding a reliever and #2 starter is key.