The Dodgers are now an unholy incarnation of all that's bad of the Red Sox and Yankees aren't they. and it's not like their roster is THAT good for a 200 M one.

The guy playing the piano is actually Suggsy from Madness.

That party was swingin' enough even before Jerry Colonna got there!

and it's not like their roster is THAT good for a 200 M one.

I'll bet they win more games than the Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox.

You're not supposed to be so-so when you get to $200M. It's only once you get to the back-side of the bloated contracts.

Jerry Colonna makes everything better!

Yeah, you can't really compare them to the Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox because all three of those teams are in the "hangover" period after runs of success.

I'll bet they win more games than the Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox.

combined? i'll take that bet.

The Dodgers are now an unholy incarnation of all that's bad of the Red Sox and Yankees aren't they. and it's not like their roster is THAT good for a 200 M one.

yeah, they kind of did a thing where they purposely traded for players whose teams thought they had no chance at being worth their salary because their performance had declined precipitously, and as a result the dodgers are now paying $75 million to carl crawford, hanley ramirez, adrian gonzalez and josh beckett and expecting those players to shoulder a large burden of the teams' offense/defense/pitching.


the issue here is that the dodgers will be lucky if these players perform at 80% of their peak, but even if they get that. they'll be paying them to perform at 120% of their peak.

the issue here is that the dodgers will be lucky if these players perform at 80% of their peak, but even if they get that. they'll be paying them to perform at 120% of their peak

Hanley and Beckett are being paid $15 mil. They don't need to be 7-8 WAR players to justify that. 80% of their peak (4-5 WAR) will do quite nicely. Crawford is an albatross absolutely, and Gonzalez may prove to be also. But Hanley and Josh are among the least of their worries.

Yeah, you can't really compare them to the Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox because all three of those teams are in the "hangover" period after runs of success.

That is not accurate of the Red Sox. Exactly which mega-contract are they paying right now thats on the back-end of success?

But Hanley and Josh are among the least of their worries.

But Hanley hasn't been anywhere close to his peak in ages. By b-r, he's been below average for the last 3 years (esp the last 2) but he's one of the players where bWAR and fWAR disagree most strongly. He's not a major worry because he's only got 2/$31 left but he's likely to be a waste of money while he's there. Gonzalez meanwhile was worth 3.2 WAR last year and is just one year removed from his peak. It remains to be seen if last year was just a fluke down year but even if he just repeats 2012, he's no bigger a waste than Hanley is likely to be. He's not (likely) a 2013 problem, he's a problem because he's got another 6 years to go.

The Dodgers are now an unholy incarnation of all that's bad . . .

Guess I'm going to have to make some adjustments, as a fan of the team that now has the 2nd highest payroll in MLB. I'm OK with my favorite team spending more than 28 other MLB teams, but I believe I'm supposed to be OUTRAGED that one team spends more. Do I have that right, Red Sox fans?

Adorable, isn't that what MC called your persecution complex?

That party was swingin' enough even before Jerry Colonna got there!

Wow, I love that album cover so much I actually want to marry it. Was there really a time in American history when it was normal for party guests to break out the trombone and trumpet in the middle of the living room? I was born too late!

and it's not like their roster is THAT good for a 200 M one

Looks pretty meh for a 100M roster even. Lots of dead weight and no bargains (unless 2012 reflects AJ Ellis' talents, but quality seasons out of career minor leaguers rarely repeat).

Luis Cruz seems to be in the starting lineup. A name that it's hard to say without expecting the response "THE Luis Cruz?"

I always preferred A Lineup? For Screaming!!!