Just a few Q's kicking around in the ol' noggin':

As Buster Olney points out, there are a lot of names left on the free-agent rolls as the new year gets into gear.  Not all are appealing, but many are.  There's still plenty of time to build a better mousetrap at Chavez Ravine for the '09 season.  That said, in no particular order:

• Are the Dodgers better off now than they were at the end of last season anywhere on the diamond?  Lineup?  Bullpen?  Starting rotation? 
• Do you worry at all that when the Manny Sweepstakes are all said and done, if Ramirez doesn't get the contract he wants that he'll be mopey, instantly looking for his next deal?
• While the Giants have improved, every other team in the division has regressed.  Does 86 wins get it done in the West next season?
• If that's the case, should the Dodgers be trying to build a team that can win 95? 
• Is the biggest need in the rotation or starting lineup?  I'm worried the former will be tougher to fill.
• Are you comfortable with Jonathan Broxton in the ninth?
• Is there a point where the Dodgers should "spend" some of the capital they've built up in young players?
• If Manny signs in L.A. for a reasonable deal, will fans call Ned Colletti and the McCourts smart or lucky? 
• On the economy and priorities, are you holding off to see the results of this winter before making ticket purchases for the spring? 

BK

Simply put, he's very good when healthy ... and he's very often not healthy. There are questions about his shoulder and elbow, both fairly important body parts on a pitcher. But with Derek Lowe (for all intents) off to new pastures, the Blue are short a high-end starter, and that could make Sheets appealing despite wild visions of Jason Schmidt, Part Deux. 

So on to today's QOTD:  Let's say it required a multiyear offer to get a deal done.  Would you make a run at him?

Before you answer, it's worth reading this great breakdown from our friends at AZSnakepit.com, which looks at the positives and negatives involved. 

BK

For most Dodger fans, the news that someone -- anyone! -- has an interest in taking Andruw Jones off the hands of the home team was met with an equal combination of happiness and confusion.  Given his large price tag and minimal production over the last two seasons, it's reasonable to question why any team, in this case the Mets, sayeth the grist for the rumor mill, would want him, even if the Dodgers pick up some of the tab.

The answer to any somewhat reasonable offer to Ned Colletti for Jones ought to be yes.  A resounding, forceful, no-give-backs-you-touched-it-last! yes.  Or maybe not?  Is there an exception to this rule?  Which leads me to today's QOTD:

What wouldn't you accept in return for a trade sending Andruw Jones out of Los Angeles?

Some suggestions: 

• Vials of ebola virus.
• GM
• Brett Tomko
• A DVD set of those Frank TV promos shown endlessly during the playoffs. 

BK

We covered a lot of ground in our conversation with the LAT's Bill Shaikin on Wednesday's "Purple, Gold and Blue" (it starts about 35 minutes in and is well worth listening to -- he's got some great Hot Stove insight), and given what he told us, one thing seems pretty clear: the Dodgers are in no hurry to make their offseason moves. CC Sabathia is gone to New York, and while it's pretty reasonable to suspect the Blue never would have been able to match the seven-year, $161-million offer to the lefty, Shaikin tells us that the Dodgers, like a few other teams, never took the opportunity to make a push while Sabathia considered (rather slowly) the original offer made by the pinstripers.   

Meanwhile ...

Keep in mind, we're talking about the player connected to the beard, not the beard itself.  We'd sign Casey Blake's beard to a three-year deal, a five-year deal, a 10-year deal.  Whatever was required to keep that soup strainer in the organization.  Price?  No object!  (Thanks again to reader Mike for the image, from our Photoshop contest last season.)

Unfortunately, the question before the front office isn't simply one of facial hair retention but of the entire player.  According to his agent Jim McDowell, the Dodgers and Twins have both made competitive two-year offers to Blake, and the first to guarantee a third will probably win the derby.  In terms of figures, it looks like we're in the ballpark of $6 million a year.  Not an outrageous amount of scratch, but at the same time, if my math is correct Blake would be 38 by the end of the deal, and while he played a steady third base for the Dodgers this year, he wasn't exactly the rangiest fellow patrolling the hot corner. 

There are also questions about his bat. 

So I'm watching Game 5 of the World Series, and unless my relatively new HD flatscreen is just that clear, it's freakin' pouring.  No regular season game would take place under these conditions.  I realize the postseason in any sport is a slave to scheduling and television, but that should never outweigh the fair execution of a game. 

After 162 games of regular season play and a pressure cooker playoff drive, should baseball's world championship really be decided in a driving rain?

BK

UPDATE (7:45):  Rain delay.  I can stop yelling at my TV now.  On a related note, is Carlos Pena officially Bud Selig's new bestie?

Simple question.  Simple answer.  With the Dodgers coming back to L.A. down 0-2 for three consecutive contests, you feeling L.A.'s chances of getting back into this NLCS series?  If yes, do you think the Blue need to sweep the local contests or will two of three make it happen, despite the need to win games six AND seven in the City of thus far no love?  If no, do you see the Dodgers at least making a series of it giving Philly a run for its eventually victorious life?

Basically, I'm taking everyone's pulse.  Tell me how optimistic your blood is running.

AK

That's the current figure presented by www.coolstandings.com representing LA's chances of winning the NL West.  It's a happy number for Dodger fans, to say the least, and reflective of a shift in the standings so rapid it could cause a full on Navin Johnson head spin*.  Over their last ten games, the Dodgers have gained seven on the Diamondbacks.  Last night, after scoring two runs to take a ninth inning lead, Brandon Lyon gave it right back as the Giants handed the Snakes the sort of soul crushing loss that can cause permanent damage. 

Granted, given that Dan Haren and Brandon Webb have totally devolved over the last few weeks (Haren has been especially bad) and the team has gone into freefall, losing 13 of 16, it might be hard to tell the difference.

First, a semi-facetious/semi-serious multiple choice quiz:

Do you think the Dodgers' seven game losing streak is due to:

a) Joe Torre asking Manny Ramirez to cut his hair- triggering a "Samson" effect- as opposed to the obvious approach of requiring the other 24 players on the roster to grow dreadlocks.  Or at the very least, get dreadlock extensions.

b) Casey Blake opting (voluntarily, to the best of my knowledge) to trim up his once glorious and majestic beard, destroying the aura of a man who could not only come up with timely hits, but casually snap with one hand the neck of grizzly bear wandering through the Dodger clubhouse.  He was the closest thing the Dodgers had to "The World's Most Interesting Man."

c) Jeff Kent protesting that Manny's presence behind him had nothing to do with his immediate uptick in production, which has since been grounded in fashion similar to the overall team's production.  Is it possible Kent managed to single-handedly suck all the energy out of Manny Mania?

d) Manny Mania's energy running out of steam on its own, leaving us with the sobering realization that this team wasn't "one player away," meaning one player can't make a sustained difference by himself.

Reminder: Tonight I'll be live blogging Game 1 of the Brewers series.  7:40 first pitch.

Most of you have by now seen the Jayson Stark piece that ran yesterday on ESPN.com.  If not, here you go. The moral of Stark's story basically boils down to this: Should Manny get himself a big, $100 million deal this offseason, it would send the wrong message to professional athletes, namely that the sort of selfish, team killing behavior attributed to Manny before he worked his way out of Boston would be rewarded.  Want to leave your city?  Just complain, stop running out balls, and soon enough your wish will come true.  He also, for the record, chides Dodger fans for fawning over the guy.  Apparently, there are execs around the league appalled at your love. 

Look, I get it.  Manny absolutely wanted out of Boston, and didn't exactly behave like a pro to get his wish.  While he wasn't dogging it at the plate (dude was raking up to his very last Red Sox AB), he wasn't exactly killing himself everywhere else, and had clearly become a distraction well beyond the accepted "Manny being Manny" margin for error. 

But (and here's where the QOTD part comes in), do you really believe that a big contract this winter for Manny sends a bad message to other players in the game? Is there danger of setting a precident?  (For the sake of argument, put aside the question of whether or not you think he'll get the 4/$100 he's reportedly seeking, or something along those lines, or even if, from a baseball sense, he should.  Just focus on the "bad precident" part...)