So It Begins

You know a drink I have really come to enjoy, the Gin & Tonic.  It really is a magical combination.  Gin being a classic tipple from England, I would normally not be caught dead drinking it over my beloved Irish Whiskey (Bushmills to be specific) but something about the juniper and citrus flavors of a London Dry Gin and how they mix with the bitter effervescence of the tonic water all you need is a wedge of lime and you are near mixology perfection.  Gin was the primary spirit of choice for the common Englishman for many years.  The tonic didn’t get into the act until the English colonization of South Asia.  The hot humid climate was a breeding ground for mosquitos, and quinine helps prevent malaria, although it is bitter as all hell.  Leave it to and Englishmen to think to add gin to tonic water to make it palatable.

Now the real question, why bring up this drink?  Well I have been consuming 2 to 3 of these concoctions a night ever since the Dodgers refused to offer arbitration to any of their eligible players this year!  None, not one, not a good player or a bad player, even though Kim Ng is probably the best person in contract arbitration in the whole of MLB; we didn’t offer it to anybody.  Why?

It is the beginning of the slide down.  The divorce has put such a tight squeeze on things that we can afford contract salaries we could get out of arbitration, and even if the players declined arbitration, we probably couldn’t afford to sign the first round draft picks we would get in compensation.  I mean the Dodgers could afford it, they raised tickets prices in the top deck and pavilion, but they don’t want to spend that money. 

Colletti just signed a new contract and he will have nothing to work with now.  I fear this is the first in a string of disappointing moves by the team.  Letting so much good mid priced talent go only to try to sign one ace and then have no bench or remaining rotation to back him up.

Can you rationalize these moves? Sure you can.  I can also rationalize the way I used to dress in high school and the fact that I had star wars bed sheets until I was in my mid 20's.  But that doesn't make it right.  My fears are slowly come true.  I guess I am glad that just down the 5 freeway there is an owner who has money and is not afraid to use it.  But I think everyone will be pleaded a down economy when there are no superstar contract signings.  In fact I think we will not see any one make ARod money for a long long time.  And the Dodgers will not contend for years to come.