Los Angeles Dodgers

The wire services are crackling with what is deemed to be news today—Manny Ramirez is saying he will not return to the Dodgers in 2011!

This revelation ranks right up there with water being wet and the sky being blue.

Any Dodger fan who is paying attention knows this will be Manny's last season in Dodger blue. They also are aware if fate sends the season sideways, the team would look to deal Manny to an American League team.

According to sources, former National League Cy Young award winner Eric Gagne has decided to return to the team that lifted him to the top of the baseball world in his prime. Eric Gagne has reportedly signed a $500,000 contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is a minor league deal, but with Spring Training coming up he could earn a spot on the team's major league roster.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers closer could earn up to $1MM, with $500,000 in performance bonuses. 

Former Dodger closer Eric Gagne can represent the best of times as well as the worst of times for Dodger fans.

Some would say strains of "Welcome to the Jungle" still reverberate around Chavez Ravine. Others still feel disgust from the disclosure of his PED usage.

Wash away all the sweet and bitter and one fact remains, Eric Gagne's last dominant season as a closer is five years in the rear-view mirror. The chance of him recapturing anything close to that form is approximately equal to that of Tommy Lasorda passing up a free dinner.

Dear Hollywood Elite,

How many of you have been to a Dodgers game? (Yes, Alyssa Milano and Larry King, I see you.)

How many of you have dated a Dodgers player? (Yes, Alyssa Milano, you can stop waiving your hand now.)

Lastly, how many of you are interested in an intriguing business opportunity that could potentially save the Dodgers and help resurrect Los Angeles' dying economy? (Please step to the front, Kardashian family.)

Hollywood Elite, I offer you a simple proposal: buy the Dodgers from Frank McCourt.

What a difference a month makes.

On Aug. 30, Ronnie Belliard was traded from the Nationals to the Dodgers, who were in the middle of a pennant race and were looking to shore up their middle infield. In the five months prior, Belliard was only getting sporadic playing time with the Nationals and when he was playing, he wasn't producing. His .246/5 HR/22 RBI/.296 clip in 187 at-bats with the Nationals made it very clear that Belliard was no longer in the Nationals' long-term plans.

It has been becoming more and more frustrating. The Dodgers have come so close the last two years, only to fall short of the World Series both times at the hands of the Phillies.  We have waited too long.

Fantasy owners may have seen Russell Martin as a top three catcher heading into last season, but after an extremely disappointing 2009 his value has taken a big hit. A deflated value on draft day 2010 will be tantalizing for owners looking for a bargain. Will they find a bargain in Martin?

Despite a regression in counting stats, there are several factors that point to 2010 as being a comeback season from this former top tier catcher.

  Am I alone in thinking that Jose Valverde, considered to be one of the best closers on the open market, might wind up signing a contract for less than what Brandon Lyon recieved? We'll see. But for now, Ken Rosenthal outlines the problems facing Valverde's free agency:

As a longtime fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, color me unimpressed with their Hot Stove League activity thus far.

First of all, I really wasn’t all that thrilled that Ned Colletti had his contact extended as General Manager.

It's still only December, but the news on Major League Baseball has certainly taken center stage for much of this week, most of the attention coming as a result of the mega-deal between Toronto, Seattle, Philadelphia and (obscurely) Oakland. It was literally a one-of-a-kind deal, with two Cy Young Award winners on the move.

The deal means that Cliff Lee lands in Seattle, where he will certainly boost the Mariners' playoff chances as they creep ever closer to the Angels' divisional mini-dynasty.