Every time a prospect demonstrates elite ability one of the first questions everyone asks is: who’s in front of him?
Unlike
basketball or football, when it comes to prospects taking over an
incumbent’s position baseball tends to be an all-or-nothing game. After
all, you can’t substitute players in and out every other inning. And
while platooning two players can be effective it is still a lukewarm
solution.
Everyone wants to develop an all-star but is a
team willing to risk two years devoted to a player’s development only
to realize later that handing him the job outright was a mistake? What
if it’s a decision that made the team worse in the short-term and may
end up doing nothing for the long-term?
There have been two distinct attitudes with youth this off-season: embrace it or use it for depth.
Already
coming off a last-place finish in the NL West, Arizona has decided to
do the former – put its highly-touted talent to the test. After
bringing up Stephen Drew, Chris Young, and Carlos Quentin last year to
joining Connor Jackson, who was with the club coming out of Spring
Training, the Diamondbacks have pushed veterans like Luis Gonzalez,
Craig Counsel, and Tony Clark out of the way.
Arizona ’s
veterans weren’t performing at a very high level and it makes all the
sense in the world to see if the acclaim heaped upon its loaded farm
system is justified. How quickly the young Diamondbacks develop remains
to be seen, but Arizona has made a decisive move to go with cheaper,
more talented players and its fans have good reason to be excited.
Standing
in stark contrast are the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their acclaimed trio of
Andre Ethier, James Loney, and Matt Kemp also represents a potential
core of all-stars in which to build around – especially following the
departures of J.D. Drew and Kenny Lofton.
The Dodgers
eschewed the notion of depending on their youngsters, however, signing
29-year-old Juan Pierre for five years and the aforementioned
37-year-old Gonzalez for the 2007 season. Ethier should still start in
left, but Kemp and Loney appear stuck on the outside looking in.
Los Angeles ’ choice is puzzling, especially given its very talented – and very inexpensive – prospects.
The
price of going with experience over youth? Nearly $15 million this year
alone – $7.5 million on Pierre and $7.35 million for Gonzalez. Kemp and
Loney are set to make close to the major league minimum (around
$375,000).
The Dodgers want to win in 2007 but by
handcuffing their best talent they are spending large chunks of money
to fill positions that could be manned by capable, in-house prospects.
The cash that they spent on Pierre and Gonzalez could have been put in
reserve for midseason acquisitions or off-season areas where they have
a more dire need for help.
In theory, the Dodgers can hold
back Kemp and Loney – both just 22 – with little ill effect, in terms
of stunting their development. But both players have already dominated
during their time at Triple-A Las Vegas and might grow somewhat
disillusioned.
From a fan’s perspective, players on the
wrong side of 30 offer so little hope compared to a group of talented
youth – not that ticket sales are a big issue for the Dodgers.
Considering that veterans are literally 20 times more expensive, it
becomes especially difficult to accept a team’s decision not to focus
its efforts on its best young players. If the Dodgers don’t win
immediately, their expensive off-season may become open to mockery from
their fans.
There is little doubt that April, 2007 will
represent a spring of promise for both Arizona and Los Angeles, albeit
for completely different reasons.
The Dodgers splashed all
kinds of cash this winter, both on their outfield and their starting
pitching. Eager for success, fans in L.A. will undoubtedly have little
patience with the new imports. Their veterans need to produce –
otherwise they will simply represent time and money poorly spent.
Arizona
’s off-season was equally decisive. The Diamondbacks committed
themselves to a full-fledged youth movement that will also generate
excitement, particularly because its fans have heard the names Drew,
Young, Quentin, and Jackson for so long they should be chomping at the
bit to see youth in action.
The only difference is that Arizona’s fan base will probably show a lot more understanding should things start roughly next season, a luxury the Dodgers will not have.
Nick Christie can be reached at nickchristie@gmail.com.