Two updates over the long weekend from Buster Olney, the first dishing on the many problems the Dodgers are facing and the second revealing the first hints that this season's free-agent scramble before the deadline may be just on this side of boring (both insider only).
On the Dodgers, Buster notes that despite Don Mattingly's best efforts, the team is starting to feel the weight of the ownership issues and knows that additional help this season is unlikely -- with little cash on hand and a paltry pipeline of prospects, the players are starting to see the reality of their situation. With Kemp and Ethier both eligible for Free Agency in 16 months, Olney suggests that the Dodgers will almost certainly be unable to keep either no matter who the new owner is.
Dire quote of the day:
No matter who the owner is a year from now, the Dodgers will need years -- years -- to fix the damage that has been done to their franchise. Not since the days before Branch Rickey took over the organization has anyone ever thought of the Dodgers as a team that needed to rebuild from the ground up, but they're not that far from that.
If that isn't enough to dampen your post-holiday spirits, Buster's sources around the league are indicating that some GMs and other talent evaluators around the league are somewhat depressed this season -- there's just not that much to go around and what's there is beyond the pale in salary costs.
Notes after the jump.
Other News, Notes, and Rumors around MLB:
- Jose Reyes' injury is mild, but is a reminder of exactly what the Mets could be facing with (or without) him going forward.
- Several prominent All-Star caliber pitching aces are ineligible for the game because they pitched this past Sunday.
- The Brewers are fielding quite the All-Star lineup and have three players featured in the game -- Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and Rickie Weeks.
- Ryan Vogelsong was released by the Phillies last summer, and now he's an All-Star.
- The Heath Bell Sweepstakes might be the most interesting, since he's one of the few somewhat-affordable impact upgrades this season.
- No rehab stint for Albert Pujols.
- Derek Jeter's 3,000 Hit Countdown Resumes.