i'll tell you 1 thing...Dodgers can't afford to not be all in on Tanaka. he represents the Japanese market and they're looking to go global...he makes their new network more valuable. they could go out and sign Price in a couple years if Kershaw leaves and still have a hell of a rotation, but Kershaw gives this team the best chance of winning the WS and that's part of going global and challenging the Yankees as well, so they need to be all in on Kershaw too. so like harkeyed said, all in on both.
If there is any question on whether or not Kershaw is coming back in a year, then the team needs to be all in on Tanaka now. At least we would still have a dangerous core of Tanaka, Ryu and Greinke with options on both Bills and Haren along with the prospects. The 2015 market has some solid rotation pieces that would not replace Kershaw, but could at least fill in for some of the loss (Bailey, Scherzer, Masterson and Lester). The benefit of getting Tanaka now being that the team will only have 2 spots to potentially fill instead of 3 where we start talking about losing a large chunk of draft picks if the FO is trying to stay competitive with the pitchers.
Sorta funny the discussion about the total amount we could spend on three pitchers, Kemp and Agon. Sounds like a lot until you compare it with the annual income from the TW contract. Must be nice to be Kasten.
buster olney on kershaw fwiw... I don’t really know Kershaw, but I have spent some time around him and walked away with this strong first impression: He cares less about money than the vast majority of people I’ve known in the game. He’s a smart person who has a strong sense of himself, what he wants in his life, and I don’t think he’ll ever define himself by the dollar figures on his paychecks. Kershaw has already made about $20 million playing baseball and will nearly double that with his salary for 2014. My guess is that if you told Clayton and Ellen Kershaw this was all the money he would have in their lifetimes, they would be far more than OK with that. If money was a force that drove the pitcher, he would’ve probably finished the deal with the Dodgers last summer; he would’ve rushed to grab a pen, because the offer was staggering, more than $100 million more than any contract signed by any pitcher. __
more from olney... So what’s he looking for with this next big career decision? He’ll likely get a record-setting deal no matter where he signs. Does he want to pitch for the Rangers, in the area where he grew up? Or will he ultimately sign with the Dodgers -- and certainly the delay must be something of a surprise to the leaders of that franchise, who are not accustomed to being told no. But the Dodgers’ sense of where these talks are may define their willingness to invest in Tanaka. __
^Hopefully it's his agent who's in contact with the FO because the Tanaka deadline is less than 2 weeks away and he's in Africa for probably for a prolonged time.
Kershaw is a family man with a strong focused Methodist background who lives in the Dallas area and possibly his best friend who lives is Dallas is no longer with the Dodgers and is with the Rangers. I read an article last week wondering what CK thinks of Puig and the shenanigans around him. Is LA really his style like it is for other Dodger players? Is Grienkes wife happy with his decision? Has Mrs K left it up to him or do they want a family with daddy home after home games.
texas is a natural disaster but they'd need to make a trade with the giants for the other to happen :fags2:
I can see this being a reason but then I would have to ask the question where are the reports that he is going to be a free agent regardless of the Dodger offer? I hope he realizes that the FO has to make decisions based upon his signing the extension. As for his preference to play close to home and that LA is somehow not desirable, I don't buy that a Dodger player can't live here and thrive here. L.A is big enough without being bothered constantly because of the many many celebrities here. Plus his next contract will certainly afford him enough money to move his friends and family here. Additionally if ever there was a place that needs his charitable endeavors it's here and if ever there is a place who could use some bible thumping it's here as well.
You do realize a lot of people hate California it's politics, values, lifestyle, taxes, politics again etc. Think back to the controversies between us the Cardinals and DBacks. There were comparisons of team cultures and maybe CK gas grown less fond of ours. He didn't voluntarily become a a Dodger he was drafted and maybe he wants the opportunity to evaluate his choices by becoming free to make them. Puig had a choice as did other international players. Ryu had a choice as does Tananka. Maybe CK wants one also. Who knows, stay tuned.
