It's time to dump the older guys and go after premier free-agents and let the young guys take their lumps. A-rod might be available and I don't care what he costs, we need his power in the lineup. We started with 8 starting pitchers and in the end had to pull guys off the waiver wire to fill in. GET SANTANA! We have the money, and everyone wants to play in L.A. Stop screwing around and just get us a team that someone actually fears to play!

Wow, Grady has basically screwed up two teams, and now he's looking to make next season "better". Remember the last time he said that?

Dodgers definitely need to unload all the older always hurt players.

Attention LA's front office. You think old! You play old! I remember the Lopes/Garvey/Russell/Cey era. The YOUNG GUNS of LA. The Youth the Dodger's have are their future. Quit looking back, stop relying on the old folks to carry you through.Get a MANAGER with a vision (I don't mean Tunnel) and a purpose.Don't trade away your future again. All of MLB is filled with traded away Dodger talent. A-Rod is not "The" answer and carries a big $$$$$$$$. Home grown is always better than store bought. Joe Gerrardi where are you???????

Joe Gerrardi took a young Marlins team last year right to the brink of the playoffs. He is a good choice, but it will not happen next year.

I am a forty-five year fan.Things cycle. The most attendance in the league,youth,quality bullben,good ownership. I am looking forward to next year.Let it go. We lost.

The starting 8 on this team is totally set with Martin, Loney, Abreu, LaRoche, Furcal, Ethier, Pierre, Kemp. And then have Hu and Young on the bench (and eventually replacing Furcal and Pierre). This will be a GREAT hitting team soon. But we may have to suffer a year or two of growing pains. DO NOT blow $100MM on ARod who just had a super contract year. He is 32 and will be too fat and happy to be worth those dollars. This team needs no position players. Instead, I worry about pitching. Penny and Billingsley are great. Some of the younger guys in the pen show promise as well. That said, not sure I want to spend Zito money on any pitcher (even Santana, who would be most worth it).

And to echo other posts... Yes, no need for Kent, Gonzo, or Nomar, especially if they are going to be whining about playing time or causing problems in the clubhouse (although I haven't heard such things emanating from Nomar.) Enjoy your retirement. Each of you has had a great career (with Kent in the HoF), but it's time to move on for this organization.

FIRE GRADY LITTLE!!! Get Dusty Baker or Joe Girardi...someone with fire!!

In response to what jim g said regarding "things cycle". I know things cycle, but it isn't like it used to be in the 70s and 80s where the Dodgers won in the playoffs. Now we are lucky just to see them there.
I have been a Dodger fan since I was a little kid in 1973. The Dodgers have not had a legitimate contender since 1988. Those trips to the playoffs in the 1990s with the Karros and Piazza teams were a joke. They never had a chance to go anywhere in the playoffs. They were always easy prey for whoever they played. I never had confidence in those 1990 playoff teams when they played the Braves.
It's been almost 20 year since they have had a team that went somewhere. I want to see Dodger blue in the 2008 World Series. If they sign the right people like a legitimate #4 hitter, that's a walk in the right direction. Just my 2 cents.

The team we saw during the last few weeks of the season is what'll be there come March. I'm excited about that.
I was a teenager during the Garvey/Lopes/Russell/Cey days. That's what is happening now, a core of good ballplayers, all with 1 or 2 years experience. Add a BIG bat and 4 healthy starters and we will contend.
Dusty and Reggie were the two missing pieces in 77 and 78. Kemp and Loney have a shot at being those type players. Get that big guy that people fear in the heart of the lineup. Lock up the core of your team in 5-6 year contracts (a la the 90's Indians) and we may not win it all in 08, but I think people will start
circling those Dodger games on their schedule again.
We're stuck in the toughest division, top to bottom, in baseball. We'll never make the playoffs unless we begin knocking off our NL West rivals...

It's good to see Dodgers fans on the same page. Good riddance to the overvalued contracts and bad attitudes. Nomar seems to have been above this fiasco (at least publicly). For that, he's got my respect. Jeff Kent is still putting up very good numbers for a 2B, so as big of a jerk as he is, we still need him. But, don't get me wrong... I hope Tony Abreu outplays him next year and he suffers the same fate as Gonzo.
However, who does Luis Gonzalez think he is? I mean, seriously. This guy isn't a real Dodger to begin with. Nomar and Kent at least have some tenure with the Dodgers now. Gonzo is a washed up transplant from within the division and he got outplayed day in and day out by Ethier and Kemp. The only reason why the Dodgers kept it close in the first half of September was because of his replacement (Kemp) and the rest of the young guys. I look forward to the day Gonzo is actually Gone-zo.
Does he actually think he's going to be an everyday player on a team that has a chance to go to the World Series? My prediction is that he replaces Bradley on the Padres and he loses playing time mid-way through the season and they miss the playoffs. Good riddance, Luis. Take your bad attitude and washed up body down the 405.

I am Dodger fan by heritage and it all started when my Dad used to tell me stories of Duke Snider and Gil Hodges while still playing in Brooklyn. I still am, and my 3 sons will bleed Dodger Blue. Grady Little is a Walter Alston type manager with a low key demeanor and will be successful here to a point. Like Alston, you still have to stop and wonder what he was thinking when managing a game. A solid manager is good for perhaps 10 to 20 wins a year with good decisions. No one is perfect but better than 50% would have us in the playoffs. Vets work fine with this type manager but young players respond to a manager that will lite the fire and we have that an outstanding group of young players. There is no Tommy Lasorda on the horizon but there are qualified managers who are capable of dealing with veteran players and inspire the youngsters. Frank McCord has gone a fine job thus far by reviving the farm system and hiring Ned Colletti. Be patient follow fans. This is a setback and they'll get it right soon He's still new at this too.

Fire Grady!!!!!!!!! Grady has no fire, his lineups come out of a bingo hopper, and needs to go::: Since that isn't going to happen a player needs to instill a little fire. Jeff NegaKent needs to go. Anybody else notice that the Dodgers 2 biggest slumps coincide with his 2 biggest tantrums. His constant negative attitude does not compensate for his numbers. The Dodgers are in a position to have a serious contending team for years with the talented youth they have. The rotation should be fine without making a major deal. Penny, Lowe, Billingsly are a great top 3. If Schmidt comes back to 90% of his former self, thats a nice top 4. Then you have Wolfe, Loiaza, Houlton, Kuo, Stults, and the young phenom Kershaw. You should be able to get #5 from that group. With the years that the youngsters are going to be absolute bargains we need to take advantage.We have 2 moves to make. Power hitting 3rd baseman. A Rod would be nice, but the $$$$. My choice would be Garrett Atkins. He would be good for 25-30 HRs and 100+ RBIs. Next would be to move Pierre to left and get the likes of Tori Hunter to play center. That would probably cost a young star or two but you can't keep them all. Just make Kemp, Loney, Billingsly, Martin, and Kershaw untouchable.

Kemp and Loney are the future for the Dodgers. I cant believe that Jeff Kent would have a negative comment on why the rookies are playing? Well remember Normar's and Luis Gonzales' slump? Well Loney and Kemp stepped up.

Grady needs to go. And so does Kent, Gonzo, and Nosemar. The only "vets" should be Pierre leading off full-time, and Furcal batting at the bottom or the lineup. Martin, Loney, Kemp, and Ethier should play every day. Billingsley and Penny are solid, but we need another starting pitcher who won't get hurt. Schmidt was a million dollar bust. Lowe disappointed. Wolf got hurt.
Paying attention Colletti?

One big bat to replace the three wise men...Kent, Nomar and Gonzo...its as easy as that...the pitching fell apart because they had to carry us all year...if we had some offense there wouldnt be the constant stress on the starters and bullpen.

Well for once I am in agreement with most of what people are saying. Growing pains for sure. The Dodgers made some bad moves, Tomko, Schmidt, Loriaza, clean house and dump these guys. I think David Wells can contribute still.
Pitchers
Penny
Lowe
Billingsley
Wells
Wolf
Say goodbye to
Nomar, Gonzo, Schmidt, Loriaza, Seanez and thise others they picked up in despiration.
Keep Holton, Biemel, Proctor, Saito. broxton
send Stultz and Meloan back to Vegas and use them as starters for next year.
the next 2 years will be painful for the Dodgers but they will have some young starters with good experience. They need another Infielder who can hit with power and average.

Being a Padres fan, the best thing the Dodgers could do for San Diego is to continue with Grady Little and Ned Colletti. The only possible way to downgrade your coaching staff might be to hire Dusty Baker, as somebody mentioned prior to this. Your team did terribly down the stretch because Little has proven that he does not know how to handle a clubhouse. At all. When there are known rifts between veteran and rookie players there is no way a team will win - especially a team with such immense young talent as the Dodgers. Your front office went with proven clubhouse guys like Gonzalez and Nomar because they hoped they would not only put up the numbers, but also because they could provide some leadership and guidance for the rookies. Instead, Little has proven that he cannot manage a team and starting his AAA squad in two games last week didn't do anything but make the veterans even more upset.
Colletti is a relic of a once-successful Giants organization who is now struggling because of all the players he helped acquire and the talent he shipped out. Your best acquisitions for 2007 were Schmidt and Pierre and both of them are making FAR too much money for the talent they bring to the club (not to say they're both useless, because they're not - they're just overpaid). Meanwhile, he allowed one of the better pitchers on his staff, Maddux, (and one who outperformed Schmidt last season) to go to a division rival. Realistically, the Dodgers would most likely be a perennial World Series contending team if you would have kept DePodesta because he not only had trust in his young guns, but he knew how to handle his money. Both Colletti and Little have one thing in common - they are not winners and have blown it with teams as talented, if not more so, than the Dodgers. Get rid of them and get some no-nonsense manager like Girardi - he handled the youth of the Marlins well because he didn't let them act out of place and pushed them to utilize their full potential.

Lavaman, I have to dissagree on Lowe. He shows up for every start. 200 innings 3.88 era how much are you going to pay for that on the FA market? The team did not score for him. He is #2 in my lineup.

Loaiza is a far better alternative to David Wells, in my opinion. Tomko was terrible because the Dodgers' pitching staff altered his mechanics and not his approach to pitching (which has, historically, always been his problem). Cut ties with Wolf and Nomar - they're both far too much of a liability both health-wise with their diminishing performance. The Dodgers don't have a choice with Gonzalez - he essentially cut himself.
Just keep fielding the young guns and make a couple smart acquisitions (no more Pierre/Schmidt/Nomar signings) and you'll do fine.

Good-bye Gonzo!!! You had an above-average year and as a veterean of your caliber, you should know better that once a team is out of playoff contention, management starts playing the younger players to give them that taste of the Majors and see who may be thre next season. Quite your whining, thanks for being a Dodger for a year and go back to AZ or call it a career.
As for Kent, he has always had a small chip on his should wherever he has been. He was pretty solid for the few years he was here, but it is defeintely time to move on...thanks Kent...you are a future HoF!!!!
Nomar likes it here, I think he should stay at 3B and Abreu can play 2B.
We definitley do not need AROD, although his bat would be nice...spend the $$$$ on your starting rotation Mr. McCourt!!! Schmidt is a bust and I'm sorry you wasted $ on him...if he bounces back next year, its a bonus, if not, cut ties as fast as possible.
The enointed future has finally arrived for Dodger fans...there has been so much talk about the minors providing the future for us, with Martin, Loney, Kemp, Ethier in the everyday lineup...Furcal and Pierre the seasoned vets at young ages...it will be growing pains for us, but the future is now for us in L.A.!!!

Wow, what a double-standard. No mention of Lowe or Kent throwing the rookies to the wolves, but good riddance to Gonzo. I guess that has nothing to do with the fact that he cut ties with the Dodgers himself...
Seriously, don't place blame on one of your most solid contributors throughout the year. Blame it on Little failing to keep his team grounded; ESPECIALLY during the stretch run to the playoffs.

Wow. Nice to finally see a Dodger board where (mostly) everyone agrees on the direction the team should take. Maybe Dodger brass will see some of this and take it to heart. I've seen a lot of talk about whether the team should keep/drop Kent, Nomar, Lowe, etc. May I point out another area that has been missed? Bench players and pinch hitters. I applauded the pick-up of Sweeney, a player with marginal stats as a full-timer, but pretty good in the PH role. Is there a chance we could keep him next year and get rid of Olmedo Saenz? I don't know how many times I would stay up late (I'm in Alabama) to catch the final outs of a close game only to go to bed cursing shortly thereafter. Usual scenario: Dodgers either tied or down a couple of runs...two outs...one or two runners on base...Saenz up to bat...and then either a ground out or strike out to end the inning. I'd rather have seen a prospect called up to get some ABs than watch Saenz make more outs.