What could've been in LaLa Land

One of baseball's favorite pastimes is looking back on what could have been. No other sport sees the deadline dealing and mentality that a bulk of the teams is just one piece away. Prospects are currency in baseball. I've yet to hear of a trade in any other sport to include the infamous minor-league-pitcher-you'll-never-hear-of-again, a PTBNL and cash considerations . Draft picks, sure. But it's in baseball that you get dealt from the Tigers' AAA club to Poughkeepsie. (Is there even a team in Poughkeepsie? It just sounds so insignificantly cliche.)

So, what could be more fun for a Giants' fan than looking at what they don't have to deal with in their rival down the Grapevine? What inspired this is that I just read about Cleveland Indians' catcher Carlos Santana. I forgot about why I was supposed to be angry about him. He was the major prospect in the Dodgers' trade for Casey Blake, who has been a capable, if unspectacular corner infielder in a capable, if unspectacular infield tandem for the Dodgers over the past few years. Santana has terms like "five-tool" thrown around. The Dodgers catching has terms like "Rod Barajas" and "post-Brad Ausmus era" thrown around. Clearly, any trade that the Dodgers have made since John Tudor hung up his spikes hasn't led them to the promised land.

So, by this metric, every dealing of prospects since then has failed. So, what could have been? What could have helped them overcome the image of a barely post-teenage Clayton Kershaw looking gassed as the Phillies slammed past them in the NLCS?

Looking back on the Dodgers' slate of Top 10 prospects over the past dozen or so years (a reasonable amount of time where the players might still be expected to be in the system, albeit thanks to a free-agent deal or two), piching isn't their issue. Granted, they could've used an ace, but the Dodgers are traditionally in the top of the NL in ERA. Maybe it's the park, maybe it's the staff. Besides, they haven't let that many arms get away. They just haven't developed as planned. Position players are another story.

Here's a look at what they let get away and what they got in return. (Yes, Pedro Martinez is conspicuously absent, as he'd be unlikely to be helping the 2011 Dodgers at his advanced age. However, he's the ultimate example of a woulda, coulda, shoulda.)

• 1B - Paul Konerko - The poster child of the prospect that the Dodgers never should have sent away. From Eric Karros to James Loney, Konerko is better. He was a little slow hitting his prime, but in hindsight, should have been kept. He was traded with Dennys Reyes (who just made another 40-man roster) for Jeff Shaw, who never even made a single plate appearance for the Dodgers. (Oh, yeah. He was a closer. He had a bunch of saves over a few years, but that's beside the point. No playoff wins.)


• 2B - Blake DeWitt - Truth be told, the jury is out here. He was dealt for Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot. Lilly looks like a serviceable starter. The fact that he was a former Dodger farmhand before he became any good doesn't help this argument, though. He did land the Dodgers Mark Grudzielanek, whose name I still can't spell unless I'm sober.


• 3B - Andy LaRoche - Okay, Casey Blake is better, but he cost us Santana. I'm sure there was some free agent available somewhere along the line that wouldn't have cost us a "five-tool catcher". Sigh.


• SS - None of note.


• OF - Shane Victorino - He's better than Jay Gibbons/Marcus Thames/Tony Gwynn's Kid. That's for sure. He was drafted in the Rule 5 draft by the Padres. Then returned to LA. He was drafted in the Rule 5 draft by the Phillies. They kept him. Gave L.A. a few bucks. Awesome.


• OF - Franklin Gutierrez - Outside of Ichiro and the future Justin Smoak, he's the only player in the Mariners' lineup that anyone cares about. Oh, and he could probably cover two outfield positions by himself. Even better, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for headcase, and board-game namesake Milton Bradley, who currently clogs left field in Seattle. At least Guti gets to show his range with a limited left-side partner at Safeco.