logan white has the last laugh

i think logan white is one of the many 'assistant' general managers the dodgers have on staff.  it probably won't be too long before that assistant tag is dropped and he is putting together some team's roster.  for now, though, his focus is on scouting and he does that very well. 

he's taken pitching first every year since 2003 (he took james loney first in 2002), and you know the names like billingsley and kershaw (and watch out for ethan martin in a couple of years).  this year he wanted zach lee.

lee, as we all know, was going to go to lsu and play football so he dropped in the draft.  he fell all the way to the dodgers' spot at 28.  many speculated (and i believed) that lee was drafted because he was the best player available and because he was un-signable.  with the mccourt divorce and the frugality that was the dodgers' offseason, it made sense that frank would be keeping up appearances without really intending to sign the kid.

the dodgers sent tommy to the draft.  he looks tired. kind of like elgin baylor at all of those lottery drawings he went to for the clippers.  drafting is hard.

he consulted with ralph avila, a longtime scout who was the one that really first tapped into the dominican republic.

surely they would find someone who had 'signability', but no, they took lee.  white said all along that lee was drafted with the intent to sign him, but there was no indication leading up to the deadline that the two sides had even begun negotiating.  lee was at football practice in louisiana and things looked like they weren't going to come together.  then comes word that lee did sign, and for a lot more money than the dodgers had ever paid before (twice what kershaw received) and logan white was vindicated and i was wrong to have doubted the dodgers' intent.

two nights later zach lee is at dodger stadium being introduced wearing an outfit that would have looked right at home on a 1992 topps draft pick card, and white was at his side.

it would be downright awesome if in 4 or 5 years the dodgers had a rotation of billingsley, kershaw, scott elbert, martin and lee.  of course, ned will likely trade at least a couple of those guys for a johnny damon type.  but, if white were to become the dodgers' gm, it could happen.  here's hoping!