Raffy is back in Dodger blue

After weeks of wavering and never really sure what was going to happen, Rafael Furcal has resigned with the Dodgers. This just a couple days after it looked as good as gold that he would go back home to the Atlanta Braves. It's been a weird few days.

So here's how everything has turned out. Two weeks ago, the Oakland A's were looking to give Furcal the magical 4th year he wanted, but for only $9 million (I say "only" as if that's chump change!). Probably not too willing to go to the A's, he declined saying that he thinks he's worth more.

Then a "mystery" team was thrown into the mix, which turned out to be the Braves. They wasted little time in supposedly getting him signed to a deal, but then the Dodgers were talked back into the mix. As I said on an earlier post, he must have not wanted to leave the Dodgers at all.

Now he's back in LA, but a compromise had to be reached. He wanted 4 years, the Dodgers wanted 2, so they settled on 3. It makes sense. I've seen that the deal is for either $30 or $33 million.

Since he is officially back (at least I think...), the Dodgers can now quit worrying about the leadoff spot and shortstop. What he can do hitting leadoff is anything from drop down a bunt to hit 15-20 homers. In the field, he has a cannon arm that is hard to match. It's obvious to see why he would have been very hard to replace.

Of course, that's all contingent on his health, which has been horrible the last couple of years. I guess it's worth rolling the dice on it, because when he's healthy, he's easily an All Star. Can he withstand a full season of good health? Just like any player, who knows. But it's worth the risk. With all due respect to guys like Orlando Cabrera and Jack Wilson, the Dodgers would have taken a hit if they lost Raffy and gained one of those guys.

Now that Raffy and Casey Blake are back, it's time to turn to Manny. For awhile, it looked as if it was just the Dodgers in the running, but of course the Yankees had to join the fun. So it looks to be down to those 2. Who's going to get him? That'll be the next big story.