I don’t have a big beef with Ned Colletti himself. I’m not necessarily a hater of Joe Torre  either. I just thought Frank McCourt’s ousting of Paul DePodesta terrible, as was the shaft he (they) gave Grady Little last offseason. Ever heard of Karma Mr.  McCourt?

The Dodgers picked up Casey Blake from the Indians, without spending a dime. The Indians paid the $2 million remaining on Blake’s contract, raising the question of why the Dodgers did not pay some or all of that money to ease the hit on their minor league system.

“If anybody thinks we were going to go and get Casey Blakefor two non-prospects, they’re wrong,” Colletti said.

Colletti said he could have added to the Dodgers’ payroll if necessary to complete the deal. However, a source familiar with negotiations said the Indians were told that the Dodgers needed any trade to be “revenue-neutral” — in other words, McCourt would not increase the payroll.

If the owner is playing to win this season — and a $118-million payroll would suggest he is — it would be curious indeed to say no to another $2 million.

I thought this deal was a little weird for the Dodgers. Casey Blake is one of those streaky players sitting on the fringe of fantasy waiver wires, isn’t he? A .266/.336/.447 career hitter who can get very hot and very cold. Not a great fielder, but a guy who can play IF or OF. In other words, a decent bench guy whose production can be found elsewhere.

But, on a team desperately in need of reinforcements since Rafael Furcal’s back gave out in May, these are the additions: Blake for nothing, Angel Berroa for nothing and Pablo Ozuna for about $150,000, a prorated share of the minimum wage.
When McCourt raises the price of your season tickets this winter, you might ask why you should pay more when he would not spend more.

“Our payroll is strong,” Colletti said. “The commitment is obvious.”

Perhaps McCourt has cut off Colletti’s allowance. Colletti extended the budget with Jason Schmidt at $47 million, Juan Pierreat $44 million, Furcal at $39 million, Andruw Jones at $36 million, Hiroki Kuroda at $35 million and Nomar Garciaparra at $19 million.

This is such a brutal list. It hard to say Pierre, Furcal, Kuroda and Garciaparra are total busts — but none were coups. Jones and Schmidt were two of the worst signings in recent years.

“He’s been on a winner,” Torre said.

Oh, there you go. I forgot. He’s also been on two underachieving Indians teams two out of the last three years. Hopefully this will open the door for Kim Ng.