The American idiom bet the farm is defined as to risk everything you have because you are certain of something. If baseball, and the prices that George Steinbrenner pays his player teaches us anything, there is no such thing as sure thing.

My local Dodgers are blessed with a good farm system and some young talent that was fun to root for last season while the team was still in playoff contention. The fear among Dodger fans (not just the fair weather sort who only show up for a winner) was that Dodger management would trade away the future for a couple of years of pricey vets.

If the last week is any indication, new skipper Torre knows the Dodgers have great young talent and the way to keep it AND be competitive for 2008 is to bring in Japanese talent that won’t require sending LA’s upcoming stars to play for its foes. An outfield of Kemp, Jones and Ethier has a lot of potential.

Welcome to LA, Hiroki Kuroda.