Sep. 24 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks chief executive officer Derrick Hall claps from the stands during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field. The Diamondbacks defeated the Giants, 15-2. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE

The sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers in late March to a group headed by Lakers’ legend Magic Johnson is certainly good for the game of baseball.  It will revitalize one of the game’s most storied organizations as Johnson and former Braves executive Stan Kasten will do whatever it takes to put a winner on the field.  It will also present a new set of challenges for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

For the past couple of seasons, the Dodgers were hamstrung by the bitter divorce proceedings of Frank and Jamie McCourt.  This fight paralyzed the team when it came to making moves to keep the club competitive.  That will not be the case now, starting at this year’s trade deadline, if not sooner. You can bet Johnson, who has winning seeping through his pores, will stop at nothing to bring a World Series Championship to Chavez Ravine for the first time since 1988.   Having a respected baseball man such as Kasten running things means the baseball operations are in fine hands.

What this means for the Diamondbacks is a little bit like what the Tampa Bay Rays must contend with in the same division as the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.  They will not be able to outspend Los Angeles so they will have to rely on superior personnel decisions.  As chronicled many times here at Venomstrikes, the farm system does have the talent on hand.  The D-Backs do have two benefits that the Rays do not.  The first is Arizona spends more on payroll than Tampa.  The second is that as long as the Rays stay at Tropicana Field, the D-Backs will always have much better attendance giving them a more potent revenue stream.

The sheriffs in Los Angeles will definitely have everyone talking about the Dodgers again.  Will they have enough in 2012 to knock off the new kids in Arizona?

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