Sorry, but He’s Not L.A.-Rod

We know how easy it is to spend someone else’s money, especially when that someone else is Rupert Murdoch.

But the time has come for the Dodgers to show a little restraint, and just to set the tone we’ll put our own checkbook in the drawer and cross Alex Rodriguez off the shopping list.

After signing pitcher Kevin Brown for $15 million a year in 1998 and outfielder Shawn Green for $14 million per in 1999, the Dodgers can’t possibly bring aboard another jaw-dropping, salary-scale-busting contract, can they?

Rodriguez sure makes it tempting. He’s 25, makes the shortstop position look easy and had a .316 average, 41 home runs and 132 runs batted in during a season that is starting to look normal for him. His solid play in the postseason, his first without Ken Griffey Jr. to bear the brunt of the burden, only adds to his value.

In the past, I would have said, “Go ahead.”

But the Dodgers in their current state aren’t ready for Rodriguez. They’re back to taking things slowly and building from within. Naming bench coach Jim Tracy the new manager was a pretty good sign that this is going to take a while. Bringing A-Rod to town would merely add more pressure to the mix, creating expectations of a World Series title before Tracy even got to spring training.

Rodriguez’s agent, Scott Boras, is looking for a contract of at least $20 million a year. That would put a strain on any team, even one as flush with cash as the Dodgers.

It will cost the Dodgers a combined $20 million a year just to keep pitchers Chan Ho Park and Darren Dreifort. That money has to come from somewhere, and in all likelihood the source is the Bring Alex To L.A. Fund.

And if Rodriguez did come to Chavez Ravine, it probably would force the Dodgers to move Gary Sheffield and his $10-million salary.

Sure, any general manager would rather have the younger, more valuable Rodriguez than Sheffield. But at twice the cost, would the Dodgers be getting twice the player? Last year Sheffield batted .325 with 43 home runs and 109 RBIs.

The Dodgers should at least make a bid on Rodriguez, just to up the ante for whoever does sign him and to stay on Boras’ good side down the road and even in upcoming negotiations (he also represents Dreifort).

Will Rodriguez get the $20 million he seeks? With Carlos Delgado already signed to a four-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays for an average of $17 million a year, it seems feasible.

Rodriguez is so pricey that very few teams can even afford to park in his neighborhood, let alone shop there. And the team with the most money, the New York Yankees, won’t come into play because they already have Derek Jeter at shortstop.

The other teams that immediately come to mind are the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves. The most intriguing name on the list of interested candidates is the Chicago White Sox.

The White Sox can never seem to make up their minds if they want to ride the elevator up to the penthouse with the Yankees or slum it with the Milwaukee Brewers. One minute they’re signing Albert Belle for $11 million a year, the next they’re trying to rebuild with young kids and claiming that their low attendance figures classify them as a small-market team even though they play in Chicago. Are they really going to make a run at Rodriguez, when their glaring weakness is a dominant pitcher and after Frank Thomas has reestablished himself as a premier hitter?

The Dodgers can’t jump headfirst into the pitchers’ pool, either, meaning that it’s unlikely Mike Mussina or Mike Hampton will be wearing Dodger blue next year.

As long as Kevin Brown and his contract are around (and there are five years left on it) the Dodgers are spoken for in the expensive ace category.

They might want to shop in the mid-range category and make a run at Pat Hentgen, who had a 15-12 record and a 4.72 earned-run average with St. Louis last year while making $6 million.

Or perhaps they can see if Jason Bere or Willie Blair have anything left and can fill out the bottom of the Dodgers’ rotation.

There’s talk that they could bring Charles Johnson back to catch. That would add much-needed defensive stability behind the plate, and it looks as though he has worked out all of the flaws in his swing that suppressed his batting average when he was with the Dodgers two years ago.

Pushing the shopping cart down the bargain aisle in the free-agent market doesn’t sound too exciting. But the Dodgers will have to do the decidedly nonglamorous work of restocking the farm system and gradually bolstering the big league club for the next couple of years.

Next year, when Carlos Perez’s contract is up and they can buy out Devon White, they can shop again.

Until then, consider the credit card maxed out.

J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com.