Evans Keeps Going Into Great Unknown

Make no mistake, this is no movie sequel.

This is real life risky business.

For the future of the Dodgers.

For the future of Dan Evans as general manager.

Here we are, finally only a few weeks from a possible change in ownership, with rampant speculation still that Frank McCourt is prepared to replace Evans with Billy Beane, and the incumbent GM refuses to deviate from his controversial strategy.

Evans has drawn a line in the sand, further jeopardizing his own status perhaps, by adamantly refusing to trade any of his top prospects.

In a litany that began in July and continued during the current off-season, Evans has lost out on Brian Giles, Richie Sexson, Derrek Lee and J.D. Drew (possibly among others) by rejecting proposals that would have required him to include pitchers Edwin Jackson or Greg Miller or outfielder Franklin Gutierrez.

Is there a right to it, a wrong?

Well, maybe that’s a judgment that can’t be made yet.

At this point, after all, there are things we know, things we don’t.

We know, for example, that Giles, Sexson, Lee and Drew are proven offensive commodities who were all subsequently traded -- Drew on Saturday from St. Louis to Atlanta in a five-player deal in which the Braves, about as desperate as the Dodgers for offensive help after losing Gary Sheffield and Javier Lopez as free agents, were willing to give up Adam Wainwright, their No. 1 pitching prospect.

We know too that Robin Ventura, Jeromy Burnitz and Rickey Henderson weren’t the answers for the Dodgers’ offensive ills in July, and we know, as well, that the acquisition Saturday of Juan Encarnacion wasn’t exactly the earth-moving move that might have been expected as the initial follow-up to the trading of Kevin Brown and all of his millions.

If all of that stands as documented reality and is seemingly beyond debate, what we don’t know is what the future holds for Jackson, Miller and Gutierrez.

Maybe the prospects will become suspects. Maybe they’ll prove to be the truth as advertised. Maybe they’ll fall somewhere in between.

For Evans?

“The most important thing to me is that when the Dodgers hired me they hired my philosophy,” he said.

In other words, he added, he isn’t going to mortgage the future for his self-benefit or to acquire a player who might not be a difference maker, no matter what the critics or fans think or McCourt ultimately decides.

He cited the backing of Chairman Bob Daly and said of his philosophy:

“Has it cost us players? Yes, but I don’t regret those decisions.

“We still have our best young players, and I know we’ll do things in the next couple months to improve our offense. My obligation is to do what’s right and responsible. It would be wrong to put my own situation ahead of that.”

Of course, the Dodgers haven’t been to the playoffs in seven years.

Then again, the club’s farm system had been a wasteland even longer.

Now, as Baseball America raves about the last two Dodger drafts under Evans and Logan White and ranks the club’s system among baseball’s best, an American League general manager with familiarity of that system compares Gutierrez to a young Moises Alou and predicts Gutierrez, Jackson and Miller will be pivotal factors in L.A. by 2006.

“The toughest part of our sport is patience,” Evans said. “People are always saying you should get this player or that player, but this isn’t rotisserie baseball.

“Part of the reason that the Dodgers haven’t been to the postseason for so long is that the club has been constantly looking for a quick fix.

“I mean, if the cupboard is consistently bare, you’re always signing free agents, running up your payroll, losing draft picks and lacking players when you have injuries or need to move a player because of payroll or other reasons.

“Pragmatically, I have to balance our immediate needs with the long term.”

On Saturday, Evans had only to give up a suspect for Encarnacion.

To the Dodgers’ credit, they didn’t bill him as the ultimate offensive answer, only a complementary piece.

In a career year, Encarnacion drove in 94 runs, which would have led the Dodgers. He also stole 19 bases, can play all three outfield positions and figures to bat fifth or sixth in the lineup.

Despite those credentials, he is a player who was not going to be tendered another contract by the Marlins on Dec. 20, complained about his World Series benching to anyone who would ask and brings a .313 on-base percentage, 139th among full-time players last season, to a team whose .303 on-base percentage ranked 29th among the 30 major league teams.

Not every player is perfect, Manager Jim Tracy said, and Encarnacion isn’t.

Then again, he might not be with the imperfect Dodgers for long.

They have offered him a two-year, $8-million contract, but some big league officials believe he could be moved to the Boston Red Sox if the Dodgers are offered a chance to trade for Nomar Garciaparra.

While the Red Sox were trying to repair relations with Garciaparra, wounded by his club’s pursuit of Alex Rodriguez, and resuming negotiations with Garciaparra’s agent on a possible contract extension, Evans was busy on other fronts.

He met with Tampa Bay regarding first baseman-outfielder Aubrey Huff and Seattle regarding center fielder Randy Winn.

The new Seattle general manager is Bill Bavasi.

As the Dodgers’ former personnel director, Bavasi clearly knows he has no shot at Jackson, Miller or Gutierrez.

Of course, who doesn’t know that by now Evans isn’t going to be talked out of this risky business?