An ace up their sleeve?

By Bill Plaschke

Dec. 7, 2007 12 AM PT

Here we thought the Dodgers just needed a little pitching and hitting, but General Manager Ned Colletti is apparently intent on acquiring something much more powerful.

Forgiveness.

That’s what $36 million purchased in the signing of Andruw Jones.

That’s what prospects will purchase in a possible trade for an ace starting pitcher.

Call it Atonement-ball.

And, hey, so far, so good.

The Jones signing was smart and efficient and will help folks -- including owner Frank McCourt -- forgive the terribly large contract and burden that Colletti placed last winter on Juan Pierre.

One mistake down, one to go.

Now it’s time to repent for the giant error that was Jason Schmidt.

Colletti needs to use the outfield surplus created by the signing of Jones and do everything within his power to acquire a No. 1 starting pitcher.

You know, the guy Schmidt was supposed to be.

Yeah, Schmidt is coming back from shoulder surgery, but who knows how far? Even sound, is he anything more than the league’s most expensive No. 3 starter?

Before the Jones acquisition, some Dodgers folks were openly pushing for a front-line starter. Since the acquisition, those folks are still pushing.

When asked about his team’s needs, has Joe Torre mentioned anything but pitching?

It would be easy to say that acquiring the slugging Jones would finish Colletti’s winter work, giving the Dodgers their needed power and allowing them to keep their beloved kids.

But you can’t say that, not with the fourth-best rotation in the division, not with the clock running on his future Hall of Fame manager, not with vulnerabilities still existing throughout his weak league.

Colletti is not done. He can’t be done. Colletti must now use his kids to find his ace, and there are a couple out there.

The Dodgers’ field personnel love Baltimore’s Erik Bedard, an aggressive hard thrower who was third in the American League in strikeouts and fourth in earned-run average.

He is a left-handed version of John Lackey, only five months younger.

And, yeah, Torre loves him because last season, he was 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA against the New York Yankees.

Also still available is the pitcher everybody loves, Minnesota’s Johan Santana, and the Dodgers could still apparently sneak in and acquire him.

Either pitcher would cost them Matt Kemp. But either would put them in the playoffs. And, as Jose Lima would tell you, who knows what could happen then?

While Colletti hates the idea of trading the kids, he admitted that the Jones signing leads directly from center field to the mound.

“It makes our quest for starting pitching more focused, perhaps even more possible,” Colletti said.

The Jones signing does a lot of things for this team. Aside from a few seats and concession stands, it could actually turn out to be the best $36 million McCourt ever spent.

Folks will complain because Jones, 30, is coming off the worst full season of his career, but every question has an answer.

You say he had a bad summer? I say he still would have led the Dodgers in home runs (26) and runs batted in (94).

You say he’s overpaid? I say that by giving him only a two-year deal, he’s going to feel underpaid, and you know how hungry those guys get.

You say he won’t be any better than the combination of Kemp and Andre Ethier? I say, in a post-steroid-era season in 2006, he hit 41 homers with 129 RBIs, so get real.

You say it’s silly to bring a power hitter to Dodger Stadium? OK, well, how about bringing a perennial Gold Glove winner to Dodger Stadium?

In acquiring Jones, the Dodgers are actually acquiring four players.

His power allows them to give Andy LaRoche a long-awaited chance to win the job at third base.

His pedigree probably convinces Jeff Kent to return for one more run at a championship.

His position lets Juan Pierre become Juan Pierre.

No, no, the Dodgers will not and should not trade the short-armed center fielder. Just because he was overpaid doesn’t mean he lacked value. Did everybody somehow miss that he was second in the league in stolen bases and led the league in sacrifice bunts?

The Dodgers need to keep Pierre’s speed and bunting ability at the top of the order. Goodness, it’s one of the reasons Jones agreed to play here. But at least now, Pierre can move to a safer left field and be viewed for what he is -- a complementary player.

“I never said Juan Pierre is a franchise player,” Colletti said. “He’s a very good player on a winning team.”

Four players in, one player out, and that player is either Kemp or Ethier, who are overcrowding right field.

Sorry, you can’t platoon them. You don’t platoon young players who already have spent time in the major leagues. You pick one, and you give him a chance, period.

Besides, it’s not Torre’s history to platoon. He didn’t platoon Bernie Williams or Jorge Posada or Derek Jeter. He gave them the support to stand on their own.

On potential alone, you would pick Kemp over Ethier. But of all the Dodgers kids last summer, Kemp was the most raw, the most difficult to coach, often the most perplexing.

Five years from now, he could be Willie Mays. He could also be Willie Mays Aikens.

It’s up to Colletti to balance the potential of several years with the promise of 2008, to weigh the pressure of his payroll with the begging from his dugout, to build a team for some future manager or build one for Torre.

For the sensitive owner and his embattled general manager, Andruw Jones was a triumph.

It also has to be only a beginning.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.

Begin text of infobox

ERIK BEDARD

* CURRENT TEAM: ORIOLES

* IN MAJORS: 4 YEARS

* 2007 W-L: 13-5 (40-34 CAREER)

* 2007 ERA: 3.16 (3.83 CAREER)

* 2007 SALARY: $3.4 MILLION

JOHAN SANTANA

* CURRENT TEAM: TWINS