SAN DIEGO -- General manager Paul DePodesta took a Dodger team already in first place and blew it up Friday, hoping that the pieces land in all the right places and the team lands where it is now: in first place.

 

His trade to Florida of popular All-Star catcher Paul Lo Duca, nasty setup reliever Guillermo Mota and ailing outfielder Juan Encarnacion -- when all the dust settles -- is meant to upgrade this year's Dodgers for a run at the World Series.

 

It remains to be seen whether the Dodgers will end up with the players they received Friday -- Brad Penny, Hee-Seop Choi and minor league pitcher Bill Murphy -- or a combination that might include Randy Johnson and Steve Finley.

 

But however it ends up, Friday it left Lo Duca in tears and his teammates in shock.

 

"It doesn't sound like a first-place clubhouse in here," one veteran said as players offered goodbyes to the three former teammates less than two hours before the start of Friday's key series opener with the Padres.

 

Lo Duca cried and talked openly about the pain of leaving the only organization he has ever known.

 

"We're in first place and I thought we played good, but obviously they want to make some upgrades," said the All-Star catcher. "This is a business and this is the way it works. It's a little surprising, especially the way we played in the last month. I could understand it if we'd been tailing off, but we haven't. It makes it tough. I felt I was a decent part of what's going on.

 

"It's hard to see why or what. I'm sure I'll wonder all night what brought it on. Knowing this could happen is always in the back of your mind. But I always dreamed about being a Dodger for my whole life, having a 20-year career, but I guess it didn't happen. It's tough, so many friends I've made along the way. The fans in L.A., they treated me so well. It's tough."

 

However, Lo Duca summed up chemistry the way a club official might.

 

"A lot of guys can do that (lead). I think they'll be fine," he said. "As long as they get it to the big guy (Eric Gagne), they'll win games. I'm not saying I'll be the missing link. They've got plenty of players."

 

Mota, who has changed clubs in the past, sees the trade as another opportunity for advancement. He has become a top setup man, but has never had a chance to be a closer in Los Angeles behind Eric Gagne.

 

"I don't know if it's good or bad, we'll see," said Mota. "This is really like my house. But I will have a chance to close, maybe next year. That's good."

 

The Marlins currently have Armando Benitez as their closer.

 

"It's disappointing to leave, but I'm going to a team that might be in the playoffs," said Mota. "Not like going to Arizona (where he also was rumored to be headed)."

 

Encarnacion returns to the Marlins, who dealt him to the Dodgers in the offseason for a minor leaguer.

 

The trade rocked the clubhouse, where the Dodgers have credited their close-knit chemistry as one factor in their success.

 

"There's a lot of sad faces in here," said veteran Jose Lima. "I don't want to create a war, but breaking up a first-place team, wow, that's something. We accomplished this together. We overcame adversity, people not believing in us. I don't make the decisions. That's the business. That's why baseball is sometimes crazy. You start every day, all of a sudden you gone."

 

Shawn Green agreed.

 

"Right now, it's hard to fathom," he said. "I don't think anybody knows what the end result will be. Lo Duca has been such a big part of the organization for so many years. You hear they want to add a pitcher or a bat and that sounds good. You forget the flip side, that you can't get great players for nothing. Obviously, it's a big change."

 

Manager Jim Tracy, who has spoken frequently of team chemistry, said the trade need not disrupt it.

 

"[Chemistry] is not something that is not still there," said Tracy. "A lot of things done make a lot of sense. We've got good people here who have built chemistry and can maintain chemistry."

 

Tracy would not discuss the trade in specifics, but seemed exciting about the possible additions.

 

"We're not talking small potatoes here," he said of the players he was hoping to receive. "The speculation of an awfully good starting pitcher of that magnitude, what do you expect to go back the other way? You give up nothing?

 

Financially, Lo Duca is in the final year of a three-year contract paying $3.9 million this year; Encarnacion's contract pays $3.565 million this year and $4.435 million next year; and Mota earns $1.475 this year. Lo Duca and Mota are eligible for arbitration and in line for significant raises.

 

Penny earns $3.725 million this year and Choi $310,000. Penny is eligible for arbitration next year, Choi is not.

 

 

 

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/NASApp/m...ws_la&fext=.jsp

Penny is eligible for arbitration next year, Choi is not.

 

Wait, was Choi a free agent, or just not arbitration eligible?

You mean to say trade not thread, right? Lol

Similar article in the LA Times:

SAN DIEGO ? The Dodgers have become a close-knit bunch during their surprising run to the top of the National League West, so it figured the clubhouse would be somber Friday after catcher Paul Lo Duca, reliever Guillermo Mota and right fielder Juan Encarnacion were traded to the Florida Marlins.

 

Players expressed surprise and concern on learning that three key members of the team with the major leagues' third-best record had been traded for pitcher Brad Penny, first baseman Hee Seop Choi and double-A pitcher Bill Murphy.

 

 

And the shakeup could continue today as the team awaits word on other major deals that would bring pitcher Randy Johnson and outfielder Steve Finley from Arizona, and catcher Charles Johnson from Colorado.

 

Although General Manager Paul DePodesta's bold moves might help in the long run this season, the Dodgers were briefly dazed and confused.

 

They quickly refocused, however, in a 12-3 blowout victory over the San Diego Padres before 42,555 at Petco Park.

 

The Dodgers kept rolling despite their conflicted emotions.

 

"It's a weird feeling," first baseman Shawn Green said. "Dukie has been such a big part of this organization for so long. He's a great teammate and the fans love him. Mota has been a big part of this club for a couple of years, and Juan is a great guy and a great player. It's definitely a huge move."

 

Players huddled and spoke softly while discussing the first of DePodesta's expected major moves before today's 1 p.m. non-waiver deadline, trying to assess the effect of what had occurred.

 

Some sat motionless, staring into their dressing stalls while declining to comment on Lo Duca, Mota and Encarnacion, among the most popular players in the clubhouse.

 

"You lose great character in the guys we're losing," closer Eric Gagne said. "You lose great friends. You lose guys who you go out there with every day, and you know they're going to be there for you."

 

The news hit Lo Duca hard. Drafted by the Dodgers in 1993, he became a favorite among fans and teammates and has been considered the heart and soul of the Dodgers since having become the everyday catcher in 2001.

 

"You know it might happen, but I've always dreamt about being a Dodger for my whole life," said Lo Duca, who shared tears and hugs with well-wishing teammates. "It's tough because of the people you meet in the Dodger family. You make so many friends, and the fans, that's the toughest part."

 

DePodesta said it wasn't easy on him either. "These are real people," said DePodesta, who traveled to San Diego to deliver the news in person. "Paul has been a big part of the Dodger organization, it's the only organization he's ever been in, and it kept me up the last couple of nights thinking of us without him?.

 

"It's certainly not something I relished doing. I know what they all meant to us on the field, I also know what they meant to us in the clubhouse. But the guys that we're bringing in, we're adding quite a bit. At the end of the day, I felt it was something we had to do."

 

Losing Lo Duca ? who has handled the pitching staff well ? Mota and Encarnacion could adversely affect the team's chemistry, several players said.

 

"We'll see if it's good or bad," Mota said. "I was really feeling like this was my house. It's hard to hear, but that's what happens."

 

Lo Duca said the Dodgers' chemistry still should be fine.

 

"There's a lot of guys in here that can [fill his role], and the chemistry in here is too good not to win," he said. "I'm not saying I'm going to be the missing link or anything?. They've got enough in here."

 

Manager Jim Tracy agreed.

 

"I think chemistry is built by a group of people who are together from day-to-day, but it's something that is still there," he said. "With the third-best record in baseball, there are a lot of things that have been done here that make a lot of sense."

Hmm., Randy Johnson to remain a Dimondback.

Penny is eligible for arbitration next year, Choi is not.

 

Wait, was Choi a free agent, or just not arbitration eligible?

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he isn't arbitration-eligible until 2007.

 

right now he makes $310k, and he'll continue making peas at the club's discretion until 07.