Jerry Sands was a rare power hitting prospect in the Dodgers farm system, but he never panned out. Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

After never really breaking through as a Dodger, Sands was traded as a player to be named later in the mega deal this past summer between the Dodgers and Boston which brought Adrian Gonzalez, Nick Punto, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett to Los Angeles. Sands, a former substitute teacher, was once the 2010 minor league player of the year for the Dodgers. The 25-year old was supposed to be a sought after power hitting prospect for the Dodgers, but unfortunately he just never panned out. In his 70 big league games with the Dodgers during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, Sands collectively had a .244/.325/.376 line with 4 homeruns and 27 RBIs in 251 plate appearances. His power never translated to the Major League level even though he surmised 119 homeruns over his 5 seasons in the minors. In 2012 with the AAA-Albuquerque Isotopes, Sands batted .296 with 26 homeruns and 107 RBIs. Many fans were clamoring for the Dodgers to give Sands another shot while we were enduring the placidness of James Loney. During his short call-ups last season, Sands only mustered a .174 batting average with 4 hits in 23 at-bats.  We sort of knew that this was probably the end of the line for The Sandman as a Dodger.

Sands had a brief hot streak in 2011 when he hit over .300 in September, but alas the

Jerry’s success as an Isotope never translated to the big league level for the Dodgers. Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

success Sands had was fleeting. Dodger Stadium only had but a few weeks to blare Metallica’s Enter Sandman before the gig was over. Jerry Sands had an awful plate approach, and he couldn’t pull the ball to save his life. He also left much to be desired defensively as well. But Sands is still young, and he can play both outfield and first base. Pittsburgh obviously sees something in him. Much like John Ely who was traded to Houston earlier this week, Sands was at the end of his line with the Dodger organization. We wish him luck in Pittsburgh.

Joel Hanrahan was rumored to be a target for the Dodgers previously, and some whisperings had lined up Chris Capuano in a potential deal. The Pirates just signed Francisco Liriano to a two-year contract, so they had no need for Cappy. It is still unclear what the Dodgers plan to do with Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano whom are essentially two extra unneeded starting pitchers on the roster. The Dodgers are also lacking a viable back-up first baseman for Adrian Gonzalez unless you count Scott Van Slyke who just cleared waivers and was outrighted to Albuquerque.

As the Dodgers sputter along the duration of the 2010 season with merely a sliver of a chance to reach the postseason, the only thing fans can really look forward to is the off-season and what should be the removal of general manager Ned Colletti.

Sure, ownership deserves its share of the blame for the steady decline of what should have been a powerhouse of a franchise, but Colletti’s willingness to dump young and cheap talent for marginal veterans has sapped the organization’s reservoir of talent while failing to add premium players on the major league roster.

The final straw should be the 2010 trades of Scott Podsednik, Ryan Theriot, and Octavio Dotel.  The transactions have been discussed and analyzed on the Lair previously, but tallying the number of young talents jettisoned by the team and producing on other rosters is downright depressing.  The Dodgers don’t have one elite player in tow to account for the departures of players such as Edwin Jackson, Carlos Santana, and Joel Hanrahan.

Instead of learning from his mistakes, Colletti has further ravaged the farm in 2010.  The most glaring transaction is the acquisition of 38 year old reliever Octavio Dotel.  Acquiring elderly middle relievers is a specialty of the Dodgers’ GM.  Trading away power-hitting 3B prospect Josh Bell for George Sherrill (who has bombed with LA) last year apparently hasn’t discouraged Ned for vastly overpaying for old middle relievers.  In July, he pulled the trigger on a deal that sent 25 year old starting pitcher James McDonald and 21 year old outfielder Andrew Lambo for the Pirates reliever.  Subsequently, McDonald has used his above-average fastball and very good curveball to post two dominant outings for Pittsburgh as a starter.  Dotel has managed to post a 4.76 ERA in 5.2 innings with more walks than strikeouts.  Congrats Ned.  You gave up four or five years of performance from a  potential number 3 or 4 starter for 5.2 innings of bad relief pitching.

Or how about the swap of 24 year old 2B Blake DeWitt for 30 2B Ryan Theriot?  Here are their numbers post-trade.

DeWitt: 60 AB, 9 runs, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .300 BA, .364 OBP, .433 SLG, .797 OPS

Theriot: 67 AB, 11 runs, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .299 BA, .368 OBP, .328 SLG, .696 OPS

Congrats Ned.  You gave up a superior 2B who was cheaper, younger and under club control for 3-4 years longer than his replacement.

In a recent GM poll, Ned Colletti was voted by his peers to be the most difficult to make a deal with.  Considering the one-sided nature of most of his transactions, you might find this to be a bit of a surprise until you consider the possibility that even Ned was afraid of himself when it came to deal-making.