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Visionary owner Walter O'Malley left a lasting legacy as owner of the Dodgers franchise. He was the first to see the potential of the southern California market. While O'Malley is still considered a villain in Mew York, his relocation of the Dodgers from Brooklyn in 1958 began a west coast franchise frenzy that changed the complexion of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2007, O'Malley was also recognized as a pioneer when it came to building a minor league system. From 1958 until 1998, the Dodgers were widely recognized as having the best minor league system in all of baseball. The organization was the first to invest heavily in Mexican player development and in scouting Asian leagues, particularly those in Japan.

The Dodger organization of 2009 reflects most of O'Malley's vision. The minor league system is rebounding from years of trade induced depletions. Most of the major league ready young talent has already been promoted. If I ran the Dodgers, my first order of business would be to revamp the minor league system.

Build up the minor league system

The Dodgers play in arguably the baseball hotbed of America. Southern California is to baseball talent what Iowa is for corn. The Dodgers have relied more on free agency the past ten years, thus neglecting their most valuable asset: home grown talent.

The investment in the minor league system has taken a back seat to free agency spending. The New York Yankess and Tampa Bay Rays employ fifteen full-time scouts. Their exempary track records of developing young talent has set the table for years of on field success. The Dodgers have allowed Seattle to usurp their once dominating presence in Japan. More resources need to be deployed to Japan and less money spent on overrated and injured talent like free agents Jason Schmidt, Andruw Jones, and Juan Pierre (though Pierre filled in admirably for the drug plagued Manny Ramierez).

Quit dabbling in the free agent market

The Dodgers have participated in the free agent market as if throwing money at players will cure their talent woes. Schmidt and Jones have been veritable busts. Nomar Garciaparra was also been a disappointment, relegated to contributing between his stints on the DL. The free agent market has not been kind to the Dodgers.

I would rescind the stop gap talent strategy the first day I took over running the team. All of my resources would be committed to the youth movement. James Loney and Matt Kemp are two shining examples of

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