Jason Schmidt in “Dodger Blue”

Jason Schmidt wearing Dodger Blue. Who would have thought? Nothing better than to steal away the Giants winningest pitcher and have him pitch at Dodgers stadium. The Dodgers scored when they signed Jason Schmidt to a 3-year deal worth approximately $47 million dollars. Schmidt will receive $15.5 million next year, $16 million in 2008 and $15.5 million in 2009, with some of the money to be structured as part of a signing bonus. “Jason is a top-of-the-rotation starter who can dominate a game as well as any pitcher in the major leagues,” said Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti. “He’s a proven winner and that’s something that’s very hard to find.”

Schmidt will join a pitching rotation of Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Randy Wolf, & Chad Billingsly. After 5 and half years with San Fransisco Schmidt felt it was time to move on. Schmidt was the reason the Giants had a decent pitching staff and some Giants
players weren’t too happy to see Schmidt go. Schmidt said he received a phone call from a San Francisco teammate. Guess who it was? “Barry [Bonds] just called me. He’s like, ‘You’re leaving me? I can’t believe you’re leaving me.’ I told him, ‘I have to.’ We had fun with it,” Schmidt said. “We got to be pretty good friends while I was in San Francisco.” When asked how he will pitch Bonds he replied, “Very carefully, of course.”