Suppose your name is Stan Kasten and you are the new president and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers. During a recent interview on a major sports radio talk show, you said that you are going to “grow the arms and buy the bats.” And while this catchphrase has been around for decades, you are now in a position to do both. You have made a commitment to hungry McCourt-whipped Dodger fans to rebuild the Dodger farm system back to what it once was – the best in all of baseball. You also know that the hottest (and undoubtedly priciest) two free agents will become available at the end of the 2012 season; one a pitcher and the other a hitter, or in other words, an arm and a bat.

What would you do if your name was Stan Kasten?

Could new Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten's plan to "...buy the bats" include going after this winter's biggest and most expensive free agent? (Photo by Jon SooHoo)

The hitter, of course, is Texas Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton, who is off to the best start of his six-year career in his walk year, no less – an alien-like start – a Matt Kemp-like start. The former AL MVP had the game of his life this past week going 5 for 5 with 4 home runs, 8 RBIs, and 18 total bases – a line score right out of a Hollywood movie. And though Rangers general manager Jon Daniels recently said “”We want Josh to remain a Ranger for a long time, and he’s expressed that the feeling is mutual,” Hamilton’s take is a wee bit different. “People have to understand this is a business,” said Hamilton while discussing his future plans during a spring training interview. “I love Texas, I love the fans, I love the organization and I love my teammates. But I’m not going to sit here and say I owe the Rangers.”

There is yet another twist to this drama, a HUGE twist – Hamilton’s agent is none other than the baseball Antichrist himself, Scott Boras. What does Boras have to say about all of this? Well basically he said exactly what you’d expect him to say. “This will become one of the most intriguing negotiations in all of sports. There’s a factual set of circumstances beyond skill, with values and barometers unique to him. The talent is objectively driven, but the perception of the player’s behavior, and his consistency, is subjectively driven.” Allow me to interpret this typical Scott Boras double talk – “Show me the money!” So why might Stan Kasten and the Dodgers get involved in what will undoubted be a Pujols/Fielder-type of free agent bidding war? Well, Scott Boras and Stan Kasten have been close friends for many years and (get this) Boras is a Dodger season ticket holder with seats just down the row from the Dodger owner’s box. (No, it is no coincidence that you frequently see Scott Boras’ face on television during Dodger broadcasts – usually showing him on his cell phone). Now this is certainly not to say that just because Kasten and Boras are close friends or that simply because Boras is a top-dollar season ticket holder that the Dodgers will automatically be part of the Hamilton Wars, but allow me to repeat what Kasten said on that sports radio talk show – “Grow the arms and buy the bats,” and there isn’t a better bat out there right now (stay for Matt Kemp) than Josh Hamilton.

If Josh Hamilton can stay healthy and keep his demons buried, there is little doubt that the Boras client will command a Pujols/Fielder-type free agent contract this winter. (Photo credit inquisitr.com)

And then there’s the “grow the arms” part of the equation. It’s certainly no secret that the Dodgers currently have several top-of-the-rotation type prospects down on the farm including a couple who are near MLB ready and even a couple who already have MLB experience. When you’ve got guys named Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly and Chris Capuano already in your rotation and under contract through 2013, and guys named Nathan Eovaldi, Rubby De La Rosa, Ethan Martin, Zach Lee and Chris Reed and relievers named Shawn Tolleson, Scott Rice and Logan Bawcom in the wings, you are already growing the arms – much to the credit of Logan White and De Lon Watson. But just in case you felt compelled to at least consider buying an arm, there’s this guy named Cole Hamels who will most likely become a free agent after the 2012 season.

Baring injury, Hamels will probably be the top free agent starting pitcher available this winter, but his recent and admitted intentional beaning of Washington Nationals super-rookie Bryce Harper for no other reason than to welcome him to the Big leagues very well may have cut down the number of potential suitors interested in him. While Hamels claims that he was merely trying to teach 19-year-old Harper about old school baseball, many real old school baseball men including Tigers manager Jim Leyland, Angels manager Mike Scioscia and Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo called the intentional beaning the polar opposite of old school baseball. Dodger fans (and perhaps a Dodger president and CEO) have to ask themselves “Is this the kind of guy we want on our team?” I for one say absolutely not. This type of crap may float in Philly but it wouldn’t bode well in Los Angeles or the NL West, for that matter. I’d much rather that the Dodgers stick with the “grow the arms” thing, thank you very much.

While Cole Hamels may be the most talented free agent starting pitch available, his recent intentional beaning of Nationals rookie Bryce Harper may have taken himself off the table for several teams. (Photo by Mark J. Rebilas - US Presswire)

So there it is in a nutshell. What would you do if you were Stan Kasten? I know what I would do and until it happens, I will have pleasant dreams of a Dodger outfield of Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Josh Hamilton – and please don’t wake me up.