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Oh, how I lament the early death of The Summer of A-Rod.

Really, when could $275 mil or so cleanly have solved the world’s- or at least the smaller worlds of the Dodgers and Angels- problems so neatly? Write a check, plug in 45/140 at third base, and spend the rest of the winter trying to fill in little holes knowing the offseason is already more successful than a typical run of “The Sopranos” through an Emmy Awards program. Would have worked for either team.

Now, things are a lot more complicated, and thus far, our local squads have responded in totally different ways. The Angels are tipping the dominoes, sending Orlando Cabrera to Chicago for Jon Garland, then signing Torii Hunter to a five year, $90 million dollar deal. The former was seen as as a precursor to another move (more pitching makes it easier to move an arm in a blockbuster trade). The latter? Well, opinion ranged from “good, albeit expensive, move” to “bad, redundant, and expensive move.” (About the only thing everyone agrees on? When it’s time to do real business, screw Ruth’s Chris. Head to Del Taco.)

And there is still a lot of speculation that Miguel Cabrera could be on his way to Anaheim.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, have found that the price of improvement (I’m talking in sacrificed players, not just dollars) could make Hollywood Hills real estate seem cheap by comparison. They’ve done nothing, and are sending out signals that nothing- at least in terms of big, sexy, fire up the media moves- might be on the horizon.

Despite that, there are still rumors that Miguel Cabrera could be on his way to L.A.

Both teams face big choices, and if Florida sticks to its guns and demand an appropriately exorbitant amount for Cabrera- the guy can’t walk for another two seasons- my guess is that neither team will make the sacrifice to get him.

The Dodgers are in the extremely enviable position of having most of their best young players/prospects already making valuable contributions at the Major League level. And we’re talking about kids who are likely better than most of the players they could get in return for trading them. But there’s a downside to that. If I might don my Marlins Braintrust Hat for a moment, when I talk to Ned Colletti I ask for Matt Kemp and Chad Billingsley for sure, and probably James Loney. Maybe toss in Andy LaRoche or Clayton Kershaw. When Colletti says no, or tries to swap out other names, I hang up.

And there’s no way Colletti can say yes.

For all of their high end players, the Dodgers have a gap between who’s playing in the bigs and who’s available to replace them. Trade Chad Billingsley (the guy I would absolutely, positively NOT leave a Cabrera deal without- even over Kemp) and there’s nobody available in the system next year to replace him. Trade Loney, and you have the same problem. Trade Kemp and maybe you can plug in Delwyn Young, who has the potential to be a decent stick, but not nearly as dynamic a player. Obviously Cabrera, coming in return, would fill one spot… but he can’t fill three. That leaves the free agent market, which couldn’t look less attractive if all the players were replaced with Sloth from “The Goonies”. Andrew Jones, Aaron Rowand (both likely for more scratch than they’re worth) and a lot of chaff.

For Ned Colletti, unless Florida bends, it’s not a question of robbing the future to fund the present. He gets to rob both.

In Anaheim, Reagins has a little more flexibility, since prospects like Brandon Wood and Nick Adenhart aren’t necessarily needed at the Big A next year (even after the Cabrera deal, the Angels still have the perfectly useful and incredibly cheap Maicer Izturis and Erick Aybar around to fill in at short, and can trot out John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Jared Weaver, Joe Saunders with Garland as a nifty little starting rotation). The only guy playing an important role on their big league roster who would almost certainly have to move to bring Cabrera to California would be Howie Kendrick. Maybe Casey Kotchman. Even if Saunders has to go, he’s slotted as the fifth starter. Those can be found.

(Putting my Marlins hat back on…) I don’t make that trade right now without getting Kendrick, Adenhart, and Wood. Maybe toss in a Jeff Mathis for poop’n'giggles. Why should I (hat still on) sacrifice a guy who can’t go anywhere for a couple years for anything less than a King’s Ransom? If I’m getting B/B+ deals now, they’ll still be there in a year for a talent like Cabrera. No need to settle for swaps in which the words “Ervin” and “Santana” play a central role. Might as well aim high for the time being.

But even though most of the talent fallout for Reagins would come down the road, he might still balk at the (or at least my) asking price for Cabrera. Should he?

Unlike the Dodgers, who are built around their young talent, the Angels still have veteran talent filling most of the important spots on the roster. Hypothetically, even if Adenhart, Wood, and Kendrick all have to go, the current team would benefit. Cabrera fills a gaping hole at third, Chone Figgins moves to second and is Kendrick without the pop. But atop a lineup where he’s followed by, in some order, Kotchman, Hunter, Vlad Guerrero, Cabrera, and Garrett Anderson, and Figgy could be the AL’s best leadoff man. For at least a couple years, while Hunter should still be reasonably productive, that’s a very solid lineup, and they’d still have the pitching to get ‘er done.

Earlier today, when I was mapping out how I figured this column would go, I’d have said Reagins should take a pass. Now, after writing it out? It’s bold, it’s aggressive, and it seems pretty tempting. Stick Cabrera into a lineup that has added Hunter, backed by a staff that has added depth in Garland and is loaded in the pen, and that’s a team that could win a World Series. Not better than the Red Sox, but certainly better equipped to give them a run. And at the very least, the Halos ought to win the AL West in ‘08 without much trouble.

And even if Wood, Kendrick, and Adenhart all turn out to be good players, the Angels still have Cabrera to build around going forward. Not a bad consolation prize.  It could hurt later, but now?  Not so much.

I don’t think the Halos would bite… but why not take the plunge?

Brian Kamenetzky hosts the Lakers Blog and Blue Notes: A Dodgers Blog for the LA Times.com. He’s a contributing writer to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. Write him at bk@sportshubla.com.

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