The (it's not even) winter of our discontent

This post isn't about the weather, even though it is zero degrees outside right now, and it's still four days away from the first day of winter.

It's more about the Dodgers' offseason maneuvering and the general disinterest I have in my team's transactions.

Yes, other teams have been more active than the Dodgers. As usual, the Red Sox and Yankees are acting like hyperactive kids who can't endure a quiet moment. They have to do SOMETHING or they will be forced to deal with their insignificance. The Phillies and Braves are their usual industrious selves. And teams like the Rangers, Orioles and Mariners are surprisingly busy bees this offseason.

Meanwhile, every Dodger transaction has come with a string attached. And the other end of that string is attached to a dollar bill. The Dodgers just aren't going to sink a bunch of cash into a major star. It's not going to happen, which is why I can't even look at fan message boards anymore. I can't deal with the drama.

Don't get me wrong. I'm also slightly worried that the most significant moves that the Dodgers have made so far are acquiring infielder Jamey Carroll (that's a great photo up top, by the way), and jettisoning Juan Pierre.

They also re-signed Doug Mientkiewicz to a minor league contract. It's hard for me to believe he'll give the team much more than he gave last year.

And they re-acquired Angel Berroa, which boggles my mind. The Dodgers really don't like Chin-Lung Hu, do they?

They added reliever Luis Ayala, which may be significant only because of the fact that he's the first card that I pulled from 2009 Topps.

And there are reports of the Dodgers trying to make a deal for the Reds' Aaron Harang. That's a bit more intriguing. Anyone who could actually succeed with a team like the Reds is worth getting a shot at seeing what he can do with a winning team.

The talk is none of these moves are going to help the Dodgers beat the Phillies next year and get them to the World Series. And the vast majority of message board comments carry a "the sky is falling" vibe.

I'm not Chicken Little. Yet. It's too early for panic mode. I'd call myself "vaguely unsettled."

I suppose this sums it up: I'm happy that all of the Dodgers' recent acquisitions had 2009 Topps cards. But I'm concerned that, until I found them, I wasn't sure whether any of them had 2009 Topps cards.