Swiroset.com

The biggest acquisition of the offseason so far for the Los Angeles Dodgers hasn’t been Andruw Jones, impressive as he may be.

Jones, as you know, is a perennial Gold Glove outfielder, and while his home run output was relatively low last season for Atlanta, it would have put him atop the Dodgers’ rosters.

The biggest find of the offseason is incoming GM Joe Torre, who may also end up being the biggest bargain.

Torre was the respected manager of the New York Yankees, but he didn’t take home the biggest prize often enough: World Series titles. So, faced with a cut in salary, he left the Yanks and was quickly accepted by the lousy Dodgers.

Torre has recruited some of his former Yankees coaches, so the Dodgers have a good staff in the clubhouse, to be sure. And his signing encouraged veteran Jeff Kent to play at least one more season before retiring.

But the big question remains:

How many games will Joe Torre win for the Boys in Blue that they would lose if he didn’t?

And will it secure enough wins for them to return to the postseason, either as winners of the Western Division or as wild-card representatives in the NL?

A manager’s impact on the final year-end standings is one of the most intangible topics in all of baseball. After all, a manager doesn’t hit, field or run the bases. All he does is inspire and lead.

But that’s usually enough to make a critical difference in a game.

Joe Torre decided to let Joba Chamberlain continue pitching without calling a timeout in a crucial 2007 postseason game against Cleveland. In a scene that seemed biblical, Chamberlain was besieged by a swarm of flying pests. Desperately distracted, he blew the lead and the Yanks lost the game and their title bid.

Make a different decision, and who knows, maybe the Yankees would have been Sox killers and become world champions once again.

The Dodgers are hoping Torre’s administration will put them three or four games up by the end of September.

Flies, despite everything.