Modest Proposal

Don Mattingly gets all the attention, but he wasn't the Dodgers' best hire this winter. By bringing home former star Davey Lopes, Los Angeles added one of the best baserunning coaches in baseball, a man who from 2007 through '10 helped turn the Phillies into the most efficient basestealing team in history: 501 steals at an 84% success rate, including a record 87.9% in 2007. Lopes, officially the Dodgers' first base coach, moves to the team that led the NL in times caught stealing (141) in three years under Joe Torre. Lopes will work with Matt Kemp (73% career success rate), James Loney (66%), Jamey Carroll (64%) and Andre Ethier (53%) on improving technique and reading pitchers to turn them into better thieves. It's up to Mattingly, however, to give that group—and veteran Rafael Furcal, who is slowing as he ages but still stole bases at an 85% clip (22 for 26) last year—the green light to implement Lopes's instructions. The Dodgers are the rare team that a stathead would encourage to run more, due to Lopes's proven track record at developing efficient base stealers.