Rafael Furcal- Playing for the wrong West Coast team

        Rafael Furcal finally decided his future- he is staying with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  This is the wrong decision.  Furcal would have done the best had he signed with Oakland.  In Oakland, he could have taken his pick of which position he would want to play, which spot in the order he would bat, and even which days he would want to take off from playing in the field and just DH. By staying in Los Angeles, he has pigeon-holed himself into the shortstop role and the lead-off batter position.  I mean, don't get me wrong- even with the Atlanta Braves, Furcal was the natural leadoff hitter that they have sorely missed since his departure to Los Angeles.  And although he has had an unlucky streak of injuries recently, he still remains one of the top shortstops in the NL, and even in Major League Baseball.

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This being said, his talents are being wasted by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He is easily replaced in the leadoff role by Juan Pierre, and at shortstop by either Blake DeWitt or by Chin-Iung Hu.  In Oakland, he would've been accepted with arms wide open by the players, the staff, the ownership, and the fans.  In the end though, he decided to take the shorter contract with the higher amount of guaranteed money.  

Furcal is set to make $6.5 million the first year, $8.5 million the second year, $12 million for the third year, and a team option for 2012 for $12 milion.  Also, his bonus is a whopping $3 million clams!