If Bryce Harper signs with the Padres – the low-revenue, eight-straight-losing-season Padres – some Dodgers fans might stomp their feet hard enough to cause an earthquake.



The Dodgers’ big outfield addition, free-agent center fielder A.J. Pollock, is a better defender than Harper and, as a right-handed hitter, better balances the team’s lineup. At a maximum of $60 million over five years, Pollock also will be less expensive than Harper, perhaps by hundreds of millions.



It’s understandable some fans still see Harper, 26, as a better choice – he’s five years younger, more durable, a former MVP, a bigger star. But the Dodgers have won six straight division titles, reached the NLCS in four of the past six years and appeared in back-to-back World Series. When exactly do they get the benefit of the doubt?



Yes, they could spend more. A team – particularly one with an $8.5 billion TV deal – always could spend...