From the other side of the world, it looks as if the Dodgers and Angels are sort of melting away.

The Angels let free agents Chone Figgins (Seattle) and John Lackey (Boston) join key rivals.

The Dodgers have allowed Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudson to walk.

But the Dodgers did something right today. Addition by subtraction, as Branch Rickey said. Or maybe it was Albert Einstein.

They traded Juan Pierre.

When Ned Colletti signed Juan Pierre to a five-year, $45 million contract after the 2006 season, anyone who has paid any attention to the statistical revolution in the game over the past, oh, 30 years, knew it was a very, very bad idea.

A big, long contract … for a slap hitter, an out-making machine with a rag arm and most of his value wrapped up in his legs — which even then about to hit 30 years old.

Ned’s explanation, back then, was that he “wanted someone who wanted to be a Dodger.” Or something rather like that. Remember, J.D. Drew had just used an out clause in his contract to escape Los Angeles, and Ned didn’t see it coming. So he signed Juan. Geez.

I still remember Vin Scully describing one of Juan Pierre’s first moments as a Dodger. The club was opening at Milwaukee, if I recall correctly. Bottom first. Runner on first. Someone hit a soft single to short center field, which Juan was “patrolling” … and the runner went to third without breaking stride.

Vinny said something like, “May as well get used to that.” An opponent taking advantage of Pierre’s arm. And from Vinny, it was a shocking critique. Like your grandmother declaring she never really loved you.

And it went as expected. Juan hit .293 with 96 runs and 64 steals in 2007, and didn’t miss a game. But his on-base percentage was a squishy (for a leadoff guy) .331, and he was a defensive liability. He had 196 hits, but 164 of them were singles and zero were home runs.

He also made more than 500 outs for the fifth time in his career, which no other active big-leaguer can say, aside from Jimmy Rollins, who does a few more things than Juan has or ever will. In big-league history, a player has made 507 or more outs only 107 times, and Juan is responsible for five of those seasons. That’s pretty impressive.

Pretty soon, even Ned figured out Juanster in his lineup wasn’t a good idea, and when he got Manny Ramirez in the Red Sox fire sale, Juan hit the pine, and wasn’t happy.

JP got his attitude together in time for 2009, and had a solid 5-6 weeks when Manny was out with his drug suspension, and even those of us who understood Juan didn’t help the club win decided that he was, at least, a professional who wrung as much out of his limited skills as he could. Juan was the best Juan he could be. He became a fan favorite. Go figure.

Still, that didn’t him better than a very expensive No. 4 outfielder, and now with the Dodgers apparently looking to cut costs as the ownership concentrates on an ugly divorce … the Dodgers shipped him to the White Sox for a couple of minor-league pitchers.

(Interesting fact on the White Sox. Juan apparently will replace Scott Podsednik, who is essentially a slightly older version of Juan Pierre. Same skills set, same holes in his game. The White Sox apparently are intent on having a guy like that dragging them down. Have to admire their persistence.)

Now, mind, the Dodgers still will pay all but $8 million of the $18.5 million Juan has coming the next two seasons … but that’s $8 million more than the Dodgers would have had if they hadn’t made the trade.

Of course, the $8 million could end up going for Frank McCourt’s legal fees … or be sent over to Jamie as part of the divorce judgment … but the club is better off not giving Juan Pierre 350 at-bats — or 600-plus. Forget the money.

Juan should be happy. The White Sox will play him. He might even steal enough bases or score enough runs to get some other sap to give him a big contract, come the winter of 2010. Hey, watching a guy hit a two-hopper to second base 200 times a year … can you put a price on that?

Will the Dodgers add players that will help them in 2010? Too soon to tell. Though it doesn’t look good.

But at the least, they subtracted a guy who was a steady drain on their offense for three years. That’s something.