I haven’t made too many Dodger posts this season because… well, unless you want to talk about the ongoing McCourt drama or Andre Ethier’s hit streak, there just ain’t much to talk about.
But this seemed worth sharing.
Dee Gordon, a young prospect on the Dodgers’ AAA affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, scored from first base last night… on a bunt.
Okay, a bunt and an error but still…
Check it out -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29eHAjDD2bU&feature=player_embedded
If it hasn’t been a rough enough spring watching our Dodgers’ bats struggle with feeble spring pitching, the news got worse last night with the announcement that Dodgers vice president and assistant general manager, Kim Ng, would be leaving the team to become senior vice president of baseball operations with Major Leaue Baseball.
The same office that Joe Torre recently started working for as an executive vice president.
Damn you, Joe Torre. Damn you to hell.
If it wasn’t bad enough watching you shred our pitching over the past few years with your completely incompetence in handling a staff, now we have to watch you raid our front office for your own selfish needs. Again, I say damn you, Joe Torre.
Ng joined the Dodgers ten years ago but prior to that, she was an assistant GM for the Yankees.
The impact this may have on the team is immeasurable because we just don’t know how much influence she had behind the scenes but an immediate impact may be felt in next season’s arbitration hearings where Ng was a much feared player, forcing almost every player into a deal before reaching that stage.
But in other areas, it is a little less clear. Clarity lacking, we still know our front office can use all the help they can get, especially considering the messy ownership situation so this is just one more chink in the McCourts’ armor.
I’ll be the first to admit that this site’s coverage of the Dodgers this year was highly lacking.
Why?
It was just too damn painful to watch.
After the lofty hopes heading into the season, seeing such a total collapse was heartbreaking.
But now it’s over – well, almost anyways – and we can start the “Wait til next year” parade. The Padres, Giants, and Rockies aren’t that much better than the Dodgers if at all so the right moves and tinkering could lead us back to the post-season next year with ease.
However, with our front office crippled by this divorce drama and insane amounts of debt, an unpopular (with the fans) manager getting the job, and lots of decisions facing our Boys In Blue, can they make the tinkering happen?
There’s been a lot of speculation already over who and what will happen so let’s take a look at the beginnings of it -
Plus, there will be discussions to be had over Russell Martin, Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda, and others.
So, the trade deadline has come and gone and I suppose you can argue the Dodgers got a LITTLE better. Unfortunately, they went on to still get their ass kicked for a few days. Now, they’re riding an epic two game winning streak, have been hit with a barrage of injuries, and no one knows what to do. Baseball Prospectus currently puts their odds of making the post-season at 3 percent but a recent poll at MLBTradeRumors.com shows a lot of faith with 30 percent of respondents saying they’re still in the fight. So, what to do?
Do you go into sell mode and unload anyone of value that you don’t think will be around next year anyways? For examples of this, see Manny Ramirez, Russell Martin, Hiroki Kuroda, etc.
Do you pray that no more injuries happen and that those who are hurt already heal fast enough to give you time to make a run at the Wild Card?
Let’s take a dose of realism pills.
The Dodgers are 7 games out on the division lead with three teams to pass to get into first place. They are 6 games out of the Wild Card lead with four teams to pass to get that. Now, they’ve got fifty-four games to go – not a small amount by any stretch of the imagination. They also continue to have the best record in the NL West amongst teams in their own division – so that helps, right?
Well, maybe. After tonight, they have six games to go against the West-leading Padres and six games to go against the Wild Card-leading Giants. But again, here’s our dose of realism. After finishing up with the Pads tonight and playing the woeful Nationals over the weekend, they hit the road for a seven game road trip with the Phillies and the Braves – the two best teams in the East. Then they come home to play the Rockies and the Reds – who if you haven’t noticed are the best team in the Central at the moment. This is not an easy stretch of games to survive – let alone gain ground with.
This is the key stretch. If you can gain ground during this stretch of games, you stand a chance going into September where you play the West almost the entire month.
So, whatever mojo Joe Torre can muster to get them to play better, now’s the time to do it.
And keep an eye on the Padres’ September schedule where they play the Cardinals and Reds the last two weekend of the season. Those could be key if things get close. The Giants’ September schedule looks like a breeze so oddly, they may be in the best position of any team in the West right now.
You’ve gotta love late summer in baseball when things really start to pick up.
Well, that was quick.
Multiple sources are now confirming that Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot will come to the Dodgers in exchange for Blake DeWitt.
Immediate reaction – it’s a shame that DeWitt didn’t get more than four months to prove he belongs but it sounds like almost every discussion for starting pitching that the Dodgers had involved an actual member of the current Major League roster rather than prospects. So, it’s sad but I guess it’s not… too bad? The jury’s still out on this one.
Two big ones could go down today.
Ted Lilly? Not sure if I’m willing to pay a big price for him but if the price is right, he could be a solid addition to the rotation. He’s no ace of the staff but he might help us avoid this crazy “Send ‘im up, send ‘im down” that our 5th spot is currently causing.
Manny? I floated this idea a few weeks ago. I am completely in favor of seeing what’s out there for a desperate AL team right now. I think you might get a decent haul for him and at this point, I’m convinced he’s not likely to be of much use to us this season. Maybe that’s why the Posednik deal went down? Who knows. MLBTradeRumors. com is saying the White Sox are interested in Manny but the Dodgers don’t want to eat his deal. I think we’ll all be watching this one closely as the deadline approaches.
Okay, okay… so I haven’t exactly been good about keeping the world up to date on Dodgers’ news but man, this season has been tough to watch sometimes which makes it even tougher to write about.
So why now when things look their ugliest?
It’s not to pile onto Joe Torre once more – although I want to make it very clear that he needs to go, go now, go far away, and possibly take his protege with him.
It’s not to complain about Jonathan Broxton like the rest of the Internet. I blame Torre for overworking him and turning his arm into a Jello pudding pop.
It’s not to decry our lack of offense although one wonders if we might get no-hit in batting practice these days.
It’s not to whine about the injury situation. Manny’s done in the NL. I’d put him on the block right now and see if any AL team is feeling desperate.
After days of reading rumors that the Dodgers may, at some point, want to consider trading Matt Kemp because of his attitude issues, we get this one – Peter Gammons believes the Dodgers might be persuaded to trade Andre Ethier.
WHA?!
Here’s the exact wording -
“The one team I keep wondering about if they drop a few games back, if the Dodgers start dropping back, would they talk about Andre Ethier. He’s going to make $10-$12 million next year, the coaching staff feels with their bizarre ownership situation, they don’t want to pay Ethier and might trade him now. That would be a fascinating guy to go after.”
Dear lord.
Now, the Dodgers are definitely a few games out and as bad as they’ve looked at times this season, you have to wonder if a big losing streak and turning into sellers might be on the horizon at any moment (even though I think it’d kill Frank McCourt to do it.)
But Ethier? Really?
Anything’s possible, I suppose. But what could you get in return that would make such a deal worthwhile?
Or are the judge’s threats to sell the team to end the divorce mess going to result in a scorched Earth scenario.
Can someone get Peter O’Malley on the phone? And hurry.
It’s been a while – a bit of a roller coaster for the team since I last wrote. We managed to climb out of the cellar – work our way to the penthouse – and then fall back somewhere in between in just a few weeks’ time. That’s the nature of the NL West in 2010, I suppose.
Let’s look at a few things of interest:
Of course, there was some sad news this week as well with the heart attack and death of former Dodger pitcher Jose Lima. There has been plenty written about Lima over the past week but in the end, I can only say one thing.
Jose Lima is responsible for one of the greatest Dodger moments in history and I was honored to have been there in person. Lima was on the mound for one masterful night in October where Lima just dazzled his way through the St. Louis Cardinals in front of a roaring crowd. Chavez Ravine was electrified that night as Lima delivered the Dodgers their first post-season victory since 1988. It was a beautiful night that I’ll never forget and part of that comes from Lima’s absolutely infectious enthusiasm on the mound.
You will be missed, Jose Lima.
I haven’t written much lately about our Boys In Blue because it’s been a whole lot of bad news to write about and it’s a bit painful to go into in great detail.
But I thought this story was worth mentioning.
Former Dodger Dave Roberts is in treatment for lymphoma.
It’s like a gut punch, no?
Roberts is the epitome of one of baseball’s good guy stories. The kind of guy you like having on your team because you simply just like the guy. I HATED getting rid of Dave Roberts and was so happy for him when he won a World Championship because of it but Roberts is one of those guys who makes you feel good about cheering for him.
Well, he needs all those cheers now because at the age of 37, he’s been diagnosed with lymphoma and has already undergone two rounds of chemo. His prognosis is good at this point but keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Side note – I had NO idea he works as a special assistant for the Padres now. Good for him!
What the hell…
Like the season hasn’t been bad enough already. We’re about 20 games in and looking awful. We can’t get the offense, defense, and pitching on the same page all at once. We’ve got injury bugs biting like crazy. Nothing in the world seems to be going right other than we’ve played this bad and we’re only four games out in the NL West despite having the worst record in the National League.
So, when times are bad, what does the General Manager of said team do?
Call out the most productive offensive player in the press.
Ned Colletti was asked about Matt Kemp by KABC’s Peter Tilden and responded with his dissatisfaction with Kemp’s defense and baserunning with a, “Some guys, I guess, think that they’re better than they are. They think the opposition’s just going to roll over and get beat by them. That obviously doesn’t happen. The baserunning’s below average. The defense is below average. Why is it? Because he got a new deal? I can’t tell you.”
Holy crap! Is that REALLY necessary?!
And of course, Kemp replied. Of course he would! Wouldn’t you? It’s like when Shaq used to bully Kobe in the press and people would expect Kobe to sit there and take it. But that ain’t happening this time either. How did Kemp defend himself?
“The new deal, that has nothing to do with anything. Of course it’s good to make money, but that’s not why I started playing this game. I started playing this game because I love the game, and I’m going to continue to love this game. People don’t know what goes on. People don’t know what time I show up to the stadium. I’m here, I’m here working, I’m here trying to get ready for the game. We work hard. This team works hard. There’s nobody on this team who doesn’t get to the field early to get their work in, watch videos. Everybody’s doing what it takes to win. We’re just not putting it all together right now.”
My biggest problem with this is – if you have an issue with him, take it up in private. Do we really need more problems on this team right now?
Thanks, Ned!
