Credit where credit is due

Credit for the current Dodger youth movement does not belong to Ned Colletti, though at least he has seen the wisdom of not trading it all away.

It does not belong to Paul DePodesta, though at least he has seen the wisdom of not trading it all away.

It belongs to Dan Evans, much maligned GM under Fox, who acquired the following players:

OF Jason Repko (1999)
OF Matt Kemp (2003)
1B James Loney (2002)
2B Tony Abreu (2002 free agent)
SS Chin Lung Hu (2003 free agent)
3B Andy LaRoche (2003)
C Russell Martin (2002)

P Chad Billingsley (2003)
P Jonathan Broxton (2002)


Hmmmmm. Notice anything unusual about this collection? Oh yeah, it could be the Dodgers starting lineup in 2008. The two guys who have succeeded Evans have done a mediocre job of stocking the major league roster with overpriced veterans in the past four years.

But at least they didn’t trade it all away.

Will they ever win again?

For a brief moment there, I actually had a glimmer of hope that the Dodgers might win a game. It’s been so long, I can’t remember what that feels like. You’d think you could get more than 2 wins against the Reds, Cardinals, and Astros.

Forrest finally played the kids, but had the good sense to stick Jeff Kent in the middle of the Loney, Kemp, Ethier trio. Result: Kemp gets on, Ethier gets on, but Kent hits into DP in between them so that no run can score.

As for next year, Derek Lowe is signed through the end of 2008. And don’t look now, but we may have Kent for one more year. His 2008 option is guaranteed if he reaches 550 plate appearances this year. So far, he has 424 with 43 games left in the season. He needs to average just three appearances per game for the rest of the season to remain a Dodger. Though at this rate, maybe he won’t want to stick around.

The stats all say Kent’s a sure hall of famer, since he plays second base. If he played short or third, however, he probably wouldn’t get in. Add to that the fact that he’s not a particularly good second baseman. At least Mazeroski saved some runs with his glove.

Still, when all is said and done, Kent has been a much better addition to this club than I ever imagined when they first signed him. His bat has been pretty good, and he gives a punchless team power from second base. He will be hard to replace. He looks better at 40 than Nomar does at 35.

It’s Over

Can you bear to watch this team any longer? Billz wasn’t great last night, but who could excel under conditions where the minute you give up a run, the game is over? He pitched like a guy afraid to give up a singleton.

That’s the way this team is playing these days.

Part of the reason they can’t come back is because there’s no pop in the lineup. There’s not a serious 30-homer threat anywhere, not Kent, not Gonzo, not Nomar. Ethier might have that kind of power, but we’ll never know it, because he doesn’t get to play every day. The Dodgers have fewer home runs than every team in the league save the Washington Nationals. Even the Pittsburgh Pirates go deep more often.

The supposed rationale for the Dodgers not having home run hitters is that Dodger Stadium is not a homer-friendly park. Hogwash. Remember the year when the Dodgers had FOUR 30-homer guys? Remember a guy named Mike Piazza? Remember Adrian Beltre?

Even this year’s punchless team has more home runs at home (46) than on the road (39). Meanwhile, Dodger opponents have outhomered them at the Ravine (48) and on the road (47). If other teams can hit home runs at Dodger Stadium, there’s no reason the Dodgers can’t. Certainly Troy Glaus had no problem hitting jacks when he was here as a visitor. Certainly Torii Hunter would have no problem hitting home runs here.

The team’s inability to come from behind will soon translate into pitchers being reluctant to play here. Derek Lowe has to be at the end of his rope. If he goes nine, the team doesn’t score. If he goes less than nine, the bullpen blows it. I see why he’s considering other options when his contract is up at the end of next season.

Tinker?

"Maybe [I'll] tinker with what I do preparation-wise in the bullpen. . . just to find a little bit better rhythm when I get out there in the first inning," said yesterday’s (and every fifth-day’s) loser, Mark Hendrickson.

Tinker?!

Tinker is what you do when you have a genome that cures cancer but can’t be shelf-stabilized. When .240 hitters are launching bombs off you, it’s no longer time to tinker. IT’S TIME TO PITCH WITH THE OTHER HAND. Hendrickson has been abominable ever since the Dodgers got him. The only positive thing that can be said about him is he makes Brett Tomko look good. The time to tinker was when he was deciding between careers in the NBA and baseball.

The Times article seemed to suggest that the first inning was his problem, as his ERA in that inning alone is 7.20. But his overall ERA since the All-Star is 9.69, meaning that the first inning is one of his better frames. The Dodgers must have somebody better than this at AAA. Elmer Dessens was better than this.

Genius, part tw

I was sunned to hear Joe Girardi falling all over himself about LaGenius’s move to hit the pitcher eighth instead of ninth. If it’s so important to have runners on base in front of Pujols, then put your two best hitters in the 1-2 hole. Then, when the Cardinals did load the bases in the third inning, he acted like LaGenius was somehow responsible for Furcal making the error that allowed the whole debacle to unfold. Puh-leeze.

I expect such lunacy from Cardinal fans and commentators who never played the game, but I have more respect for Girardi, who actually played the game and understands that you get more at-bats for your best hitters, not your .180 hitters. They also quoted LaRussa as saying the pitcher only hits two or three times; the remainder are occupied by pinch hitters who might be better hitters than the #9 hitter. Really? If they’re such good hitters, why aren’t they in the starting lineup? Does every team in the NL have a Jack Cust, a guy who kills the ball but can’t play the field a lick?

Compared to Forrest, however, LaGenius at least looks like he’s thinking. His moves don’t always make sense, but they’re an attempt to shake up a lineup that continues to do nothing. Another 0-for-four from Furcal, more Ramon Martinez and his .176 average, more lack of production from Pierre. Why must he be in the lineup every day? All this against Braden Looper! 10-9 Braden Looper with an ERA

Meanwhile, Andre Ethier continues to be a doubles machine. There’s even a story about it in the paper today. Unfortunately, it would seems Forrest doesn’t read the paper, because he continues to bat Ethier below his prized veterans. I like Loney in the 3 spot, but Ethier could go there as well, or the five-hole. Put Kemp in the middle and all of a sudden you have a nice righty lefty mix in the 2-3-4-5 spots.

It might be too late, however. If you don’t win the Derek Lowe games against the Cardinals, who is it that you can beat?