After losing four straight out of the All-Star break, it was hard for the Dodgers to not have a better week.
Still, the Dodgers found themselves winning only four of seven this week, and in all honesty, they were probably lucky to win that many.
The offense has been seriously struggling post All-Star break. Coming off a series in St. Louis where the Dodger scored a combined 9 runs in four games, the Dodgers had run outputs of 2, 5, 2, 2, 1, 2, and 1 this week (and they didn't win the game they scored five runs in).
Luckily for the Dodgers, the starters bailed them out. Chad Billingsley went 9 scoreless innings in a win against the Giants on Wednesday, Kuroda went 8 scoreless in a win against the Mets on Thursday, and Kershaw went 8 scoreless in a win against the Mets today.
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to finish the week over .500. I'm happy the starters are pitching so well. But if the offense doesn't start to turn around, we are going to be in trouble.
Alright, enough complaining. Few more quick topics to touch on this week.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
I've ripped Vicente Padilla in the past on this blog. And truthfully, I'm still not a huge fan of his.
But I can't deny how good he's been since coming off the DL. He's had some pretty good success this season, due to things like having a career year in both K/9 (8.00) and BB/9 (1.97), and mixing that with some good luck (career low in BABIP). Is this kind of production sustainable? Eh, probably not. But as long as Padilla continues to put up numbers like a 0.98 ERA in four starts in July (22 Ks in 27.2 IP), I'm going to enjoy the ride.
Reality Check Week
This is a big week coming up. I mean, take a look at the upcoming schedule. First, the Dodgers are going to take on the division leading Padres for three games. Then, they'll follow that up by taking on the Wild Card leading Giants.
On top of all this, the trade deadline is Saturday.
I'm going to go ahead and say that by this point next week, we're going to have a pretty good idea of how the rest of the season is going to shape up.
That's not to say the Dodgers will definitively be in or out of the race by next Sunday (especially because after Sunday, the Dodgers start a four game set against the Padres again), all I'm saying is, we're probably going to have a good idea of how the season will unfold.
Frankly, I'm a little worried about this week, but at the same time, I'm excited. I want to know how this whole thing is going to work out.
Alright, I'm back on a working computer. Still, I'm going to be skipping the Dodgers Retrospective this week for a few reasons.
One, it was a half week. Two, it was a terrible half week. Three, a big topic I was going to discuss was Broxton anyway, so this post makes the Retrospective moot.
Jumping right into it, let's recap: Broxton blew a game yesterday. In turn, the Dodger fanbase reacted in a calm demeanor, showing their full support for a good young player.
Oh wait. (Credit, obviously, to Memories of Kevin Malone)
Ok, so, Dodger fans freaked out. And I can't blame fans for being angry. The Dodgers were trying to avoid a four game sweep while San Diego continues to win and separate themselves from the pack. This was a tough game to lose.
But here's where we begin to have a problem.
We need to be able to distinguish between being upset and misinformed complaining.
Be mad that we lost the game. Again, tough game to lose. Be upset with Broxton for the game. He was wild and ineffective. It happens and you are allowed to be upset about it.
That's fine. But. But...
Don't start spewing nonsense about replacing Broxton. Stop it. Seriously. You look foolish because really, it's nonsense.
In some form or another, here's what always seems to happen whenever I have a discussion in which I end up defending Broxton against a detractor.
Person: "Broxton sucks."
Me: "Broxton is one of the better closers in the game."
Person: "Broxton blows too many big games."
Me: "Everyone blows games. Everyone gives up runs, that's why there's such thing as ERA."
Person: "I don't like Broxton. He's not a major league closer."
And here's where misinformed complainers always get caught:
Me: "Ok, who would you replace him with?"
Now, the person is always caught with this question because there is no good answer to this question.
I mean, that doesn't stop the other person from going: "I don't know!" or "It's not my job, I don't get paid to figure that stuff out!" which are both versions of "There is no good answer to that question!"
But, ok, fine, you haven't had the time to research and make the calls into other GMs, so you don't have a list of candidates. If you want to play this game though, misinformed complainers, you should know this: all but one pitcher in baseball with 10 or more save opportunities this year has blown a game.
(Long tangent: the one pitcher is John Axford of the Milwaukee Brewers ... don't you dare pretend to tell me you know who that is. Axford is 11 for 11 in save opportunities, but then you should probably also know this: because of the flawed way saves are kept, Axford's 11 for 11 doesn't explain the fact that in five of those opportunities, Axford surrendered an earned run. He's been lucky enough to have his leads be larger than one run at the time and avoid the blown save. Oh, and by the way, Axford has given up the go ahead run while the game was tied on three separate occasions this year, so by no means is Axford the perfect closer.)
Point is, there isn't going to be a pitcher you can replace Broxton with who will satisfy you. Even the great Mariano Rivera, who I will happily admit is a superior pitcher to Broxton has blown two games this year.
These calls for Broxton's head are misinformed. You people are hoping that Ned Colletti will magically pull a pitcher out of his hat that throws a 102 fastball, a 93 slider, and a 79 curveball that drops a foot off the table at the last second. This pitcher has a 0.00 ERA, never blows a save, and can pitch 3 out of 4 days or not for a week but will remain sharp either way. That's a great thing to hope for, but this pitcher only exists in MLB 2k10 (and I know this because he's the closer on my Create-A-Team).
Here's where I'm guessing this problem stems from:
1. Unrealistic expectations.
Since Eric Gagne took over closing duties in 2002, Dodger fans haven't really know what it's like to not have a lights out closer. He dominated from 2002-2004 unlike any closer in history, at one point saving an unbelievable 84 games in 84 save opportunities. The whole "Game Over" era not only gave regular fans an unrealistic expectation of what to expect from a closer, but I suspect it brought on board many casual fans as well, who at that point only had "Game Over" Gagne as their image of what a closer should be.
2005 was a transitional year. Gagne was injured and Yhency Brazoban ended up leading the team in saves with 21, while holding down a 5.33 ERA. It was easy enough to dismiss the year as a throw away year.
But then 2006 comes around. Takashi Saito comes out of the blue to become one of the top closers in baseball over the next two seasons.
Broxton shares closer's duties with Saito in 2008, before fully taking over the job in 2009.
Now, what I'm suggesting is, from 2002-2007, with the exception of 2005, the Dodgers have had an extraordinary run of lights out closers. And, worse for Broxton, from two different closers.
Many Dodgers fans have come to expect that you can just replace one lights out closer with another like it's something that's easy to do, or that's been happening forever, for that matter. Gagne was here, he was great, he went away and got replaced with Saito, who was also great. Saito is gone, and has been replaced with Broxton. Why is Broxton not as great as Gagne was from 02-04 or Saito from 06-07?
We were supremely lucky to have such high quality closers for several years. That's not to say Broxton isn't high quality, but he will never convert 84 straight save opportunities in a row (I doubt anyone ever will), nor will Broxton probably ever post a 1.40 ERA (with a 0.72 WHIP) over an entire season like Saito did in 2007. Broxton might be able to have a similar season, but is not likely to have these types of numbers over the span of several seasons. It's not that seasons like that are unheard of, but to expect them from the same pitcher every year is ludicrous unless that pitcher is Mariano Rivera (a Hall of Famer).
The other part of this blame Broxton problem is this:
2. Emotionally charged losses
The blown game is probably the hardest game to lose other than maybe having Ken Griffey Jr. rob the game winning homerun in the 12th inning during the last game of the season, knocking you out of the playoffs ala "Little Big League". But, I digress.
Blown save losses are the most emotionally charged losses because you go from happiness to anger in the span of an inning.
If the starting pitcher gives up three runs in the 2nd inning, and those three runs turn out to be the difference in the game, there isn't much uproar. If the closer does it in the 9th, the fans have no time to think, they just blow a gasket.
Everyone remembers that Broxton blew the big game in the NLCS last year. No one seems to remember the save he converted in the 2-1 victory in that same series.
Conversely, everyone remembers that Vicente Padilla had an amazing start against the Phillies in the NLCS (that same 2-1 game, coincidentally) but no one seems to remember that when the Dodgers needed him to show up to avoid elimination in Game 5, he gave up 6 runs in three innings.
This isn't meant to bag on Padilla, who I must admit has been excellent since returning from the DL and deserves some acknowledgment from this blog at some point in the near future. No, this is simply meant to point out that people have a completely unbalanced, much more severe reaction to a later inning loss than a game lost in the first few innings.
So, what's the solution?
Here it is, for all of you misinformed complainers out there.
1. First, realize that Broxton is not as bad as you believe him to be. If I can't interest you in looking up his sabermetric stats like his xFIP, at least just know this: Broxton has made his way into 40 games this season and has only really negatively affected two (maybe a few others but if we are only considering games in which Broxton's actions have led to a direct loss, then two).
2. Realize there are not a lot of better options than Broxton this year, and that most of those better options are on teams that won't be giving them up anytime soon. You think the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Baltimore Orioles have the solution to your problem? Because they don't. Maybe the Yankees do, maybe the Braves do, but guess what? They are leading their divisions. They have no reason at all to send their closer to you.
3. And this is the important one. Take a deep breath.
It's a game. It's one game. It sucks to lose it and it's easy to overreact.
So don't. Calm down. Understand that games get blown, closers give up runs, and sometimes wins become losses.
I can assure you, this isn't the only time this has ever happened, nor will it be the last.
And I can assure you, you replace Jonathan Broxton with any other closer in the league and the previous statement isn't any less true.
Because the "perfect" closer you are looking for pitches for the J-City Demons and I've got no reason to send him your way.
I don't know about you, but this week was kinda weird for me.
It felt like a pretty good week, right? And yet, I take look back at past seven games and see the Dodgers finished just a game over .500 (4-3).
Still, the Dodgers will head into the All-Star break 10 games over .500 and two games back of the Padres in the NL West, tied for the Wildcard lead with the Rockies, which ain't a bad place to be with half a season to go.
Today, We Spell Redemption: K-U-O.
A quick note before I jump into it this week, congrats to Rafael Furcal and Hong-Chih Kuo for making it into the All-Star game as reserves, replacing Jose Reyes and Jason Heyward, respectively. Doesn't really make up for the fact that Reyes shouldn't have ever made the team in the first place or that Heyward shouldn't have been voted in by the fans as a starter, but I'm done complaining about that. Better late than never. It's a nice thing for a couple of guys who've been through a lot.
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The retrospective this week is actually more a retrospective for the first half. I'm not going to go crazy in-depth into it, but I just wanted to touch on who I felt were the top 3 and bottom 3 MVPs of the first half.
First Half Anti-MVPs
3. Tie - Ramon Ortiz and Russ Ortiz
Oh yes, I haven't forgotten. I've covered my extreme dislike of the Ortizes several times on this blog, but I'll just remind you of some of their numbers. Russ Ortiz: 7.0 IP, 8 ER, and a sweet, sweet 2.143 WHIP. Ramon Ortiz stuck around for 30.0 IP over 16 games and posted a nice 6.30 ERA.
2. George Sherrill
He doesn't have the worst ERA of all the pitchers the Dodgers have used this year, but of all the pitchers, Sherrill has been, by far, the biggest disappointment. He has struggled to get outs all year and as such, has affected the entire bullpen.
I mean, could you imagine if Joe Torre had Sherrill in his bullpen pitching like he did last year. Imagine if he trusted Sherrill enough to use him when he's overworked Broxton. Then he could use Hong-Chih Kuo more sparingly. Wow. The idea having more than two go-to guys in the bullpen makes me doubly sad when I'm confronted with the reality of the situation.
1. Garret Anderson
Hey, maybe it was obvious, but how I can I not give it to him?
He finished his first half batting .179. And not just in 30 something at-bats. He went 24-134. That's twenty-four hits ... in one hundred and thirty four at-bats. He's also drawn three walks. I can't help but smile as I write this because that is so ludicrously absurd. It's insane. He can't hit and he has no patience. He can't play defense. He can't run. I just... I start talking about how bad Anderson is and I begin to ramble because there's so much ground to cover. My thoughts are rapid firing from one reason to the next as to why Anderson should have been released months ago. I'm want to express myself but I can't. I feel like I need to get a canvas and just start painting my feelings. Yes, Garret Anderson is so bad, he's inspiring me to create art.
To be honest though, I can't help but enjoy watching Anderson play. At this point, I almost don't know if I want him gone because I have to know how bad he can be. Mike at MSTI broke down Anderson's numbers to show that he's having one of the worst seasons in Dodger history. He might not have the worst season ever, but at this point, I kinda want to see how close he can get.
"Only three walks? That's hilarious! Manny had three walks in one game a week ago!"
First Half MVPs
3. Andre Ethier
Ethier is second on the team in batting average, leads the team in slugging, and is second in OPS, just four points behind Manny, but in almost 100 more at-bats. He's got 14 homers on the season, and, oh yeah, a starting job in the All-Star game. I have to wonder how good Ethier's season might be if he didn't break his finger when he was his hottest (.392, 1.201 OPS when he went down). I know expecting that kind of play over a full season is unrealistic, but when you are on a crazy hot streak, you got to ride it out.
2. Clayton Kershaw
Remember when Jon Heyman said Kershaw was regressing? Ha-ha-hah-ha-ha.
Kershaw in 18 starts: 112.1 IP, 2.96 ERA, 128 Ks. For record junkies, that translates to 9-4.
He polished off his first half with an excellent 8.0 innings against the Cubs on Thursday, striking out 12.
1. Rafael Furcal
Furcal leads the team in average, and more importantly, heart. That's right. I found a way to measure it. Still working on scrappy-ness, but that's for another day.
Seriously though. Furcal returned from family tragedy and started putting it all out on the field. Since June 23th, Furcal has been hitting .397, with a 1.109 OPS. He's hit six doubles, a triple, four homeruns, and has driven in 14 runs over the 17 game span. More importantly, though, for a leadoff hitter, he's scored 21 runs in those 17 games. Oh, and he's also stolen five bases.
All this is for a guy who was already hitting .305 coming in.
Furcal is playing out of his mind, and when he plays like that, the Dodgers play like a different team.
...and so, for all that, Furcal got named to the All-Star team.
...and for all that, he's my first half MVP.
Wow. A 5-1 roadtrip and the Dodgers are suddenly back to nine games over .500.
Was this the same team that lost eight of their last ten at the end of last Sunday's game?
The Dodgers just eat up the NL West, which is a very good thing. Especially because the Dodgers will spend most of September playing those teams.
Alright, just a couple more things to cover this week.
Comings And Goings
The Dodgers made a couple of roster moves this week that I can get behind.
First off, like I suggested in the Dodger Retrospective last week, Ramon Troncoso was taken off the roster in favor of Travis Schlichting. I suggested Troncoso be put on the DL because I wanted him to rest his arm and just not pitch for a little while, but a demotion to AAA isn't bad either. Management hopes he can work on his mechanics while he's down there, but honestly, I'm not sure if it's a mechanics issue with Troncoso so much as an inflated expectations issue. He was probably not ever going to be as good as he was in 2009, and those expectations might have hurt him as much as his poor performance in 2010.
Secondly, with Manny put on the DL, the Dodgers called up Xavier Paul. Sure, the news isn't as good as Paul being called up to replace a DFA'd Garret Anderson, but it's a step in the right direction. I mean, who knows, maybe this time when Manny comes back, Paul will get to stay instead of Anderson.
Here's a fun fact: Xavier Paul and Garret Anderson have the same amount of multi-hit games (1) since May 30th. The only difference is that Xavier Paul didn't play in the majors from May 31st through July 2nd.
On the other hand: Garret Anderson provided 40+ professional at-bats over the span of May 31st through July 2nd, including such gems as Wednesday's 0-5 with 4 Ks game.
Also, Paul makes this goofy face when he slides into home, so there's that as well...
Last one. I know last week I called for George Sherrill's head, but I've calmed down on that. I'm ok with keeping Sherrill under the condition that he only come in during blowouts or only to face one or two left handed batters before the 8th inning. Never a right handed batter, and never in the 8th inning or later.
Meanwhile, I'm now done with Justin Miller. He's finally pitching like ... well, Justin Miller. Carlos Monasterios should be off the DL soon, he's a good choice to replace Miller.
The All-Star Game Is A Great Showcase (For How Stupid People Are)
So, the All-Star Game selections were announced this morning, and they've already been discussed to death, but I still have to complain about this stupidity.
And no, I'm not just talking about Omar Infante. Yes, Infante is a dumb choice. And yes, leaving Joey Votto off the team was equally as dumb. But these two stupid decisions (among a few others) are laid solely at the feet of one guy: Charlie Manuel. I'm not saying Manuel is stupid, but he's an old baseball guy ... the kind who goes with his gut rather than fancy new-fan-dangled statistics like ... OPS (rhymes with cops), so I'm not expecting every decision he makes to be a great baseball one.
The two biggest issues I have with the All Star team this year are both fan selections.
One, Jason Heyward. Look, I get it. Dude's having a solid year for a rookie. .251, 11 homers, .821 OPS. Solid. But you're telling me there's not at least ten more qualified outfielders in the National League than Heyward? (Because if that's what you're telling me then...)
But, ok. Heyward is a popular guy surrounded by a ton of hype. Then explain this one to me: Yadier Molina.
I mean, check some of these numbers: .229 BA, 3 HR, .611 OPS.
Compare his numbers versus the three other guys in the National League with enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title. Molina is the worst in almost every major offensive category: BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, HR. The only leg he has to stand on is RBI, which is as much a function of his team as of Molina himself.
So I ask you, fans of baseball, what the hell were you thinking? Don't you know that this one counts?!
It's got to stop. If the league insists on making something as inane as the All-Star game count for homefield advantage in the World Series, then take the vote out of the hands of the fans who have little to no idea what they are doing. Just let all the voting be done by (and I might regret this eventually) players. Or if you insist on letting the fans vote, then take the meaning out of the game.
Because this "having it both ways" thing is not working.
Technically, this is supposed to be a week recap, but I really only want to talk about one game this week ... I think you know which one.
I don't know about you, but for me, there seems to be a time every year where I just want to throw out everybody. GM, coaches, players. Everyone. I want to get rid of them all and start over.Eventually I settle down and come to my senses ... but Jesus, has this past week in a half been a punch in the gut. Or really, several punches.
Pictured: Gut punch.
Today's loss was so brutal because it was a game the Dodgers needed. I mean, I guess there really isn't such thing as a must win game in June, but taking two of three from the World Champion Yankees would be a step in the right direction for a team that's reeling.
Instead, a four run lead is blown. Then the rest of the bullpen serves up the game to the Yankees on a silver platter. And here we are, five games back of the Padres.
And I'm pissed.
And so, while I'm not going to throw out the whole Dodger organization, we do need change. Just a handful of things I want:
Move 1a. Ramon Troncoso to DL with anything. I don't care what it is, something is wrong with Troncoso and he needs to be on the DL. Honestly, it's probably a combination of overuse and Troncoso not really being as good as we once thought, but he has been horrible since April when he was used in 15 of the first 22 games of the season. Whatever the reason, since the beginning of May (and not including today because Baseball Reference hasn't been updated yet), Troncoso has a 6.86 ERA in 20 games. Opposing batters have hit .300 off him in that span and for a .889 OPS.
Move 1b: So, again, Troncoso to the DL. Bring up Travis Schlichting.
Move 2a. DFA George Sherrill. He's done. Everyone has figured him out. I mean, come on, he's giving up homeruns to lefties. If he's supposed to be able to get anyone out, it's supposed to be a left handed hitter.
Pictured: Not. Doing. Your. JOB.
Move 2b: Bring up Jon Link or wait for Carlos Monasterios to come off the DL. I realize this leaves just one lefty in the bullpen, Hong-Chih Kuo. Now, if you feel that he's too valuable to just be a left handed specialist, and you absolutely need one, then replace Sherrill with Juan Perez. Who?! Yeah, I don't know either. But scanning the Albuquerque roster, he's got a 3.19 ERA and 32 Ks in 31 innings, so he's not horrible. Admittedly, his stats against lefties aren't fantastic, but we're working with a coaching staff who insists on the lefty/lefty matchup rather than going with the most effective reliever at the time, so as long as he throws with his left arm, he should do the job for Torre and co.
Pictured: Lefty/Lefty matchup working out the right way.
Move 3a: DFA Garret Anderson. He still can't hit. After a good week, he reverted back to his old self with a 1-9 week.
Move 3b: Xavier Paul.
Move 4: Use Jonathan Broxton only when he is needed. (Broxton, by the way, isn't absolved of all blame for this recent incident, even with the overuse coming in.) Here's the thing, and maybe I just don't understand because I've never been a major league reliever, but does Broxton absolutely need to get his work in? If he doesn't pitch for four games, can't he throw a light bullpen session to keep the rust off? I mean, again, maybe I don't get it, but I just don't feel like Broxton is going to forget how to throw a fastball if he doesn't do it for a handful of days.
These are just a few things that could be changed immediately and improve the team. Some of this is with the front office, some of this is with the coaching staff.
Speaking of, I'm on the fence with Joe Torre. He obviously misuses the pitching staff, and he has such an unreasonable trust of aging veterans that it becomes increasingly more difficult to defend his choices.
On the other hand, he has led the Dodgers to two straight NLCS, which is impressive considering our playoff highlight reel before Joe Torre featured only Jose Lima and then JD Drew and Jeff Kent getting thrown out at home on the same play.
On the third hand, you have to wonder how much of our recent success is his influence, and how much is just the ability of the players. How many fewer (or more?) games would the Dodgers have won if the players just coached themselves? Torre might be gone when his contract is up at the end of the year, and at this point, I don't know if I'll miss him.
Anyway, I'm probably rambling. I'm tired, it's late, and I'm frustrated. Sometimes, it's just hard to be a fan.
Alright, I'm posting this week recap as the Dodgers trail 2-0 in the bottom of the 8th versus the Red Sox. So far, at least up until this point, it's been a pretty lame week.
It started well, with the Dodgers taking the first two games from Cincinnati, winning their first road series outside the NL West this season. And then they lost the third game to the Reds, and then they came into Boston and decided they liked losing better than winning, because they proceeded to lose the next two games.
And Garret Anderson is batting 5th today (yes, I know GA has been better the last week or so. I'm not ready to anoint him undead just yet) so I'm not holding my hopes too high for a win here.
So, I don't have much to add this week. Mostly because it's getting a little late and I'm on a borrowed computer so I just want to quickly talk about this one thing.
The Dodger Schedule Is Unfair Because Of Who Is On The Payroll
Now, granted, schedules are inherently unfair based on things like what division and league you play in. The Baltimore Orioles have to play more games against the Yankees and Red Sox than any other non-divisional teams.
But, I'm just talking about interleague play.
The theme for the NL West in interleague play this year seems to be AL East.
For example, the Giants played the Orioles and Blue Jays this week. This coming week, they'll play the Red Sox.
The Padres, this week, played three game sets against the Blue Jays and Orioles, and next week they'll play the Rays.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, obviously played the Reds and Red Sox, and this coming week, they'll play the Angels and Yankees.
So, here's the thing that bothers me. It's not just that the Dodgers play a tougher schedule, it's that the Dodgers are playing this tougher schedule because of people on the payroll.
I'll explain... what's the reason the Dodgers are playing a three game set in Boston rather than against any other AL East team? It's because MLB wanted to pump up Manny's return to Boston. Obviously, it has worked because every sports program, website, or blog mentions it: SportsCenter mentioned the Dodgers in the first twenty minutes of the program for the first time this year. Don't quote me on that, I don't know for sure. It just seems that every time I've watched SportsCenter this year, the Dodgers don't come up til somewhere in the last 4th of the show. Suddenly, Manny is back in Boston and boom, Dodgers are one of the top stories.
In fairness, this only took three minutes of searching.
So then, what's the reason for the Dodgers playing the Yankees next week and not the Orioles? Obviously, Joe Torre versus his old team. The main stream media is going to be all over it.
Yeah, I'm probably making too much of a deal about this. Sure, it doesn't help anything that the Dodgers are a storied team with something of a rivalry with the Yankees.
I guess all I'm saying is, I wish George Sherrill had said some really horrible, inflammatory things about the Orioles after he left so we could've played them this weekend instead.
So ... that was an odd week.
If I were to tell you at the beginning of the week that the Dodgers would go 3-3 in three games sets versus the Cardinals and Angels, would you guess a sweep of the Cardinals and then a sweep by the Angels? Would you?! I think not. The results this week were not necessarily odd, just unexpected.
No, no. The odd this week seemed to come more from off the field than on it.
Draft Dodgers (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?!)
The annual amateur draft was held this week, and the Dodgers made a couple picks that might be considered odd.
First, they drafted an 18 year old pitcher who almost everyone feels is "unsignable." You can read my thoughts here ... as if you didn't already.
But, here's just a couple other things I noticed.
Logan White seems to have something against the coaches at LSU because he's trying to steal all their players.
First he drafts Zach Lee in the 1st round, who has a strong commitment to LSU.
Later, in the sixth round, White drafted Kevin Gausman, another high schooler with who seems committed to LSU.
But White didn't stop there. Before he drafted Gausman, he drafted LSU's center fielder Leon Landry in the 3rd round, and after, in the 8th round, he drafted LSU's 1st baseman Blake Dean.
In an ideal world, the Dodgers would take both of LSU's top pitching recruits, their center fielder, and their first baseman.
Lucky for LSU, the Dodgers will probably sign neither Lee nor Gausman, so at least their rotation will be ok next year.
The second thing I noticed was the Dodgers drafted (and signed) someone who already has my support because of his facial hair.
"What?" you ask. I'll tell you.
In the 28th round, the Dodgers drafted Mike Drowne out of Sacred Heart University. Now, I like to look up a little bit of info on the players the Dodgers draft so I went to Sacred Heart U's website and navigated my way to the athletics page and then to Drowne's page, where I found this amazing profile pic.
They look like vertical parenthesis for his mouth!
Immediately, I was intrigued. I mean, it's fantastic! He looks like a villain from the 1800s. A train magnate who wants to demolish a small town to build his railroad empire ... and yes, he's wearing a tophat in this scenario.
However ... I was disappointed when I visited the website a few days later to see an article talking about Drowne being drafted. Accompanying said story was this picture of Drowne.
Suddenly, heart-breakingly mustache-less.
Admittedly, this soured me on Drowne just a bit.
I later realized, though, it does take a certain kind of bravado (or stupidity) to take a profile picture of yourself with a crazy set of fake facial hair and allow it to go up on a website that's going to be visited by a good amount of people.
So, Mike Drowne, if you are reading this, and I'm sure you are, I'm not mad at you for the fake facial hair, and I'm telling you this: if you grow back that facial hair and keep it through your trip in the minors, and you have my full support.
The McCourts Did Something Crazy, Though Really, Not Totally Surprising
Ok, seriously, at this point, is there anyone left in the McCourt camp?
I mean, is there any Dodger fan who's been following the events of the past year or so who still fully supports either of the McCourts as owner of this team?
If so, this one is for you...
The McCourts hired and paid a six figure salary to an old Russian to send positive vibes, or "V Energy" to the Dodgers.
This has already been sufficiently discussed/made fun of on various blogs (like MSTI, MoKM, and SoSG) so I'll just add one thing, the thing that makes me most sad about all this.
Yes, this whole thing is impossibly stupid/incredibly insane/a tremendous waste of money ... pick your choice.
The real sad thing about all this is this question: were you really shocked? To be honest, I wasn't.
Sure, I was surprised. It's hard to see something like this coming. But at this point, did anyone read this article and react with disbelief. "Noooo ... the McCourts couldn't have done something so irrational ... they wouldn't have paid all this money to some crazy Russian guy who knows nothing about baseball! Impossible!"
I think, at least for Dodgers fans, the McCourts have entered the Tyson Zone. For those who don't know, the Tyson Zone (described here) was created by Bill Simmons as a way to describe an athlete (or in this case, team owner) whose behavior is so odd that any story you ready about them, no matter how bizarre, is believable.
For example, if you were to read tomorrow that the McCourts spent a million dollars two seasons ago to uproot the grass in the outfield and replant it with special Australian fertilizer that would bring good fortunes to the team, would you blink an eye? Oh, and by the way, to pay off the dirt, parking is being raised to $25 a car.
Or, say you read tomorrow that the McCourts were fighting for custody of Reed Johnson. Would you faint from surprise?
It's really unfortunate that it has come to this. The Dodgers are one of the most historic franchises in baseball, and right now the McCourts are making them a laughing stock. I mean, how many pre-season predictions did you read this Spring Training that had the Dodgers not finishing in first in the NL West because of distractions with ownership?
Luckily, at least so far, the Dodgers have been able to avoid front office issues. I mean, hey, they were in first place at one point this week before finishing the week a game behind the Padres.
But that's not to say the Dodgers haven't been affected. Just this week, the Dodgers most likely forfeited a first round pick on a player that was always going to be too expensive to sign. And this comes after they forfeited two other early picks when they didn't offer arbitration to Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudson this offseason.
... What do you believe an owner's role should be with a team? I see it as this: First, the Owner should pony up the money. The Owner should never be afraid to put money into their team. If they don't want to spend, then they shouldn't be an Owner. Two, the Owner shouldn't embarrass the team. That doesn't mean they necessarily need to be the face of the team (see Arte Moreno), but if you aren't going to put on a good front, then just disappear into your Owner's box. Be a silent owner. Show up to hold up the Championship Trophy and then go away. The last thing you should be doing is filling newspaper headlines with your divorce hearings or doing things like hiring Rasputin for a six figure sum to send brain waves and advise you on team decisions.
Mike Drowne: this facial hair is also acceptable...
Look, McCourts, if you guys are fans of the game like you've always purported to be, then you should understand that you are making a mockery of one of the storied franchises.
If you were really fans of baseball, you'd sell the Dodgers or step down as owners.
Because at this point, you are not just embarrassing yourselves, you are embarrassing all of us.
