The Narnia 3 Blog

The Dodgers Are OK

I have to preface this entry with the note that I am a lifelong Dodger fan, the earliest picture of me that exists shows me wearing a T-Shirt in 1958 that says "Welcome to Los Angeles, Dodgers." There are lots of things to be excited about when it comes to the Dodgers lately. First of all the McCourts bought the team and now a family is running the operations again, instead of the team being just another cog in Rupert Murdoch's corporate structure. The Dodgers got into the playoffs and won a game for the first time since Ronald Reagan was president and the team, according to a recent poll, has at least six of the top 100 minor league prospects in thier system. The stadium, although built in 1962 and one of the oldest now in the National League, has been remodeled and looks better than ever.

I spent that last few months listening and reading all the "experts" decrying the fact that the Dodger owner has no money so they couldn't sign the free agents they need and had to let other players go and that the young GM Paul DePodesta is making bad decisions. OK, Adrian Beltre was allowed to go to Seattle after finally having a breakout year. My opinion is, fine. He's a good player who now has had one great year, but honestly I think he should have taken a little less money and shown some loyalty to a team that put up with his chronic underachieving for a few years; and I think he would have made up for less money with a lot more endorsements in Los Angeles than in Seattle. BTW as of this writing Beltre is hitting .281 with 1 home run and 8 RBI's. HIs replacement in Los Angeles, Jose Valentin is hitting .408 with 2 home runs a 8 RBI's. The Dodgers also traded Shaun Greene, a great player and nice guy, who has been declining steadily for the last 3 seasons in all offensive categories. The replacement, J. D. Drew, is certainly not a downgrade in right field over Greene. Alex Cora was let go. Cora a great defensive second baseman who hits about .280 and last year actualy hit 10 home runs (and is not even starting for Cleveland) is replaced by Jeff Kent who undoubtedly will be in the Hall of Fame and, though he may not cover as much ground as Cora, will hit about 20-30 more home runs and has always been a "money player" in the RBI department. BTW, he's hitting .419 2 home runs and 11 RBI's as of today.

The Dodgers are off to one of the best starts in baseball and have won all three series this year, including going 4-1 against the Giants. This leads me to wonder if the "experts" who picked the Giants to win the division were looking at a rooster from 5 ot 10 years ago? The Giants are an old, old team. Bonds and Alou are on the DL and may not play until May. Outside of Jason Schmidt they have questionable starting pitching and their bullpen (which supposedly they upgraded this off-season) has picked up whre they left off last year with the worst ERA in the majors. The Giants are a third or fourth place team in the NL West this year.

The Dodgers are now 6-2 and remember they have done that without Brad Penny (who looks to be about ready to come back in a week or so) without Wilson Alvarez (who will solidify the middle relief) without Eric Gagne, the best closer in baseball, and without Jason Wuerth, who looks to me to be a rising star in baseball with great power a great arm and great running speed. They picked up a good catcher in Jason Philips (contract about $350k) and traded the unreliable Kaz Ishsi (contract $2.6 million) to the hapless Mets.

Will the Dodgers go all the way and win the World Series, I'd like to think so, but I am realistic. They have some clear cut issues. Will Hee Sop Choi being able to hit (he is a good defensive first baseman) and will Philips hold up all year as a front line catcher? Also, has Milton Bradley really gotten himself and his temper under control? I like Bradley and deep down he seems to be a good guy, so I hope he has straightened himself out. Their defense took a slight downgrade in the infield and the stadium redesign with the baseline seats and near black outfield wall I think have made Dodger Stadium into more of a hitter's park, which could work for or against them this season.

I think they will win the Western Division and not exhaust themselves in the process as they did last year. Their starting pitching is stronger than last year and their bullpen, when Gagne returns, is probably the nest in the NL. The offense I think is much more balanced this year than last (when Beltre was about 40% of the production). Their biggest challenge I think will come from San Diego with Arizona probably a good third place team. I pick the Giants to be a .500 team and Colorado will again dwell in the cellar. I would not be surprised to see San Diego come as the Wild Card in the Play Offs.