Well the 2006 season is over for the Dodgers. Well it was actually over some time ago and had they not been playing in the absolutely dreadful National League West it would have been over about the All Star Break.
This was a team that had the best start in baseball in April and then was never able to post anything beyond three wins in a row the rest of the season. Now I am a lifelong Dodger fan and to some degree my emotional well-bring is connected to the play of the team, so needless to say my well-being took quite a hit this year (combined with the Packers being 0-3 we currently are looking forward to the LA Kings and the return of Hockey!). So what happened and what do I think will and should happen for 2006? Here are a few observations:
First of all there is no doubt that the team was decimated by injuries, which may be the only thing that saves Jim Tracy's job (more below). The loss of Gagne, Drew, Bradley and Isturus for all or the majority of the year (and a host of others for various parts of the year) was huge. Jason Wuerth broke his wrist in Spring training and never was a real factor this year (it usually takes an entire year to rehab a wrist).
Next, the pitching was inconsistent. Lowe finally figured out what he was doing wrong and pitched exceptionally well the last 10+ games, but by then it was too late. Weaver had a great year, but still loses concentration once in a while resulting in a one or two bad innings (which usually cost him the win). DJ Houlton looks like a major league pitcher, but the highly touted Edwin Jackson continues to disappoint (but I'm wondering if the pitching coach Jim Colborn is the right guy here). Perez was injured and a distraction and posted another mediocre season and probably needs to be sent packing, maybe the Yankees after they get eliminated from the playoffs by the Angels will send whatever prospects they have left for him.
One thing about the Dodger pitching staff was there complete inability to hold runners and prevent steals. This is not the fault of the cathers and frankly I think the blame for this staff wide problem is the pitching coach. The bullpen, even without Gagne, was pretty good, but entirely overworked and it showed.
Team chemistry I think is highly over-rated, but it does count for something in a long season, which I think the GM DiPodesta now realizes. Sure Jeff Kent was the team offensive leader, but he is clearly not a team leader. By all accounts Kent is a hard playing guy who really doesn't much enjoy baseball, its just a job. He's very good at it and will certainly go to the Hall of Fame, but his attitude towards the game and his team mates wherever he goes has been negative. He's signed for next year and that's fine, but the manager and coaching staff need to figure out how to mitigate his negatives in the clubhouse.
The San Diego Padres win the division with the worse record ever for a divisional winner, barely over .500. If the Dodgers had only 10 fewer wins than last year they repeat as division champs, instead they win 23 fewer games. It is a resounding disappointment and particularly so the way they played the last couple of weeks.
I think Jim Tracy is a good manager. In the past he has done more with the team than most thought he could. He suffered through the incompetent ownership of Ruppert Murdoch's News Corp (Fox) and last year got the Dodgers in the playoffs (although without Eric Gagne that wouldn't have happened either). Two things were noticable this last week, telling things that I think are conclusive on Tracy's future with the Dodgers. On the Dodger pregame show last week Tommy Lasorda was on for about 20 minutes. Talking about everything, as only Tommy can, I don't think he ever mentioned Jim Tracy's name or the manager's position or the coaching staff. A night later Vin Sculley had DiPodesta in the booth during the game and asked him about everything that had happened and what the future holds. Tracy's name and the managerial job was never mentioned (nor were the coaches). This, in all liklihood does not bode well for Tracy.
Dipodesta inheirited Jim Tracy, he is not his hire and it seems plain that there isn't any love lost between them. It seems pretty clear that Tracy will not be back next year, which is too bad, but I think it is for the best. One division title and one playoff game win in five years is not what a winning tradition is all about. I expect he'll be fired sometime before the World Series.
His coaching staff, with the possible exception of the hitting coach Tim Wallach should probably also be shown the door.
The bright spot for the Dodgers is that they have the best Double A team in baseball and a really solid core of propsects. They need really need someone at first base (Choi is not the answer, his hitting is inconsistent and he is another stationary first baseman in the field). Kent will be back as will Isturus. Aybars looks like a keeper at third and they also have a very good 3rd baseman in Double A. The outfield could be OK with Drew coming back. I like Milton Bradley and I think he improved emotionally quite a bit this year, but if Tracy is gone that could adversely effect Bradley.
The Dodgers really lack team speed, virtually no stolen bases or even a real threat. The bench, because of injuries, was overused and sometimes used poorly. Valentin should not be back. Jason Philips becomes what he is, a very serviceable back up catcher. They also need some power in the lineup somewhere besides Kent. Getting rid of Perez (a must I think) will open up a spot in the rotation for one of their good prospects or perhaps they go get a front line free agent pitcher. They should have a lot of salary room. They are now going to be free of Dreifort's huge contract as well as Todd Hundley's. That alone frees up over $10 million and since they were able to cleverly dump Kevin Brown on the Yankees, trade a declining Shawn Green to the Diamondbacks and Kaz Ishii (and his large salary) to the Mets. That, combined with about 40k fans per game for a sub-.500 team, means that there should be some salary money to invest.
But, I'm afraid they really need a new manager someone who has a little more outward passion than Tracy. One of the Angel coaches, Mickey Hatcher or Ron Roenecke come to mind (please NOT Dusty Baker!!!). I think the McCourt's are much better owners than people thought they would be and have done some really good things for the team (despite the constant bad press they get from the idiots in the LA Times Sports Department) and I think DiPodesta will be one of the top GM's in baseball.
It is "next year" time for the Dodgers and I'm hopeful that they will be back on top sooner rather than later.