Ned Colletti: Museum Keeper

It is not a good thing to get swept by the Mets in Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers went down without a whimper, all in front of a half-full stadium.

The season is going down the drain quickly, the all-star break cannot happen fast enough. Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp and perhaps Andre Ethier will get their deserved appearances, the rest of the team can lick their wounds, come back later next week, and attempt to inject some pride and life into the season.

This is a no-win situation for Ned Colletti. Most GM's right now are gearing up now for trade deadline moves. The choice is either to get that extra player or two for a playoff run, or sell off players you'll probably lose anyway to get prospects. Normally the Dodgers would be thinking of the future at this point, selling tradeable players for prospects and gearing up for the future.

The Dodgers at this point have no fuutre to build for, or at least a very uncertain one.

Frank McCourt will happily drag the team down with him in litigation, keeping a new owner from taking over and deciding the future of the team. This could take years. If and when McCourt finally loses, he can gloat to himself that he single-handedly ruined a storybook franchise.

Colletti knows there will not be a playoff run this year, so adding players is out of the question. Getting rid of the core of Kemp, Ethier, Kershaw and perhaps Chad Billingsley is out of the question, at least that is what he told Bill Plaschke.

Everything else is probably up for grabs, but except for perhaps Jamey Carroll a fine utility man or perhaps Rafael Furcal or Jonathan Broxton, who are they going to get in return?

Colletti is almost like the keeper of a dilapated museum. There is little he can do to make the team better, it can't get much worse, so all he can do is hang around and keep the nice exhibits looking nice until the owners figure out what to do.

His thanks will probably be to be let go once his contract runs out next year.

It was him, working with a limited budget that brought the Dodgers closer to the World Series than they'd ever been since 1988. Like any veteran GM, he does have some blood on his hands, namely Jason Schmidt and Juan Uribe, but overall he has done a fantastic job with comparatively little resources.

Sooner or later the smoke and mirrors reveal the true lack of substance, and this is what happened this year. Combine that with the ownership limbo, and bad just got worse.

Band-Aid Job

This season has been a series of band-aid jobs.

Frank McCourt's previous lack of spending on free agen talent has made this team sort of a perpetual band-aid job, but with the divorce tying up what little resources he had/chose to use, we knew it would be even worse.

To paraphrase the immortal Dennis Green "it is what we though it would be", but only worse. The MLB taking over and McCourt's bankruptcy only fully insure things.

The team now consists of guys brought up through they system in focal-point roles mixed with mostly seriously under-performing veterans.

You can't blame Ned Colletti- It's not his fault that Juan Uribe and Marcus Thames have been injured and seriously under-performing, but we are locked up with Uribe for awhile and for quite a bit of money, so he does need to take heat on that. However, when you scrape the bargain basement and expect a carreer role player to help carry your team, you get what you pay for. Thames is a one-year rental, but why they kept him around and dumped gamer Jay Gibbons is beyond me. Maybe you can blame Colletti, but it's hard to make filet mignons out of rump roast, and that is whgat he's been asked to do.

Catcher- It's hard to watch Russell Martin make the all-star team for the AL. It is good for him, I thought he was finished, but he got new life in the Bronx. Good for him. Rod Barajas is a gamer, but ultimately a medicocre catcher. Same goes with Dioner Navarro. A.J. Ellis will be a fine backup to a solid every-day catcher. Band Aid.

First Base- James Loney looks to be coming around a bit after an awful start- but the power is not there, even a little bit, and his OBP is down. He looks to be getting worse when he should be hitting his peak. Not a band-aid, but not an answer.

Second base- Jamey Carroll has been amazing wherever the Dodgers have put him, but the fact that he is signed as a utility guy and plays virtually every day, says enough about the condition of the infield. See above about Juan Uribe. Hopefully Ivan de Jesus (.303/.359/.376/.735 in AAA) will be ready next year.

Shortstop- Hate to say it, but Rafael Furcal is broken down. Dee Gordon didn't look completely ready when they called him up, but with raffy's contract ended, it is his job next year.

Third Base- Casey Blake is nearing the end of a fine career, and he is a great veteran presence. but is not bringing alot in this stage of his career. This may be Uribe's job next year, we'll see what happens. Russ Mitchell nor Corey Smith look like long-term answers. Band Aid.

Left Field is a joke. Thames has been a huge disappointment. Gibbons didn't work out. Tony Gwynn deserves a solt on the team somewhere, but probably not as a starter. You do have to like his energy, though. The fact that they didn't even try to replace Manny Ramirez makes this the biggest band-aid job of them all.

You have now-superstar Matt Kemp and clsoe-to-superstar Andre Ethier in the other outfiield positions. They need to be locked up, but with the team in limbo, they may not be able to. This is the worst part of this mess. With nobody really owning the team and these guys nearing free agency, we may get nothing for these guys.

Starting Pitching- Clayton Kershaw is becoming a bona-fide ace. Like Kemp and Ethier, they need to find a way to keep that guy around. Billingsley is a solid middle-rotation guy- perhaps not the ace he was once thought as. Jon Garland is a rental whose season just ended. They will probably need to find a replacement for Hiroki Kuroda after this year, but all things considered, the rotation has been solid this year, and should be next year. They need bats. Pitching is important, but they need to hit once in awhile and score runs.

Relief- They actually spent some money upgrading the bullpen this year, and some young guys like Javy Guerra are stepping up, but there is no closer. Jonathan Broxton seems to be done. So despite the glaring need for a closer, may be in decent shape for next year.

Band- Aids all around. If you take away the pitching the two outfield positions, there are not even short-term solutions that are readily apparent. With the team in financial limbo, that doesn't look to change anytime soon. Are their solutions? Perhaps. But whoever is making the decisions will have to think outside of the box to get us though until the ownership fiasco is resolved.

Hope you're happy, Frank McCourt, and we know you will drag down the Dodgers with you.

Do not under-estimate McCourt

In a perfect world, you'd like to think he'll walk away-

He'll realize the chips are stacked high against him, he'll sell the team and walk away.

It's not going to happen. The Dodgers (read Frank McCourt) filing for bankruptcy proves this will be a long drawn-out war.

McCourt made his money being a scrappy east-coast huckster. It wasn't pure luck that he talked his way into owning the Dodgers. You can blame bonehead logic on Bud Selig's part, and FOX was so anxious to get rid of the team, the mailroom guy could've bought it, but McCourt deserves credit for out-foxing his highest bidders.

Now, with his empire falling around him, McCourt views this as his Stalingrad, and he will throw everything he has into it. This is what little legacy he has left, and he will hold onto it.

It does not matter that there is no TV deal riding in like Clint Eastwood to save him. Despite a bit of support from the Los Angeles Latino community, Los Angeles wants him out. The media wants him out, the owners want him out and Selig wants him out.

No matter. he will fight to the end on this one, holding the team and the stadium hostage. It is his right.

The fans will lose, enduring at least another season of not just mediocrity, but mediocrity with its hands tied.

Make no mistake. McCourt is digging in and will stop at nothing to bring down or at least slow the eventual full takeover by the MLB.

Thud!

It's one thing to lose a series to the Philadelphia Phillies. They are by far the best team in baseball, so for an injury-prone and strife-ridden team like the Dodgers to go in and take one game out of three and play competitively in the other two, it was encouraging. Maybe not jump-up-and-down encouraging, but not bad for a team in their position.

Getting swept by the Cincinnatti Reds in Dodger Stadium is quite another. Cinci is a good team-no dis-respect to them. But in Dodger Stadium with the top three guys in the rotation going, the Dodgers needed to make a better showing. Aside from Chad Blillingsley, the starting pitching was decent. Three errors and a leaky bullpen helped do Hiroki Kuroda in on Monday. The bullpen let a strong Clayton Kershaw outing go to waste on Tuesday, and Billingsley once again has everyone scratching their heads. The Dodger offense is getting some hits, but they need to score more runs.

This was Billingsley's third straight weak outing, and his fifth in his last sixth. He continually digs himself into holes he can't get out of. Any success the Dodgers have this season is going to ride on pitching. He is the number #2 starter, and he needs to show some veteran steel. The Dodgers are very close to being out of it even in the mediocre NL West, and Billingsley needs to step it up. The bullpen is a roll of the dice and the offense is only going to bring it so far. You can rightly say that too much pressure is being put on the starters, but it is what it is. With the ownership mess, there are no easy solutions on the horizon, so the Dodgers have to do the best they can with what they got. Billingsley making quality starts is central to that.

Hopefully they can beat up on the Astros a bit before the Tigers come to town, and thank God they won't have to face Justin Verlander, although it would be nice to see him pitch in Dodger Stadium.

Here come the kids and time for Uribe and Thames to start earning their money

The Dodgers, as you may know, had a pretty major shakeup on Monday. Dee Gordon was called up, Juan Uribe, Marcus Thames and Blake Hawksworth came back from rehab, while Jay Gibbons and Juan Castro were DFA's, perhaps ending their careers as Dodgers. On top of that, Rubby de la Rosa pitched a halfway decent five innings against the Phillies, the highlight of an otherwise tough series against the Phillies.

Hmmmmm. Lots of questions here. Gordon looked fantastic, de la Rosa is making a campagin to stay even when Jon Garland comes back. Gibbons didn't exactly look amazing, but Uribe and Thames haven't exactly been tearing it up, either. One of the reasons the Dodgers started so slow was that those two guys under-performed, and then got hurt. Aside from a bump in the road against the Phils, they won three staright series before that.

Rafael Furcal is injured, yet again, and even when he comes back, this is his last year as a Dodger. Jamey Carroll is busy putting out the other fires in the infield, so this is an opportunity for Gordon to shine. He went 3 for 5 Tuesday night, and seems to be fired up at the opportunity, so we shall see. Based on his minor league stats, this is what we have: He can steal: he stole 53 bases at Chattanoga last season, and 22 at Albuquerque this year; he hits for decent average, .277 at Chattanooga and .315 for the Isotopes, but has very little power, and needs to walk more. Sounds almost like Juan Pierre at a shortstop position.

de la Rosa looked wobbly in his first couple of innings, but he did not cave. he pitched well enough to win, and the improving and healthier Doger bullpen saved it for him. he at least deserves another start. The other options are John Ely and Tim Redding, neither of whom is getting anybody out at triple A, so it is up to Rubby for now.

In the gaping hole of left field, Gibbons seemed to be providing some stability in a pl;atoon with Jerry Sands, but his .255/.323/.345/.668 wasn't good enough to keep him around. They don't have another lefty to play there, so for now it's up to Sands, who is having his rookie ups and downs, and Thames and his .143 average and .181 batting average abd .515 SLG. This is ugly, hopefully Thames can turn it around. We'll see if Gibbons goes to the minors or leaves via free agency.

Put Uribe in the Thames department. The patchwork Dodger infield of Lames Loney, Carroll and whoever else was standing was beginning to work, so hopefully he will start earning his money. Blake is injury prone and needs his rest, Furcal is Furcal. Carroll is really a utility guy, although he is #2 behind Loney in games played in the infield. Uribe's .222/.290/.333/.623, while not as bad as Thames, is not what you want from a guy you just payed some serious dough to. He has not shown the power he has had in the past.

Hail to the youth movement, but I still don't get dumping the relatively productive Gibbons for the the ugly play of Thames. It's all in the contracted, I think. Gibbons was relatively inexpensive, and he may hang around in the mionors until the Dodgers need him again. Thames and Uribe, in their eyes, are a larger investment, and may still come to life. we can only hope.

Lock up Kemp and Ethier now, plus a James Loney sighting

The Dodgers have recently had "informal" discussions about locking up Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp to long-term contracts. This is a touchy time. Both are entering their last arbritration-eligibility years, and will be free agents after next season. Besides Clayton Kershaw, both are the closest things the Dodgers have to franchise players. Second, they are producing, and look to continue producing, whether in Doders uniforms or otherwise. Ethier had a 30 game hitting streak, and while homers aren't exactly flying out of the park for him, his .325/.405/.455/.860 is a nice figure fro a guy who spends most of his games hitting in pitcher's parks. Kemp is a five-tool monster who looks to be firing on all cylinders. He has hit 13 homoers and has 40 RBI's, which can ver easily add to a 40 HR/ 120 RBI season at year's end. he also leads the team in stolen bases and is tied for the team lead in games played. He has franchise player written all over him if he keeps this up.

It's just those pesky ownership issues that keep cropping up. While Frank McCourt searches his couches for change to meet payroll, he looks like he his in no shape to pay these guys long term. If he thinks that attendance and fan morale are in decline now, he has noooo idea what would happen if we lose these guys without suitable immediate replacements. If Bud Selig and his merry men take over on an interim basis, it behooves the MLB to sign these guys long term. If nothing else these guys can keep on L.A on life support until a new owner is found. With all the turmoil, injuries and drama going on, this collective band of misfits has the dodgers only 4.5 games out in the mediocre NL West. I'm sure the Giants would grin broadly to see the Dodgers turn into the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the MLB should not let this happen. Despite McCourt's efforts to the contrary, the Dodgers are a big-market marquee franchise in a sport that is threatened with decline. They need to prop them up. Thirdly, if a new owner is found, the first thing he needs to do is establish a core. Before the new paint dries in his office, these guys should be locked up long-term.

How about James Loney? I have been a harsh critic, both here and in The Hardball Times. He was a disappointment last year, and looked to start off even worse this year. he has been coming alive lately, as have the Dodgers, who just got off two series wins against the Marlins and Rockies, neither of which are pushovers. He had a homer off Javier Vasquez in the opener against the Marlins, went 3 for 4 against the Rockies on May 30, including a bomb to right field off Jason Hammel. Overall he was 6 for 19 with 4 RBI's (.315), as part of a larger Dodger offensive Dodger expolsion. Perhaps as Loney goes, so do the Dodgers.

The bullpen is scary, but (thought I'd never say this), but Vicente Padilla is on his way back, and you gotta love the way the minor league kids (Rubby de la Rosa, Javy Guerra and Scott Elbert) are pitching. They may all yet round into form.

A tip of the hat to Jamey Carroll

In this season of on-field mediocrity and off-field drama and uncertainy, there are still a few tip-of-the hats to go around. Despite coming slightly down to earth, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier have been fantastic this year, and aside from Ted Lilly, the Dodger rotation has been strong. The bullpen has been a mess, but the way the young guys held on to the lead last night against the Astros was encouraging. You may not remember or recognize anyone's name in the bullpen, but if they win, who cares?

To me, Jamey Carroll has been the lynchpin. For a 37 year old guy signed to play about 100 games, he has been all over the place. Not only has he filled in well, he has played even better than advertised. Juan Uribe may be back in a few weeks, but who really wants to roll his .220/.293/.333/.626 numbers out there? The low average and OPB are one thing, but the 3 homers and .626 SLG are not forgivable. He's not exactly "fleet of foot" as an infielder, either. I was happy when Ned Colletti signed him, but maybe I was wrong.

Carroll has played all but 2 games this year. He more than admirably filled in for Rafael Furcal, and his .371 OBP is the best for all NL shortstops. Carroll right now is tied with Ethier for the team's best batting average (.311), and is right behind Kemp and Ethier in OBP. His .744 OPS is behind only the slugging Ethier, Kemp and Jerry Sands. His 4 RBI are a bit of a disappointment, but he has only hit into one DP so far this year.

Biggest thing, he has played solid all year. With most of the Dodger non-pitchers not named Ethier, Kemp or Sands ineffective, injured or both, Carroll has helped keep the ship running.

A few notes:

Glad they caught one of the (alledged) cretins who injured Bryan Stow. Hope they catch the other ones.

Stow's family is suing the Dodgers. Too bad there may not be any money there, or the rest of the MLB teams may have to pony up. I'm sure McCourt is snickering about that.

Jamie McCourt is trying to force a sale of the Dodgers, while Frank is suing to hold on to them. Why don't they just go away?

The fact that the Dodgers are 6 1/2 games out isn't so bad, but the fact they're looking up at three teams, including the resurgent Diamondbacks is a little disturbing.

Throwing strikes, what's up with Kuo amd Lenny Dykstra

With the weird offseason of divorces and Torre's departure I was happy when the Dodgers re-signed Hiroki Kuroda. He has been the rock in their rotation for many years. While the often brilliant Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley had their growing pains, you could depend on Kuroda to give a solid outing every time. He has pitched big for them in big games His retirement would've robbed the Dodgers of that veteran middle-rotation prescence. He won't get you nineteen strikeouts, but he will give you a solid outing each and every time out. last night against the Pirates was no different.

They haven't won a series in awhile, they haven't won consecutive games in awhile and it is probably only their mediocre rivals that has kept them in the race so far. It will take their starting rotation being strong for the Dodgers to have a chance this year, and Kuroda, with his strong performance, is tied for the team lead in wins (4), is second behind Kershaw in ERA (3.21) and K's (41), leads the team in IP (51) and is second in WHIP (1.20). He is doing his job.

Scary thing about Hong Shih-Kuo going on the DL for an "anxiety disorder". More questions than answers here, but it is obvious he has not been himself this year on the mound. The fact that a healthy Kuo is a neccessity for a shaky Dodgers bullpen is secondary to the concern for his well-being. We hope he gets better soon.

Sad to read about Lenny Dykstra. the late 1980's were a fun time to be a baseball fan. The Dodgers had their last hurrah, but the other teams, including the Mets and Phillies, whom Dykstre was a part of, helped make it fun. Those guys played hard and literally lived like rock stars. Too bad to see Lenny in big trouble. I really think many of these guys, even though they are stars on the field, have no idea how to carry themselves when their playing days are over. I certainly don't have the answers or the knowledge about what Lenny did or didn't do, but it looks like he's in alot of trouble.

Thank God the old Pirates showed up

There has been a team masquerading as the Pirates this year. They've been playing .500 ball, not clobbering teams, but doing what they need to do to win. Even the Pittsburgh fans don't really beleive it. They haven't started showing up yet. They are probably afraid, not having seen a winner since Barry Bonds was a skinny finesse guy who could hit homers too.

Thank God for the slumping Dodgers the old Pirates showed up last night, at least in the last half of a game. Thank God also that Ted Lilly showed up and pitched a decent game. Kevin Correia, the Padres castoff who has looking like the ace the Pirates have been missing for years, looked like he was singing the Dodgers to sleep again, until Aaron Miles, who a few months ago was pondering his career choices outside of baseball, had a little bunt single that kept them alive in the sixth inning. This led to an Andre Ethier run-scoring single and a three run bomb from Matt Kemp, all the way to a 10-3 victory.

Nice job for Miles. Always the scrappy middle-infielder, it was surprising to me that he couldn't find a job in the offseason and barely made the Dodgers out of spring training. It was funny, because when I searched him on Yahoo, he was still listed as a member of the Cardinals and was wearing a Cubs uniform in the picture. Oh the life of a journeyman! (Even with his "paltry" salary he'll make more playing ball for six months than I will in ten years, but that's another story) He doesn't have alot of speed or power, but is a decent fielder and can be counted on to hit about .280 (.370 in his last ten games). With the Dodgers injury woes and guys like Dee Gordon and Ivan De Jesus not quite ready for prime time, he's a great guy to have around.

Now lets see which Pirates show up tonight, and which Dodgers show up tonight. But at least for tonight, there were many things to be thankful for when I said my prayers.

Reason to believe

Maybe the best thing to happen to Andre Ethier was getting rid of the hitting streak. After going 0 for 4 on Saturday, ending the streak, he came back with a big homer on Sunday and helped the Dodgers pull off a win. Ethier is an emotional player, and the streak, with all the resultant fan and media attention could've had an effect on him Doesn't look like it did, and thank God, they avoided a sweep on Sunday.

Now the fans and the media need to go somewhere else. They will soon be done feeding on the carcass of the Lakers, so the Dodgers will be the only sports game in town (unless you count the Angels) until the Lakers, Kings and college football come back (tell me again why there is no NFL team in Los Angeles?). It doesn't look like they're killing themselves to bring the fans over.

Frank McCourt can blame his divorce all he wants, but even if things were good with Jamey, he would be fielding pretty much the same team. They are in a huge market and treat their team like they're the Kansas City Royals. The fans know this, so why risk your life to go to Dodger stadium when the Dodgers number one, don't feel the need to field a seriously competitive team, and number two, didn't feel the need to protect you when you are there. Too bad a guy had to nearly get beaten to death to wake them up on security, and thank God the MLB is getting involved, but it may take years to get the litigation-happy McCourt to get his paws off the team, and maybe as long for fans, at least the non-criminal types, to return.

Not to blame the players. Clayton Kershaw looks like an ace most of the time, Ethier and Matt Kemp are looking like they're on the path to career years. Most of the other guys are playing around their ability level, and it looks like even James Loney is starting to wake up. However, beyond the three guys mentioned above, plus a potentially solid starting rotation (Isaid potentially), there isn't a helluva lot to get excited about, talent-wise. Their divison is weak- despite a 16-19 record, they are only 3 1/2 games back, so there is still a chance they can make a playoff run, but c'mon- look at the Phillies and Braves. Look at the Cardinals. Even the low-market Brewers are making a run. The Dodgers are nowhere near in that class.

Don't blame Don Mattingly, considering all the question marks the team had when it was healthy are multiplied when they're banged up, he seems to still be optimistic and upbeat, and the team plays hard most nights, so he is doing a good job, so far.

It's the ownership. Ned Colettii does all he can with a not a whole lot. McCourt possibly being forced out is a good thing, but for now, it is limbo-land, and with Ethier's streak disapeearing, it is one less reason for fans to pay attention or pay to go to the ballpark. It is up mto the under-equipped team and the young manager to start winning some games or Dodger Stadium will be a ghost town.

The black hole in the bullpen and the prospective "committee"

I should be thrilled being able to actually reflect on baseball, but outside of the whole ownership fiasco, it hasn't been pretty on the field, either. Yesterday's game saw Andre Ethier sit out, saw Juan Uribe get hurt (probably not seriously), and Jonathan Broxton get shut down.

A healthy and effective closer (and bullpen as a whole) are one of the big keys this year, and it's not looking good. Broxton's second-half slide was one of the things that changed the dodgers from contenders to cannon fodder after the all-star break, and one of the gambles this year was that Broxton would return to form.

Hasn't happened. He's only blown one save so far, but his ERA is 5.68 and his velocity on his fastball is way down. At his best, he looks and pitches like that bouncer in a bar who would have no problem human-helicoptering you our of a bar if you pissed him off. Now he looks tentative, and he doesn't scare anyone except Dodger fans. His last example was walking two guys on eight pitches in his last appearance.

Scary thing is, there is no obvious solution in the bullpen. While the Dodgers smartly revamped their bullpen this year, it has been inconsistent in getting the game to a closer and second, has no real candidates to close. Don Mattingly is talking about a "closer by committee" which is baseball talk for "I don't have an answer".

The good, the bad and the ugly on the rest of the bullpen:

Blake Hawksworth- As good as advertised so far. Looked a little rough against the Cubs last time out, but has not walked anyone yet this year, and his 1.09 WHIP says he's not giving up alot of hits either. Not a big K guy, but throws strikes and has been effective. Capable of joining the committee, but better as a RH setup man.

Matt Guerrier- One of the keys to the revamped bullpen, and the highest profile bullpen signee. Take out a truly ugly outing on April 23 against the Cubs and a poor showing against the Padres a week later, and he has been decent. A few too many hits and walks, but he has not been a problem. He is one of the guys, whether in his lefty setup role or as part of "the committee" who needs to kick up his game.

Kenley Jansen- Being built up as "the closer in waiting", he is not there yet. While is 7.43 ERA is decieveing (two bad outings, a couple of mediocre ones). The fireballer has his share of K's (22 in 13 IP), but also his share of hits and walks. Sent down to work on some pitches to go with his fastball, he will certainly be back up if Broxton's elbow injury is serious. Not ready for prime time, but worth a longer look as part of "the committee".

Hong-Chih Kuo- This guy has a closer mentality. he stares down batters and his not afraid to go at them. Problem is, he hasn't been right yet this year, and while he is off the DL, he looks to still be working himself back into form. He has always had durability issues, but if he is healthy and Broxton is either on the DL or no longer closer, he would be the first guy I'd look at, if I were Mattingly.

Mike MacDougal- A cagey ex-closer picked up off the scrap heap this year by the Dodgers. He has given up only 1 ER in 13 innings, and his 1.26 WHIP tells about a guy who hasn't given up alot of hits, but walks a few too many. Add him to "the committee"

Vicente Padilla- For all intents and purposes the "sixth starter" he is in the bullpen working his way back to form, and while the other five guys are all healthy and for the most part, effective. Has looked good since his return, but the Dodgers are treading carefully. When he gets right, and if he doesn't find himself in the rotation, he is worth a look in "the committee".

You take away Broxton, prodigal son Ramon Troncoso, and to-this-point generally awful-looking Lance Cormier, the bullpen hasn't been that bad. It needs to be better though. The starting pitching, while not awful, is not handing them air-tight leads every night, and is making them work harder. The offense, aside from basically Ethier and Matt Kemp isn't giving them alot of runs, and with injuries, looks more and more like an Isotopes lineup, not a Dodger ones. Guerrier and Hawksworth need to be the big horses and Kuo needs to get healthy, and the brass needs to figure out a closer solution that is not readily available.

McCourt not able to meet payroll in May, Seig cleaning up his mess and (oh yeah) Ethier's hit streak

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that Frank McCourt will not be able to meet the second of two payrolls in May, according to his sources. This opens up the possibility for the Dodgers to be taken over by the MLB.

McCourt has contended all along that an impending 3 billion dollar television deal with FOX would solve the Dodgers' financial issues on a long term basis, and has expressed frustration in recent days with Bud Selig's refusal to communicate with him, since he did take over day-to-day operations.

There are two big issues here: First, why does McCourt need a cash infusion to keep the Dodgers running? It is one thing to keep payroll down or find other cost-cutting measures (security?). But not being able to meet payroll? Of course you blame McCourt. especially after hearing about allegations of spending team profits on his lavish lifestyle. Selig is complicit in this also. How could he approve McCourt taking over a franchise, a core franchise nonetheless being on such shaky ground? It is common knowledge how leveraged out McCourt was when he bought the team, but Selig basically smiled and let him pass.

Second, why does Selig get in the way of the TV deal with FOX? McCourt actually makes some sense when he speaks how much that deal would help the team, but Selig has no response. Bud is probably afraid that anything he says will be swooped on by McCourt's lawyers, so he is keeping silent- but the question is still out there. Selig either has it in seriously for McCourt and/or he smells a big, dead hairy rat somewhere. It sounds like on the surface Selig may be doing the right thing here, but Selig is no knight in shining armor, he's just cleaning up a mess he made himself.

Through all this brouhaha, you almost forget that Andre Ethier's hit streak is alive and well at 29 games...........The Dodgers are playing like the .500 team they were set up to be, losing to the Cubs. We really need an owwner who is a fan, who truly bleeds blue and wants to turn the Dodgers into the perennial winners they should be.

Dodgers not under-performing.

The Dodgers under-performed last year. Frank McCourt's strategy of making them "competitive enough for the mediocre NL West and then take your chances" fell flat as the team fell apart in the second half. Injuries derailed Andre Ethier, perhaps only Rhianna knows what befell Matt Kemp, Manny Ramirez took the money and virtually disappeared, and the bullpen totally collapsed. Only the starting pitching held up. Even if the Padres didn't have a fine season and the Giants didn't ride their pitching to a world championship, it would've been a down year.

McCourt took the same strateegy this year. Blame the divorce and lack of cash flow all you want, but even if the McCourts were making googly eyes at each other and Frank was actually putting his money back into the team instead of his mansions, it would still be the same approach: Hope the young, cheap, maturing talent rises up and there are enough spare parts to support them. If there is some magic, they can still compete in a mediocre division. In the real world, they are a .500 team, and that is exactly how they are playing.

This year you cannot blame the young talent, at least most of it. Ethier is having a career year, in which he is surely hoping and praying that this will lead to his ticket out. His hit streak is at 27, and no matter what the rest of the team is doing, he is hitting the ball. Matt Kemp must also be eyeing his sooner rather than later free agency, he is hitting the hell out of the ball and looks like the monster five tool guy we've been waiting for. These guys know that if McCourt stays around, he will find some excuse not to pay them or lowball them out the door. It's not looking good for Frank, so hopefully the next owner will take care of business with at least one of these guys.

Clayton Kershaw, despite a couple of so-so starts, is looking like an ace, and while the bullpen is shaky, it will still be at least a slight upgrade from last year (crossing my fingers). Pretty bleak after that. Neither Rafael Furcal or Casey Blake is healthy, and while Jamey Carroll is doing a capable job in Raffy's abscence, he is much better as a utilty man than a everyday shortstop. Juan Uribe, at .235/.290/.400/.690 and only three dings doesn't looked like he's arrived at LAX yet, much less showed up, James Loney's .235 OBP is dreadful. Okay, James maybe you're not a power guy, but at least get on base! Rod Barajas is a semi-bright spot- the .202 average is dreadful, but the five homers don't hurt. The left field committee is hitting in the low .200;s, despite some nice fielding by Tony Gwynn Jr.

Hiroki Kuroda has been a solid starter with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP, Jon Garland has been decent, but Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly have not found consistency. The starters nees to be spot-on if this team makes a run, and they are not. Jonathan Broxton has been shaky, but Mik MacDougal has been on, and despite a bad day or two, Matt Gurrier, Blake Hawksworth and a recently off the DL Hong Shih-Kuo should be okay.

Is this anything different than what could've reasonably been expected? Can anyone tell me that this is a team built for a long playoff run? It is a .500 team, and if for some reason if they end up substantially better than this, it would be magical. It's time to start waving the wand. The Rockies are beginning to run away with it, the Giants haven't found their way yet, but the Diamondbacks are better, and who knows about the Padres?. This is a third place team, folks, and not a third place contending into September, either.

This is what we get with Frank McCourt. While the fight is long from over, hopefully the next owner wil;l let the under-appreciated Ned Colletti do his job and create a true contender.

Ethier helping Dodger fans actually think about baseball

Andre Ethier is playing motivated this year. In an otherwise so-so start for a seemingly so-so team, it would be a highlight. For a so-so team knee-deep in ownership-MLB shenanigans, it is a godsend. Anything to take our mind off that soap-opera nonsense.

What a job he is doing....He hit safely in his 24th straight game on Wednsday, making it a record for the month of April. His overall stats are pretty impressive also. Coming out of the gate with a .381/.451/.560/1.011 line is nothing to sneeze at, and to think he really hasn't completely found his power stroke yet is downright mesemerizing. Let's see if he can keep it upo for a whole season.

The Rockies have seemed to have jumped out to an early lead......if their young guys all mature and stay healthy, ist may spell doom for the rest of the so-so (I use that word alot) NL West. The Dodgers, Giants and Diamondbacks are all hanging around .500, and the Padres are learning that when you let your stars go, you're not always going to be like the early 2000's A's. I'll bet Jed Hoyer is reading Moneyball and digging up Paul Di Podesta's resume...

It is testament to how rock-bottom it was that the MLB taking over things from McCourt is seen as a positive step. This is the same MLB who sold out the Expos as a favor to Jeffery Loria, who is curently trying to find ways to de-stabilize the Marlins. Selig can really pick em, but at least this time he is owning up to it and cutting out the cancer. Mc Court is nothing however, if not a dirty street fighter type who would sell out his grandmother to win a fight, so brace yourselves.

Selig's guy Tom Scheiffer is saying all the right things for the fans, and we do remember the last team the MLB took over was the Rangers last year- the ones who ponied up for Cliff Lee, beat the Yankees, and made a good run before going down to the Giants.....not bad at all.

Almost makes you want to risk a beating to go to the ballpark.

Bring out the Gimp

To the whole Frank McCourt-Bud Selig ownership situation, all you can really say is "bring out the gimp". You may have no idea wh I'm talking about, so I will explain.

Quentin Tarantino has a way of turning the violent and terrifying into the surreal. When Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames are tied up by two psychopath redneck homosexuals, it is a potentially terrifying situation that turns surreal when one of the bad guys says "bring out the gimp" and some sad-sack guy in a leather outfit is let out of the box to observe the redneck baddies doing their evil business on Rhames, Ned Beatty-style.

Bud Selig taking over the Dodgers is the same. he must've really smelled a dead animal in Dodger Stadium for him to do this. Frank McCourt not making payroll must've sprung it on. Frank has not had a good year. His and his wjfe's financial mis-adventures were exposed while the undermanned Dodgers were laying a turd in the second half of last season, His wife them dumps him somewhat less than amicably, openly contesting his ownership and tying up what little money he had. Season ticket sales, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown, were down 40% this year, a Giants fan gets beaten comatose in the parking lot on Opening Day, and now this.

I don't think Bruce Willis is coming to his rescue this time. Selig, the rednecks and the gimp will have their way, and Frank will end up without a team. Not that Selig isn't complicit in all this, and anyone saying the O'Malleys should come back are wrong also. They originally created this mess by selling of to FOX, who had no idea how to run a baseball team.

Selig okayed the sell by the bored and dis-interested FOX to the over leveraged McCourts. Hopefully Selig doing the right thing here is a sort of mea culpa. Hopefully he'll at least run a background check on the next owner. He obviously skipped that park with Frank. Getting the O'Malley's to run things temporarily may make everyone feel good inside, but is no solution. Let Stan Kasten run the team until Selig can figure out what to do. Where are you Mark Cuban? Why Selig would sell to a guy like Frank and cur you out is beyond intellegent thinking, so it is what it is.

A bad situation is now surreal. The once-proud flagship organization is now being treated like the Montreal Expos when Selig and Jeffery Loria conspired to sell them out. It is sad right now, and based on Selig's past ownership decisions, one can only be skeptical.

What now, Rafi?

I love Rafael Furcal and what he brings to the Dodgers. He is a very gifted shortstop defensively and one of the best leadoff guys in the game. While his OBP isn't outstanding, his batting average, his ability to get extra base hits, and his speed more than make up for it. His consistently over .700 OPS is superior for a finesse-hitting leadoff type, who most years hits single-digits in homers. When healthy, he is good for 30 SB, and he doesn't get caught that much. I emphasie WHEN HEALTHY. He broke his thumb, and it looks like it will keep him out 4 to 6 weeks, and an obviously frustrated Furcal was actually talking retirement. It's tough because the guy is pretty well into his 30's, and is looking at probably his third in the last four seasons to be seriously shortened by injury. He's not half-assing it, and you can only relate to his frustration. His agent is dismissing the retirement talk, which is good. Even if healthy for 60% or half of the season, he is a great table-setter, a fine middle infielder and is surely a nice professional presence in a very young clubhouse. No Rafi is bad for the lineup, though. Jamey Carroll will surely do a decent job, but he doesn't have Furcal's athleticism and his absence robs the Dodgers bench of it's depth. There are no other table-setter-types in the lineup full of middling power guys. James Loney is in a slump, Juan Uribe and Casey Blake are power guys, as are Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Rod Barajas and whoever is in left field not named Tony Gwynn. Gwynn just doesn't hit enough. Ivan De Jesus is too young and Dee Gordon is not ready. Hurry back Rafi, don't retire, we really need you this year.

Baseball things, human being things and Clayton the Ace

There are baseball things- things that we fans care about and might even have a shred of interest outside the baseball world. The Barry Bonds case is a baseball thing. Why our govenment spends time and energy going after guys like Bonds and Roger Clemens is beyond me. We have trillion dollar deficits, are involved in three overseas wars we have open borders to the South letting all,and everyone in and all these jackasses can do is go after baseball players. While my previous statement is a deliberate over-simplification, you get my point. Bonds and Clemens are baseball stories, while there are some Shakesperian-type human lessons that can be learned from this. Nobody really cares, except those in baseball. The Bryan Stow thing is a human-being issue. A guy hitting a ballgame, even in an arch-rival ballpark, does not deserve to get beaten into a coma. Yes, the issue is security at Dodger Stadium, but the real issues are, first, why should anyone have to not feel safe going to a ballgame or any sporting event or even walking around the block? It's one thing if he's looking for a fight, it's one thing to be staring down the animals that did this to him, and even then, a fight is one thing, beating someone to death is completely another. That is not to say Stow provoked those guys in any sort of way. Second is we need to ask how we're raising our kids, or if we are at all, and what kind of relationships are we in? Is this something to be proud of if you are their parents and family members? Or do they even know or care? And how about the driver of the getaway vehicle. One of these animals was your boyfriend or husband. You chose THAT? You had a kid with THAT? Poor kid. He must've really drawn a lucky card in heaven to be fathered by one of those animals. Good job by Giants and Dodger players to show their solidarity before yesterday's game. I will personally give the benefit of a doubt to the photo-op a few days back where Mayor Villarigosa, McCourt and Charlie Beck resolved to fix the security situation. I just hope it doesn't turn into a TSA situation where they're strip-searching garndma and four year olds while waving obvious thugs by. Society is more concerned with protecting psycopaths and sociopaths than it is normal law-abiding people. Hopefully this does not apply here. (Oh yeah, baseball!) You have to love Clayton Kershaw. He is looking every bit the ace. Granted the Giants are not the Red Sox or Yankees offensively, but he has looked dominant, every bit the ace so far. he is eagueaveraging 11 K's per nine innings, while it is only sixth(?) in the league, it is awesome. What's best is his walks are down to 1.8 per 9 IP, which is phenomanal. His biggest opportunity so far in his young career was his ability to keep his walks down, and he has done it so far this year. The biggest thing here is that the Dodger lineup, even on a good night is hardly awe-inspiring. They will put up some runs here and there, but the key to the postseason is the pitching. Kershaw is looking every bit the stopper thus far, and hopefully the other starters will keep up.

Oh yeah! Baseball!

For awhile there, I'll admit I forgot that there was a baseball season going on. Between the violence in the parking lot, Frank's lack of response, than his appointing of Bill Bratton to help him fix it, there has been much more going on than baseball. So let's give Frank, Bill and the Dodgers security team the benefit of the doubt and move on to baseball. Yes. Baseball. The Dodger season has thus far been like Chad Billingsley's starts. They looked pretty amazing coming out of the gate against the Giants, but then went thud against the Rockies. just because the Giants won the world championship last season and the Rockies failed to make it to the playoffs does not matter. It is a wide-open NL West race this year, the Rockies look as good as anyone, and the Giants look a little clumsy. So now come the Padres. They took two out of three from the Cards in the opening series, than split two with the Giants. They have yet to hit, hitting .213 so far with only three homers andf a .298 OBP. Their pitching has been decent, with a 3.33 ERA, but not alot of strikeouts with Mat Latos out. the Dodgers seem to bring out their best, so this may get interesting. Tonight they're throwing Cliff Richard at Ted Lilly, and one can only hope Lilly will rebound from his terrible first start. Next we see Dustin Moseley against Hiroki Kuroda, and Hiroki looked like his consistent self, and Mosely looked great. the Padres have a strong pitching staff, so perhaps Mosely may be their breakout guy this year. the Dodgers will toss out either Tim Redding or John Ely against Aarion Harang on Sunday, and while either is likable, one can only wait for Jon Garland or Vicente Padilla to come back. The Dodger pitchers should keep them in the game, but the question is the hitters. Will they or won't they? It's time for James Loney to wake up, and it's time for Juan Uribe to start earning his money. Interesting stat: the Dodgers lead the league with triples with three, with jamey Carroll, Casey Blake and Marcus Thames bringing the lumber. maybe Blake is the savior, after all, being a veteran to help light a fire under some asses. The Padres' Nick Hundley has a .550 OBP. look out world!

Chief Bratton to the rescue

Well- looks like Frank McCourt hired former L.A. police chief William Bratton to fix all that ails security-wise at Dodger Stadium. If it's true and all partie are sincere, that is a good move by McCourt. Hopefully he realizes that people going to games and feeling safe is a big factor on whether people go to games or not. Props also to Supervisor Mike Antonovich for calling out the Dodgers about this also. I myself, as much as I love the Dodgers do not wish to observe gang activities, arguing with beer vendors after the seventh innings, or beatings of rival fans. My wife is even crazier about that. You can bet, whatever I rant and rave about here, she is watching even closer. It is families like us that are the bread and butter for teams like the Dodgers. Scare us away, and you will be hurt. Hopefully this isn't some PR gang band where McCourt is going to shake Bratton's hand, have a few photo ops with cops, security officers and fans. Hopefully McCourt and Bratton mean business on this one and will take fundamental steps to enact fundamental change.

Casey Blake the Savior?

Listening to Dodger Talk last night, the hosts seemd to be implying that the return of Casey Blake was somehow a saving grace to a so-far hot-and-cold picture for the Dodgers. That is a scary thought. While Blake is a gamer who does add depth to the Dodgers, relying on him as a savior seems a little scary. It looks to me like he further clouds or hopefully will solidify the Dodgers infield. Juan Uribe can move to second, Blake can take over third, with Rafael Furcal holding down shortstop as long as he is healthy and Jmaes Loney at first. However, Don Mattingly seems to be speaking in tounges here, saying one thing one day and another thing the next. What about the supposed saviors, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Clayton Kershaw? They will need to be the saviors this year if the Dodgers are to go anywhere, while guys like Blake should be prominent role players a la Scott Brosius of the 1990's Yankees. While Ethier hasn't hit a homer yet, he is hitting .353 with a .450 OBP. he is nearing free agency and the expensive arbritration years, so whether or not he wishes to be a Dodger, he is playing for his long-term career. Kemp has only one homer, but is hitting .313 with a .421 OBP, a .625 SLG and a 1.025 OPS with two doubles to go along with the HR. he seems to be engaged both on the field and on the basepaths, a good thing for a guy in a similar situation as Ethier. Kersaw has acted like an ace, with a brilliant Opening Day outing and while the statline wasn't outstanding at Coors yesterday, he still struck out 8 in 6 innings and gave the Dodgers a chance to win. These guys are basically doing their jobs, it's the rest of them, expecially offensively, that need to help out. That is where Blake comes in, I believe, to give a boost to the still-sleeping Loney and Uribe to help out the saviors.

Props to Mason and Ireland on ESPN 710 for calling out Frank McCourt to do something, anything to respond to the cretins beating the Giants fan comatose. They've been on this stories for days. Props also to the los Angeles Times for putting out a front-page story on this. It is that important. You have a flagship MLB franchise and a living postcard of L.A. basically standing silent throughout all this. As of this printing, McCourt has done nothing. Tommy Lasorda came out and said "It's not right. It's a baseball game." No official word from McCourt except for that "blow it off/cover my ass" response the next day. I am not a McCourt fan, but I will acknowldge that he got the Dodgers closer to a world series than anyone has in 22 years- he did bring in Ned Colletti, Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez, but he has to get out in front of this. Please Mr.McCourt. We do not want to be known as the Raiders South. We don't want to glorify in this thuggery. Your silence gives the ever-expanding army of gangbanger cretins to take over Dodger Stadium, if they haven't already.

Just own it, Frank

After the Opening Day violence that left a Giants fan gravely injured, it would've been nice if Frank Mc Court owned it, stepped up like a man, and admitted some for of culpability, even if he privately didn't think so. He didn't. In his staements on dodgers.com, he went right into "cover my ass mode" and "I did what I could" mode. No wonder why nobody likes him. He just paases the buck. Here are some of his statements: "Any human being doing physical harm to another human being, just words can't describe how awful that is. That said, it happens. It's one of those awful things, and I'm not making any excuses whatsoever....but I'm quite confident that all of our measures were in place, and it's just one of those thingsthat you can have 2,000 policemen there and it's not going to change that random act of violence. It's a sad, sad thing." He does show a few shreds of humanity in sharing his regret and dis-pleasure, but takes no responsibility, not even in a token form. No "We will investigate this" or "we will get to the bottom of this", just "We did all we could" Own it, Frank.

The Thug Element

I remember when I was younger, Dodger stadium was a safe place to go. You could take your family there and have a good time and not worry about getting robbed or stabbed. Things are changing- Now fans that my strongly homer-istic Indians fan referred to as very knowledgable are being replaced by people who don't care who the owner is, they don't care that there is a gaping hole in left field, and they don't care that Clayton Kershaw looked like an ace on Thursday evening. They want to fight, they want to kill and they want to drink. Some poor sap whose only mistake was to come from Santa Cruz to catch his Giants is lying comatose because some piece of crap human beings used the excuse of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry as a reason to beat this guy up. These guys dress up in Dodger Blue, they act like fans, but are really just cretins who just want to cause trouble. They are not Dodger fans. Dodgers fans may have a pop or two, they may boo the Giants and even have some back and forth with Giants fans, but that is where it ends. Us Dodgers fans have no use for these cretins that make us Dodger fans look bad and make the Dodgers look bad. We are not these cretins. They are not who we are. Giant fan, do not confuse those piece-of-crap human beings for Dodger fans, because they're not.