IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY 07.16.08: THE ALL STAR GAME AND A SERIOUS DODGER PLEA

I watched the All Star game last night. 15 innings. It was at times boring, at times exciting, and for the most part, it reminded me of the Dodgers. With the exception of great defense and you know, having more than one “honorary” all-star on the team. Pitching, at least on the National League side of things, hasn’t been at a premium the last few years at the game, but this year, the NL pitched like a group of Saitos, Broxtons, and Wades. Runners remained stranded, even though the NL was in constant trouble in the late innings. Both teams hit like the Dodgers, constantly getting on base with nobody out, and then being left exactly where they were. The biggest threat being if an opposing batter ever tried to, I don’t know, not swing at every pitch (where was this Aaron Cook in the world series last year?) thrown in their direction. Dan Uggla (whose name sounds like the reaction you have when you step in something of solid and liquid form) struck out 3 times in 4 at-bats and was the Matt Kemp/Andruw Jones of the game. Russel Martin played the Russell Martin roll, coincidentally, but seemed to play it as if he was amped up on something, with the defensive abilities of a superman out there. It was so noticeable that Tim McCarver and Joe Buck spent a good 20 min “Alyssa Milano-ing” him (verbally of course). The prowess of Russell Martin on his knees was extolled by them for all to hear. I also worry that he was pumped to actually play with good players, and this gave him a taste of what it is like to play with players who are actually quite awesome. Unfortunately, there was nobody old or crotchety, enough to play the Jeff Kent roll, but you take comparisons where you can get them.

The game itself was typical Dodger affair. No runs until the late innings, and then even less runs until the REALLY late innings. So while some people may not have liked the length of the game, Dodger fans are used to it by now. In all seriousness though, the defense in the late innings (despite the blown call on the Ian Kinsler steal) was breathtaking and made what could have been the most boring All-Star game since the WNBA decided to do anything, and made it feel like a back and forth struggle. Solid game.  

Would it be possible to stretch this into saying that the Dodgers play like all-stars (albeit these all starts) year round? I think it can.

What didn’t I like? Well the fact that 3 former Dodgers are now All-Stars in the American League didn’t make me too happy. One of them is a prick (JD Drew), one is a psychopath who sucks at the game of life (Milton Bradley) and the other is a solid back-up catcher Dioner Navarro. While they are all having the seasons of their careers (shockingly not long after they left the Dodgers), Navarro is the one that stings the most. He is still young (24) with tremendous upside (as told to us my many scouts before he was a Dodger) and was tossed in a situation where he needed to be good immediately. One can think about having Navarro behind the plate and Martin on the 3B side, but that will only cause anger to bubble up inside. They gave up on this guy too early, and I fear they will be doing it again.

In a big market such as Los Angeles, fans demand that a player be good immediately, or he’s going to get booed (and in the case of Andruw Jones, mercilessly, especially when they know you WERE good). Is that fair to throw a 22 year old in that environment and say, “Contribute now, or else”? That seems to be the mentality the front office of the Dodgers have, as they expected all of their players to click immediately. Granted they have been playing for about a year and a half now, but is that all you need to address how good a 23 year old is going to be? Dioner needed 2 years and now he is an all-star. Milton Bradley needed a few years to develop his power. JD Drew is still an a-hole. The Dodgers placed themselves in this situation and they seem to think that they can trade their way out of it. This team is not one trade away from being good. They are MANY trades away. At this rate they need to trade for a new position player at every area but catcher because nobody is playing up to expectations. If you are going to run with a team of prospects on the field as the Dodgers have chosen to do (yet somehow are 4th in payroll) you can’t get pissed when they slump (and considering that they are now, games wise, in the middle of their second season, them “sophomore slumping” right now, is expected) and should be surprised that they are better than they are. Take a look at Arizona who had a bunch of players who had awesome first years and a half, and are now slumping offensively. It’s the expected slump. Should Arizona be dismantled too? Navarro, Konerko, Pedro Martinez, and Edwin Jackson should teach the Dodgers to be a bit more patient and understand their own team before they try patchwork fixes. All of them are still young, and should be pretty damn awesome next year. Now let’s hope moron Colletti doesn’t do anything stupid like trading half the team for Jack Wilson to try and save his job.