Bleacher Report - Articles by Ellen B.

Will the Real '08 L.A. Dodgers Please Stand Up?

Ellen B. — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:51:09 -0400

I've heard it said that these are not your granddaddy's Dodgers—Koufax, Drysdale, et la—but a brief stop at SI.com's Dodgers page drives home the fact that these aren't even last July's Dodgers.

Its random scrolling photo gallery is a study in failed experiments, second-rate players, fading vets, no-shows, and disabled-list victims, a reminder of how much this team has changed over the course of the season. I exaggerate slightly, but here are the Dodger greats I saw flash by, in order:

Juan Pierre: Many fans consider Pierre one of Colletti's worst bungles. For me, apart from his noodle arm, he's actually not that bad—he's just not as good as Andre Ethier, and he makes Manny Ramirez look like a gold glover. Still, bucking the stereotype, I have a soft spot for bunts and steals, so I've gotta cut Pierre some slack.

He would've had a chance to shine if Furcal hadn't had his ankle wrecked by the human pinball Jason Repko in Spring Training '07.

To refresh people's memories, after J.D. Drew announced he wanted to stay in L.A. at the end of '06 and then bolted for cash, GM Ned Colletti was in a bind. With Soriano (thankfully) turning his nose up at $124 million from the Dodgers and a slim FA market, Colletti was forced to cobble together an unorthodox one-two lineup in Furcal and Pierre, overpaying the latter.

The ankle injury to Furcal negated that strategy; his steals were down all '07. Now, thankfully, the outfield mess is untangled, Pierre's on the bench, and we have Manny Ramirez—which would be poetic justice for the Drew fiasco if only Scott Boras were the one shafted by the exchange.

Jeff Kent: I wish my favorite surly old warhorse could've ridden off into the sunset on a high note, instead of turning to stone like a troll before the dawn of the next generation.

But I must concede that Torre's made the wise decision by benching Kent. A gutsy decision, too, since the guy whom I cheer as "old man" (he's my age) worked his butt off to be ready for the postseason after arthroscopic surgery. Kent is a simple soul, really: two years ago, during an interview, he brushed off a reporter asking about his retirement plans, saying he knew reporters had to ask BS questions like that to fill airspace, but he "just want[ed] a #$@#! ring."

Having heard rumblings about the Dodgers' young guns dissing veteran players and coaches for two seasons, much as I love the kids, I hope Kent smacks one last clutch home run to show them how it's done. Not that they'll notice.

Jason Schmidt: One win, six starts, $47 million. AND he's a Giant. At least Kent gets booed by Giants fans.

Nomar Garciaparra: Don't get me wrong! I love Mr. Twitchy. He's like one of those fabulous guest stars who shows up in a few episodes every season and makes them memorable. As a pinch hitter, Nomar could be huge, but Joe Torre should always have a pinch runner ready to go.

Delwyn Young used up all the black medical tape making fake "rally dreads" for André Ethier.

Derek Lowe: Ah, finally someone expected to produce who's still with us. Take that, all you message board/armchair GMs who were calling for Derek's head for the last two seasons. It wasn't Lowe's fault he's had nearly negative run support ever since donning Dodger Blue. Nor did he ever kvetch about it.

Rafael Furcal: Watching his cannon-arm throws across the diamond reminds me just how much we've missed him all season long. Besides the runs, the steals, the canny bunts, the great defense, and the team (and league) leading RBI, this guy picks up the whole team on his back.

No wonder it broke. Here's to you, Raffy, the biggest October surprise. Manny may be getting the spotlight, but you're still my pick for team MVP.

Brad Penny: Remember our ace? Yes, he was that. Not this year, however. There are times when we have to thank the Disabled List for allowing us to move on (CF: Andruw Jones).

Russell Martin: All right, THIS is the future! Unfortunately, he knows it and has been pressing for most of the season. We fans helped put him on that pedestal by anointing him as the new Mike Piazza and sending him to his first All-Star Game in '07. I guess there's some truth to the old stereotype of the sophomore slump.

He's had some clutch hitting in the NLDS that makes me think our favorite Martin is back, but I really miss his ability to nail runners. I'm sure he does, too.

Chin-Lung Hu: MVP of the 2007 Futures Game, one of the rotating sub-Mendoza scrubs that the Dodgers trotted out this year trying to sub for Furcal or Kent during their time on the disabled list. Great potential, but he needs to solve major league pitching.

Hu is one of the reasons why the June-July Dodgers' lineup consisted of a few bats and a lot of easy outs. Maybe he was just trying to save us from announcers making tired Abbot & Costello jokes.

Takashi Saito: The announcement that he is off the postseason roster pains me. I loved watching that bowlegged little guy slamming the door shut with Gagné-like authority, sans steroids. "Sammy," I don't want to say sayonara—it was your pitching that helped keep the Dodgers treading water when they had no offense—but I fear Dodger Stadium may have seen the last of you.

Jonathan Broxton: Ah, there's another sign of the current and not past Dodgers. Broxton has been giving Dodgers fans heart attacks ever since he started filling in for Saito, but we're just spoiled by having Game Over closers for so long. (See True Blue LA on Broxton's closer mentality for a stats-based of analysis that should put Dodger fans more at ease).

Unfortunately, Broxton's big meltdown was against Philly. I'm glad to see Broxton's winning more respect, but the scout who claimed Broxton is better than Papelbon is seeing through Dodger Blue glasses.

So there's a fan's impressionist review of the '08 Dodgers whom Sports Illustrated has chosen to highlight, a gallery that's missing large chunks of the postseason starting lineup. SI is commemorating the team with the 84-78 season record, not the one we have now. No Loney. No Kemp. No Ethier. No Casey Blake or Manny. Cory Wade and Blake DeWitt: aren't they in AA? Kuo, Kuroda, Billingsley weren't yet worth mentioning.

Had the postseason Dodgers been playing all year, the D-Backs probably wouldn't have bothered to waste prospects on Adam Dunn.

It's less than two hours until the NLCS start. Time to read some more articles. Please tell my dissertation chair I'm doing "research," okay?

'08 Dodgers: Start Of a New Torre Dynasty?

Ellen B. — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:24:38 -0400

Well, we're in the playoffs—a year sooner than I expected, thanks to Manny Ramirez!

Like all Los Angeles Dodger fans, I'm incredibly excited. Have they got the stuff to go all the way? Sure! The challenge is, so do all the other teams left. Hurray for October!

I'm a relatively new fan, with five seasons of listening to Vin Scully under my belt, but I know we're not supposed to look past the next game. However, waiting for the NLCS to start is like a cat waiting for a can opener.

In the meantime, my thoughts turn back to where we've been, and where we're headed.

The Dodgers have been through an exasperating season of injuries to established players: Brad Penny, Rafael Furcal, Nomar Garciaparra (as usual), Takashi Saito, and occasionally Jeff Kent, Hiroki Kuroda, Hong-Chih Kuo, and the addition-by-subtraction Andruw Jones.

We've had scrubs substituting for injured scrubs, times when the veterans on the field were sophomores, and times when the lineup's median age was something like 24.

Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and James Loney weren't able to step in and fill the shoes of the vets plus compensate for the sub-Mendoza part of the batting order. How our pitching staff managed to keep us treading water with so little run support, I don't know.

At last the cavalry began to arrive in the form of Angel Berroa (not top-notch, but reliable), Casey Blake (now we're getting somewhere), and finally, the godsend of Manny. Also—not to be forgotten—Greg Maddux alleviated the strain on the bullpen, so Manager Joe Torre didn't have to keep spot-starting relievers like Chan Ho Park at a time when the pen was already stretched by Saito on the Disabled List and Jonathan Broxton closing.

Now, finally, almost everyone we needed is off the DL, the holes are filled, the scrubs are gone, and Nomar and Kent are pinch-hitting instead of Andruw Jones and Mark Sweeny.

Despite Saito's iffy elbow, Broxton's ninth-inning nerves, and the absence of Kuo forcing Torre to overuse Cory Wade—overuse a reliever? Say it ain't so, Joe! The Dodgers are in far better shape than they were all season long.

Will we go all the way? No idea.

What really pleases me is that this is only the beginning. Regardless of where Manny's playing next year, we now have a bunch of proven young players who have been in the postseason once or even twice (those that started mid-2006). Most are around 23-24.

Think what Torre did when he began with Derek Jeter and all the rest of the young Yankees he started with 13 years ago. They were built into a dynasty.

Even if Manny is just a passing thunderbolt, look at the team that's emerging: Martin, Kemp, Ethier, Loney, and Blake DeWitt, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, and Broxton.

And that's not counting Scott Elbert, Chin-Lung Hu (Pacific Coast League Futures game MVP, still needs to adjust to big league pitching), Delwyn Young, Jason Repko, and Tony Abreu. They haven't proven themselves yet (except perhaps Repko), but some will.

Suddenly, Ned Colletti doesn't have many holes left to fill, and the only lingering problem is Jones/Juan Pierre. Signing Manny may lead to problems down the road, but it may be worth the risk to put a promising-looking team over the top.

Either way, this is a team coming of age. Dangerous bats, good pitchers, good defense, and speed.

So regardless of what happens in the playoffs this year, Dodgers fans can feel not only the excitement of these games, but realize that what we're looking at is NOT a fluke: It's the emergence of a team that's going to have a shot at the playoffs for years to come.

Is this the beginning of another Torre dynasty?

Will detractors once again insist that Torre can't manage because he was handed a core of good players who would excel with anyone at the helm?

That's the sort of sour grapes that carry the sweet whiff of victory.