Swing and a Miss: 50+ Years Following the Dodgers

For my time as a fan, the Dodgers have been known for good pitching—and not much offense. The Sandy Koufax-Don Drysdale-Johnny Podres era didn't feature a lot of home runs or high-scoring games. Maury Wills stealing bases, Junior Gilliam patiently taking pitches, and the Davis boys driving in the runs are classic Dodger teams.

The formula has varied at times, but true blue Dodger games are pitching duels.

The Dodgers could never be confused with the Yankees. The Yankees were the kings, and the Dodgers were the blue collar bums. The Yankees had (and used) a lot of money, and the Dodgers always seemed sort of "Mom and Pop."

The managers were from the organization, and the front office often seemed out-gunned in negotiations. Embarrassingly for fans, Sandy and Don had to hold out to get paid a little better for being a stellar one-two, top-of-staff. The O'Malleys tried to win pennants with circumstance more than a lineup packed with superstars.

Baseball is about regular failure versus momentum—and circumstance. It is the rarest team sport, where an individual is asked to perform alone on offense.

No one helps a hitter against a pitcher. The difficulty of hitting has been some guarantee of honesty in a world where money corrupts everything. Even a batting practice fastball, down the middle of the plate, is no guarantee of a home run, or even a hit. Great hitters are very rare, and they fail more than half of the time. Baseball is drama.

Unfortunately, the offseason has usually been traumatic for the Dodgers.

Trades are always scary for fans. You never really know when your favorite player is going to be traded for someone—becoming no one. Now in the "free agent" era, teams sign ruined players trying to come back after a bad year. A talented player with a personality disorder has become a trademark.

The Dodgers don't sign an A-Rod; they sign a Milton Bradley, or a Jason Schmidt, or Andruw Jones. Lately these signings have not been cheap, in money or wasted at-bats or roster spots. The pipeline of talented players coming up through the minors seems to be sporadic at best. The Dodger front office is never spoken of with respect.

To love the Dodgers means patience. Great pitching continues in Dodger blue, scanty run production also, and the postseason usually means hot-stove, not World Series.

2008 was a year of great circumstance. The Red Sox wanted to dump Manny Ramirez, and the Dodgers were able to be the recipients. (Better to be lucky than skillful, they say.)

But the front office "skills" yielded Schmidt, Juan Pierre, Jones. Angel Berroa could be considered a major league player—on the Dodgers, only on the Dodgers. With no group of potential stars coming up through the ranks, fans have to worry about the trade of a Matt Kemp for a Robinson Cano.

How many players like Paul Konerko, Jayson Werth, and Shane Victorino have been given away to become very good players for other teams? What was received in return?

The Dodgers traded for Todd Hundley twice. They traded away Mike Piazza at the height of his popularity and didn't give him a job as back up catcher, preferring Gary Bennett (who was unable to throw the ball back to the pitcher) and Danny Ardoin who describes "below average."

2009 could be a really interesting year, or it could be the beginning of the next streak of non-playoff years.