God, Am I Bored...

As the Lakers go gentle into that good night - and I mean GENTLE - we could begin to focus now on a team even more weak of heart, gutless, and dispassionate than the Lakers. (Yes, at least the Lakers made the Finals, but let's face it: When you blow a 24 point lead at home in front of a crowd full of seemingly impartial Stepford wives, then set a record for being blown out in Game 6, it kind of nullifies everything the team accomplished) Of course, I'm talking about our beloved Los Angeles Dodgers, the Big Blue Wrecked Crew.

Okay, don't get excited. Their best pitcher by far, Chad Billingsley, held off the awful Reds tonight and they pulled off a 3-1 victory in Cincy. The start of a long winnijng streak? Not likely. Say goodbye to the steroid era and say hello to the new era of Dodger baseball. Let's call this new era the "I'm not playing well, so I'd better get an MRI and go on the disabled list" era. Jason Schmidt, Andruw Jones, Nomar, now Brad Penny, and maybe even the consistently inconsistent Hiroki Kuroda. Look, people, this team is bad with Rafael Furcal and terrible without him. The problems are many, but let's get started by addrsssing the main issue. The Dodgers are entirely devoid of IMPACT PLAYERS. What is an impact player, you ask? An impact player in this blogger's educated opinion is someone who can hit 25 or more homers and/or (the "or" is important) drive in over 100 runs while hitting at least .287. The other criteria of an impact player from an offensive standpoint is someone who steals at least 30 bases and scores over 100 runs with an on base percentage over .400. As far as pitching, it's someone who averages at least 6.2 innings per start, and garners at least 16 wins in a season, with an ERA under 3.50, or a closer who compiles 40 or more saves. Actually, our Dodgers are one of the few teams in baseball without such a player. It's exceedingly difficult to win without a few players who meet these criteria, let alone not a one.

The Dodgers have five potential impact players on their 40 man roster. They are Billignsley, who I think needs another year or two, the fat and jolly Andruw Jones who's new song "Take the Money and Stink" is reaching the top of the charts, Russell Martin, who is a solid player, but without better hitters around him, may never reach that pinnacle, Matt Kemp, who's talent is there, but who's baseball integrity clearly isn't, and Rafael Furcal, who, if he returns to the team with any season left, may have a shot at being that kind of player this year. Since we in LA all live to blame, who's at fault for one of the richest big market teams in pro sports having no impact players? Obviously, the blame goes to Ned Colletti, with a huge helping hand from Frank McCourt, which I'll discuss at length in my next posting. But for today, let's talk about some of their youngsters. The Dodgers, for almost as long as I can remember, have been in the habit of overrating their young prospects and touting them as future superstars before they even got their feet wet. You don't get too many superstars from your minor league system and the Dodgers have none thus far.

Let's take Matt Kemp for starters. Matt Kemp reminds me of Raul Mondesi. All the talent in the world - a five tool player, if you will - but no plate integrity whatsoever, and no innate baseball smarts. (Mondesi, believe it or not, was actuially smarter. That's like saying Larry was smarter than Curly) I must admit I expected a great deal from him this year, and his BA is there, but his power is nowhere to be found. He's young and talented enough where he could still be great, but he's scary to watch a lot of the time. I've never seen a hittier simply give up in the middle of an at bat like he does. He clearly makes up his mind to swing before the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. In spite of his average with runners in scoring position, he just doesn't drive in enough runs yet. He needs to hit homers and extra base hits to make it worth keeping him. He swings and misses more than I take breaths. Lots of holes in that swing. Not sure how fast his hands are.

James Loney, thus far, is like a Lyle Overbay but without the discipline. Solid, but his swing is too big and his power is limited. He needs to learn to hit line drives the other way and, like Kemp, he needs to get mentally tougher. Sometimes, that toughness just never develops. I think Loney will be fine, but he's no Adrian Gonzales, Todd Helton or Derek Lee.

Andre Ethier. A fine ballplayer who actually seems to care about winning. A guy who can hit for average, has a little power, (not a lot) and plays solid defense. But an impact player, Andre will likely never be. During the steroid era, a player of his caliber could become quite a force, but not any more. From a discipline standpoint, he swings at too many first pitches and pitches out of the zone and hits too many balls in the air. Will he continue to improve? Likely, but he could be trade bait for a good starting arm.

Russell Martin. He's a great hitter for a catcher, but he should be taking more pitches and he should be trying not to pull the ball all the time. He takes some of the stupidest at bats in crucial situations I've ever seen. I'm actually surprised he doesn't hit for more power. Perhaps that will come. His defense is good, but not fantastic. It was better last year. He's definitely a keeper, but by no means an all star this year.

Blake Dewitt. I wish he was a shortstop or a second baseman, because I don't think he's ever going to hit for a lot of power, which is sort of a prerequiaite for his corner infield position. You never know, though and you have to love the way this kid plays the game. He reminds me of a guy like a Crash Davis from Bull Durha, You know - a career minor leaguer who plays with poise and baseball smarts that only come with years of experience. Except he's only 22. His at bats are, for the most part, intelligent and useful. He's the only one on the team besides Furcal and Pierre who goes up there with a plan. Who knows what Dewitt will be capable of? Would I rather have David Wright? Of course.

Clayton Kershaw. Not ready. Not that he won't wind up doing okay, but he's just not ready. I'd send him back down ASAP, but they'll probably choose to leave him up.

Jonathan Broxton. Needs another pitch. Struggles with movement on his fastball and no deep seated mental toughness. Only that "big dude on the mound' superficial crap that good major league hitters can see right through.

This is the nucleus of your Los Angeles Dodgers. Add the aching Furcal, the aging Jeff Kent, ( a grounder got past him to his left tonight that I swear was a foot away from him) "Nomore" Garciaparra who's so fragile, I know boys in plastic bubbles that have more resiliance, the helpful, but limited Juan Pierre and the blimpy, disabled Andruw Jones, the tough luck Derek Lowe, the big, fat, mediocre Brad Penny and you're gonna recover to win the West? Not likely.

I have to go to Carl's Junior. More tomorrow.