3 More Hours: Fall Classic or Classic Fall?

Back for the first time in a while. Had a move, a writing job, an illness in the family, but I've been there in spirit. Watched the Dodgers go from the so-called best team in baseball to the 5th best team in the NL. Not record wise, of course, but on paper. It is this blogger's opinion that after watching the Blue lose 2 of 3 at home to the mediocre Fish and, 3 out of 4 to their Midwest nemeses, the Red Birds, and, for the first time this season losing 3 games in a row (they actually dropped 4) watching their offense sag and dump like Charlie Brown's sparse, little Christmas tree after trying to put an ornament on it, watchng Manny stop being Manny (who really cares about the '03 list? We all knew he was juicing then. Everyone was, practically) watching Billingsley's free fall continue, watching the Schmidt Experiment fail, as predicted, watching their bullpen spring even more leaks (2 huge holes may have been puddied rather effectively with the return of Kuo and the recent acquisition of George Sherrill from Baltimore) I have come to the conclusion that the Dodgers are inferior to the Phillies, who have acquired Cliff Lee, the number 2 prize of the free agent market, the Cardinals, who have far superior starting pitching and a better offense with the resurgence of Ludwick, the acquisition of Holliday and, of course, Pujols, the Cubs who are now finally firing on all cylinders, and the Rockies who have 5 quality starting pitchers in Cook, Jiminez, Marquis, De la Rosa and Hammel. The Dodgers are not a very good team right now. Loney is Jekyl and Hyde and powerless and Ethier is too inconsistent, going from NL Player of the Week for a 2nd time this campaign, to goat of the week. Hudson also lacks consistency and Blake has only recently returned to an upswing in his offensive production but hasn't homered since what seems like early June. Kemp should have more doubles and homers - he does have 3 grand slams - but only 13 HRs on the year and he's becoming a singles hitter. Torre's moves have made my ears stand up and my head tilt like a dog who's just heard a new sound. He's got a base open and he pitches to Albert Pujols, the best hitter in the history of baseball? The team grounds into too many DPs because Torre allows them to, rather than utilize the hit and run more. His overuse of Belisario and Troncoso have put the bullpen in jeopardy but I can't say I blame him. They've really had no one else. So, the Blue holds on to a 7 game lead over the Giants who have yet to acquire a big hitter - Freddie Sanchez is a nice hitter, but doesn't provide the powet the G'nts need - and the bottom line is, if, by 1 PM PDT, the Dodgers do not acquire Roy Halladay from Toronto, the Dodgers have little or no chance to advance beyond the first round of the Playoffs in '09.

Look. it comes down to this: The Dodgers signed Manny to a 2 year deal and paid millions for the privilege. So, doesn't that mean the McCourts want to win now?? Dodger fans have showed up at the Ravine better than 3 million strong for 20 years without another WS appearance. These aren't the Padres. These are the Dodgers. So, wasn't the Manny signing the McCourts message to the fans that we're gonna try to do this now, this year? Or was it the McCourts just finding a way to fill their pockets with the revenue Manny and his personality can generate? We'll find out in less than 3 hours.