Prognosis Negative - For the Dodgers, Anyway

Sorry for the huge gap in postings, readers, but my dad has recently taken ill. He's feeling a little better now, but still in the hospital, having been diagnosed with a bad form of lymphoma. It's treatable, but he's 82 in September and, up until a few weeks ago, he was sailing and playing golf. My dad is a strong man and I'm praying and hoping he can beat this and hang around for a lot more years. This man went to every single one of my ball games from little league through UCLA and, having never really played much himself, he still taught me how to swing a bat. I spent countless hours in the garage with him as he tied his trout flies or buit his model airplanes, listening to Vin Scully, even though baseball was never his first love. But he knew I loved it and he loved me. Dad, I love you.

As Curb Your Enthusiasm is about to finally begin a new season in which the cast of Seinfeld is reuinited, I'm reminded of a flim Jerry and George went to see called "Prognosis Negative" as I watch the Dodgers spring leaks and slowly begin to fold their tent. So much for the best record in baseball, at least for today, but the surprise - and it shouldn't have been - is that it's the Yankees and not the Red Sox who have earned that distinction. It's the first time in months the Blue haven't held down that honor and I think, before long, they'll fall even further down the ladder. With a slumping Manny - he's killing us - and weak starting pitching, they're actually a fairly mediocre team. Ethier's having a fine season and so is Kemp (that is, if you're into getting all your RBIs in one game and not hitting a lot of homers, but BECAUSE THE MCCOURTS AND NED COLLETTI FAILED TO MAKE THE DEAL FOR THE STARTING PITCHER THEY NEEDED, this team, in my opinion, and as I stated in my last blog, has no chance of advancing very far in the playoffs and it's no longer even a certainty that they can make it to the post season. With Billingsley now suffering from a hammy pull and the recently resurgent Kuroda experiencing soreness, Randy Wolf chugging along as the medicore left hander he is and still no 5th starter - it appears Jason Schmidt's career could be over -that leaves them with only young Kershaw, who went back to his old, youthful, wild form his last start. Add that to the fact that, in spite of a 17 run outburst the other night, and Ethier's 9th inning heroics Thursday, they can't drive in runs. With Manny striking out a lot, it's become a real deal breaker for the middle of their lineup. On top of that, Torre continues to kill potential rallies with his affinity for the sacrifce bunt, which is often executed poorly - see Russell Martin - and James Loney just stinks. He's in a fog out there, both offensively and defensively. What is wrong with him? He should be in the prime of his young career. He has no more power and only sporadic focus. Jonathan Broxton, meanwhile, is now piling up blown saves - last night was his 4th - and Troncoso has looked awful for nearly a month. And I never realized Orlando Hudson didn't know how to tun the bases. He's killing us on the paths. They also could use a new catcher. I would start giving brad Ausmus the majority of the playing time. Though "J Martin" is beginning to hit by using the whole field, his defense has become so atrocious, he's become more of a liability than an asset. Their weaknesses are growing and are being exploited by hungrier, and frankly, better teams. The Dodgers are in big, big trouble.

Yes, it's a relief the Giants were able to lose to lowly Zinzinnati with Lincecum on the mound last night, and they maintain a 6 1/2 game lead over both the Giants and the Rockies, but they open up a crucial 3 games series in San Fran on Monday and I don't like their chances. I know I've been negative as hell about this team all season, but I still see very little substance beyond the smoke and mirrors. They needed Roy Halladay. They needed Cliff Lee. They needed Jake Peavy. They needed Jarrod Washburn. Instead, they got no one. Just what kind of message does that send to the fans? It was clearly about salary for McCourt. Otherwise, one would think he would've come through and given up something to get the player or players he needed to win. I really don't like the McCourts. I think they're just not very sincere about winning it all in Los Angeles. Sorry, Dodger fans, for my negative outlook, but read the numbers for the past 2 months and weep. They need Manny to regain his form, they need Loney to wake up, they need to play Ausmus more, they need more of a commitment from owenership and they need an ace. The latter two being the hardest to come by.