Smoke & Mirrors... again.

Sorry to the millions of fans who were reading my blog on a daily basis. It's been a while since my last post, but I'm back. So much has happened since my last piece about the coming of the remarkable John Ely. Now, we're in first place and we have the best record in the NL with the 3rd best record in MLB. So, what does that mean on June 9th?

Nothing.

I'm still not a believer in this Dodgers team. I know, I know, I wasn't much of a believer last year either, but more so than this year. But, once again, they seem to be winning with smoke & mirrors. Why am I not a believer yet? Here are 7 major reasons:


1) WHERE'S THAT HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE? The Dodgers supposedly high-powered offense really isn't that high powered after all. At least not for the last month. True, Andre's been on the shelf, but it's more than that. Basically, they just may not be that potent. 4 lousy HR's from Manny, 4 HRs from Loney, 4 from Martin, 7 from Blake, 1 from DeWitt, 1 from Furcal, and 11 each for Kemo and Ethier. Not exactly impressive. That's less than 50 homers from their starting 8 and it's almost mid-June.

2) MANNY, in spite of his late inning heroics last night against a good Cards' club, is no longer Manny, but rather a shell of his former self. Whatever excuse you want to use, without the "pharmaceutical enhancement," he can no longer turn on an inside fastball the way he used to and he just doesn't have the same pop. Without his big bat, the Dodgers no longer have the great hitting outfield they were supposed to have and soon, Ethier and/or Kemp will stop benefitting from hitting in front of or behind him. Also, he is SO BAD in left field, it's almost like having 8 players out there instead of 9. His glove and legs have allowed as many runs to score as runs he's driven in. He's turned so many singles into doubles already, it's hard to watch. I still kind of feel that, unless he can find a way to get it going, he could well be someone's DH by the trade deadline. To be honest, if Manny isn't going to be effective, I'd just as soon see the impressive Xavier Paul in left. Is a 3 way deal involving Houston or Seattle possible? A scenario in which Manny goes to the AL and the Dodgers get Oswalt and Berkman without having to pay all of Berkman's huge salary? Might help. Right now, in spite of the BAs, Berkman is better than Manny.

3) MATT KEMP had 4 amazing weeks to begin the season and 6 crappy weeks after. His major numbers are just okay, now, (except he does still lead the NL in runs scored.) People have passed him 3 times over, making his numbers - .279, 11 HRs, 33 RBI - fairly pedestrian. Ever since GM Ned Colletti called Kemp out for poor concentration and work habits, he's lost his mojo. Unless he can find it again, that further weakens the Dodgers "Big 3" attack and makes Ethier, coming off his pinky injury, the sole go-to guy. Ethier's hitting, but hasn't homered since his return and his power seems to have been affected by the injury.

4) THE CORNERS, PARTICULARLY, LONEY - I don't know what it is, he's driving in runs, I guess, he's hitting @.280, I just don't like that guy so much anymore. There seems to still be that lack of focus that ends up hurting the team on the field. Believe me. I WANT TO LIKE HIM. I just don't trust James to come up with the big play or the big hit, though I must admit he does manage it sometimes. He has a lackadaisical style that's infuriating and he's starting to become Matt Kemp on the bases. Being a Garvey/Cey disciple, I still think we need power at the corners. Remember, those Dodger teams had Garvey, Cey, AND and an outfield that produced almost 90 home runs. This team does not. I like Casey Blake and he seems to have taken more of a leadership role, which is great. But can he produce enough to justify his hold on the position? Remember, this isn't about getting back to the playoffs as much as it is getting them to the next level. Are Casey Blake and James Loney strong enough at the corners to take the Blue to the World Series with only one or two guys providing the pop?

5) THE OTHER TEAMS IN THE DIVISION - The Dodgers may have an amazing record within their division, but the other teams frighten me. The Rockies and Giants pitching staffs are scary and the Padres has proven to be pretty damn solid. When a healthy Jorge De la Rosa comes back, the Rockies staff looks formidable, led by Ubaldo Jiminez, the best pitcher in baseball (perhaps next to Stephen Strasburg if you saw his debut yesterday) I still think the Rockies Carlos Gonzalez will prve to be one of the 5 best players in baseball. He has all the tools and carries himself like Roberto Clemente. Tulo is hitting and Hawpe is bat. In my opinion, that Big 3 hits better than our Big 3. Olivo hits better than Martin and the aging Helton is still potentially more dangerous than Loney. I think the Rocks just haven't gotten it going yet. A VERY dangerous team when they do.

The Giants staff have perhaps the best 1-4 in baseball with the recently scuffling Lincecum, then Cain, Zito and Jonathan Sanchez. Their hitting, however, is bad. De Rosa is done, Molina is having a terrible year and they're relying on fatty Sandoval and recently brought-up phenom Buster Posey and re-tread Pat Burrell to provide some pop. If they're in the running, another deal for a hitter or two can be made. If that happens, look out.

The Dads have the 2nd best record in the NL today and their staff of Garland, Richard, LeBlanc, Latos and Correia is a surprisingly strong one. Adrian Gonzalez is excellent (he'd look real good in Dodger blue) and they've been getting a lot of production from Chase Headly and Jerry Hairston of late. But, their offense is simply too weak to compete when the dog days of summer take hold. I still pick the Dads to finish 4th or last, if the Snakes ever slither out of their hole.

The Dodgers pitching staff, though they've been the sole reason for the resurgence, has still not convinced me. Hiroki Medio-Kuroda was amazing against the great Chris Carpenter last night, but his last few outings prior to that were pretty bad. Kershaw and Bills have done a solid job of late and you have to like Ely and even young Rule 5 draftee, Carlos Monasterios has been a rather pleasant surprise. But I still believe they need to get that number 1 guy before the deadline - that guy who's going to be a difference-maker. That Cliff Lee, that Oswalt, that Santana. (Santana, as far as I know, is not on the market) Because, come playing time, the Phils and Cards will have the arms they need to win. True, the Phillies are not playing well. Their entire lineup is slumping and Rollins has just played in 12 games or something like that. But, trust me, they'll be there in October and Holliday, Hamels, and, likely, a rejuvenated and healed J.A. Happ will be strong. The Dodgers, if they can somehow get past the Rockies and the Giants to win the West or a Wild Card, will need to be able to match arms with a Philly or a St. Louis (or even an Atlanta) in a short series. Right now, in spite of how their starters are doing of late, they couldn't.

6) RAMONE TRONCOSO stinks. (I call him Troncos-oh no!) If Torre continues to use him on a regular basis, along with Beli-sorry-o-no! the Blue could wind up giving up a lot of games. In spite of last year's performance, I've never trusted these guys. They like to give up other pitcher's runs. Troncoso-no! leaves the ball out over the plate way too often and Beli-sorry-o no! doesn't look like he has much this year. Those two clowns along with an awful George Sherrill must improve for the Dodgers to have a viable shot at winning anything. Weaver, Kuo and Broxton can't do it all.

7) Finally, FRANK McCOURT will likely not do anything to improve the team. To prove my point, let's look at the Dodger's draft pick in the first round of the amateur draft the other day. Zach Lee is a fine high school pitcher but he's signed a letter of intent to play quarterback for LSU! HE'S GONNA PLAY FOOTBALL and the Dodgers were well aware of this! They had no intention of paying a large signing bonus, so by picking a player who they know WON'T SIGN, McCourt has saved himself more cash. So, if that's the case, how can we expect McCheapskate to go after a top-of-the-line arm by the trade deadline?

So, it's good to be back, folks, but we'll see. I want to believe, so here's a Go Dodgers! for all those who think I'm a hater.

Now, a couple of other brief comments. Vin Scully's short eulogy to the great John Wooden during the game against Atlanta brought tears to my eyes. A UCLA grad, I love John Wooden, but I'd still love him had I attended USC. Never met him. Wish I had, but I will now read his books and try to learn from him again. Thanks to Fox sports for re-airing the Scully/Wooden broadcast. That being said, let's talk about the Dodgers flagship radio station, KABC. I was listening to KABC radio the other day, just before the Dodger broadcast came on, and there was a talk show called "The Mark Levin Show." Even more so than some of their other personalities, this guy is a freaking jerk. What is KABC thinking? Do they actually espouse his political viewpoints? A staunch right winger who's arrogance and ignorance are through the roof, he called Barack Obama a "vapid idiot" the other day. Barack Obama is a vapid idiot?? What would that make his predecessor who I'm certain Levin supported? Levin is brash, insulting and ridiculous and to top it off, he's got a voice like Bugs Bunny. All I'm saying is, how can KABC allow the venerable Scully to follow this clown? It's an insult to both Scully and the Dodger organization. It's like putting a brothel in the Disneyland parking lot. I urge my readers to call KABC and complain and to boycott their sponsors.