Just Call Me Nostradamus

Thanks, Manny for the memories. You did us a HUGE favor in '08. After that, not so much. But thanks.

Well, I hate to say this, (as you well know by now) but almost everything I predicted at the beginning of the season has come to pass. A few things I said were wrong and let me enumerate the wrongness in first:

WRONGNESS #1 - The Dodgers have the best hitting outfield in baseball. ... Uh... not. Matt Kemp has become a legend of lousy and Andre Ethier has frankly been a disappointment. You can say it's all the fault of the fractured pinky finger, but I find him inconsistent with not nearly as much power. Also, I'm a little tired of seeing him sulking in the dugout. His getting kicked out the other day in Colorado by arguing a ball call on Loney from the dugout - saying that if that same pitch was called a strike to him, it should be called a strike on Loney - was incredibly selfish and stupid. I sometimes feel Ethier cares more about his own performance than that of the team's. Anyway, even with Podsednik, not the best hitting outfield in baseball by a long shot. That distinction goes to the Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, or... well... someone else.

WRONGNESS #2 - Ned Colletti is an idiot. Not so much. I thought he did a great job with trades and acquisitions at the deadlines, given the tightfisted restrictions he was up against under the evil McCheap regime.

WRONGNESS #3 - Believed their pitching, not their offense, would be the reason for their demise. True, they have no true #1 starter, but their offense, for the most part, has been crap and, along with their terrible bullpen, has cost them the 2010 season.

WRONGNESS #4 - The downtrodden Dads will finish last in the West. Guess I was wrong. You can turn that upside down. Last, first, what's the difference?

WRONGNESS #5 - Hiroki MedioKuroda is, well, mediocre. He's actually a solid, above average pitcher and I apologize to him.

WRONGNESS #6 - Offseason acquisition, Jamey Carroll will not be a difference-maker. He was, actually, in so many ways.

WRONGNESS #7 - That Logan White is a liar and the Dodgers had no intention of actually trying to sign top pick, Zach Lee. They actually signed him. Kudos.

NOW, to the rightness. At least so far,,,

RIGHTNESS #1 - The Dodgers will finish 4th in the West. It seems a pretty safe bet at this point.

RIGHTNESS #2 - Manny will no longer be a Dodger come season's end.

RIGHTNESS #3 - Matt Kemp's lack of baseball instincts will trump his athletic ability and he will be of little help.

RIGHTNESS #4 - The CORE of the Dodgers - Ethier, Kemp, Loney, Martin, Billingsley, Broxton and Kershaw - are simply NOT AS GOOD AS BILLED.

RIGHTNESS #5 - Russell Martin, clearly on PED's his first couple of seasons, is awful and his days as a Dodger are numbered.

RIGHTNESS #6 - You can't win without acquiring a number one starter and the Dodgers have clearly proved that. C.C Sabathia should've been a Dodger before last season.

RIGHTNESS #7 - Clayton Kershaw is simply not ready to be an ace. Not yet.

RIGHTNESS #8 - Jonathan Broxton does not have a true closer's mentality and not enough stuff to ensure his continued success. Hong Chih Kuo should be the Dodgers closer. At least for now, he is.

RIGHTNESS #9 - Rafael Furcal is too injury-prone to really be of much help to the team.

RIGHTNESS #10 - The lack of power in the corners will prove to hurt the Dodgers offense. Between Blake and Loney, they have barely 20 HRs combined.

RIGHTNESS #11 - Ronald Beli-sorryass and Ramon Troncos-ohno! are awful and should not be used.

RIGHTNESS #12 - Manager Joe Torre is a really nice guy, but not so adept at handling the pitching staff and the daily grind on the field. Many will want him gone.

RIGHTNESS #13 - The McCourts have never had the Dodgers', baseball's or the fans' best interest in mind and are truly horrible people.

Well, about a month of baseball left. Feel free to go back to my earlier blogs to search for more things I may have been wrong about. Good luck.