Sands in an Hour Glass

Don't get all excited, Dodger fans, just because they haven't lost all their games and just because they're not yet mathematically eliminated. Thus far, the first few weeks of the 2011 season has been a microcosm of what the entire season should be. The Rockies, energized by great pitching from Jhoulys Chacin and Esmil Rogers and, of course, the two-headed monster, Tulo & Cargo, and offensive support from Old Man Helton and Seth Smith, are rolling. The Giants will certainly be there - I think atop the West by summer if not sooner - but the Rockies should be right there with them. Meanwhile, the Dads and Blue should trade off 3rd & 4th place, but I kind of like what this blog's namesake is doing with the Snakes. I guess what I'm saying is, I wouldn't be surprised if the Dodgers finished last in the NL West.

True Dodger fans have got to love that my "Boycott the Dodgers Til the Bad Man Leaves" campaign appears to be working. Attendance is way, way down. If Selig doesn't approve this huge deal with Fox for new cable TV rights, it's bye-bye, assholes. (McCourts) If Selig approves it, we're stuck with the demons indefinitely.

So, where's the hope? Where's the proverbial glow at the end of the tunnel right before the 110 North meets the 5? Well, the only offense the team can lay claim to has been their own version of a two-headed monster. Kemp and Ethier or "Kethier" as I call them - have been amazing! Better than I had hoped, though Ethier, in spite of his awesome 15 game hitting streak, has yet to show any of his impressive power, but that should come. Tony Gwynn and Jamey Carroll have been great role players and have done everything Donnie Baseball has asked of them to do. Kershaw has been his usual very good but inconsistent self. Kuroda started strong but will fall back into being a little better than average. Billingsley and Lilly have each had one good start. Whee! Otherwise, this team has been awful. Juan Uribe is terrible. Marcus Thames is a joke. James Loney looks like he's ready to retire... or fall asleep... or put ME to sleep. Casey Blake SHOULD retire. Furcal is... hurt again. What a shocker. The bullpen, especially Broxton, has been crap. (Guerrier's been ok) So, again, where's the hope? Well, the hope arrived yesterday from Albuquerque in the form of Jerry Sands, their phenom performer from spring training. The team needed to call him up early. To energize the offense? Perhaps for awhile, until the league gets used to him. The real reason for his early call-up was to try to fill some seats. Like I said, attendance is down and Dodger fans throughout the years have loved unexpectedly big, hopeful rookie call-ups in the beginning of, or early on in the season. Pedro, Sax, Fernando, Piazza, Russell Martin, Loney and Kemp when they first came up, all of whom each had an energizing effect on the crowds. Even soon-to-be nobodies like Matt Luke made an impact for awhile. Fans love these young hopefuls and tend to come through the turnstiles in high numbers to see them, at least until the shine wears off. I like Jerry Sands and I think he could end up being the real deal. I think he needs another year in the minors, but I agree with calling him up now. It could end up backfiring, though. If Sands starts struggling, it could hurt his confidence unnecessarily. They had no money to spend on veteran free agents and probably won't be in the market for anyone before the trade deadline, so why not see what he can do? We'll see what happens. Still, I think Mattingly, who has been doing about the job I thought he'd be doing at this point - some good moves some terrible rookie moves like leaving guys in too long - would be better served by having Sands play third over Blake or first over Loney. Leave Gwynn alone and just let him play everyday. And forget about the Marcus Thames/Jay "Blind Man" Gibbons experiment. And why won't Donnie B move Gwynn to center and Kemp to left? Or better yet, Kemp to right and Ethier to left? Guess he doesn't want to screw with Kemp's fragile ego. You saw what Ned Colletti's comments did to his performance last year.

So, as the hour glass fills, so should Jerry Sands perhaps fill his lofty potential. Only time will tell.