| Douglas Benton. 25th July, 2005 - 11:08 pm
 This was supposed to be the year that the Dodgers took control of the NL West and claimed it as theirs own for years to come. With their only real threat being the Giants, without Barry Bonds, this team was supposed to waltz into the postseason. However, this all changed when the injury fairy decided to have fun with the Dodgers.
With their key injuries being to JD Drew and Eric Gagne, the Dodgers have gone into a freefall that has resulted in a record of 44-54. At the Dodgers-Giants game on July 17th, I couldn’t believe my eyes at how far both teams have fallen. I had to use my program to find out who a couple of these guys were.
Now, as I look ahead this week before the trading deadline, I don’t think the Dodgers should make any moves, buy or sell. They are close enough to the division that maybe the cards will fall right for them and if they don’t, nobody expected them to do this anyway.
With the injuries, the team now counts on Jeff Kent and the recently activated Milton Bradley to drive in the runs. However, when the people you are trying to drive in are Jason Repko and Jason Phillips, it is no wonder why you have trouble scoring runs. What the Dodgers need to do is scarp the moneyball philosophy for right now and play small ball. Moneyball is an excellent method of baseball, but it has to be with the right team. You can still keep this philosophy in tack when trying to get players next year because as sad as it may sound, the Dodgers are only 5.5 games out of the division. In a way, they are playing with house money because nobody thinks they can make the playoffs with this team and their injuries.
Pitching is what is going to have to carry them, which it might be able to do. They have quality starters in Brad Penny, Jeff Weaver, and Derek Lowe to lead the way to a strong bullpen. Granted, the pen is less daunting with Gagne hurt, but they still pose quite a threat with Yhency Brazoban and Duaner Sanchez at the back end.
There is a sign that you see going into the parking lot at Dodgers Stadium that reads, “This is LA Baseball.” If this is the case, then the Dodgers better right their ship before baseball becomes as non-existent as football did. |
