This team is garbage in April

[lasportzphan]

Hopefully they okay Diamindbacks 90 more times.... Defense is awful and not championship caliber. Bullpen is characteristically untimely, the offense is on pace for 1500 Ks, but all is well in Dodgerland because nearly thirty years of losing IS now part of the teams modern day DNA. 235 million dollar joke.

 

[LASports96]

13-9 and in first place while underachieving, you need to relax, especially in April.

 

[lasportzphan]

13-9 and in first place while underachieving, you need to relax, especially in April.

Majority of those games against D-Backs.

 

[lasportzphan]

Dodgers #2 in MLB errors committed (22)
Dodgers #9 in MLB blown saves (4)
Dodgers #8 in MLB for relief pitcher hits allowed
Dodgers #5 in MLB for relief pitcher walks allowed
(It should be noted as well that the dodgers have the 2nd most amount of relief innings pitched)
Dodgers #20 in MLB in OPS
Dodgers #24 in MLB in BA
Dodgers #16 in MLB w/ RISP batting .238

The approach at the plate is awful. The fielding and bullpen are terrible. This team does not have the ingredients to win a World Series. You can keep saying "It's only April." "I'm a hater." But 7% of the way through and old habits are not dying hard.

 

[Old1949]

Majority of those games against D-Backs.

The Dodgers have played 22 games. Eight have been against Arizona. That's not a majority.

The Dodgers lead their division. They are off to a much better start than last year, when they won the division running away. You can use numbers to make just about any point you wish to make. Consider this:

The Dodgers lead MLB in doubles.
The Dodgers have the 3rd highest number of triples in MLB.
The Dodgers are 7th in MLB in total bases.
The Dodgers are 6th in MLB in ERA.
The Dodgers have the 2nd highest number of K's in MLB.
The Dodgers have the 2nd highest number of saves in MLB.
The Dodgers have the 6th best WHIP in MLB.
The Dodgers have the player with 5th highest BA in MLB.
The Dodgers have the player with highest number of SB in MLB.
The Dodgers have the player with 3rd highest RBI in NL.
The Dodgers have the pitcher with most wins in NL.
The Dodgers have the pitcher with 3rd highest K's in NL.
The Dodgers have the pitcher with 2nd highest saves in NL.

The point is, you can pick and choose numbers to make a team look good or bad, but it's April and none of those numbers mean anything. The Dodgers are not garbage. There are 4 other teams in the division who would like to be where the Dodgers are. The Dodgers are and will be fine. I'm not so sure about you though. You seem to be dealing with a lot of stress.

 

[lasportzphan]

Another error, another run allowed.

But you are right, stats can be misleading. Bottom line, no World Series since the late 80's. Culture needs to change.

 

[lasportzphan]

And another bullpen meltdown. And we can't get a scouting report on Ruiz? Maybe hold him to singles?

 

[LASports96]

Another error, another run allowed.

But you are right, stats can be misleading. Bottom line, no World Series since the late 80's. Culture needs to change.

Who said it hasn't changed? This is a completely different team than it was in 1988, 1989, 2000 etc I don't understand why people say that, what happened the last 25 years has no barring on this team..... like at all.

 

[lasportzphan]

Who said it hasn't changed? This is a completely different team than it was in 1988, 1989, 2000 etc I don't understand why people say that, what happened the last 25 years has no barring on this team..... like at all.

The 1988 was built by Fred Claire for a family ownership (O'Malleys) and Kirk Gibson was the big signing and only available because of the collusion committed by the MLB owners. On a side, if you have a couple of days, read Miracle Men - it's all about the 1988 run and why/how Fred Claire built that team. I digress…. back to point. The last "gutty" Dodger team was the '91 Dodgers led by Brett Butler (a scrappy former Giant) who lost out on the final day of the season to the "new" Atlanta Braves (formally an NL doormat). A few years later the O'Malley's could no longer compete with corporations and rising payrolls and sold to Rupert - who appeared to have the Guggenheim type of dough at the time. But that was more about TV rights and not baseball (the Kevin Malone era). The O'Malley's did not jump into the free agency market and believed through building a team via the farm system (burned on the Strawberry deal really soured their appetite). Fox Corp. dove in head first signing Kevin Brown for a lucrative deal (always injured). Traded for Gary Sheffield (a locker room dolt) and Shawn Green (who had a productive year or two). Piazza (home grown talent) was traded for Sheffield virtually gutting the soul of the team. LA was not a team where players did not come to win, but instead came to get paid and live the lifestyle. It was not about building a team and chemistry (think about the great Lopes/Garvey/Cey/Russell infield when you think of chemistry and success). It was now about big names, big bucks, TV deals etc. Not about finding players that wanted to win. The Giants and Angels were competing for World Series while Dodger management was adrift without purpose or focus.

But, a culture was totally eroded when the O'Malley's sold (probably started with the Straw deal) and sold to Fox. This team lost it's culture. Players did not come to LA to do what's best for the team and sacrifice their ego for the good of the team. Meanwhile, you see the Giants building teams and competing year in and year out only getting better after Bonds left. Signing players to fill holes and fulfill a roll and put it out on the line for the team, not a contract or bravado. Sabean, finds the right blend of farm system and reasonable free agents. Results speak for themselves.

I won't go into the McCourt era as that was about a TV deal and real estate meanwhile gutting payroll and depleting the farm system beyond recognition. At least the team had a greedy, overpaid, "Just come to LA to get paid" culture with Fox. With McCourt there was no identity. The team did not belong on the field with the Phillies, ask Broxton.

If being clearly outclassed in NLCSs is your barometer for success, then you are a fulfilled fan. To me, I think we've been force-fed overpaid underachievers for the past 20 years. Sure, a few bright spots here and there, but nothing World Series worthy…. an organization that prided itself on a couple of World Series appearances per decade...

There is one bright spot with the focus shifting back to building the farm system. That is great news. But wasting 235 on Boston's waste was silly. Crawford and Beckett are a waste of money, money I'd rather see invested in the farm system. Anyway, if you cannot see what the Giants have offered vs the Dodgers over the last twenty years, then I do not know what to say. I see this as clear as day. LA is a great place to secure your retirement package. Go elsewhere to be a winner.

 

[CatsTopPac]

I get you, sportsphan. I hear ya. I'll definitely agree with the overwhelming majority of what you wrote. Before the Dodgers became Hollywood, they were a gritty, hard-nosed, small-ball playing team with a lot of heart, and an expectation to win; and win as a team. And really, since winning in 1988 (which I could argue is what made them Hollywood) they haven't been the same franchise. Their culture has turned them into the West Coast Yankees (who hasn't even won the WS, to even make it acceptable). I'll give you all of that. No argument there. And I also think that there are a few players on the team who couldn't care less about winning the WS, they just want to get paid.

But as I wrote on the LA/Rox board, I don't think anything is predetermined. And I'll also say this. Kershaw almost singlehandedly willed the team all the way to the WS last year. Although I think that Greinke is a bit of a whiny bitch sometimes, I think that he is on the same page as Kershaw. I think that Kemp is pretty close to being there too. Kershaw obviously stands out as a kid who genuinely loves the game, sees the lager picture, and wants to go down as a champion.

And I think that there are some players that are close to getting there (Ethier, Ramirez, etc.). And then there are some that can go either way. I like A Gon, but it seems like Puig is still raw. Beckett looks like he's be on board if everyone but him were. I don't see much from Crawford, or Uribe. I think Uribe has done a good job of loosening up the dugout, but I don't know if he really wants to put in the effort to get another ring. Some of the young players like Gordon and SVS seem like they are on board, but they are also still playing somewhat timid at times, with bursts of playing inspired baseball.

I like Donnie, but he needs more fire. I think he needs to do his part beyond filling out lineups, calling plays, and bringing in arms. He needs to be more of a leader, and less of a boss. Obviously the spectacle that is LA is a pretty big distraction, and Colletti, Kasten, and the gang need to think more about what produces a well-oiled machine, and less of what makes a good show to draw a crowd.

Like I said, I see your point. I also agreed that the bullpen has been a huge red flag, and that the start was a false positive. But I also think that there is more than enough there to get a ring. For all the bullshit that gets in the way, we were a freakishly bad start by Kershaw away from going to the WS last year. We were never outhit in the playoffs until that last game, and had the second best ERA in the postseason. So although you are right, the Dodgers historically are a team that we should be expecting to go to the WS a few times per decade, I don't think we are far from the mark. At least we are back to getting to a few NLCSs per decade. And that's at least a start from a 20 year drought of not even getting that far.

So again, not making excuses, but we're knocking on the door. I think that getting Kershaw back will really tighten the rotation, and the defense will follow. I think that the offense will get rolling consistently, as the season progresses. My key issue is still the bullpen. Even if the starters can go longer, we are going to need people in there that we can trust. We have the arms, I'm just worried about their heads. I don't know if this is a Honeycutt issue, or what. But I'm tired of it. We have to get it shored up, like yesterday.

Here's to a Blue October.

 

[sublime4eva]

only 2 back now, woohoo....