Sad to say, but the highlight of my season ticket participation at 36 Dodger games this year was a buffet line. On my last Friday night game, I made my first ever visit to the Dodger Stadium Club restaurant and it was terrific. I made two passes through the buffet tables and had myself quite the feast. It was also lots of fun dining at a picture window that overlooked the whole ballpark as the San Francisco Giants took their batting practice while I was lifting my fork.
Less nourishing, however, was the Dodger season. In Spring Training, I, along with many other pundits, felt that the Dodgers had the chops to at least make the playoffs. Indeed, I actually thought the Blue Crew pitching staff was significantly better than what the Mets were offering up in 2007. There was a solid bullpen anchored by closer Takashi Saito and Jonathan Broxton. With the addition of free agent Jason Schmidt, the starting staff would match up with anybody else's in the league.
One month in, Schmidt comes up like Barbaro. And the season after that?
Splat!
There were two bonehead moves by the front office that totally sunk the season by July. Sure, they were within striking distance as late as September 15, but you always knew the other cleat was going to drop because of all the games lost prior to the All Star break. When Schmidt went down for the year, GM Ned Colletti didn't react with any urgency in replacing him. We got start after start by super-tall lefthander Mark Hendrickson, whose main claim to fame is that he is a super-tall lefthander. His only asset to the team was probably his ability to get something off a high shelf in the clubhouse. And we also got a lot of Brent Tomko, who, except for the charcoal rendering poster he did of Jackie Robinson, was as useful as power brakes on a turtle. And they languished in the rotation for six weeks. Meanwhile, young and promising starter Chad Billingsley was locked in the bullpen longer than Khomeini kept our hostages in Iran. By the time he was released from his purgatory, the bullpen had been stretched like Silly Putty on the Sunday funnies. Too little, too late.
The same can be said for first baseman James Loney. On a team craving for power and smart hitting, this dynamo was optioned to Las Vegas after hitting .400 in Spring Training and proving he could hit major league pitching in 2006. But, the Dodgers had already committed contractually to Nomar Garciaparra at first base and a pot pourri of screwballs at third. Eventually, Loney was summoned at the end of June and promptly hit .340 with almost 70 RBIs the rest of the way. Had he been up the whole year and Billingsley in the rotation earlier, who knows how many more wins they would have? Again, too little, too late.
And then there was the manager. Too Little, too late, too much, not enough. Grady Little proved to me why he was run out of Boston quicker than a tea importer during the American Revolution. If there was an obvious move coming, you could count on Grady doing just the opposite. In the Bush-Kerry campaign of 2004, Grady probably voted for Chester A. Arthur. He had a quick hook. He left pitchers in too long. He pinch hit too much. He never pinch hit enough. On the baseball shirt of life, Grady Little always seemed to be missing one button. He would be too loyal to some players who clearly never delivered. He kept waiting for pinch hitter Olmedo Saenz to get hot, when it was clearly apparent that Saenz' immediate future was going to be spraying fruit and vegetables at Ralph's. Inexplicably, in the first game of an important series against the Diamondbacks in August, Grady started Olmedo at first base. Besides the failure that night at the plate, Saenz' girth completely blocked the view of the field for anybody sitting on the first base side of the field level.
Grady somehow let the clubhouse chemistry get away from his control, too. The ideal mix for a championship team is a solid group of veterans and some up and coming youngsters. In the Dodgers' case, the worst mix for a championship team was a solid group of veterans and some up and coming youngsters. It was as smooth a combination as vinegar and motor oil. The problem mixing these two cultures on the 2007 Dodgers was the composition of the two factions. The veterans here were all dying for one last chance to get to the World Series. The kids were all coming hard with talent aplenty, but also still green enough to make a game-ending mistake. In the future, the Dodger veteran presence should not be older than 35. And, with less guys looking to complete statistical quests. Luis Gonzalez has been a solid citizen in his career and was certainly one at Dodger Stadium. But, he spent more time in September talking about playing someplace else so he could achieve 3000 hits. I'm doing simple math here. Gonzo is 40. He needs 500 more hits. He better make sure they include any hits he gets while playing in the Arizona YMCA 70 Plus softball league.
And then there's Jeff Kent, who has always marched to a drummer that beats only in his head. He's got a Hall of Fame career with a Hall of Shame personality. In hindsight, I wonder why he never got along with former teammate Barry Bonds. When you get right down to it, they are really the same guy, except Jeff's head is smaller---only on a literal basis. Despite having some good years with the Dodgers, he's not built to share glory. And, with the burgeoning careers of Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Andre Ethier, there will be plenty that will need to be shared. As a team. That won't happen as long as Jeff Kent's motorcycle is parked in the left field parking lot.
As bitter a pill as 2007 was, the kids prompt a cloudless future. With a smarter combo of veteran help, the Dodgers should be in good shape for the future. I'd gladly pay an extra quarter more per Dodger Dog if they want to open up the vault for Alex Rodriguez.
Of course, that's provided I am eating a Dodger Dog every game next year. I can hear that buffet table calling me again. I just hope that the ribeye carving station is not my sole highlight one year from now.
Dinner last night: Chicken sausage baquette prior to the AFI 40th Anniversary festivities. More on that tomorrow.
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