Dodgers riding a skid mark…

So here it is, June 17th and many Dodger fans feel that the season is over already as the team continues in a tailspin of 5 consecutive losses, inconsistency and injuries. The Dodgers are a season-worst seven games under .500 after dropping a 5-4 decision to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday at Comerica Park.

Veteran guys that were supposed to make a difference are not. Jason Schmidt, Nomar Garciapara , Andruw Jones, Rafael Furcal and the recently released Esteban Loiza
count almost $50 million in “dead money” of players currently not contributing to the team. Brad Penny, who has been downright terrible this season, recently had an MRI that revealed no structural damage to a bum shoulder but he has some inflammation and tendinitis. Needless to say Penny could be joining the list of shelved Dodgers who are doing nothing this season.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-dodrep17-2008jun17,0,1197050.story

Needless to say they young Dodgers with so much potential are struggling because of a lack of veteran stewardship in the lineup and quite possibly in the clubhouse. Sure Jeff Kent is still producing, and even at a half of his former MVP self, he is still “da man” in this lineup. But how can the team count on a 40+ 2nd baseman at the end of his career to carry this team on his back into the postseason? They just can’t!
So what do you do if you’re the Dodgers? Do you keep trying to wait for these guys to get healthy? Do you deal some young inconsistent players to a team like the Seattle Mariners for an Adrian Beltre? OR do you admit to your fans that this year is tanked and you give a guy like Jeff Kent a chance to win a championship and trade him or better yet a Derek Lowe in the last year of his contract…for more prospects that can either restock your minor league system or contribute right away?

Either way the end result has to be focused on acquiring power. They need power in that lineup preferably in the form of a stud prospect…but wait a second, weren’t Matt Kemp and James Loney supposed to be these studs? Yup…see the problem?
It’s a hard one to fathom…but who’s to blame? Ned Colletti.

He has made some bad free agent signings in Jones, Garciapara, Loiaza, Schmidt who are disabled and one can argue that with Rafael Furcal as their leadoff hitter, signing Juan Pierre was a useless move as well. And of course the McCourts have a reputation for caring about attendance and renovation fo the stadium more than the club.

So what does a distraught Dodger fan do?

Well, you trust in Joe Torre and hope that that these kids can turn it around in the 2nd half. Strangely enough as bad as the Dodgers have been, they’re still in 2nd place only 5 .5 games back of the Diamondbacks in a weak division of teams similar in make-up to themselves. And in baseball, anything can happen, just remember last year’s Colorado Rockies. BUT do these youngsters have what it takes to dig deep inside, figure it out and step to carry this team into their first World Series since Kirk Gibson limped around the bases?

Only time will tell…and as Joe Tore put it Sunday "It's certainly not early."
The team at 11thr sends the Dodgers some much needed Karma and though our company loves the color green, we bleed Dodger blue. Some come on Martin, Kemp, Billingsley, Kershaw, Broxton, Wade, Ethier, Loney, LaRoche and DeWitt…let’s make some news and give the fans of LA some love. We may need it even more if Kobe and the boys can’t pull off a miracle!

Dodger links:
The Dodgers official site: www.dodgers.com
For the depressed Dodger fan: www.dodgerblues.com