Dodgers Searching for 40 Wins

After a four game home stand where the Dodgers were swept at the hands of the sub .500 Milwaukee Brewers, the outlook for a 10 game road trip to Colorado, Philadelphia and Seattle seemed bleak (if not grueling). The Dodgers proceeded to drop two games to the Rockies in Denver, which meant they had lost 6 of their previous 7 games heading into a 4-game set with the Phillies. But after a dominant 4 game sweep in Citizens Bank Park, the Dodgers were showing signs of resiliency in the wake of Kemp-ocalypse Part II.

Then came the No-No. The Los Angeles Dodgers hadn't been no hit since they were blanked by Cincinnati in 1994. Try to guess who the starting CF for the Reds was that day?... Deion Sanders! It had been a long, long time since the blue crew had gone an entire game with out a hit. Lets put it this way, the Washington Nationals' phenom Bryce Harper was a 1 year old! But with the help of 6 different Mariners pitchers and a questionable out call on Dee Gordon in the 9th inning, history was made. And more importantly the fans in Seattle had something to get excited about while their hijacked basketball franchise was going to the finals with a different home crowd. It should be noted that the last two World Series championships ('88, '81) came during years where the Dodgers were on the wrong ends of no hitters. Is it a sign? Here's to hoping.

But the Dodgers, as they seem to do time and time again in 2012, picked up the pieces and salvaged a series win by taking both weekend games. So in a matter of 7 days the Dodgers were able to go from a club who had dropped 6 of its previous 7 to having won 6 of its previous seven. And last night, began their freeway series with the Anaheim Angels (I'm sorry they'll never be LA in my mind), with a chance to be the first team to 40. But unfortunately the sensational 20 year old rookie Mike Trout was doing what he's done since being called up, which was getting base hits, stealing bases, hitting home runs and scoring runs. Just enough to edge the Dodgers 3-2 in the 9th and give Kenley Jansen the loss.

But as the game came to a close on Monday evening, the rumors of an Andre Ethier extension began to trickle through the world of twitter. A deal that was made official this afternoon (Tuesday 6/12) in a press conference, is good for 5 years, 85 million dollars, and a club option for over 15 million in a 6th year (what would be 2018). Now that the Dodgers have locked down their two best position players through the rest of their prime, it will only be a matter of time before Clayton Kershaw gets his extension and free agents of all varieties start to see something brewing in Los Angeles. In the wake of new ownership having the pocketbook to buy a championship, the dominoes are starting to fall in a slow yet strategic manner.

Matt Kemp got his money and in addition to being the teams biggest cheerleader, became the biggest proponent of giving Andre his big extension. Now that the lefty slugger will surely play the rest of his meaningful games in Dodger blue. Now it might be time for Matt Kemp, to continue his vocal-ness towards signing more bats in the coming year.... Saaaay Josh Hamilton? Probably the highest paid outfield in the sport, but it would sure as heck be a spectacle to see those three guys bat in consecutive order. Time for Matt to buddy up with Josh in Kansas city next month. Then Prince might start thinking twice about playing out the rest of his days in bitter cold Detroit.

Dodgers are set for game two with the Angels tonight (Tuesday) at 7. They will be honoring former Dodgers catcher, and current Angels Manager, Mike Scioscia with a "Scioscia Bobble Head Night". The bobble head will naturally be of the young, slightly more slender Scioscia in his Dodgers catchers gear.

15 Days of Kemp-ocalypse

Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp picked up in 2012 where he left off in the final months of his 2011 MVP campaign. He broke out of the gates by leading the majors in almost every single meaningful statistical category. But then something happened... Wrigley Field happened. A ballpark that is mostly known for its century plus curse which breaks the heart of Cub's fans annually, is now Matt Kemp's house of horrors. Not only were the cold whipping winds of Chicago's north side refusing to let each of Matty's hits get past the warning track, but the infamous infield, so poorly manicured that you can count the dirt clods on your living room TV,  was loose enough for Kemp to take a wrong step and trigger a hammy issue. An issue that he bravely battled for nearly a week before the Dodgers were forced to place him on the 15-day disabled list.

The reality has set in since Monday night, when the Dodgers weren't able to slip the ailing Kemp into the 2nd game of the Arizona series for a pinch hit appearance. His league leading consecutive games played streak ended at an impressive 399, while the new leader is a slugger who also cashed in this last off season, Prince Fielder. Despite Matt's absence, the Dodgers were able to ride the team's momentum to take the series with a game 2 win. Unfortunately that momentum came to a screeching halt on Tuesday as we were all exposed to this team's complexion without our shining star. And it went something like this

1. Dee Gordon (who unfortunately hasn't blossomed in his first chance to have a full MLB season as a starter... hitting around .200)
2. Mark Ellis (actually had a great night going 3 for 4 with a HR, but with out any production on either side)
3. Scott Van Slyke (making his "starting" MLB debut, and for all his minor league success, this is MATT KEMP's slot for gosh sakes)
4. Andre Ethier (who made what might be his ONLY career start in CF...)
5. AJ Ellis (the team's anchor all season at the 8th spot, was in the spot light at 5 and stunk)
6. Jerry Sands (you might remember him from last season, but he had JUST gotten to called up that day)
7. James Loney (who seems to be losing his job by the day as he had another sad 0-4)
8. Justin Sellers (last guy to make the opening day roster... enough said)
9. Pitchers spot

 Soooo... the Dodgers started 4 rookies and managed 1 run. Sounds about right.

Then there was day 2 of what I'm affectionately describing as the "Kemp-ocalypse". This is what life would look like without Matt, and if this Dodgers lineup was a person's face, it would be the before picture in all of those pro-active acne ads. OK maybe its not that terrible, but my gosh, this team feels 200% more beatable without the 1-2 punch of Matt and 'Dre. Then Mattingly gave us this little gem:

1. Tony Gwynn (it was nice seeing an actual CFer starting in CF but its tough not seeing Dee's speed somewhere in the lineup)
2. Elian Herrera (his 2nd day as a Major Leaguer and he got to spell Mark Ellis with a 1st inning double)
3. Bobby Abreu (aquired to be a bat off the bench, he had a token basehit in the 9th)
4. Andre Ethier (order was restored with Andre being back in RF, and after his RBI in the first, he didnt do much)
5. Jerry Sands (day 2 with the 2012 club and he also gets another start, this time giving Loney the day off at 1B)
6. Justin Sellers (this time Sellers took his steady glove over to SS, but predictably did nothing with his bat)
7. Adam Kennedy (only thing worse than this guy's non production, is that blank look he always has)
8. Matt Traenor (it was AJ Ellis' day off, and Matt did have a double but who can replace Aj's OBP.... sadly no one)
9. Pitchers spot 

Soooo... The Dodgers start 3 rookies and 4 backups... 2 run loss to the NL's worst team? Sounds about right.

And now we dig in for the third day of the Kemp-ocalypse. We'll surely see another lineup that we all dislike in Thursday night's wrap up of the mini 2-game series at Petco Park. And as hard as it is having to just make sense of these lineups, its even harder for Don Mattingly  to frantically piece together the Kemp-less, Uribe-less, and Rivera-less puzzle on a daily basis. Injuries are a part of all sports, and the art of overcoming such attrition is why baseball managers get paid so much money. But the 15-day managerial purgatory that Mattingly has been faced with during the absence of his best player, is a challenge that no one would ever desire. Fortunately for the Dodgers and their 0-2 record of Kemp-ocalypse, is the fact that the next closest team in the NL West standing (SF Giants) have lost on consecutive nights as well. Meaning the lead is still at 6 games, and Dodger Nation can take a collective breath of relief. 

I hope you all have put together your Kemp-ocalypse Survival Kits. I have included large amounts of gauze to wrap my head, considering the next 12 days will include a lot of banging my head against the wall. For now, we have to cross our fingers and weather the storm (and hope the new Dodger ownership notices how this team feels with out Kemp). See you all on May 29th, I'll be giving out high fives, hugs and hand shakes.

Will Ethier Contract Year Make Lasting Impact?

While the Dodgers' season still has 97% it's games left to play (yes I did the math), we have already begun to draw some pretty obvious conclusions. This team, for all of the new ownership's future presence is worth is pretty much the same team as last year. You can assume all you want about that this year having a fresh breath of air that might breed success and positivity. For that I will not disagree but unfortunately this still looks to be the team with a Cy Young pitcher and marginal run support. The MVP- type talents of Matt Kemp are now truly realized and the potential of Dee Gordon's raw athleticism at the leadoff/SS role is infinite. My biggest question coming into 2012 was which Andre Ethier would we come to expect and would he figure to be a key part of the franchise going forward?

Was the Andre Ethier who ran a hitting streak to 30 games at the beginning of last season only dissapear into the dog days of summer with nagging injuries the guy we were to expect to roaming around RF in Chavez Ravine? Or would we ever again see the guy who came to be known as Mr. Clutch, while littering the 08-09 seasons with countless game winning hits and walk-off home runs? The recent signings of both Prince Fielder with the Detroit Lions and Albert Pujols with the Angels had to resonate with Ethier as he was preparing to come into spring camp. The market value for a left handed power hitter was set pretty high with those contracts and all the while he was watching his outfield mate, Matt Kemp, sign the largest contract in franchise history. With plenty of prime years remaining Ethier had to see all this offseason activity and be thinking the proverbial "What about me?".

As the questions surrounding his health were cleared up this spring, it seemed as if Andre was in perfect position to get himself back to the peak form that Dodger fans enjoyed in years past. He also seemed primed to put himself back in the spotlight for one last major contract. After 5 games Ethier's numbers are huge, and Kemp is telling the media he'd prefer that Ethier get a contract extension sooner than later. My intuition is that Ethier continues on his torrid pace with the bat throughout the first half of the season, the new ownership will make their first order of business giving him a large contract somewhere in the rance of 6 years and 120 million. That would lock him up through the rest of his prime and have his contract expire the same year as Matt Kemp's. If this franchise plans on turning a new leaf and making big free agent splashes in the next few years, the big money free agents are going to want to see some sort of foundation built. Pujols signed with the Angels because he was the "next piece" on already well constructed team, and same with Fielder to the tigers.

My speculation is that baseball is starting to go the way of the NBA, where big name free agents want to be the "right fit" on a team that is ready to compete for a world title. We all watched Jason Werth take the biggest money possible with the Washington Nationals and I'm not sure we'll ever hear from him again. Don't get me wrong, there's NOTHING wrong with making that kind of money, but guys like Ethier (and the type of free agents Dodger fans hope LA will start to go after) hit the age of 30 and start to think about their legacy. He's off to a hot start, and for all we know that might that be all it is, "a good first 5 games." Or we could see Matt Kemp getting his biggest MVP competition from within his own clubhouse. If it's anything closer to the latter, look for Ethier to give his agent permission to talk Kemp-like numbers with the new head honchos. Maybe then big name free agents might start throwing the Dodgers on their wishlist because they feel something special might be brewing.