How the West Was Lost

The Dodger's have managed to do it. In the span of a month and a half, they have managed to blow a once commanding 7 1/2 game division lead and find themselves trailing the Friars by half a game. As Trevor Hoffman managed to get Kenny Lofton to fly to center, the Dodger's and their season, managed to flush another great effort, and season for that matter, down the toilet.

Am I being too negative? Perhaps. Afterall, there is still two plus weeks to go in the season and the Dodgers do face the Fathers again tommorow night. However the Dodgers look like a team that has hit their peak and is now holding on for dear life to cross the finish line. As my dad always told me, there is a difference between running through the finish line and taking a stomach dive past it. Right now the Dodgers are getting ready for that head first slide.

I am being this negative and pessimestic because I have come to know the pain associated with cheering on this team. We are not the Red Sox or the Cubs, however as Dodger fans we have come to endure failure after failure for the past several years. The Dodgers have made it a habit to make mediocre to marginal big league pitching look like Cy Young Award caliber performances. It is truly depressing to see a guy like Chris Young tossing a one hitter in a game knowing that he was almost out of the league a couple of years ago. And don't let me get started on how the Dodgers make Woody Williams look like Vida Blue. It is an absolute joke that these type of guys could shut down a talent latent team.

Epitomizing the Dodgers attitude toward this season and their fans is the old stand by J.D. Drew. His infectious brand of non-chalent baseball is truly a sight to be seen. As he lazily waves at another pitch or manages to put first base power on a pop up, he is the embodiedment of the Dodgers. They have become a bunch of guys who simply don't really look like they care anymore and are unwilling to perform in the clutch. I mean, let's be honest, this is the Padres we are talking about, not the Mets, Cardinals, or Astros for that matter. It's not like the Padres have murderers' row up there every inning of have a solid core of five starting pitchers that can dominate a game. They have a fat old guy, a tall slow guy, a short white guy with acne, and two dudes named Clay. I mean, how imposing could that be? Yet the Dodgers have managed to find a way to let these guys completely dominate them on the diamond and take from them what should have been a pretty easy division championship.

The question then becomes what to make of this season. Well if current circumstances are any indication, then we are in for more disinterested, uninspired play that will produce more disillusionment for the average fan. Hold on digression coming.

I just can't get past it. I mean, how do you let a bunch of marginal major leaguers who play in a kitty litter box come up to your house and slap you around. I mean, honestly, Russell Branyan is beating you? You are letting Dave Roberts and Josh Barfield give it to you like a dirty John on top of a sweaty hooker? Honestly folks, San Diego baseball barely qualifies as a AAA city and team yet alone the Division champions. Adrian Gonzalez and Geoff Blum? Please! They have a half game lead in the division and they are lucky to get 15,000 people to pay to see them play, let alone come out and actually watch them. I guess those fans are just smarter judging as how 54,000 Dodger fans pack the stadium to watch their team lose.

At the end of the day, the Dodgers have only themselves to blame for not being more aggressive at the trade deadline and securing their place in the post season. They did aquire some key components, all of which will be gone at the end of season, however they failed to secure the number 5 starter position and failed to get some much needed middle relief. A sign of really poor management was seen when Ned Colletti was trying to aquire David Wells on the final day of the waiver trade deadline. The Red Sox were desperate to unload the fat man and they ended up cutting a deal with the Padres for a bag of baseballs and a body. The Dodgers were reported to have been in "serious talks" with the Red Sox, however they still came up a day late and a dollar short. All of this because the Dodgers did not want to part with one of those "hot minor league prospects" that they tout like a farmers daughter. In his best Paul DePodesta move, Colletti managed to lose the west on August 30 as he left it for Chad Billingsley, Eric Stults, Aaron Sele, and Brett Tomko to figure it out and try to make games manageable by only giving up 8 runs per game. Hey Ned, way to go!

So will we win the west, probably not. I don't really see this team coming back and doing it because they are showing those sleep walking tendancies that made the late 90's so watchable for Dodger baseball fans. They don't have a guy that has hit more then 17 home runs this season and are truly in trouble when they are relying on Rafael Furcal to be their RBI man. In any case it probably is all for the best because I really didn't feel like wasting another October feeling anxious and scared to watch my television for fear of jinxing my team only to be teased by a great game three before the Cardinals slap you around a little more and have Albert Pujols hit a 3 run home run to put away your the season. No, rooting on the Yankees sounds a lot more fun.