As well as the Dodgers played against the Cubs, they were just as bad in the NLCS. Chad Billingsley, one of the main reasons they got this far in the first place, struggled mightily in both of his starts, not making it out of the third inning in either. Rafael Furcal completely fell apart in the fifth inning of Game 5, managing to make three errors on two plays, which led to two Philadelphia runs. And Blake DeWitt hit into double plays in both the second and fifth, killing two of L.A.'s scoring chances, which were few and far between against Cole Hamels. Despite their poor play against the Phillies, the team the Dodgers put on the field in October was excellent, and would be a threat to make some noise again in 2009. Problem is, they won't get that opportunity. Everyone knows Manny Ramirez is a free agent, but the list is a lot longer than just him: Furcal, Derek Lowe, Casey Blake, Takashi Saito, Jeff Kent, and Nomar Garciaparra will all have the opportunity to test the market. This was L.A.'s only opportunity with this group, and they squandered it with their performance over the last seven days.
Even with all the potential departures, the Dodgers do still have a strong core. Russ Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier will all be in the lineup for years to come, and the rotation will continue to be strong with Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, and Clayton Kershaw at the top. They're also fortunate enough to play in the weak NL West, so getting back to the postseason won't be as difficult as it might be otherwise. But L.A. had all of those guys (save Kershaw) this year, and still managed only 84 regular season wins, even with Lowe at the top of the rotation and Ramirez for the last couple months. The Dodgers aren't going to suddenly turn into the Royals, but this was probably their best shot for awhile, and they couldn't capitalize.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-16-2008 @ 2:24AM
klimalllia said...
Hey buttsniffer I notited your article didn't have much to say about how the Phillie's put a whoopin on the Dodger's this is a team that hasn' lost a game when the bullpen came in with a lead after the 8th inning all year. How you got a chance to even write a blog on here is beyond belief. GOD BLESS AMERICA and I hope you learn to give a team credit for how good they played. Isn't this the same L.A. team that beat the so called best team in the NL the Cubs. LOL oh yeah they are the CUbs and that is the only credit i can give you.I dont know what you have been watching the past 5 games but the bottom line is the Dodgers got dominated by the Phillies in all aspects of the game. You Donkeys hind Parts
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10-16-2008 @ 3:30AM
GH said...
Klim doesn't seem to realize that Jacob's byline isn't about the just-concluded series. He's obviously an enthusiatic, young Philadelphia fan, who fails to comprehend that the story is about the probable personnel changes for the Dodgers in 2009. There are countless articles which pertain to the NLCS. This just doesn't happen to be one of them. I guess that we can chalk his comments up to youthful ignorance. I don't know any adults who use such uneducated slang.
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10-16-2008 @ 3:52PM
Martin said...
I think you are over emphasizing the potential loss to the Dodgers. First, the Dodgers may re-sign some of the free agents, and every free agent who leaves, frees up some money for signing other free agents.
Moreover, the Dodgers have a lot of good, young pitching (Billingsley, Kershaw, McDonald, Wade and Broxton) and if by any chance, Jason Schmidt ever returns, will still have one of the best pitching staffs in the league.
They also have a good group of young hitters (Ethier, Martin, Kemp, Loney and DeWitt, keeping in mind that a year ago, DeWitt was in Single A).
So my guess is that the Dodgers will have a very competitive team next year.
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10-16-2008 @ 10:12PM
deano said...
I have watched just about every dodger game this year, and they played horribly most of the year. They have a bunch of really good young players, but without a revamp of the pitching staff, they have no chance. Brad Penny is a great pitcher( when it doesnt matter), and an awfull pitcher when the team need it. Thank g-d, Jeff Kent is gone, and it was fun to see Manny for a few months, but we need pitching badly.
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10-16-2008 @ 11:28PM
Wm said...
Manny should be signed by the Dodgers for what he has brought to LA. I would go as far as to say, if the Dodgers don't sign him the public should boycot going to their games.
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10-17-2008 @ 12:10AM
dodgerblue4ever said...
WE DO HAVE PITCHING BUT JOE IS STILL TRYING TO INSTILL THAT WINNING ADDITUDE WITH HIS YOUNG BALL CLUB,THERE ARE SOME PLAYERS THAT NEED TO GO AND JEFF KENT IS ONE OF THEM ,JOE SCHMIT ,AND SOME OTHER WELL KNOWN PITCHER , YOU MEAN TO TELL ME NOW THAT IVE LOOKED A LITTLE HARDER AT WHO GOES AND WHO STAYS ,YOU MEAN TO TELL US MR MC COURT THAT YOU REALLY CANT AFFOD MANNY ,THAT IS THE BIGGEST HOGWASH IVE HEARD IN MANY A YEAR,AND FOR SURE I WOULD KEEP MR MADDUX, JOE SHOULDVE STARTED HIM ON THE 5TH GAME HE WOULDVE GIVEN YOU A BETTER GAME THAN DEREK,DEREK FROM THE BEGDIDNT HAVE THE RIGHT MINDSET,HE ALREADY WAS CONCEDING TO THE PHILLIES WHJCH IN MY ESTAMATION WAS ALREADY A LOSE IN DEREKS MIND AND WE CANT HAVE THAT HE SHOULDVE GONE OUT THERE WITH THE MINDSET OF DETERMINATION ,NOT COCCESION,BUT MR MC COURT HAS THE BALL I HOPE HE PUTS THE LOYAL FAN BEFORE HIS LOUSY PROFIT MARGIN,BESIDES MANNY IS GREAT REVENUE
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