Dodgers Diaries

The Manny Ramirez era at Dodger Stadium has finally come to a close, and for that I’m grateful. I never liked Manny, was annoyed when the Dodgers traded for him in 2008, and was even more annoyed when they re-signed him in 2009. At the time, I argued that there was no reason to pay him $20 million when there were no other bidders. I argued that he was aging and would break down with injury. And I argued that the money would be better spent signing a cheaper player like Adam Dunn and a pitcher besides.

I also argued that the Dodgers had seen the best that Manny could do for them in 2008. He only had to play 53 regular-season games. He hit like a monster in the playoffs. He was in the walk year of his contract, thus motivating him. With all those things at work in his favor, the Dodgers still didn’t win a

World Series, much less a pennant. So why would anyone assume that formula would work over the next two years, when Ramirez would be older and lazier and have to play a full regular season?

The Dodgers ignored my advice (as they usually do) and chose to build their team around a fading 37-year-old slugger. So let’s see how that worked out.

By some measures, they were right to re-sign Manny. He had an OPS of .949 the first year and .915 the second year. Not the 1.232 he put up in 2008, but still Hall of Fame numbers. But Ramirez played in just 170 games over the two years, basically half the games for which he was eligible. Put another way, he had one excellent season of .937 OPS, 27 HR, 39 doubles, and 103 RBIs. But he also had one season in which injuries and a 50-game suspension for cheating caused him to not play at all. That’s not a lot of production for $40 million.

In short, the team the Dodgers built around Manny functioned well when he was in the lineup. But when you put all the weight atop one wheel of your cart, you had better hope that wheel can shoulder the load. Ramirez couldn’t do that, and when he was out of the lineup -- which was almost half the time -- the Dodgers faltered. It wasn’t hard to predict.

For comparison purposes, Adam Dunn has hit 70 homers and 61 doubles since the Dodgers chose not to re-sign him, and has an OPS of .917. And he has missed just four games in two seasons. He still strikes out a ridiculous 170 times a year -- too many in a lineup that includes Matt Kemp. But he also has walked nearly 100 times a year. He’s an atrocious outfielder, maybe even worse than Manny. But at 30, he’s not a terrible choice to fill the gap in left field.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

I see two ways of looking at this, both positive in their own way.

On the one hand, if the Dodgers are anywhere close to a playoff spot, Manny will return more or less around the same time he joined the team in 2008, with a clear view of the finish line. He has seemed unfocused this year, even dogging it at times, and not terribly interested in playing "meaningless" games in April and May. A Manny fresh for the finish could be just the ticket for this confoundingly erratic team.

On the other hand, if the Dodgers are effectively out of the race when Manny comes off the DL, I see no reason not to trade him. There will be an AL team in need of a DH dumb enough to take him. The Dodgers took on Jim Thome last year, and they don't even have a DH in the NL.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

Included on the list of players who will accompany the Dodgers on their March 10 trip to Taiwan is Ronnie Belliard. Yes, the same Ronnie Belliard who showed up to camp a couple of pounds over the 209 his contract requires. It’s a pretty lenient contract, however. All he has to do is be 209 or under at any point during spring training. A long flight across the Pacific might be enough to dehydrate the last two pounds out of him.

Others on the Taiwan excursion include James Loney, Manny Ramirez (the optimist says it’s so the Dodgers can keep an eye on him; the pessimist says it’s so he can restock his supply of performance-enhancing herbs), Eric Stults, Xavier Paul, Lucas May, and of course Taiwan natives Chin Lung Hu and Hong Chih Kuo.

On a separate note, Dodger Stadium looked a little bedraggled on Sunday for the college tournament. The signs on the outfield wall looked like they hadn’t been changed since October; there was still a “Postseason on TBS” banner in centerfield.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

The Dodgers announced today that they will be hosting a four-team NCAA baseball tournament at Dodger Stadium on February 28. Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State play in the opener at 10 a.m., with USC and UCLA squaring off at 2 p.m. Both games count in NCAA standings.

All proceeds from the games will benefit the Dodgers Dream Foundation, which helps build ballfields in Los Angeles. Tickets are $5 in advance or ($10 day of game) and parking is free. There are promotions that allow you to ally yourself with either of the two hometown universities in regular-season Dodger games later in the year.

I’ve been to a few UCLA home baseball games, and highly recommend the experience of Jackie Robinson Stadium. It almost never sells out, and the caliber of baseball is about the same as AA or AAA. I imagine the players, most of whom never even get a sniff at the major leagues, will get a real charge out of playing at Chavez Ravine. Given typical attendances, I’d say you can probably get tickets for seats that usually cost three figures. If nothing else, it’ll allow you to sample Canter’s Deli.

Here’s the UCLA starting lineup from the first game I went to in 2004. Six years later, I can’t say that any is a household name, though some may have had cups of coffee. Tampa Bay Rays flamethrower Matt Garza was on the roster of the opposing Fresno State Bulldogs, but I didn’t get to see him pitch in this game.

Chad Concolino CF undrafted.

Ryan MCCarthy SS never advanced past A ball.

Billy Susdorf RF last played for Lake Elsinore in 2006.

Wes Whisler 1B became a full-time pitcher for AAA Charlotte in 2009.

Matt Thayer LF never advanced past A ball.

Brett McMillan DH never advanced past A ball.

Brandon Averill 3B never advanced past A ball.

Chris DeNove C reached AAA with the Reds, where he hit .307 in 2009.

Preston Griffn 2B never advanced past A ball.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

The names on the back of the uniforms don’t even matter. Whether it’s Izturis, Green, LoDuca, Drew, Tomko, Lowe and Penny, or Ethier, Ramirez, Kemp, Martin, Billingsley and Kershaw, the only thing that matters is the names on the front of the jerseys.

The Dodgers can’t beat the Cardinals. Call it the curse off Tom Niedenfuer. Call it the purgatory of having to watch Tony LaRussa inflate his own opinion of his genius. Whatever you call it, I’m believing in it.

The Cardinals beat the Dodgers every which way you could beat them in St. Louis July 27-30. That series started with a gem by Chris Carpenter (sound familiar), followed by a disastrous performance by Chad Billingsley. The third game was a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in 15 innings, after Jonathan Broxton blew Clayton Kershaw’s eight shutout innings. The Dodgers salvaged the final game, but had to go 10 innings to do it because Guillermo Mota couldn’t hold a 3-2 lead.

Monday’s game at Chavez Ravine followed a familiar script, albeit with an unfamiliar starting pitcher. Journeyman knuckleballer Charlie Haeger took the mound as the Dodgers’ sacrificial lamb to Chris Carpenter. How much were you pulling for the kid? Inning after inning, he matched the Cy Young Award winner, putting up five zeroes in six innings, the only blemish on his line a solo homer by Albert Pujols in the fourth inning on a knuckleball that didn’t quite knuckle. Haeger even had a lead going into the seventh inning, courtesy of two manufactured runs by the Dodgers.

But as with all things pre-ordained, the Cardinals struck like lightning — a Rick Ankiel homer with a man on base, again on a non-knuckling knuckleball. The Dodgers got just one man on base the rest of the game and that was that.

If there’s a bright side, it’s Haeger. He threw seven innings and gave up just three runs and six hits to one of the best offenses in baseball. If nothing else, he’s earned himself a spot in the rotation, something the Dodgers desperately need right now with Hiroki Kuroda on the shelf and a big question mark surrounding Chad Billingsley’s health.

We’ll see more about Billingsley tonight, although if he loses, who can say whether it’s really him or the curse of the Cardinals at work. --- John Rosenthal.