skyking162

Why are the Dodgers any good? Here are my top three reasons:

1. Large budget. It’s tough to be bad when you outspend most other teams.
2. Jeff Kent and Brad Penny are pretty good.
3. They have some good, young players, like Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, and James Loney.

Unfortunately, reason three is getting crapped on by part of reason two, Dodger management, and some Dodger beat-writers. Yup, the Dodger collapse is being blamed on the bad attitudes and failure to do the little things of Matt Kemp and James Loney. Now, they might be punks, but they’ve still performed. Here’s some required reading on the situation.

First, the anti-Matt Kemp position from Bill Plaschke (free registration required.) Is there any bigger reason to not buy into something than Bill Plaschke advocating it?

Matt Kemp’s breathtaking ability makes him attractive. But his constant struggles to embrace the little things that turn talent into championships make him expendable.

Here’s a more even-handed article from the LA Times.

For a refutation of Kemp’s lack of value, even with some gaffes, go read Jon Weisman.

Bill Plaschke writes that Kemp’s “power and speed have been negated by silly at-bats and baserunning mistakes.”

Negated?? Are you serious??

The silly at-bats have already been factored into his on-base percentage and slugging percentage, which currently stand at .364 and .509. Yes, those are the numbers of the irresponsible Kemp.

Finally, Dave Cameron takes on veteran entitlement in general.

James Loney and Matt Kemp have been, without question, the Dodgers two best hitters this year. [Sky: I’d include Kent in here.] They have literally carried the Los Angeles offense that was been dragged down by the poor performances of highly paid veterans Juan Pierre, Rafael Furcal, Nomar Garciaparra, and Luis Gonzalez. And yet, when you hear the Dodgers veterans tell the story, the reason this team didn?t make the playoffs is that they had too many young players.

The whole thing is a fascinating discussion. There are definitely trade-offs between extra talent and making dumb, “inexperienced” moves. But in general, I think people overreact to the dumb moves and don’t focus enough on the overall high-quality of play. And when you throw cost into the mix, young players are the way to go.

Update: How about a rumored deal of Matt Kemp to Minnesota for Johan Santana? To me, that seems like a no-brainer for the Twins. Sure, they lose the best pitcher on the planet, but he’s only under contract for one more season, probably earning a bit more than his $13 million 2007 arbitration salary. Kemp, on the other hand, has two more season’s where he’ll earn peanuts, and then three more under arbitration rules.

Let’s say Santana’s worth $20 million per season. That’s a net loss of $7 million in value for the Twins. Will Kemp be worth that? Yup, and he might make up that loss in just one year. (If he remembers to wear his sunglasses, that is.)

Update II: Here’s an article by Dayn Perry discussing the successful youth movements of this year’s playoff teams. Can we move on from this topic now?

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 27th, 2007 at 2:09 pm and is filed under Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.