The Dodgers could clean up on Off Season Awards

It's funny, everything about the Dodgers this year seems like a catastrophe.
The Brian Stowe incident at the beginning of the year helped lead to the unraveling of the ownership.

Are they bankrupt?
Does MLB control them?
Will the Chinese Government assume control of the Dodgers?

The only thing for certain is that Dodger Stadium is all but empty and their season is lost.

And despite all of that, the Dodgers could find themselves bringing in some hardware when the season is wrapped up.

They have one major award all but in the bag and a few more wins in the final week of the season could net some more.

CLAYTON KERSHAW...
Cy Young Award Winner

Both Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee deserve a lot of votes, especially for putting up stellar numbers in a pitchers ballpark.

And Ian Kennedy's emergence in Phoenix will get some voters attention.

But Kershaw is in line to win the unofficial Triple Crown (Wins, ERA and Strikeouts.) He has let up the fewest hits over 9 innings of any National League pitcher. His 0.99 WHIP is second only to Cole Hamel's 0.98 WHIP. And while I STILL don't understand WAR, he is tied with Cliff Lee with this highest WAR among National League pitchers.

Throw in his 5-0 record against the World Champion Giants (including winning 3 head to head match ups against Tim Lincecum) and he is all but a lock to win the Cy Young at age 23.


MATT KEMP...
National League Most Valuable Player

It's a taller mountain to climb for Kemp, but not because of his numbers.

His 9.0 WAR is the best in baseball.
He has the most total bases and run scored in the National League.
He is in the top 3 of Average, Home Runs, RBI and in the top 4 in OPS.

Only 5 sluggers in all of baseball have homered more than he has, and Chavez Ravine isn't the easiest place to crank them out.

While Ryan Braun might be the front runner, Kemp doesn't exactly have Prince Fielder in his lineup with him.

Plus he plays a Gold Glove caliber Centerfield. The Dodgers' non contending season could keep the MVP trophy off of his mantle, but I think he deserves is.


DON MATTINGLY...
National League Manager of the Year

OK, this one will be a stretch. Kirk Gibson has this all but locked up by sending a Diamondbacks team that NOBODY picked to the post season (assuming they don't fall apart.)

But give Mattingly tons of credit. This team had every reason to fold up tent and Donnie Baseball could have phoned this season in and NOBODY would have blamed him.

Instead, here they are with 9 games left and they are above .500!

Can you imagine if this team has a winning season? This was supposed to be the worst year in Dodger history and in terms of off the field stuff, it was. But in terms of the product on the field, it's not even the worst team of the last 2 years!

Mattingly deserves a ton of credit of focusing on the field and if he comes away with a winner, then the Dodgers have a bright future!

And by the looks of the potential hardware, their present was a lot better than anyone could have expected!

Mattingly and Collins deserve Manager of the Year consideration

It's obvious that Kirk Gibson is going to win the National League manager of the year. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY was picking the Diamondbacks to win the NL West this year, let alone take an 8 1/2 game lead in early September.

So Gibson will add a Manager of the Year trophy next to his MVP (which will no doubt be the subject of another blog post.)

But take a look at what Don Mattingly and Terry Collins have done. Both are playing for big budgeted fiascos. The Dodgers have had as ugly a season as I can remember with all of the behind the scenes nonsense. The McCourt divorce. The handling of the Brian Stowe beating. The MLB take over. The Bankruptcy. The money being taken out of the team for personal reasons. The fans staying away in droves.

There was every reason in the world for the Dodgers to pack up and not show up. And for a while that is exactly what they were doing.

The Mets were also a mess. I thought they were a 90 loss team waiting to happen. The post Madoff Amazin' Mess was a mismatch of broken down veterans, expensive players who wanted out, young players who weren't ready and a parade of players on the disabled list.

And playing in the same Divison as the Phillies and Braves meant the season was irrelevant in April. And come trading deadline, they were sellers.

90 losses may have been a generous prediction.

Yet here we are on September 10th. The Dodgers are just 1 game under .500.
The Mets are 2 games under .500.

It would not take a Herculean effort for both teams to finish with a winning record.

The Dodgers are aided by the fact that Clayton Kershaw should win the NL Cy Young and there is a case for Matt Kemp to win the MVP.

The Mets don't have that star power, but they are finding unlikely heroes and staying focused in a way that I didn't think they had in them.

So give Don Mattingly and Terry Collins a lot of credit.
Both the Dodgers and Mets are ugly places off of the field and if the on field product reflected that, nobody would have blinked.

But if they could weather the storm of the craziness of 2011 and say "Hey! At least we put a winning product on the field" then THAT is worthy of Manager of the Year consideration.

Color me impressed, Dodger and Met fans.

Mattingly and Dotel: Unbelievably bad bad luck - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I take a look at Don Mattingly and Octavio Dotel's career. These two guys don't have a lot in common, except that their luck for participating in the World Series is staggeringly awful.

To read the article, CLICK HERE.

It gets lonelier for Don Mattingly

I started thinking about Don Mattingly at the end of the 2010 World Series.

Why?

Because, as I wrote in a previous post, the Giants had three former Mattingly era Yankees on their coaching staff.

Dave Righetti, who was the Rookie of the Year in the AL for 1981, just before Mattingly arrived.

Roberto Kelly, who was supposed to be the next great Yankee superstar and make a 1-2 punch with Mattingly.

And Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens, who was supposed to be the fan favorite right handed slugger.

They all toiled with Mattingly in disappointing season after disappointing season in the Bronx and shared with Donnie Baseball in ringless frustration.

Except now... they will all be fitted with rings... and Mattingly still has yet to participate in a World Series.

His luck, as I wrote before, is staggeringly bad.

And if his managerial abilities are any indication, he won't be getting a ring any time soon as the Dodgers skipper.

Man, he can't catch a break. Maybe he can as Bam Bam to take a look at HIS ring.

Just go Joe... you've already quit

Seriously, what is the point for Joe Torre to stick around?
He seems more interested in discussing the Mets managerial position and showing up to Yankee Stadium than having a motivated team take the field in Chavez Ravine.

Don't believe me that this team is dead from the neck up?

Since August 27th, the Dodgers have lost 17 out of 23 games. They haven't won a single series since. The closest they came was splitting 4 meaningless games with the Astros.

And I live just a few minutes from Dodger Stadium and sadly watch more Dodger games than I care to admit.

They are lifeless.
They aren't even phoning in their game. They are leaving it on their outgoing message.

Save for a comeback win last Sunday, they don't just look like they have made their reservations but they look like they are already on their flights.

I know a lot of Giant fans are upset about how they have rolled over to San Diego (and tonight no doubt the Padres will sweep the Dodgers AGAIN) but actually you have to hand it to the Dodgers... they have been equal opportunity tomato cans.

Since the 26th of August they have lost 2 series to the Rockies... 2 series to the Giants and 2 series to the Padres.

They lie down to EVERYONE!

And since Joe Torre announced he was stepping down and handing the reigns over to Don Mattingly? They are 1-4. Only the come from behind Rockies win saved it from being a big fat 0-5 (and even THEN they got some help from the umps!)

In short, the Dodgers have done the impossible... they made the play on the field more disgraceful than the drama with the McCourt divorce!

Just step down NOW Joe. Maybe playing for Mattingly will give the team a little spark.
Maybe they'll play a little harder for a week.

Maybe there will be a little intensity.

Maybe Mattingly will learn how to fill out a lineup card and make mound visits.

The Dodgers have 3 more meaningful games left after today... 3 more with the Rockies.
Why not give the NL West a chance and have the Dodgers actually SHOW UP.

Step aside physically Joe. You already have mentally.

Don't take the gig, Donnie Baseball!

Joe Torre is stepping down from the Dodgers gig, never reaching the goal of leading L.A. to the World Series and having the last laugh over the Yankees.

Why is he stepping down?
Is it because he is too old? Please. Yeah he's 70 and is the same age that Casey Stengel was when HE was fired by the Yankees. But he's in great shape and clearly still wants to win.

He's leaving because he has surveyed the landscape and realized that the McCourt divorce is going to get uglier and the Dodgers are going to be the little child crying on the stand during the hearing.

Next season is going to be a dumpster fire in Los Angeles. The payroll will be slashed again and the players can read the writing on the wall.

Matt Kemp wants out and trust me, no free agents will want in.
One of the proud franchises in baseball playing in one of the true major media markets could be doing their 1998 Marlins fire sale impersonation.

What are they selling now? Not Torre bringing glory back to Dodgertown. Mannywood is, for the time being, in the South Side of Chicago.

Dodger memories? They've been tough to remember since Kirk Gibson, which was 22 years ago.

The 2011 Dodgers have disaster written all over them.

Which is why I am telling Don Mattingly to NOT take the job as manager.

It won't be your FAULT but the team will collapse under your watch. Truth be told they are already collapsing.

After 2 straight Division Titles and NLCS appearances, the Dodgers are sleep walking to a losing season. Their offense was nonexistent in San Francisco and the last few innings of the game last night, the team looked like an 8th grade algebra class waiting for the bell to ring. They were physically there, but bored out of their minds.

Is that Torre's fault? Perhaps a little but the team has been assembled by orders of a guy is going through a Henry VIII level marital spat (except he doesn't have the beheading option.)

If the McCourt's could have been civil these past few years, the Dodgers could have acquired an ace pitcher. Roy Halladay was traded in the time Joe Torre was manager. So was Danny Haren. CC Sabathia changed uniforms twice. Cliff Lee moved three times.

With an ace pitcher, I am convinced the Dodgers would have made either the 2008 or 2009 World Series and be a contender in 2010.

Instead they are a near miss team... like the George Bell/Dave Steib Blue Jays... a team with talent but can't put it together.

You want THAT gig, Mattingly?
You want all the bad of the McCourt Dodgers without the Manny crowds or playoff appearances?

A gig like this should go to one of two candidates:

1. A lifelong minor leaguer who would be just itching to get their first shot in the bigs of any kind.

2. A career big leaguer who every once in a while lands a gig, does little or nothing there, and winds up on someone's coaching staff. (That was Jim Riggleman's job for years... keeping managerial seats warm.)

But Mattingly supposedly is a big managerial candidate.

Is he though? Could he be a little overhyped as a managerial candidate just like his career was overhyped a little in New York?

His lone chance to show us his managing chops, he screwed up the whole "trip to the mound" concept.

I mentioned Mattingly as a Dodger manager candidate to my dad.
He shook his head.

"He doesn't strike me as very smart." He said.

Prove my dad wrong, Donnie... and turn this job down.
It's shoddy and designed to fail. Have it fail on someone else's watch.

Hell, Grady Little isn't doing anything!
Tell the Dodgers to hire him.