Season Farewell: From a Fan, to the Dodgers Organization

Farewell to the season that was full of hope. It was a season that had troubles from the start. Not only was it full of drama with the ownership, but it included many injuries and down years for players who needed to exceed expectations. It was a hard year for fans to see such a promising team just not get it done at all when big games came along.

Kershaw’s Cy Young calibre season has been one of two on-field story-lines this season.

Many Dodgers looked like they were going to be amazing this year, but alas, I write this about a season that brought nothing but a possible .500 record for the team as a whole. Although so little occurred this season, the hardest part about deciphering this year for the boys in blue is that they have a Cy Young candidate in the rotation, and an MVP candidate in the lineup. A team with contenders for best in their respective efforts is not what the Dodgers looked like when you look back at the 2011 season.

For you, the Los Angeles Dodgers, I have a couple tips on how to improve so that a year from now, I won’t be writing a farewell letter to your season.

Ownership: We all know of the mess that is Dodger ownership. Unfortunately, it seems like this is the one problem that no one can fix. Frank McCourt is the owner and he isn’t ready to let go of the team just yet. Fans have joined together and tried to rally other potential buyers to make a move and buy the team. For example, there is a fairly big move to try to get Mark Cuban to buy the team. I like the effort made by the fans, but it won’t be until the players, who are the affected ones, make a move to force a sale that the Dodgers will continue in turmoil. What I would like to see in the offseason is risky, but it would send a message to ownership. If the Dodgers were to band together and rally for a sale of the team, then next season’s Dodgers won’t be at the financial mess that the current one is.

Capitalize: Countless times, a Dodgers pitcher had a great start, yet it was the lack of run support that would spell out the loss for the Dodgers. Certain pitchers just had the worst of luck when it came to run support like Hiroki Kuroda, who so far, has a 12-16 record. That makes him look like a subpar pitcher, but his 3.19 ERA makes him look like above average.Combine them and you are left scratching your head. Why so many losses? In the 16 losses, he’s averaged just three earned runs per outing. In six of those losses, he pitched for two earned runs or less. The Dodgers have got to capitalize on quality starts by all of their pitchers. Capitalizing on quality starts alone might have them in the playoffs next year.

Figure out who’s the _______ of the future: Dee Gordon finally took his spot as the shortstop that the Dodgers wanted him to take after he’d been called the shortstop of the future. However, there are so many other players that the Dodgers have that seem to be unsure of a future with the team. Nathan Eovaldi started well, but has since dipped a bit. Is he part of the future or will he be a spot starter? Dana Eveland has made a splash since being called up. Jerry Sands, Rubby De La Rosa, Javy Guerra and Kenley Jansen round out the minor leaguers who seem to be the “tomorrow” for the Dodgers. My advice, figure out in spring training who is going to be the future and who is just a fill in. Guerra looks solid as a closer. Don’t do what the Yankees did with Hughes and Chamberlain and switch his role. Leave him at closer until he shows he’s not good at all. When he slumps, stick with him and support the youngster. Jansen is a great bullpen piece. Stop demoting him. Key players are up and down in the Dodgers system. If that can be avoided, then the loss of confidence or the nervousness of being back in the majors will be avoided as well.

Winning, Duh!

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