Sunday, September 23, 2007

This is disconcerting.

Not really pertinent to fantasy baseball, but as a Dodger fan, this article by LA Times columnist T.J. Simers about their younger players has me concerned. He refers to Matt Kemp as talented but "also a jerk in the making and one of those gifted athletes who doesn't necessarily have to work hard to get by." He goes on to highlight the questionable attitudes of James Loney and Andy LaRoche, and states that "they have no respect for players like Jeff Kent, Luis Gonzalez and Nomar Garciaparra, who are on their way out".
This is definitely troubling to hear, as is Simers' comment that manager Grady Little has lost the clubhouse. This season was marred by injuries to the rotation, and a disappointment overall. It is the development of the Dodgers' rookies that have kept the season exciting. If they turn out to be less like Russell Martin and more like headcase Raul Mondesi, a losing season will be less easier to stomach.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I am not that worried about it. Simers is a really biased and crappy writer and the vets are just upset about losing playing time (especially gonzo). here is a better article about the recent feud

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/abox/article_1851119.php

Ben Westrup said...

That article definitely makes a lot of good points about the Dodgers' season. Kent's comments were out of frustration, but they were out of line. It's amazing that he's still very productive at his age, but I can't imagine that he'll be back next year. Probably for the best from a financial standpoint; hopefully some combination of Tony Abreu, Andy LaRoche, or possibly Chin-Lung Hu can fill the void,

Unknown said...

if the dodgers trade matt kemp, as the LA Times suggested this morning, I will be so mad

Ben Westrup said...

Kemp's defense and baserunning have been bad, but it seems like the right coaching could take advantage of his tools and improve those areas. His offensive ability is too good to get rid of. I didn't read the article, what did they say about trading him?

Mike Bock said...

You have "Dusin" [sic] Pedroia as one of the selections in your poll question.

Ben Westrup said...

That's embarrassing. Now I can't change it because people have voted. I need to slow down when I'm trying to post at work.

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