D.L. Dodgers Best Friend So Far

The Dodgers made their best moves of the 2008 so far -- thanks to injuries and the disabled list. Manager Joe Torre could not find an excuse to get Andrew Jones out of the starting lineup, even though he was clearly the team's fourth best outfielder so far (he'd have been fifth if the Dodgers carried another outfielder). If he was able to walk, Torre would still have been playing him. Now, courtesy of the DL, Torre has to play his best outfield. The same courtesy has been extended by Nomar Garciaparra.

Now there will be no more foolish chatter about Blake DeWitt going back to Las Vegas for more minor league "experience" for a while.

Who could argue that DeWitt has clearly been the Dodgers best third baseman so far. Had Garciaparra come off the DL, we'd have been subject to more foolishness.

The DL also gave Dodgers GM Ned Colletti and the rest of the braintrust a time for sober reflection on the folly of last year's decision to pour big money into Esteban Loiza, a pitcher who last was full healthy some years ago.

Finally, Colletti pulled the plug and is jettisoning Loaiza - in favor of Clayton Kershaw, who, Chad Billingsley aside, might be the Dodgers pitcher wearing a uniform anyplace. His 7k debut only put an exclamation point on the decision (which might have been made two months ago).

The Dodgers wisely used the DL to do something with Gary Bennett, the backup catcher with the Steve Sax disease (he cant throw where he is supposed to).

The last Dodgers catcher who couldnt throw was Mike Piazza, a fact overlooked among his regular home run hitting (if there were a Hall of Fame for defensive catchers, Mike Piazza would not get a single vote, as it is, he's a lock in the balloting in the balloting for offensive catchers).

Now if only Mark Sweeney, hitting HALF a Mendoza could pull a muscle, the Dodgers could stop wasting another big league roster there as well.

Of course, teams which invest too much in players who best performed yesterday leave themselves wide, wide open to second guessing when older guys break down, which the probabilities are very strong to occur.

Old Jeff Kent isn't hurt, he is just old. He needs rest at least once a week and his sub .240 batting average is sick indeed for a big league cleanup hitter.

Frank Thomas not only lost his starting job but his job with Toronto for not a whole lot less than Kent has produced so far. The Dodgers need a cleanup hitter and they have several candidates on the squad already.

How long it takes Joe Torre to make this adjustment is anybody's guess but if the past is prologue, he will only pull that trigger when injury - not fact - moves him in that direction.

After two months of play, the Dodgers, thank God, haven't been able to field a team with Pierre, Jones, Garciaparra and Kent as half of the starting lineup more than a half a dozen games. It's also evident that after two months of play that quartet doessnt comprise what is the Dodgers best team on the field.

Now that Jeff Schmidt is on the extended DL, we won't even begin to muse about the blessing that comprises for the Dodgers. (We only hope the Dodgers had wisely taken out some disability insurance on the guy from Lloyds of London at the beginning).

Now, courtesy of the DL, the Dodgers can finally put their best squad between the lines with some regularity. We'd sure rather take the chance on winning with the best talent over yesterdays guesses by the front office any day.

If we were Frank McCourt, the message would be this: No more old guys, no more hurt guys, no more expensive risks. No more guys who cant throw. No more guys who can;t run. No more guys who can't move.

We want today's baseball Barack Obamas not baseball's Jimmy Carters and Bill Clintons. These old guys are making ME sick.

P.S. the kiddy Florida Marlins are 10 games over .500. The kiddy Tampa Bay team continues to flirt with the lead. The revamped and much younger Oakland A's are already lights years in front of the "experienced" Seattle Mariners, they of the $50 million third baseman and expensive Dave Kingman lookalike at first base.