Turns out the Dodgers are an old story
The Dodgers unexpectedly have an age-old problem.
They are an old team. Graybeards with gloves. Guys closer to swinging a walker than a bat. They don’t need human growth hormone, they need Celebrex, and an updated retirement program.
This goes against everything we’ve been told about the Dodgers for the past several years, which is part of the problem. Years go by, and the young aren’t so young anymore. Or at least so I’m told.
Of the 23 Dodgers you could reasonably expect to make their final roster, only two are younger than 26.
That’s it, two -- Clayton Kershaw (23 on March 19) and Kenley Jansen (23).
The average age of those 23 Dodgers is over 30.
That young core of offensive players is now down to three -- Matt Kemp (26), James Loney (26) and Andre Ethier (29 on April 10).
Otherwise the Dodgers' daily starting lineup is expected to have a 35-year-old catcher (Rod Barajas), a 31-year-old second baseman (Juan Uribe), a 37-year-old third baseman (Casey Blake), a 33-year-old shortstop (Rafael Furcal), and a 33-year-old (Marcus Thames) and soon-to-be-34-year-old (Jay Gibbons, happy birthday on Tuesday) splitting time in left.
Mr. Utility is 37-year-old Jamey Carroll. The frisky backup catcher is a 27-year-old kid, Dioner Navarro.
The rotation has 26-year-old Chad Billingsley and Kershaw, but also 31-year-old Jon Garland, 35-year-old Ted Lilly and 36-year-old Hiroki Kuroda.
The bullpen has 26-year-old Jonathan Broxton and Jansen, but also 28-year-old (happy birthday today) Blake Hawksworth, possibly 28-year-old Ramon Troncoso, 29-year-old Hong-Chih Kuo, 32-year-old Matt Guerrier, and eventually the allegedly 33-year-old Vincente Padilla.
And then still fighting to earn final spots are 34-year-old Aaron Miles, 35-year-old Gabe Kapler, 35-year-old (on Friday) Mike MacDougal, 38-year-old Juan Castro and 39-year-old Ron Mahay.
Geritol all around!
So much for those young Dodgers. Ah, youth, where does it fly?
These guys don’t relate to Don Mattingly, they relate to Tom Lasorda. Or John Glenn. These Dodgers are older than a Charley Steiner one-liner.
The problem with all this, of course, is that older players are more likely to break down. They end up looking for love more often in the whirlpool than the batter’s box.
And for the most part, the guys backing up the old starters are even older reserves. Old teams can still win, but they can also tag-team it to the disabled list.
Forget that youthful Dodgers routine. Old news.
-- Steve Dilbeck
Top photo: Juan Uribe. Credit: Jake Roth / US Presswire
Middle photo: Teddy Lilly. Credit: Kyle Terada / US Presswire
Bottom photo: Casey Blake. Credit: Jake Roth / US Presswire
it's the best we can attract, given our financial ruin, and smarter players choosing better options than our front office front-and-center turmoil
If we were, for example, in the No. 2 market in the country, well then ... it ... wouldn't ... be ... like ... wait a minute
Posted by: alanw19 | 03/01/2011 at 06:34 AM
Steve - why is it you're never on Ned's case? He's the one "building" this team of castoffs and has beens. Its been his way ever since he got here. He either trades away marginal youth for definite over-the-hills, or he signs guys that haven't seen a decent season in 5-6 years.
.
Every team has to plug in an oldie or three to fill out their roster. Generally though their relegated to bench players. Ned on the otherhand goes out of his way to hand these guys starting jobs. I know everone's ooh-ing and ah-ing about the starting 5-6, but look who they are. Garland's suspect according to every other team in the league. Padilla's already down, which we know will be just about all season once he's had the inevitible Conte "set-back." Kuroda never goes an entire season without breaking down.
.
Then there's Furcal who never plays a full season. Blake who was washed up last year. LF which is a downright embarrassment, catcher... the man obviously is incapable of judging and signing talent, and doesn't have the tools to know how to build a team. Just because a guy "wants" to be a Dodger doesn't mean he should be. Ned's criteria for a player starts with age, branches off to if they've ever been a Giant, then goes to they haven't had a good year since McKinley was president.
.
Frank's a lot of things, but Ned's an idiot.
Posted by: Labeldude | 03/01/2011 at 06:53 AM
Don't know how many Dodger players are too old to play but apparently some fans think they may be too old to watch. Or perhaps the "boycott" is snowballing or fans have just lost interest. Actual attendance yesterday at Camelback Ranch looked to be about 1,500 in a stadium that holds 13,000. Naturally the Dodgers will announce twice that number but there were only a scattering of fans. And half of them likely White Sox fans. The market value of Dodger tickets continues to plummet and contribute to Frank and Jamie McCourts financial death spiral. Find it hard to believe that Dodger tickets are almost worthless? Check StubHub for the Dodgers/Mariners final spring season game March 30 at Dodger Stadium and you will find Top Deck seats for $2.94...Reserve level seats for $3.60...and Loge Level seats for $4.00.
Posted by: skyharbor | 03/01/2011 at 07:30 AM
Now who's this McKinley? Yet another guy we picked up from the Giants? Another old guy?.... .... ...... Or what? :)
Posted by: BlueinAZ | 03/01/2011 at 08:10 AM
That'll make it easier for them to quit in the middle of the season, just like last year.
Posted by: Chumpy Kemp | 03/01/2011 at 08:23 AM
Does the anyone remember the salad days? You know, back when everyone moaned about the Maury Wills offense, but suffered through it knowing Koufax and Drysdale would win anyway. It seems like it's been, what, almost 50 years, since 1963 and 1965. Nowadays the Dodgers all look like Frank Howard in the field, totally lost in the sun, drowning in boo birds. We can thank FOX for selling the team to McCourt, a real estate investor hooked on leverage, who never met a dime or a dollar he didn't want to borrow, who couldn't satisfy his ugly wife with a mansion in Malibu or two, let alone Dodger fans.
Posted by: California Sun | 03/01/2011 at 08:23 AM
Why don't they get new younger players into the club?
Posted by: los angeles ca maids | 03/01/2011 at 08:27 AM
How about signing Ron Fairly?
Posted by: Grandpa | 03/01/2011 at 08:47 AM
The reason you can't have all young players on your team is they suck (Kemp, Loney, Wood, et al.)
Posted by: Grandpa | 03/01/2011 at 08:48 AM
Jeez, negative much? Some of still love this team, whether they age or not. We ALL grow older. Go Dodgers!!
Posted by: AB | 03/01/2011 at 09:52 AM
Jeez, negative much? Some of still love this team, whether they age or not. We ALL grow older. Go Dodgers!!
Posted by: AB | 03/01/2011 at 09:52 AM
I think we are looking at finishing in last place my friends.
Posted by: Hollywood Dodger Mark | 03/01/2011 at 10:20 AM
Sell The Dodgers, Frank McCourt
JOIN US ALL ON SUNDAY MARCH 27TH AT 1 PM - "DAY OF BLUE RAGE" AGAINST FRANK MCOURT - IF EVEN 1% OF OUR FANS SHOW UP THAT'S 30,000 PEOPLE! CAIRO. WISCONSIN. CHAVEZ RAVINE! HOSNI MCCOURT CAN BE TOPPLED! WAKE UP! SUNSET GATE PARKING LOT ONE.
Posted by: Hollywood Dodger Mark | 03/01/2011 at 10:24 AM
Things in LA are progressing nicely. Excellent work, Agent Ned.
Posted by: B. Sabean | 03/01/2011 at 10:59 AM
only the immediate starter type prospect gets a shot with the dodgers anymore. the developing, not quite ready for prime time players are all left at triple-a with their bench spots taken by aging vets. that is the colletti way. that's okay i guess, if the aging vet still has something left. colletti's made some good moves and some bad moves. i don't think this will change. ned loves the vets. he may talk a good story about sellers or dejesus, but we all know the last roster spot is going to the over-the-hill, never hit before and won't hit now, juan castro. his only asset, defense, is now largely just anecdotal, not based on fact anymore.
Posted by: HI Dodger Fan | 03/01/2011 at 11:02 AM
los angeles ca maids said: "Why don't they get new younger players into the club?"
Because the two regimes since the O'Malleys have not trusted kids. Joe Torre had a love affair with veterans. He didn't have any patience for teaching kids and waiting for them to develop. He preferred veterans so he could sit back and just let them play.
But veterans also come with much larger paychecks, egos and sometimes a long history of injury. Ideally, a team has a core of younger players and a few veterans to mentor them.
Posted by: k | 03/01/2011 at 11:08 AM
The only reason for this is the owner is operating on a shoestring budget and he is cheap, so cheap he squeaks, but he is not cheap when it comes to himself or his ex-wife. We bought them eight houses and he bought us NADA. he got the gold mine and we got the shaft. We have to thank saint buddy for this, it was saint buddy who engineered this bum into our lives. And now saint buddy sits on his kiester and watches the team get older and older. In this market and the fan loyalty that has been displayed through the years, We should have players like Lee and Sabathia.We should have a run producer like Longoria or Braun and Hamilton, instead we have Lilly and Kuroda, We have Thames and Loney. Nice people and great triple a or complimentary players . But they will not bring a World Series Championship to Los Angeles, only saint buddy and his cronies can do that by exiling frankie,jamey and neddy. DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH......BOYCOTT THE BUMS AND SHOW SOME TOUGH LOVE...
Posted by: Jim McVeigh | 03/01/2011 at 11:17 AM
"Turns out the dudgers are an old story"
- and that's being generous: in fact, Kuo ("29") turns 30 this year, while Guerrier ("32") will be 33, and paDiLla ("33") also ages before our eyes, turning 34 - even Mahay - already an relic at "39" - turns 40 this season.
Rumor is, negotiations with Dorian Gray (or maybe his picture) are underway (the devil is in the details, don't you know); the horror be Ned's Faustian team of 2011 dudgers continues...
Posted by: 16blows | 03/01/2011 at 12:17 PM
BlueinAZ:
you're killing me, lmao
Posted by: alanw19 | 03/01/2011 at 12:22 PM
AB:
Still loving my Dodgers, optimistic too.
Realistic as well. It is an old team, those not old way underperformed last year, and I've got a sample to work with and think Ned's report card which is linked to ownership could be much better.
Just want to win a World Series - that's all, nothing less. If this bunch gets additions and subtractions and pulls it off, it'll be quite the story. I hope they do.
Meanwhile, I'm keeping it light with Bluein AZ, skyharbor, S'58, labeldude and the rest of you guys.
Like the boycotting fans idea - got to send a message.
Like the booing idea - got to send a message.
Anybody with a plane, put a banner on it and fly over March 31.
Go away Frank. Just go away.
Posted by: alanw19 | 03/01/2011 at 12:27 PM
Carrol, Gwynn, and Thames are breaking with the club. Assuming Gibbons is healthy he starts most gms in left. That doesn't leave much PT for Robinson or Sands even if they kill it in AZ. Blake shouldn't start more than 50gms this year but the blue mind trust looks like they're wanting him to take the 2hole! Terrible. And looks like there will be no actual competition for back up catcher as Jimenez already played ahead of Ellis. Disgusting. Padilla's injury almost assures breaking with 12 pitchers meaning only one backup IF even has a chance of breaking with the club. If that ain't DeJesus i am going to vomit. Gibbons/Thames may work out offensively(.280avg and 25hrcombined) but will be a disaster in left. Navarro maybe the worst minor signing ever. Last year i defended the G. Anderson signing because he was once a great player who had produced down the stretch the year before. I was wrong so wrong. Navarro was never great and hasn't produced for yrs. Gibbons has some good halves but never a whole and is blocking the two most MLB ready prospects from being on the team and providing the youthful energy this club is gonna need. Crossing my fingers and prayin' for DeJesus.
Posted by: N.P.Krohn | 03/01/2011 at 01:24 PM
Remember back to the numerous times when the Dodgers had or had one player in contention for rookie of the year in the NL?
Posted by: StanL | 03/01/2011 at 04:25 PM
SELL THE TEAM FRANK
Posted by: SmackSaw | 03/01/2011 at 04:43 PM
Who cares about age? How about playing well! Like, let's see some hitting to go with that awesome pitching the Dodgers got! Let's see something good happen... for ONCE. Let's build up the club instead of being all black clouds, gloom and doom, and the end of the world stuff - Frank McCourt is a big enough of a black cloud as it already is.
The way everyone is talking, it seems like Los Angeles and the Dodgers has had an unhappy "marriage" they came to Los Angeles.
Posted by: E. | 03/01/2011 at 08:14 PM
What about X PAUL??!!! And you can thank the closing of the Dodgers Dominican facilities for the lack of young stars...
Posted by: x paul | 03/01/2011 at 09:07 PM
Colletti keeps making the same mistakes. Instead of going after impact-type players (Adam Dunn, e.g.) and then filling in with the like of XPaul, Hoffman, and DeJesus, he spreads his stipend out among aging veterans. It's a formula that worked with the Giants last year, purely by accident. They picked Cody Ross off the waiver wire to keep the Padres from getting him and he had a career two months. Retreads like Aubrey Huff rediscovered themselves. Meanwhile, Ned signs Garret Anderson, et al.
Posted by: Airedale | 03/02/2011 at 04:53 AM
I'm curious as to why they don't sign up any new players.
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