Look on the bright side

Why would the Phillies trade Howard for just Loney and Lowe anyways? It will take more than these two players for the Phillies to accept a trade. Either way the Dodgers have to get outside help to either improve the team or just stand pat let the young players develop, and keep playing the kind of baseball that they are playing, which is extremely sad to watch. The young players are talented but they are at least another year or two away.

The Dodgers pretty much have a AAA team out on the field playing against major league clubs. The dodgers offensive slump is like an old re-run that keeps on playing on the classic channel.

Right now the Dodgers are PUNCHLESS, POWERLESS, and I'm starting to question the players heart. Kent is completely done, Garciaparra we all know the story, Schmidt don't even ask, and what the hell is going on with Furcal who they don't even know when he is coming back. This is truly a fragile team.

Enough is enough. This team was poorly constructed from the start. All the team did was acquire a position player coming off of his worst season (Jones) and a completely unproven pitcher at the major league level (Kuroda) this past offseason. I would have never,ever entered the season with the options of Nomar and LaRoche at third. DeWitt is ok...and, a bit of a pleasant surprise...However, he is no Beltre with the glove or the bat. (don't just give me his average) Also, Kent is done.....and, has been done for a couple of years now. I would have acquired a second baseman who is younger and has some range. Lastly, I think management likes the salaries of Kemp and Ethier best. All this "youth movement" stuff is, to some degree, economically driven. I firmly believe that. Kemp is looking more and more like a cross between Raul Mondesi and Billy Ashley every day to me. Clueless at the plate with an awkward "all arms" swing. Completely guessing up there. These young players have no track record of success at this level........However, since management keeps telling us how good they are, we keep waiting and waiting for it as if it is completely inevitable....surely just a matter of time until they fulfill their potential. Potential based on whose assessment? I'm not seeing the next Mike Schmidt in LaRoche or DeWitt....I'm not seeing the next Manny Ramirez or Griffey in Matt Kemp....I'm not seeing the next Ozzie Smith in Hu or Maza.........In short, you can give them all the time you'd like....but, I think it's time to take management to task on their talent assessing abilities. Or, is it partly due to their relatively low salaries? Come on, level with us ... please Mr. Colletti

So, when are we going to sign somebody to help the Dodgers?......it is getting so worthless to watch a Dodger game and I love the team...it is just that it is rather embarrasing for me to hear my co-workers making fun of the Dogers and praising the Angels....LET'S DO SOMETHING MANAGEMENT......

Isn't Delwyn Young due a start over Slappy McGroundout? Seems slappy is back to his old self. Best line I ever heard about him is "Juan Pierre gives 200 hit seasons a bad name."

Patrick Broderick, you're my new favorite dodger fan. I know it's human nature to complain--my students do it ALL THE TIME--but really, what's the point? If you're a fan, be a fan. Sports are just a distraction from the real problems of the world anyways, so STOP WHINING AND ENJOY IT!!

I hate all this losing and no offense as much as the next guy, but hey, I cheer for the Blue, watching these kids develop is great, and at least we have an owner who spends money and a GM who just might, just maybe, see the whole picture.

Colorado was sub-.500 at the all-star break last year, and they made the world series. Who's to say this team couldn't do the same? If you don't believe, go cheer for San Francisco. They'll make your lack of faith worth it.

The whole point about letting the kids play is to enable them to gain the experience they so desperately need. Very few major league players reach stardom overnight. If the Dodgers believe in the talent of their young players, then it is imperative that they let them play everyday. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, until this year our young players were given sporadic playing time. Don't expect things to turn around overnight. Expect bumps in the road, but also expect that there will be progress as the season continues.

I fully expect to see improvement, and that the experience of facing and overcoming adversity will be an experience that the players will benefit from in the months and years to come.

And yes, the Dodgers are still only 3.5 games out (the D-Backs fell to the Giants again tonight), certanly not an insurmountable deficit given that the Dodgers have 109 to play, 13 of which are with the D-Backs.

The Dodgers are playing horribly now, but keep in mind, no team is a good as they look when playing at their best, nor as bad as they look when playing at their worst.

And keep in mind 2006 when the Dodgers lost 13 of 14 after the All-Star break, and immediately followed it up by winning 18 of 18. I'm not suggesting that there will be such a dramatic turnaround this year, but I do suggest that a reversal of the team's fortune could change in a relatively short period of time. Think about the next 50 games, and suppose that the Dodgers begin showing improvement, and go 30- 20 (.600), and that the D-Backs continue their fall back to Earth, and go 25-25 (.500). In such a scenario the Dodgers would be in first place with a 1.5 game lead (2 in the loss column). It's not an inconceivable scenario.