In terms of being "embarrassed" by his sub-Mendoza performance as a Dodger, Jones does care about his lackluster start.  How much of that embarrassment, however, is rooted in Jones caring about fan reaction (or not, as he often seems dead set on maintaining) has been the source of discussion on the blog since the loss on Sunday.  The Dodgers' current roadie couldn't come sooner for Jones, now hearing the boo birds in full chirp upon picking up the stick, a serenade that typically only louder as the game continues.  This development is the root of of my biggest gripe over Jones and his poor start.  The guy has absolutely ruined Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" for me.  From now until the day I die, I'll hear boos in my head whenever Andruw Jones' at bat theme is playing.  I'm a huge fan of both Marley and that particular song, so this ain't sitting well with me by any stretch.

The gripe running a close second, however, would Jones' apparent take on the fans.

It's not so much -- at least for the time being -- that I'm being proven wrong.  Lord knows that happens often enough and is an unavoidable side effect of my job.  Rather, it's because I like intrigue and competition as much as the next guy, and right now I'm not getting any.  Which is why, as of April 29, I have this to say to the N.L. West:

I'm ticked off at you. 

This was supposed to be the most competitive division in baseball, with four teams -- that's Arizona, L.A., Colorado and San Diego, if you're keeping score -- theoretically capable of pushing or exceeding 90 wins, packed tight like sardines in oil and overloading normally forgettable first-half series with intrigue.  A genuine 162-game pennant race.   

Clearly, that was wishful thinking. 

The recent league-wide celebration of Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier served as a reminder of an ugly time in American history and an acknowledgment of progress made in an effort to rectify the situation.  But any remembrance of No. 42 can't sidestep an accompanying reality.  Black baseball players are a steadily shrinking contingent.  As one of the elder spokesmen for that minority (on and away from the field), Ken Griffey Jr. offered theories ranging from the lack of black players being marketed (MVP runner-up Matt Holliday got more Nike love than actual MVP Jimmy Rollins), the equipment's durability (meaning fewer items to sell 24/7) and baseball's slower pace in not appealing to the MTV generation (Griffey's kid digs James "Bubba" Stewart more than James Anthony Loney).  All of these observations were hard to deny, especially considering Griffey once spent time as arguably the face of baseball's marketing machine.  But another theory Junior floated caught my attention in an "I-ain't-buying-it" kinda way:

Today's young African American athletes are shying away from baseball because of media coverage of Barry Bonds.

Opening Day!  Finally, a chance to start talking about games that matter instead of hoping to draw lessons from ones (or at least the final scores of ones) that don't.  And ultimately, it all comes down to one big question: After a fairly productive offseason in which they added Hiroki Kuroda and Andruw Jones, made space for their young, talented players, and found some dude from New York to manage the team, will the Dodgers have enough to win the NL West? 

I spent last week previewing the division, and I'll be honest, even after breaking down each team, I still don't feel like I have a good handle on where each team will finish, aside from the Giants in last.  I gave Arizona 87 wins, San Diego 85, and the Rockies 89... and while I like the basic order, feel like I might have undershot each by a win or two.  Such is life in a division with four good but flawed teams.  When it's all said and done, I think the Blue have more than enough to compete for a division title.   

With Jason Schmidt on the shelf for the time being (and his effectiveness not guaranteed once removed from it), the Dodgers are staring at set of options to man the fifth spot in the rotation with all the appeal of an After M.A.S.H. marathon.  Esteban Loaiza.  Chan Ho Park.  Jason Johnson.  (Okay, Clayton Kershaw is an intriguing option, but I still think the Blue would be wise to resist.)  Hong-Chi Kuo could be a good choice, if he can stay healthy enough to take the gig.  Currently, he seems more likely to land in the pen.  Still, I spent most of the spring thinking that while it certainly would benefit the Dodgers to have a better arm available, since we're talking about fifth starter, is it really that big a deal? 

Seriously, if you take a look around baseball, there are some awful guys in line to be fifth starters.  You can make an argument that the Cardinals currently sport four of them in spots 2-5.  Will we go collectively gaga over Lenny DiNardo in Oakland?   Garrett Olson in Baltimore? And it's not just the good teams that are thin.  Philly's depth chart currently shows JD Durbin at the five, maybe Adam Eaton, and while Ian Kennedy/Joba Chamberlain are huge talents in New York, the Yankees currently have Mike Mussina slotted ahead of them, and he's a huge question mark at this point. 

So that made me feel a little better... until I looked at the NL West again.  In a division where any of four teams can realistically say they've got a shot to win, the margin could come down to three or four games that the back of the rotation make winnable for the Dodgers.  With that in mind, I took a look at where the Dodgers stack up:

Yes, the rivalry is heated.  Yes, smack talking is expected and even encouraged.  But it's still never cool to throw down over your teams in the Ravine parking lot.  Never.  Especially when doing so leaves a woman legally blind in one eye.  Said victim is alleging that stadium security didn't do its part to keep the brouhaha from escalating, thus a lawsuit now in play.  The plaintiff's are asking for a mil in damages.  We'll see how this shakes out.

As for Dodger matters limited strictly to the field, mlb.com's Ken Gurnick breaks down the upcoming season when it comes to first and third base.  I won't reveal which corner feels more solidified, but let's just say job security isn't among James Loney's bigger worries these days.

-AK

Luis Gonzalez instead spoke to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick about his desire to play in 2008.  Presumably with another club, since I'm likely a safer bet to wear Dodger blue next season. 

It'll be interesting to see how this quest shakes out for Gonzalez, assuming there's a "shake" in development.  Which teams can use Gonzalez?  And more importantly, what role will make him happy?  If you believe Gonzalez, the notion that he MUST play every day is false.  Agent Gregg Clifton says his client is "just looking for an opportunity to play on a regular basis -- whatever that is -- and get back to the World Series again." Should being a fourth outfielder wind up part of a championship route, no worries.  However, if you believe Gonzalez's body language and obvious displeasure down the 2007 stretch while being merely a part-time fourth outfielder, it's harder to picture the guy remaining happy  after two or three series without a start.  Between his rep's mixed message (the difference between playing on a "regular basis" and "every day" may be semantical at best) and Gonzo's insistence that the tank is hardly running on fumes, if I had to guess whether a role like last August and September's would make him happy or not, I'm leaning towards "not."  Obviously, a different scenario might change his opinion of that job description, but were I a GM, unless certain I could offer Gonzo an inked spot in left (assuming he's the guy I want there), I wouldn't take a flyer.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Make sure to click on the show widget on the side of the page to hear today's webcast of "Purple, Gold and Blue."  Technology permitting, we'll be talking with ESPN The Magazine's Molly Knight  -- an occasional Blue Notes contributor -- about all the managerial machinations. At noon.  If you missed the live broadcast, you can still listen/download the podcast.  Same widget.  BK

My belief that in baseball, as in most professional sports (with the possible exception of the NFL ... but that's a debate for another day/site), coaches/managers tend to get too much blame when things go poorly and too much credit when they go well isn't exactly a state secret.  Nor is my stance that Grady Little wasn't the primary reason that down the stretch the Dodgers collapsed like a Ponzi scheme gone wrong.  For the record, that public enemy No. 1 was the collapse of the pitching staff. 

But there's no question that the manager matters, and my position has always been that to fire Little to make a lateral, Jim Tracy-esque move wouldn't have done much good, and might have had the opposite effect.  Yes, Grady-haters, it could actually be worse (ha ha).  But if a better option was available, someone who would constitute a clear upgrade, I had no problem with the Dodgers making a move.

I think Joe Torre would qualify. 

When a season crashes and burns like it did for the Dodgers, it's natural (and appropriate) for a critical eye to land on not just the players on the field but the guys responsible for bringing them in and putting them on the field.  And at this point, most fans look at Grady Little with expressions ranging from red-cheeked anger on one end to the same confused, befuddled look my parents had when I told them I wasn't going to law school on the other.  Very few smiles sent his way.  As for Ned Colletti?  He might be a little more popular, but no doubt sales of his fanzine are down as well.  And why not?  At one point, the Dodgers had the National League's best record.  Not sure if you noticed, but they didn't finish that way.  We've evaluated the position players, we've evaluated the pitchers.  We've handed out hardware.

Time to take a look at Colletti and Little.

UPDATE: 10/17- Make sure to log in for Purple, Gold, and Blue at www.nowlive.com today at 12:00 pm.  I'll be honest with you- we'll be spending a lot of time on the Lakers, but will definitely get to the Dodgers as well.  Call in!

BK already doled out report cards for this season, pitchers and position players alike.  Some folks aquitted themselves nicely.  Others will require some time in winter school (since one can't take remedial classes while the season's in full swing).  But among those cutting the proverbial mustard fans slather all over a Dodger Dog, who was the squad's big Kahuna?  King of the hill?  The Blue MVP of 2007?  Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of players cranking out noteworthy seasons, meaning that the competition wasn't nearly as fierce as during 2006's race.  Of course, that did make my selection process considerably easier, although I doubt that provides much comfort for the average Blue Bleeder.  At any rate, I thought it was worth noting the five biggest standouts (in my humble opinion) and doling out a few additional honors.  Take a look and see if you agree.

Having taken a look at the pitchers, it's time to find out which position player gets to put his 2007 report card on the refrigerator door.  I can tell you if some of these guys have parents like mine, they could lose some television or video game privileges.  It was, overall, a frustrating year with the bats for the Blue.  Frustrating with the gloves as well (the lack of quality D being an often overlooked aspect of L.A.'s collective failure).  Both, with the pitching issues we've discussed, go a long way toward explaining why "blue" wasn't just a nickname but a description of the Dodger Nation's collective mood when the season was over.

So without further ado ...

NEWS UPDATE (10-5): The Pirates have fired Jim Tracy after two seasons.  Guess that arrangement didn't work out well for anyone.

For all the talk of clubhouse dissension and mutiny, the beginning of the end for the Dodgers this season really came when the back end of the rotation dropped like the muffler on a rusted out '79 Malibu. For a team built on pitching, one that seemed forever incapable of meeting generally modest offensive expectations, it was too much to overcome. The ripple effect was profound.  Not only did it mean trotting ineffective guys like Brett Tomko and Mark Hendrickson out every fourth and fifth day, but it had a residual effect on the bullpen.  More pitchers throwing more innings, and, necessity being the mother of invention, taking stabs at players like Roberto Hernandez for "help."  Add to that a less-effective-than-in-the-first-half Brad Penny and Derek Lowe at the top end, and the ugliness makes even more sense. 

They'd have been better off losing two or three bats to injury (and of course, more reliable production from the offense would have made a profound difference, too).  But regardless of what went wrong or didn't break L.A.'s way, evaluations still have to be made.  So without further delay, here are my grades for the '07 Dodgers pitching staff: