Friday, May 9, 2008
Holding Back Young Players
Hurt the Dodgers and Them
Copyrighted by Sarah D. Morris,
2008
While the Dodgers are winning,
people tend to overlook the team’s shortcomings. However, when the Dodgers are losing, the
fans and media aren’t able to recognize that the Dodgers can do anything well.
The media has praised the Dodgers
for having the right combination of veterans and young players. Although I understand experience can be
important to the success of a baseball team, the Dodgers rely heavily on their
experienced players.
Since the Dodgers want to win now,
general manager Ned Colletti and manager Joe Torre don’t know whether they
should trust the young players’ abilities or go with the veterans. Veterans might not perform as well as the
younger players, but the Dodgers know better what to expect from them.
Unlike the Arizona Diamondbacks who
had a couple of dreadful seasons while they waited for their young players to
mature, the Dodgers don’t have this luxury.
Since the Dodgers play in the second largest market, people expect them
to field a competitive team every year.
Frank and Jamie McCourt have stated their goal for the Dodgers is to
draw four million fans a season. People
won’t come and watch a losing team.
The Dodger management doesn’t want
to rush young players to the major leagues.
Many baseball knowledgeable people believe rushing young players to the
major leagues will hinder their development.
Many Dodger fans think Adrian Beltre didn’t reach his enormous projected
potential because he reached the major leagues at nineteen and skipped
Triple-A. This reluctance is keeping Clayton Kershaw in the minor leagues while
the Dodgers are struggling to find a reliable fifth starter.
Some young players have been victimized by the Dodgers’ caution. I feel Loney
is one of these. Oh yes, he will be a
successful major leaguer now, but holding him back damaged his confidence and
the Dodgers’ ability to win in the recent past.
Even now, some people question whether Loney has enough power to play
first base.
When I heard about Loney for the
first time during spring training of 2005, I heard Loney had major league
defensive ability, but he didn’t have enough offensive power to be a major
league first baseman. I never understood
why some positions need more power than others do. I know most people think anyone can play
first base, but the defense anywhere on the field is important. Any position
can have a power hitter. At twenty-one, Loney hadn’t developed his power
yet.
Over my years of watching baseball,
I have seen two first basemen who were slick fielders
and didn’t have power. Mark Grace was a
superb hitter and could field anything close to him but never hit many home
runs though he played mostly in the cozy confines of Wrigley Field. Though he didn’t hit home runs, he helped his
teams by his ability to hit for a high batting average and catch
everything. J.T. Snow won the Gold Glove
many years and could hit for a decent average, but he had no power.
I concluded the Dodgers weren’t
that high on Loney, and I felt sorry for the kid. When I finally saw him play in the spring of
2006, I didn’t care if he ever developed power, he could field well. When Nomar Garciaparra came back from injuries,
the Dodgers sent Loney to the minor leagues.
Each time that Loney came up, I saw improvement in his batting.
When Loney came up in September
after winning the batting championship in Triple-A, I thought he would be up
with the Dodgers forever. During that
month, he hit .323 and proved he had power.
In one game at Coors Field, he drove in nine runs. When Garciaparra couldn’t play in the
playoffs, Loney played and had four hits.
It was obvious that he was ready for the major leagues.
Although I wanted the Dodgers to
re-sign Garciaparra, I didn’t want him to block Loney. Since The Dodgers didn’t have a third
baseman, I thought Garciaparra could play there. However, Ned Colletti and Grady Little didn’t want to move Garciaparra. They said that he might get hurt more easily
playing third base. Although he was the
Dodger power hitter, he should have been able to move to third base. Keeping Garciaparra at first base didn’t
leave room for Loney.
Loney had the best spring of his
life. He showed the Dodgers that he
could hit. The previous September was no
fluke. I was certain that he would make
the team. At the end of spring training,
the Dodgers sent Loney down to
Although the Dodgers promoted Loney
at the beginning of June, it was too late to save the season for them. Loney always did well. At the end of the season, Loney had a .331
batting average with 15 home runs. He
hit nine home runs in September.
This year Loney has been a mainstay
at first base for the Dodgers. For most
of the season, he has led them in RBI.
He began the season with a long hitting streak. His defense has been spectacular. I would like to see him picked for the
All-Star Game.
The reluctance of the Dodgers to
trust the abilities of their young players has hurt them and their young
players’ development. Although now the
Dodgers are glad that they have James Loney, they didn’t sound like they were a
couple of years ago. Loney might never
hit more than twenty-five home runs a season, but no one knows that for
sure. He turned twenty-four years old on
Wednesday. To me, the sky is the limit
for Loney.