I couldn't write about this on a day where the first playoff berth of 2010 was clinched, but no team is clinching today, so it looks like I'm in the clear. While September 21 was a joyous day for the Twins, it was an ugly and likely an embarrassing one for the Dodgers. L.A. was eliminated from playoff contention last night after being shut out by San Diego (again), and it really seemed as if the Dodgers bowed out just as quietly as the Twins got in.
The 2010 Dodger campaign was one riddled with inconsistency. The offense was potent in the first half, nonexistent in the second half. The pitching was splendid in the second half, abysmal in the first half. Nowhere over the course of the season, except for maybe a little 9-game winning streak back in May, did the two simultaneously click into place and elevate the team's performance. What's remarkable, if you think about it, is that the Dodgers managed to hang around for this long; they pieced together 73 victories prior to being eliminated, even with all of that inconsistency. Imagine what would have happened if the team was firing on all cylinders.
It would certainly be easy to point fingers and assess blame to individual players for the outcome of the Dodgers' 2010 season. Maybe some players are even deserving of it. Chad Billingsley got off to an awful start before turning things around in the second half. Matt Kemp couldn't seem to make contact all year. Jonathan Broxton's mental fortitude disappeared after the Yankees left town in June. Rafael Furcal didn't stay on the field. Russell Martin still couldn't hit. So many potential reasons why this season will be forgettable for the Dodgers, but none of the above reasons tell the whole story. There is no umbrella to squeeze all of the Dodgers' issues under, not even the McCourt situation. This was a team that was not vastly improved in the offseason, a team that got a lot of help at this year's deadline but paid large amounts of chemistry for it, a team that lost its swagger from a year ago. More importantly, the Dodgers were a team that lost more games than they won prior to today, and collectively, they are responsible. This is true of any team, in any sport, at any level. Individual players, managers, owners, and executives don't lose games by themselves. Teams lose games. The Dodgers lost enough to eliminate themselves two weeks early.
If inconsistency is the word of choice when characterizing the Dodgers' regular season in 2010, then uncertainty has to be the word characterizing the Dodgers' future. We all know what's going on with the McCourts, and that's a huge part of the equation, but do we know if we can get the old Broxton back? Do we know if we'll have a fifth starter that isn't a rookie next season? Do we know if Matt Kemp was a one-season wonder? As always, there are many personnel questions facing the Dodgers this winter, and because personnel take the field and play 162 games over six months, personnel have to be the primary concern for Dodger fans going forward. Is this linked to the McCourts, and to Ned Colletti? Undoubtedly. But Dodger fans know we can win with this club. We proved it in 2009. The same team came back in 2010 and underachieved, despite periodic upgrades to the bench, rotation, and bullpen. Other teams in the division got better. The Padres surprised everyone after not getting better. And now the Dodgers are a fourth place team, reminiscing about where they were this time last year, reliving in their minds all the champagne-soaked moments the Twins got to experience last night. Now, they fade quietly into the night, the distant melody of "We Love L.A." faintly ringing in their ears, one question clinging to their minds: more uncertainty in 2011?
We love it.
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