Dodgers stand pat at the deadline

It was an exciting time, six years ago this week. Before Frank McCourt was fully-outed as villainous swine and before the Dodgers fell and rose back into contention, there was the Manny Ramirez trade. As a fan who could watch all the games on television at the time, the Ramirez trade was a lightning bolt. I did not get anything done at work for the rest of that July 31 day.

Immediately, I started trash talking both Giants fans named Dave at my work. Immediately, I began to DVR every Dodgers game, not wanting to miss a moment. Immediately, I was hooked.

The storyline worked pretty nicely. Manny led the Dodgers to division titles in both 2008 and 2009 before the bubble burst, the smoke and mirrors were cleared, and the rank stench of the McCourt era put a cloud over Dodger Stadium that continues to need clearing.

The August, September, and October of 2008 were electric though, and it was all because of a single move at the trade deadline.

Now, the Dodgers have shown that their ownership can and will spend with the Big Boys. This year, the Dodgers chose not to make any moves by the July 31 trade deadline. Their decision-making might have been sound. It’s entirely possible that the combination of Joc Pederson, Corey Seager, and Julio Urias could be worth more to the club than David Price would have been this year. You can definitely make a baseball argument for that.

I wanted to wait a few days to let the dust settle on the deadline. To see if it still left me feeling a little empty – like I’m missing something (and yes, I’m talking about missing something ASIDE FROM the ability to watch any games on television, which I’ve been missing all year).

The verdict, on this second day of August is that there is something missing. It’s a kind of panache I think you really only find the necessity for in Los Angeles. If the “Cardinal way,” or “St. Louis way” is a head-down kind of baseball that follows all the unwritten rules and demands that the game is respected at all costs, then the Los Angeles way is about winning a certain way as well. This city demands gumption, energy, vibrance, and a narrative to tie it all together.

The Cardinals, Tigers, and A’s all made moves to significantly improve their teams before and at the trade deadline. Perhaps the Dodgers’ biggest rival for the National League, the Cardinals did what they seem to always do — ridding themselves of a player (Allen Craig) who was underperforming his contract for a player who has, potentially, a ridiculous amount of value. They gave up Joe Kelly too, but this isn’t a team that’s willing to sit around and see what kind of slightly above average pitcher Kelly can be. They want to get to the World Series again this year and were able to fill a need while not mortgaging their entire future.

The Dodgers organization has done a ton of work in the past few years to build and maintain some consistency throughout their system, but standing pat puts a lot of eyes squarely back on the players they’ve had all season.

But I’m going to keep asking the questions. Can we trust Josh Beckett, Paul Maholm, and Dan Haren at the back of the rotation? What depth does the team really have or need at infield positions? Why do the Dodgers (still) have five outfielders, none of whom can play center field with a high rate of efficiency?

These are questions that were asked months ago, and they weren’t answered at the trade deadline. If they are some of the reasons the Dodgers lose in the playoffs or fail to make the postseason at all, then fans will start asking other questions about personnel. The highest payroll in baseball and raised expectations do not easily breed the patience this team is both displaying and asking from its fans.

I suppose patience, in itself, is a gamble that just isn’t realized for a long period of time.

For as great of a thing as it is, a bubble machine isn’t going to heal what ails Hanley Ramirez. It’s not going to give Matt Kemp excellent outfield instincts and it certainly isn’t going to make Dan Haren or Josh Beckett any younger.