Ouch! The Dodgers are Hurting. Why are You Surprised?

An article by Ben Bolch in the LA Times earlier this week described the Dodgers’ injury woes this year. Apparently, the boys in blue are the most-injured team in the league.

Really? Who saw this one coming. Who could have ever known that an infield that includes 37 year-old Casey Blake, 33 year-old and oft-injured) Rafael Furcal, and 32 year-old (and out of shape) Juan Uribe wouldn’t be together for 162 games? By the time the season is over, the Doders would privately be happy with even 80 games together for the group.

For the last few years, owner Frank McCourt has not made any big free agent acquisitions with the exception of the dumpster fire that was Manny Ramirez’ contract. Instead, the Dodgers have openly touted a group of young players as the direction the team was headed. That included Russell Martin, Jonathan Broxton, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, James Loney, Hong Chi Kuo, and Andre Ethier.

Knowing what we know now, the motivation for the focus on youth couldn’t possibly have been related to the fact that young players are cheap right? The Dodgers aren’t a cheap organization, are they? Not Frank McCourt…

While Kemp, Ethier, and Kershaw have turned themselves into very good players, the Dodgers have been patient — even to their detriment with players like Loney. While it was clear after a few seasons that Loney was not

Despite the purported Dodgers youth, they have the fifth-highest average age in the majors. Usually, teams that have high average ages are serious contenders. Teams at the top of the list tend to bear this out. The Red Sox, Yankees, and even the World Champion Giants are at or near the top of the list.

But not the Dodgers. Anyone who says they are serious contenders right now is crazy. Los Angeles is the second-oldest team under .500 in the majors and I don’t think that’s a place any team wants to be.

Talking about injuries to Casey Blake and Jay Gibbons, Bolch quotes Ned Colletti, Dodgers GM, as saying, “Those are unluck of the draw, I guess.”

Right, Ned. Who could have thought that guys in their mid to late 30’s could get injured during the season.

At a time when the Dodgers should be locking up players like Kemp, Loney, and Kershaw with long-term contracts, the Dodgers could see their best young stars become free agents and sign with other clubs during the next few years. If they lose some of those good “young” players, the Dodgers’ front office may talk about other factors they couldn’t control. Another team overspending is always a favorite excuse.

The point is that there are things the Dodgers could and should be doing now — and with a sense of urgency that is sorely lacking. Their roster is built to win now, but they’re not winning now. As currently constructed, their roster wasn’t going to get them to a World Series. So I guess I’ll take it as a blessing-in-disguise that injuries are allowing Dodgers fans to get a glimpse of Russ Mitchell, Jerry Sands, Javy Guerra, Kenley Jansen, and Rubby De La Rosa. If they’re going to be bad, at least these guys are getting a chance to show whether they can play every day at this level.

Already old, injured and not a very good team, things might have to get a whole lot worse at Chavez Ravine before they get better. The turnaround could take several years. And that’s just on the field…