We Can’t Blame Ownership Any More

I’ve been waiting to say this for too long. And maybe it’s still not appropriate to say, but I’m going to throw caution to the wind and say it anyway.

We can’t blame Dodgers’ ownership anymore.

There, I said it. The Dodgers owners have done almost everything baseball-related that I’ve complained about for the past 10 years. In about a month, they’ve erased the sour taste of starting the last God-knows-how-many seasons with James Loney at first base. In a series of about three trades, the boys in blue have taken on salary like I always thought a Los Angeles team should. If the Yankees can do it, why not the Dodgers? I’ve always thought my team shouldn’t be competing with the Giants, we should be competing with teams like the Phillies, Yankees, heck even the Cardinals and the Rangers. Dodgers ownership acted like they were serious but never even spent money like either of last year’s World Series teams.

Which brings me to today. If this Gonzalez/Crawford/Beckett trade goes through, Dodgers ownership will have truly put their money where their collective mouths have been.

Dodgers fans can bring their smiles back… Whether they’re at the park or… wherever.

I have reserved judgment up until now. I have waited and tried not to jump onto the shiny new ownership hype-machine.

Because I believe in the NL West-proven Gonzo, the still-great upside of Crawford and a possible resurgence for Beckett, I think taking on their salaries is a great investment — especially if they can afford for one or two of them to be busts.

Here’s my final thought — and I guess I have to play Debbie Downer here. However unlikely, I would hate to not have a World Series appearance over the next 2-3 years and for ownership to use the albatross contracts of these guys as an excuse not to spend more money.

Phew. There, I’ve said it. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s root for his deal to go all the way through. And let’s raise our glass in a toast to the end of the James Loney era.

And try not to blame ownership anymore… at least for now.