My favorite was "who said he was a leader" and...too lazy to get to know another person

Maybe this has already been said many times here but...A friend of mine called me last night and mentioned the San Bernardino Sun had an article that mentioned that Kent's comments were made after he got 550 atbats and his contract vested for 2008. So, maybe he has been waiting for a while to vent and not just overly frustrated after the sweep.

Oh, sorry, I thought all the comments in this thread had to be song lyrics.

Hopefully, I can atone.

We live in strange times, folks. Strange, strange times.

If it is raining tonight, UCLA will be fortunate to get 40,000 fans.

USC will still sell out.

I thought Loney had the most interesting comment with the one about no one in their prime to bridge the gap.

I'm going to take the fan's right to assign blame when I don't know the whole story. I blame LuGo for fomenting all of this. He's the one who bitched all last year in Arizona about losing playing time. And he's the one who's been dropping comments for weeks about not playing enough, not being here next year, wanting to go somewhere to play all the time, etc.

If my torch hadn't gone out, I'd be at his gate right now.

Ok, that's stupid. But it's short. In any case, who would've guessed the most mature guy on our team would be 23?

I am not suggesting all positions be filled by players under 25 years old. But if we look around MLB we see Colorado, Milwakee, and Arizona with a great core of kids and the Dodgers need to make a decision. One decision is making it clear that players at the end of their careers that come to the Dodgers are going to be role players and not core players. Only healthy players in the prime of their careers can earn core player status. Young players just entering their primes or on the verge of entering their primes could also become added as a core player.

This is inimical to Ned Colletti's theory of baseball personnel. Assuming an older player is healthy and can produce numbers approaching what they produced in their prime, such a player is clearly preferable to a younger player. Lost production is more than made up for by the wisdom gained down through the years, because such wisdom can be distributed throughout the clubhouse, where, in Colletti's mind, pennants are won and lost. Three months ago, if you'd asked Colletti if there was anyone in the major leagues he'd rather have at second base than Jeff Kent, I'm certain his answer would have been, "No. He's a Hall of Famer. His credential are impeccable. I've got the best right here." Same with Nomar, except Colletti probably feels Nomar's injuries were the undoing of that move. But that's just bad luck, Ned thinks. A healthy Nomar, Kent and Gonzalez were poised to lead this team to the postseason, with Furcal and Pierre setting the table. Oh, youth will be served, you can bet your bippy! That young prodigy behind the plate plays like a veteran. We've set aside right field for all the young outfielders to get their chance -- even Loney, who's a great young talent, but let's be honest, he doesn't bring us what Nomar can. My only concern is third base. We're putting the whole franchise's future in the hands of an unproven young fellow, Wilson Betemit. People who say I don't take a chance on youth, we-he-hell, how do you explain Betemit? But I'm glad we have the versatile Ramon Martinez and the thoroughly professional Olmedo Saenz to step in if he can't hack it. Long-term, if need be, we can trade Loney to bring us a third baseman of the caliber of Luis, Nomar and Jeff, but I'm willing to take a flyer on young Wilson.

How did I ever think this team would finish higher than fourth???

i know chemistry issues are not very popular here, and that people believe that winning breeds chemistry, but there has to be something to this. there has to be something to the fact that in kent's three years as a dodger, two years are huge disappointments and the other kent missed significant time (in fact, the huge streak they went on last year started with kent out of the lineup). there has to be something to the notion that kent's surliness has a detrimental effect on this team.

i hope he's not back next season.

My girlfriend is leaving for the Coliseum now. Kickoff is at 5 pm.

The UCLA kickoff is at 7:15 pm. I plan on getting dressed by 5.

Sure beats "Elephant Man The Musical" though.

8 "I thought Loney had the most interesting comment with the one about no one in their prime to bridge the gap." Definitely - he made a really good point.

A, say, Alex Rodriguez-type.

Alas.

Oh wait, we're not doing the "A" thing anymore.

Raining here, too, and I'm glad, even if it washed out soccer practice. We needed it, too.

Posting in the nude today Bob?

" Minor awards: Infielder Chin-lung Hu, presently in the majors as a September callup, and right-hander James McDonald will be named today as the Dodgers' Organizational Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively."

Whom should I root for in the UVA-Georgia Tech tilt?

Is this a real channel?

And bull riding.

Lots and lots and lots of bull riding.

Now he looks around and sees these young players, who the Dodgers should be playing even more than they already are, and he's mad and jealous that they aren't as miserable as he is.

Loney, Kemp, et al shouldn't be joking around and having fun? They're young men realizing dreams of major-league success for the first time in their lives. They've spent years in the minors working hard to get here. I think it's been beautiful to watch, and I would hate for them to become pouty, unlikeable b-tards like Kent has always been.

Kent is a bitter old man who can't handle the fact that his time has almost passed. His little fit is nothing more than jealousy against the younger, more talented players with bright futures like he once had.

Isn't this a good thing? Look, I'll agree that Kent is a crabby jackass, but let's not denigrate his performance by painting him with the "old" brush. He has been our best hitter this season (I know Loney and Kemp have higher OPS, but it's a negligible difference).

The older you get, the more "wanting to win" seems to be defined as "wanting to be surrounded by a bunch of old people like yourself".

See, for example, Kent, Jeff, and Bonds, Barry.

Actually, thinking about Kent and what you wrote reminded me of this line they used to utter on Mystery Science Theater when there was a teenage character and a crotchety older character (not sure of the original source of this line); they'd voice the teenager: "Go to bed old man!"

"Go to bed old man!"

This isn't about the season he's had, either. He's been very productive this year, statuesque defense aside, but are we sure he'll be as good next year? I'm not.

And I don't see why it means he cares more about winning than anyone else on the team just because he's a crabby little baby when things don't work out.

It is easy to blame the younger players for not being cranky and upset after games because he is. He would be perfectly fine with walking into the clubhouse after a loss to a silent room, where everyone just reflects on their poor play over the course of the season. The only problem with that is that for the most part the young kids have done more then they have been asked of.

Kent is frustrated and he pointed his finger at the wrong people. When one is sulking it is easy to blame the cheery, although the cheery ones are not the problem.

I'd send Kent and Bynum to Indiana for Jermaine O'Neal.

Exactly what I was trying to say, but nicer and more even-keel. Well done.

I'm confident Kent will be in the top half of ML 2B in 2008. Even so, I wouldn't mind seeing the more occasional rest for him, with Abreu spelling him every so often at 2B (30+ games or so, depending on Kent's health and production).

Except that his desire to win may mean for him that the veterans should be playing instead of the kids.

42 - Kent for Betimet?

Depo was fired, it seemed to me, due to a disappointing/injury filled 2005, which was "caused" by bad chemistry. The chemistry, presumably, was Depo's fault.

If anything, the current chemistry seems worse than it was then. In hindsight, Depo's moves (particularly the chemistry-killing Loduca trade) look pretty smart, while Ned's are looking worse and worse.

Maybe this all just underscores Jon's point in his SI article that it's easy to fire management, but hard to actually fix problems.

Except there's a difference between fielding a winning team year after year, and going for broke this year. Kent, Gonzo, and especially Lowe seem frustrated that the Dodgers didn't trade away their whole future for a shot to win it all this year.

Who cares what it means for Kent? He doesn't make the lineup card. He can bitch and moan all he wants, but he still produces and that's all I care about.

These guys are human, after all.

"Bonds really doesn't need to be playing the field these days, but the Dodgers might be inclined to overlook his shortcomings with the glove. Luis Gonzalez is a pending free agent, and that leaves a hole in left field. As well, the Dodgers need more power, GM Ned Colletti loves to play the veteran hand, and they've got the deep pockets. On another level, Bonds in Dodger blue would be a nifty way to stick it to the hated Giants."

Say it ain't so.

Kent's bitching and moaning might also get under Management's skin, which (in my view) isn't likely to end well.

C'mon, you can't seriously claim that Kent is anywhere close to as hated as Bonds.

That's mostly what I meant.

Bonds has had disputes with exactly one teammate in his career -- Jeff Kent. Kent has had disputes follow him around like a contagion.

Then Kent would have someone to hate more than the young players.

Opps sorry, im still dreaming a little.

We have a hole in centerfield!

All I know is I hope they repair whatever rift there is in that clubhouse, or trade the grumpy old men/man and move on. This ain't gonna work next year.

or

is it pronounced like Day-N, Dane, rhymes with Jane?