If former Dodger general manager Dan Evans was such a miserable person to work for and with, as Sandy, tipster to The Bench Coach, insists, how come people weren't quitting left and right the way they are now under Frank McCourt?

Ross Newhan of the Times and ex-Dodger Eric Karros fire arrows at Evans for not pursuing Karros more aggressively to solve the Dodger first-base vacancy. Neither one considers the idea that despite the team's weakness at that position, signing a below-average first baseman who is Robin Ventura's age and who gains most of his value by hitting baseball's minority party, left-handed pitching, solves nothing.

Instead, it's all about Evans' lack of people skills and "mystery plan" - even though the plan was no mystery - acquire a real hitter, not a Xerox of a Xerox of a hitter. How conveniently people can forget that the roadblock to improving the offense did not come with Evans, but with ownership.

Meanwhile, McCourt is out there saying things to the Times like, "The idea that there's a panacea — you just grab one guy and everything's solved — I think is a little bit misguided."

Putting aside the bullheadedness of this statement - even new general manager Paul DePodesta, taking his time to find the right deal, would have to say, "It's not a panacea, Frank, but you have to start somewhere" - once again, you have to question where McCourt gets his media savvy. The PR agency of Foot, Inmouth and Stickit?

We know isn't coming from senior vice president of communications Derrick Hall. He's gone.

It's no irony that the idea that one guy isn't a panacea originates with Frank McCourt.