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July 6, 2005
Dodgers' Season? Dunn, Not Done
With JD Drew out with a broken wrist … Milton Bradley still aching from a hand injury … Jose Valentin recuperating from a bad knee … bad hamstrings keeping Ricky Ledee out and Cesar Izturis in pain … Wilson Alvarez struggling with an aching shoulder … and Eric Gagne (elbow) and Paul Bako (knee) on the “wait ‘til next year” list … you have to ask if this Dodger season is worth salvaging. Should GM Paul De Podesta pursue a trade? Should the fans hang onto to even a sliver of pennant hope?
There are good reasons to try to save the season … and to believe it will be saved. It’s not like the San Diego Padres (hammered by injuries themselves) or the Arizona Diamondbacks (a good but not great team) are too far ahead to be caught. As badly as the Dodgers have played, they’re still only 5 ½ games behind the Padres with half a season to go.
Odalis Perez is finally back. Izturis, Ledee and Valentin and maybe Alvarez will be healthy by August. JD Drew doesn’t need surgery to fix his broken wrist, and Milton Bradley is making some progress in rehabbing his hand injury. Add a good player (like Adam Dunn, the slumping slugger from Cincinnati), plus six weeks of strong baseball, and the Dodgers’ job of winning the West will be done.
And speaking of “done” … : Adam Dunn is getting a lot of attention as a possible trade target for the Dodgers. Dunn’s batting average is only .246, and he strikes out more often than any other player in the National League. But even with a weak average and a lot of K’s, he still ranks near the top in on-base percentage and slugging. Last season, he blasted 46 HR’s.
So why would the Reds trade him? Because all of Dunn’s slugging can’t improve Cincinnati’s awful pitching. The Reds have the worst ERA in the National League. They give up more hits than any team in baseball. They give up more home runs than any team in baseball.
Adam Dunn could be had for a couple of young pitchers … and the Dodgers can meet that price.
Posted by Nick Roman at 1:44 AM
