Steven Vote is the former Sports Director for KDVS Radio at UC Davis, AKA my former leader. He is also a life long Dodger fan. Take a minute to finish vomiting. There ya go, let it out. Despite all that, he's a fantastic writer, and has generously agreed to do the occasional feature with thoughts from the Dodger perspective. You are about stare at words from someone who associates himself positively with the Dodgers. Cleanse yourself with warm water after reading.
- By Steven Vote -
This feels a little odd, venturing into enemy territory, but
I’ll give it my best shot. This site could use a smattering of blue anyway.
The question I’ve gotten over and over for the last several
days, especially from my friends that follow the Giants: What do you think
about the trade? (“The trade” requires no nickname or further explanation).
It’s been a pretty easy answer for me universally, but I think
to understand the situation requires a little bit of context that many Giants
fans possibly don’t have.
I concede the point that the fact we took on an unseemly amount
of salary and got very little in return, besides Adrian Gonzalez is Yankee-like.
But you shouldn’t throw stones if you live in a glass house by McCovey Cove.
Hampered by the McCrook divorce for the past several years, the
Dodgers have been consistently outspent by the majority of “contenders” in
baseball. Here are the respective Opening Day payrolls for both the Giants and
Dodgers from 2010-2012:
2010:
Giants $97.8 million
Dodgers $94.9 million
2011:
Giants $118.2 million
Dodgers $103.8 million
2012:
Giants $117.9 million
Dodgers $94.7 million
As you can see, there has been an ever-widening gap between the
Giants and Dodgers in terms of payroll. In fact, since 2010, the “band of
misfits” Giants have actually outspent the Dodgers by about $40 million.
So, in essence, while accepting $270 million in additional
salaries over the next 5-7 seasons was unprecedented, it was a welcome change
in the culture for fans used to seeing Jon Garland and Aaron Harang as big-name
offseason signings. This is sort of a secondary point, but one could argue that
back-to-back NLCS appearances and avoiding the cellar of the division with the
dearth of talent on the Dodgers roster since 2008 has been nothing short of
miraculous.
One thing I admire about Giants fans is their undying love for
even the last guy on the roster. I’ve actually seen people walking around with
Jeremy Affeldt shirt-jerseys. That just doesn’t happen anywhere else in the
majors. It helps, however, that the players are for the most part likable. The
Dodgers have had such an incredible streak of unpopular losers that this seems
unfathomable to me. I promise I’m no less a fan of the Dodgers than any Giants
die-hard, but I have at times openly hated members of the team. The best part
of this trade for me isn’t Gonzalez, Crawford or even Beckett coming to LA;
it’s that James Loney’s pouty and useless reign at first base is finally over.
Never mind that we’ve had to halfheartedly cheer on the likes of Ted “I Should
Just Throw Underhand” Lilly, the aforementioned Garland.
Additionally, to borrow a line from LeBron James, “its about
damn time.” Dodger fans have been patiently waiting for the ownership situation
to be resolved, forced to sit through countless Casey Blake and Jamey Carroll
at-bats (which no fan should ever be subjected to), even becoming pseudo-legal
experts while trying to decipher which side would end up with the franchise in
the divorce. Under the McCourts prices were raised, the product on the field
suffered, the minor league system was ruined, and a hated rival to the north
won the World Series. Restating this isn’t necessarily to drum up sympathy for
a bunch of people who watch games routinely in 70 degree weather, but instead
to illustrate that the franchise and its management sin-McCourt influence is
playing catch up.
I saw the trade in no way as “cheating the system.” (After all,
other teams signed these players to these contracts; all we’re doing is taking
them off of other peoples hands). Rather, the Dodgers are flexing newfound
financial muscle, something I think (unless you’re a fan of a rival team) is
admirable, given the recent tortured history of the fans and franchise.
No comments:
Post a Comment