Blame the Mustache

Ever since the Phillies ended the Dodgers’ season last week, I’ve been doing what any other red-blooded American would do in my situation: I’ve been looking for someone to blame. And given the way the Dodgers performed in the NLCS, there were plenty of potential candidates. I could have blamed Clayton Kershaw or George Sherrill for Game 1, I could have blamed Hiroki Kuroda (or Joe Torre) for Game 3, I could have blamed Jonathan Broxton for Game 4, and I could have blamed the entire Dodgers’ lineup for Games 1-5. All good possibilities.

But at the end of the day, despite all of the inept performances by the Boys in Blue, I kept coming back to one inescapable conclusion: The Dodgers just didn’t have enough talent to win. Period. I don’t mean that the Phillies played better for five games, I mean that the Phillies just were better.

Now as we all know, when the players don’t play well enough to win, they get the blame. They get shellacked in the newspapers, criticized on TV, and booed in their home ballparks. And when the manager doesn’t manage well enough to win, making bad decisions in crucial situations, he gets the lions share of the blame (can you say Jim Tracy?). But when the team just doesn’t have enough talent to beat the team in the other dugout, there are only two options: the general manager and the owner. And since the Dodgers’ owner has enough problems these days, I’m blaming the GM.

Sorry mustache fans, but Ned Colletti is the biggest reason why the Dodgers will be watching the World Series at home for the 21st consecutive season.

For the record, I am a Ned Colletti fan. No really, I am. Other than the Jason Schmidt debacle, I think he’s done a great job with the Dodgers, and I honestly don’t think the Dodgers even sniff the NLCS without him. But in 2009, Colletti dropped the ball. Big time.

You see, from the second the Dodgers’ season ended in 2008, it was clear that their starting pitching would be their biggest weakness in 2009. With Derek Lowe and Brad Penny on their way out, there were now gaping holes in the starting rotation that Ned Colletti needed to fill. But Colletti whiffed on C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett during the offseason, instead signing Randy Wolf and pretending that would be enough.

So when the 2009 season began, the Dodgers’ rotation was still their biggest question mark. And despite having the best record in baseball at the all-star break, it still didn’t look like the Dodgers had enough pitching to win in October.

But then, like a gift out of the clear Dodger Blue sky, we learned that both Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee were on the market. Perfect! The Dodgers were just one ace away from a championship caliber team, and now there was not one but two aces on the market! This was our year!

Or not.

As we all know, Colletti couldn’t pull the trigger on either deal, and we got George Sherrill instead. So just to summarize, C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Roy Halladay, and Cliff Lee were available, and we got Randy Wolf and George Sherrill. Awesome.

So what happened? What’s the excuse? Why the lack of talent? Well, from everything I’ve heard and read, Colletti thought they were all too expensive. The Dodgers wouldn’t cough up enough money for Sabathia and Burnett, and they wouldn’t give up the prospects necessary to get Halladay and Lee.

I’m sorry, what??

Too expensive?? Really?? We’re sure about that? More expensive than entering October without enough pitching to win? More expensive than being dominated by the Phillies for a second consecutive year? More expensive than yet another year without a championship for one of baseball’s most storied franchises? Really??

I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy it. When four pitchers of that quality are available, you have to find a way to get at least one. You just do.

So no, I don’t accept “But the Blue Jays and Indians wanted too many prospects for Halladay and Lee” as an excuse. To me, Colletti’s 0 for 4 is inexcusable. As Bill Plaschke put it after watching Cliff Lee dominate the Dodgers in Game 2: “I would have liked to see those Dodgers prospects whom they liked more than Cliff Lee.”

Me too Bill, me too.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why we like prospects. Prospects turn into Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Clayton Kershaw. Prospects build dynasties. I get it. But here’s the thing: in the sports world of 2009, there is no next year. And in the Dodgers’ world of 2009 where Manny Ramirez, Rafael Furcal, and Casey Blake were getting older by the day, and where Joe Torre was one step away from retirement, we were lucky there was even a next week. So as GM of the Dodgers in 2009, Ned Colletti’s job was to give the Dodgers the best chance to win in 2009, not in 2012.

Oh, and just in case you think I’m crazy, you should know that Ned Colletti agrees with me. No seriously, he thinks I’m right. In an interview with ESPN immediately after the Game 5 loss, Colletti said, “We have real good pitchers, but we need to get better in the rotation.”

Gee Ned, ya think??

Maybe if you had figured that out in November 2008 instead of October 2009 the Dodgers would be celebrating a National League pennant right now instead of cleaning out their lockers.

So Mr. Colletti, while it pains me to say it, this is strike one. Sorry Ned, but it has to be done. And because I like you, I’ll let you in on a little secret: In the win-at-all-costs sports world of 2009, strike two comes next, followed closely by strike three.

What’s that you say? You don’t know what happens after strike three? That ok, you can ask C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Roy Halladay, or Cliff Lee – they know all about it.