Friday, September 03, 2010

It's So Bad, Even Jon Weisman Has Lost Hope

Jon Weisman, Dodger blog godfather and author of Dodger Thoughts, which runs on ESPNLosAngeles.com, has always been one to preach for calm, to proclaim level-headedness, to not start looting at the first sign of Dodger fan unrest. However, this McCourt divorce case has hit such lows, that even Weisman couldn't take the overwhelming duplicity and series of unabashed lies:

White lies, little and giant, have always been part of baseball -- even the creation of the game is rooted in myth. But I can't remember a year since I've been following the Dodgers that seems as defined by misinformation as 2010.

The tone was set last fall by Frank and Jamie McCourt as they prepared to do battle for ownership of the franchise, with the he said/she said battle positions flowering during numerous public revelations this year, leaving us with the bouquet of stinkweed at the trial that began this week. I'm not saying that someone's been trying to pull a lot of wool over someone's eyes, but lambs across the country are shivering in 90-degree heat. [...]

It has bred a cynicism so rampant in many of us that even when a Dodger executive of unimpugned integrity like Logan White said in June with complete honesty that he drafted Zach Lee with the full intention of trying to sign him, few believed him -- and most of the few who did simply believed he was lying to himself.

Baseball in general, and the Dodgers in particular, don't necessarily owe us the truth, and I understand little white lies will always be part of the game. Baseball is a business, a culture and a family, and in all three fib to protect themselves. But this year, the cumulative effect of the lying has had a punishing effect. Last week, when Ramirez missed his final four chances to start after reaching base in his final four plate appearances as a starter, I rolled my eyes so much that they bowled a 270. It would be a bit much to pull the "have you no decency" card, but surely there doesn't need to be such contempt for the truth to operate a baseball team in Los Angeles.

The grievances of Dodger fans are many, perhaps too many and perhaps sometimes too petty. But the feeling is almost unshakable that the Dodger organization has gone too far in insulting the intelligence of the fans. If our expectations are sometimes too high, that doesn't mean the Dodger players, coaches, manager, executives and ownership don't need to aim higher. In the end, winning is all that matters, but integrity goes a long way toward soothing the spirit when you're losing.

Holy smokes, even Weisman thinks the sky is falling! What other rational Dodgers fans will be turned into roadkill by the zany McCourt hijinks?

6 comments:

Fred's Brim said...

I like Jon's writing a lot, I think because we think the same about the Dodgers. We think/assume/know that it's all going to come crashing down in a firey assdump, but we put on a positive face because we think/assume/know that being negative about it all doesn't work either. And this is all done with the glimmer of hope that it will all pay off again and we will get to joyfully cry and hug joyfully crying loved ones when we finally win it all

Kyle Baker said...

How many other rational Dodgers fans are there out there, though? I know of none.

Steve Sax said...

There's Pedro Guerrero.

karina said...

I haven't lost hope. I will when math tells me otherwise.

rbnlaw said...

Assdump. I like it.

Henceforth, this season shall be referred to as, "The Firey Assdump."

Last night the missus and I went to our favorite burger stand/cheap beer hangout. As KTLA showed the McCourt divorce coverage, I, not so discreetly, flipped off the screen as Frankie and Jamie were shown. The wife and a friend thought I had lost it.

I told them, "Just wait. It'll get worse before it gets better."

Kyle Baker said...

Hey, it just hit me: we didn't lose yesterday!