Loaiza getting a bum wrap

The treatment of Esteban Loaiza, by Joe Torre, is absolutely disgusting. The Dodgers are mired in a four game losing streak & Loaiza has had very little to do with it. Sure his era is 6.75. However, that is in one start & one relief appearance. This is after Torre says after his last start that Loaiza is his fifth starter and he is going to stick with him. What about Andruw Jones, signed for $18.1 Million a year to be hitting .114 w/ 1 RBI in 10 games? What about Brad Penny who gave up four runs in one inning last night? Do we replace them right away?

The Dodgers are off to their worst start in 10 seasons, but take into account that they have a guy at third base who has never played above Double A. An outfield consisting of a hapless Jones, a right fielder in Matt Kemp who makes a sport out of even the simplest of fly balls & Juan Pierre who couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. I lobbied for the Dodgers all off-season to get Joe Crede. It would not have been that expensive and his track record shows he is worth the investment. This is indicative of Dodger management gong back to the Pierre signing & the Jason Schmidt signing. I was one of the people that heralded the Andruw Jones signing as a step in the right direction and it still might be, but the truth is that Ned Colletti & Frank McCheap have turned one of the storied franchises in baseball into a club in constant flux, in rebuilding mode.

Juan Pierre should never have been signed, but since hindsight is 20/20 what should have been done is moving him while picking up some of the tab. Matt Kemp will get his hitting on track, but his defense is abysmal & would be better suited for an American League team where he can hit 35-40 HRS while DHing. Andre Ethier is turning out to be a hell of a player and outperforming many people's expectations. The Dodgers will be there at the end of the season, probably in contention for a wild card, but unless some changes are made in the hierarchy (this means you Colletti) then this will be a vicious cycle of being on the cusp and inevitable failure.