Frank McCourt is Dumber Than I Thought

Bill Plaschke’s most recent column emphasized Frank McCourt’s belief that some of his young players (i.e. Matt Kemp, James Loney, Russell Martin, etc.) lack listening skills and might need to be traded eventually.  

“There is a certain type of player that will thrive and excel here,” McCourt said. “There is another type that won’t last here.”

[...]“Giving them a lot of playing time, now we’ve seen them a little closer, we’ve seen their approach,” he said, pausing. “And we’ve all learned a lot.”

Without naming names, he said he has learned that some kids are ready to be winners, and some are not.

“You have to be patient, but, on the other hand, young players have to be receptive and respectful, eager to learn and listen,” he said. “How many years of experience do we have with our coaches in that clubhouse? Don’t you think maybe these guys could learn something from them?”

While I believe that Frank McCourt desperately wants to turn the Dodgers into winners once again, it has become even more clear that he has no real knowledge of how to properly run a baseball organization.

As the Kamenetzky brothers and Jon Weisman previously noted, it’s absolutely absurd to suggest that Matt Kemp, as opposed to Andruw Jones, is holding the team back because he doesn’t “listen very well.” The Dodgers are struggling because of Ned Colletti’s inclination to to sign overpriced free agents like Juan Pierre, Andruw Jones, and Nomar Garciaparra, who are years past their primes.

Any baseball fan would point out that the Dodger are in the playoff hunt because of their young players. Twenty-five year old catcher Russell Martin leads the team in Batting Average (.300), home runs (10), and runs (48). Twenty-three year old outfielder Matt Kemp and twenty-four year old first baseman James Loney lead the team with 48 RBIs respectively. Twenty-three year old pitcher Chad Billingsley leads the team with eight victories. Twenty-two year old third baseman Blake DeWitt has surprised fans and management with his 34 RBIs and 31 runs scored.

After taking a look at the statistics, it seems as if the young players are the ones responsible for the Dodgers’ minimal success this season, while the veterans Jones, Pierre, and Kent, continue to remind fans that their best days of passed.

If the Dodgers are going to win AAAA the NL West, they must certainly not trade the youngsters for a three month rental player like C.C. Sabathia or continue to hope that Andruw Jones is going to magically turn around his season.

It’s comical for McCourt to even suggest that the Dodgers are barely hovering around five hundred because the young players aren’t listening, when in fact they are the ones producing.