Don't take the gig, Donnie Baseball!

Joe Torre is stepping down from the Dodgers gig, never reaching the goal of leading L.A. to the World Series and having the last laugh over the Yankees.

Why is he stepping down?
Is it because he is too old? Please. Yeah he's 70 and is the same age that Casey Stengel was when HE was fired by the Yankees. But he's in great shape and clearly still wants to win.

He's leaving because he has surveyed the landscape and realized that the McCourt divorce is going to get uglier and the Dodgers are going to be the little child crying on the stand during the hearing.

Next season is going to be a dumpster fire in Los Angeles. The payroll will be slashed again and the players can read the writing on the wall.

Matt Kemp wants out and trust me, no free agents will want in.
One of the proud franchises in baseball playing in one of the true major media markets could be doing their 1998 Marlins fire sale impersonation.

What are they selling now? Not Torre bringing glory back to Dodgertown. Mannywood is, for the time being, in the South Side of Chicago.

Dodger memories? They've been tough to remember since Kirk Gibson, which was 22 years ago.

The 2011 Dodgers have disaster written all over them.

Which is why I am telling Don Mattingly to NOT take the job as manager.

It won't be your FAULT but the team will collapse under your watch. Truth be told they are already collapsing.

After 2 straight Division Titles and NLCS appearances, the Dodgers are sleep walking to a losing season. Their offense was nonexistent in San Francisco and the last few innings of the game last night, the team looked like an 8th grade algebra class waiting for the bell to ring. They were physically there, but bored out of their minds.

Is that Torre's fault? Perhaps a little but the team has been assembled by orders of a guy is going through a Henry VIII level marital spat (except he doesn't have the beheading option.)

If the McCourt's could have been civil these past few years, the Dodgers could have acquired an ace pitcher. Roy Halladay was traded in the time Joe Torre was manager. So was Danny Haren. CC Sabathia changed uniforms twice. Cliff Lee moved three times.

With an ace pitcher, I am convinced the Dodgers would have made either the 2008 or 2009 World Series and be a contender in 2010.

Instead they are a near miss team... like the George Bell/Dave Steib Blue Jays... a team with talent but can't put it together.

You want THAT gig, Mattingly?
You want all the bad of the McCourt Dodgers without the Manny crowds or playoff appearances?

A gig like this should go to one of two candidates:

1. A lifelong minor leaguer who would be just itching to get their first shot in the bigs of any kind.

2. A career big leaguer who every once in a while lands a gig, does little or nothing there, and winds up on someone's coaching staff. (That was Jim Riggleman's job for years... keeping managerial seats warm.)

But Mattingly supposedly is a big managerial candidate.

Is he though? Could he be a little overhyped as a managerial candidate just like his career was overhyped a little in New York?

His lone chance to show us his managing chops, he screwed up the whole "trip to the mound" concept.

I mentioned Mattingly as a Dodger manager candidate to my dad.
He shook his head.

"He doesn't strike me as very smart." He said.

Prove my dad wrong, Donnie... and turn this job down.
It's shoddy and designed to fail. Have it fail on someone else's watch.

Hell, Grady Little isn't doing anything!
Tell the Dodgers to hire him.

Bad Luck Hamels

There were many story lines to last night's wild Phillies/Astros opus.

Jimmy Rollins game tying 9th inning homer? Clutch.
Ryan Howard getting called out on a check swing in extra innings? Borderline.
Some umpire named Scott Barry trying to prove to the world how tough he is by tossing Ryan Howard? Bush League.
Roy Oswalt playing left field? Little league.
Roy Oswalt coming to the plate as the potential winning run in the 16th? Nuts.

But here's something that got lost in the shuffle:
Cole Hamels pitched great AGAIN... and has nothing to show for it.

When I pitched that Felix Hernandez should get serious Cy Young consideration even with a losing record, one of my readers named Ed wrote "A pitcher's win-loss record must be the silliest stat in baseball."

I don't 100% agree. The pitchers job is to get the team in position to win the game, Ed has a point when evaluating the recent pitching performance of Cole Hamels.

Hamels began the season with a poor April, a good May and a bad June, prompting the Phillies to deal for Roy Oswalt (and basically admit they f---ed up when dealing Cliff Lee.)

But in July, he posted a 2.16 ERA and nearly averaged 7 innings a start, nearly a strikeout an inning and a 2.86 strikeout to walk ratio.

He's kept it up in August. Including tonight's 7 inning, 2 run, 8 strikeout and 1 walk performance, his August numbers include a 3.17 ERA, 6 2/3 innings a start, 42 strikeouts and only 4 walks.

His record over July and August? 1-4.
He is winless since the All Star Break.

He threw 8 innings of 1 hit shutout ball on July 22nd against St. Louis and got a no decision.

He had back to back starts against the Mets recently... one he threw 7 innings, 1 run, 11 strikeouts, no walks... LOSS.

His next start he threw 8 innings, 1 run, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks... LOSS.

He's been throwing at least like a true #2 and like what most teams would want from their #1 starter. (If he threw like that in Game 3 of the World Series last year, the Phillies would probably be the back to back defending World Champions.)

This is a guy who is pitching lights out and oh yeah... has an NLCS and World Series MVP trophies sitting on his mantle. If he pitches like this in October and goes in the #3 slot behind the two Roys, the Phillies would be so scary that not even Brad Lidge coming out of the bullpen could stop them.

It would be nice if the Phillies could hit for him.
Someone pitching THAT well shouldn't be tied with ME for second half wins.