Yes, we're reveling in others' misfortune

It’s not that we enjoy the misery of others, but when the subject is The Hated Dodgers, well…. yeah, we do enjoy it.

We could get used to this, and may have to!

Remember just a few months ago when the Giants came within a whisker of signing Zack Greinke? There was a profound sense of disappointment, balanced somewhat by the solace that he didn’t stay in LA. The Dodgers then tried to fortify their staff with Hisashi Iwakuma, only to have an iffy physical exam foil that idea.

They signed Japanese arm Kenta Maeda to an incentive-laden deal despite his squirrely physical and added well-traveled Scott Kazmir, whose injury history combines with sometimes-impressive talent that seems to come and go with lunar cycles. Oh, let’s not fail to mention the Aroldis Chapman acquisition that wasn’t. And those were the highlights of the offseason.

The rotation was starting to look like Clayton Kershaw and four prayers. Now it appears those prayers fell on deaf ears. Pity (not really). Kazmir and Maeda are, by default, the numbers two and three behind Kershaw. Then it gets really comical.

Hyun-Jin Ryu sat out most of last season with shoulder surgery and the Dodgers now acknowledge he’s not gonna be ready to go until at least May. But that was okay, they had a surplus with guys like Brett Anderson in the fold, and …. uh, what?

Anderson has a bulging disc in his back. Here’s comes the knife, and the prognosis is he’ll be out three to five months at minimum.  It’s not unreasonable to think his season is dead in the starting gate. Just think, at one point the Dodgers were looking at him as their number two.

Monique Davis, check your messages

The Doggies now find themselves looking at Alex Wood, he of the funky delivery that freaked the Braves out so much that they decided to dump him before he broke down; and Mike Bolsinger (who?) to fill out the rotation. Okay, we’re kidding, we know who Bolsinger is. He’s Barry Zito without the rainbows and unicorns; a control guy whose mid-80s fastball looks like the offerings in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

They could have looked to flame-thrower Josh Ravin, who was a long-shot to make the roster but injuries might have been his opportunity had one of them not been his own. This week Ravin suffered a fractured left (non-pitching) forearm that required surgery, the result of an auto accident.

Other options? Well, there’s experience with Brandon Beachy who (stop me if you’ve heard this) is coming off surgery and was a bit of a stiff in his limited rehab action last year. Or they could press their luck (whammy!) with Julio Urias, a heralded prospect who threw just 68 innings in AA last year.  

Dodgers' new management structure (on break)

Yep, we’re in the first week of Cactus League play and the folly of building a staff around one stud and four guys with big question marks is making LA fans nervous (you know who you are).  Sound familiar? Brian Sabean and Bobby Evans are probably hoisting pints at the Public House and laughing into their mugs over how the guys to the south missed what happened a year ago within their own division.

It’s as though someone in the Dodgers front office walked under a ladder while carrying a black cat after opening an umbrella indoors on Friday the 13^th. Giants fans know exactly how that ruins a mood; not that we feel sorry or anything. Just saying …

It’ll be fun watching the Dodgers try to sort this out, especially with the new power structure in LA. Alex Anthopoulos, who famously resigned / was booted from Toronto after trading the Jays into the 2015 off-season, has landed at Chavez Latrine; meaning the staff now includes a GM and a Vice President, Senior Vice President and President of Baseball Operations. It may not be effective but if Netflix wants to do that Fuller Office series, we’ve got casting ideas.

If you want to make a deal, who ya gonna call? Odds are Ray Parker Jr., could pick up.