Malone Says Dodgers Will Endure

To say the least, Kevin Malone has had better weeks.

The Dodger general manager was blasted Wednesday by right fielder Raul Mondesi in his expletive-filled tirade, daring Malone to trade him with the unprecedented attack.

Now, Malone is dealing with the continuing fallout from the difficult situation. He has been criticized for not taking swift and stern public action against Mondesi, leaving some to wonder whether flagrant insubordination is OK with the new management regime.

And the ballclub that Malone assembled continues to struggle, completing the seemingly depressing backdrop.

But Malone remains focused and confidant about the Dodgers’ future. Foremost, Malone believes he has the right people in place to help rebuild the farm system, which needs to be done.

Although the Mondesi situation obviously has been a nightmare, Malone said the Dodgers will overcome it and move forward. For anyone expecting Malone to recoil, they simply don’t understand the determined player-personnel boss.

Malone’s tough week improved a little Saturday night as the Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves, 8-1, at Dodger Stadium. Finally, Malone got some good news.

“Well, I definitely think you can say the last few days have not been very easy, that’s for sure,” Malone said. “It seems like it has been one thing after another, and this [Mondesi’s explosion] has been very hard on everyone. Everything together has made it the most trying year I’ve had professionally, no doubt about it.

“But this has also been a learning and growing experience for me and the organization. We’ve learned a lot and we’ve grown wiser. Has it been enjoyable? No. But I believe this will help us get better. In a way, we’re going through the fire to get better.”

Mondesi turned up the heat.

His diatribe Wednesday cast a cloud over the organization. Mondesi lashed out at Malone and Manager Davey Johnson because he believes they have treated him unfairly this season.

Johnson has moved Mondesi throughout the order because he has struggled, and fined him repeatedly for numerous transgressions. The cause of his anger toward Malone is unclear because Malone has supported Mondesi publicly and privately throughout his problems during the last few months.

“It was mind boggling to me,” Malone said of Mondesi’s harsh comments. “I’ve never blamed Raul for anything. In fact, it has been just the opposite. I’ve been very supportive of Raul. I’ve been in his corner since day one, so that really disappoints me.”

Malone has said that Mondesi’s actions are unacceptable, and the situation will be handled internally.

“No one is condoning what Raul did,” Malone said. “We just feel that the best way to deal with this is to keep it in house. To be honest about it, we’ve had to address a lot of problems.

“There have been a lot of negative situations in place for a long time that are finally rearing their heads. They just don’t happen overnight. We’re trying to fix the problems, but it takes time.”

The farm system was among those problems. Malone overhauled the minor league operation, hiring Ed Creech and Bill Geivett to help him rebuild the once-thriving system.

“I’m really pleased with the job Ed did with his first amateur draft, and the job Billy and his development staff are doing,” Malone said of his top lieutenants. “I’m pleased with what Jack Zduriencik and Acey Kohrogi have done with our international operation. We’ve made some significant strides as far as replenishing the farm system. We’ve got a ways to go, but I really like the direction.

“We now have some young talent working through the system. We’ve hired some great people and great teachers. We’re not only developing tools, we’re teaching players how to win. We’re teaching them about the sacrifice and work that’s needed, that’s expected, to become winners. We’re laying the foundation for the future right now.”

No one is more disappointed about the present than Malone.

The Dodgers (53-64) were the consensus choice to win the National League West. Things have not gone as expected.

“We have made improvements at the major league level as well, although our record hasn’t indicated it,” Malone said. “Brownie [pitcher Kevin Brown] gives us a chance to win every time he pitches, we retained [closer] Jeff Shaw, Sheff [left fielder Gary Sheffield] has been a leader and E.K. [first baseman Eric Karros] has been great recently.

“There are some things that we still need to do, there are some adjustments we need to make, and we’re going to do that. We have to do that for the fans.”