Dodgers Hit Sour Notes: a $98-Million Lemon?

Colleague Bill Plaschke had it right this week.

If Bob Daly and Kevin Malone are determined to put Davey Johnson out of his managerial misery at the end of the year, what about Malone, whose two- year performance as general manager of the Dodgers has been . . . well, there has been nothing divine about it even though the man himself claims to have been brought to Los Angeles on a divine mission?

Indeed, if Johnson is going to be fired (or even if he opts to retire, as it appears at times he already has), how does the man who assembled this $98-million lemon survive?

Or is it a lemon?

That’s the question for this Sunday in late August, with the Dodgers trailing the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West, on the outskirts of the division and wild-card races.

Have they underachieved, overachieved or are they about where they should be--eight games behind the hated Giants, a team with a division-low $55-million payroll and a manager who knows how to get the most out of it?

With the help of two NL West-based scouts, here’s a position-by-position look at how the Dodgers match up against the Giants and Diamondbacks based on performances this season.

First base: 1--J.T. Snow, Giants; 2--Eric Karros, Dodgers; 3--Erubiel Durazo, Diamondbacks. Snow can’t match Karros from a home-run standpoint, but he is batting 44 points higher, is in the same neighborhood of runs batted in and, of course, is a Gold Glove defensively.

Second base: 1--Jeff Kent, Giants; 2--Jay Bell, Diamondbacks; 3--Mark Grudzielanek, Dodgers. With his offense at a middle infield position, Kent is virtually in his own league. He has also handled more chances and made fewer errors than Grudzielanek, who was forced to move to second base when the Malone/Johnson ticket made one of its biggest blunders, trading leadoff man Eric Young.

Shortstop: 1--Rich Aurilia, Giants; 2--Tony Womack, Diamondbacks; 3--Alex Cora, Dodgers. Cora may be the best defensively, but Aurilia, with his bat, and Womack, with his speed, are superior offensively and reliable enough on defense. Of course, the presence of Snow makes all of the other Giant infielders better.

Third base: 1--Matt Williams, Diamondbacks; 2--Adrian Beltre, Dodgers; 3--Bill Mueller, Giants. Beltre and Mueller have both had better seasons than the injury-plagued Williams, but if you were picking a third baseman for the final six weeks, it would be the Arizona veteran. Beltre has the future, but his 19 errors tend to detract from his current performance.

Left field: 1--Gary Sheffield, Dodgers; 2--Barry Bonds, Giants; 3--Luis Gonzalez, Diamondbacks. An MVP-type tossup between Sheffield and Bonds, with Gonzalez not far behind.

Center field: 1--Steve Finley, Diamondbacks; 2--Marvin Benard, Giants; 3--Tom Goodwin/Devon White, Dodgers. Finley has a clear edge with both bat and glove, and at no position are the Dodgers at more of a disadvantage than center field/leadoff.

Right field: 1--Shawn Green, Dodgers; 2--Ellis Burks, Giants; 3--Danny Bautista, Diamondbacks. While Burks is hitting a robust .343, 72 points more than Green, the latter’s overall performance gives the Dodgers a distinct advantage, although his production has been less than anticipated.

Catcher: 1--Bobby Estalella/Doug Mirabelli, Giants; 2--Todd Hundley, Dodgers; 3--Damian Miller/Kelly Stinnett, Diamondbacks. The Giants hit a quiet gold mine in Estalella’s acquisition from Philadelphia. Hundley has made a nice comeback offensively, but his throwing remains a significant issue, and he has not been able to stay healthy.

Rotation: 1--Giants; 2--Diamondbacks; 3--Dodgers. Without a Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling or Kevin Brown, the Giants merely have six starters--Shawn Estes, Livan Hernandez, Kirk Reuter, Mark Gardner, Russ Ortiz and Joe Nathan--capable of quality efforts, with Estes (12-3) back in 20-win form. The Dodgers remain a mystery after Brown, Chan Ho Park and Darren Dreifort, which is not to say that those three aren’t often a mystery as well.

Closer/Bullpen: 1--Robb Nen, Giants; 2--Matt Mantei/Byung-Hyun Kim, Diamondbacks; 3--Jeff Shaw, Dodgers. Nen, delivering heat despite off-season elbow surgery, has now registered five straight seasons of 30 or more saves and has been complemented by the improved work of Felix Rodriguez. Injury and inconsistency have plagued Shaw, and the ongoing absence of a reliable left-hander continues to restrict the Dodger manager.

Bench: 1--Giants; 2--Diamondbacks; 3--Dodgers. Dave Hansen has come off the Dodger bench to deliver another series of clutch hits, but no one in the West has the Giants’ versatility and depth stemming from homegrown Armando Rios, Felipe Crespo and Calvin Murray.

Conclusion?

A complex question defies a simple answer, but given the breakdown in pitching depth and instability in several defensive areas, the Dodgers are probably about where they should be in a division in which the Giants’ talent level has been underestimated for too long.

Of the 11 categories, the matchups give the Giants an advantage in seven, and Bonds could be an eighth.

Nevertheless, the Dodgers remain an enigma wrapped in a dollar sign, or as one of the scouts said: “It’s a puzzle to me why they don’t win more because they should be better. In particular, the arms are there, but the pitching seems to go backward every year.”

The manager seems certain to pay the price. Shouldn’t consideration be given to the architect?