Poor Choices Catching Up With Dodgers

If Davey Johnson is truly embarking on his last week as manager of the Dodgers, it just makes the decisions the front office made last season look even worse.

They essentially had to choose between the players and the manager, and they went with Johnson. For the time being. Now the answer is about to become “none of the above” and the end result is the Dodgers have a roster with more holes, a higher payroll and no guarantee that the pieces will come together any better under the team’s next manager.

When the Dodgers traded Raul Mondesi and Eric Young last winter it was for their inability to get along with Johnson as much if not more than their performance on the field. If Johnson was solidly in command here, running a successful operation, the moves would have made sense and stood out as examples of the importance of keeping in line.

Instead the uncertainty surrounding Johnson’s future has only weakened his job stature that was already called into doubt by his tactical approach, and it has all combined to make the trades look even worse.

The franchise has been plagued by wrong turns in so many cases over the past few years that it would take Indiana Jones to unearth all the parties responsible for the poor choices that got the Dodgers to where they are.

There was Fred Claire’s decision to trade Pedro Martinez, Fox executive Chase Carey’s intrusion in the trade of Mike Piazza, and the contracts Kevin Malone offered to Carlos Perez and Devon White, just to name a few.

But the Mondesi and Young moves were made strictly under the watch of the current Bob Daly-Malone regime.

Even if Johnson’s arrival preceded Daly’s assumption of power by one season, the choices to support Johnson in these moves came with Daly’s approval.

In one instance, the decision was practically made for them.

When Mondesi went off on that profanity-filled outburst last summer, it was obvious that either Mondesi or Johnson would have to go. To keep Mondesi after he trashed his manager would undermine all respect for Johnson in the clubhouse.

Now the Dodgers had their share of, shall we say, motivational issues with Mondesi, but they never came to a head the way they did under Johnson.

But since Johnson was in the first year as manager, the club had his back. They probably would have put Mondesi on the very next plane out of town if it wasn’t already past the non-waiver trade deadline.

When the off-season arrived the Dodgers had no bargaining power because of Mondesi’s outburst, and they couldn’t trade away a player of his talent for a bunch of thrift store items, so they decided to buy their way out by trading Mondesi to the Toronto Blue Jays, and then agreeing to a six-year, $84-million contract with Shawn Green.

Every time the Dodgers make a big purchase like that it’s about not only the player they get, but the players they can’t get later because the payroll is already sky-high.

Green provided a desperately needed left-handed batter, but it doesn’t matter what side of the plate a guy is hitting from if he doesn’t make solid contact with the ball.

Although Green is hitting .271 with 24 home runs and 97 RBIs, he put up most of his good numbers in the first two months of the season and wasn’t there for the Dodgers when they struggled through the heart of the season.

It hurts that Mondesi had the same number of home runs for Toronto, even though he had been out with an injury since late July.

It’s been nice not to have tirades from the right fielder this year. Green is widely regarded as a good guy who doesn’t cause any disruptions. However, he didn’t exactly inspire his teammates to greater efforts, and with his hitting struggles he didn’t lead by example.

And while we’re on the subject of leading . . .

The Dodgers have had the worst production in the league at the leadoff spot for most of the season, with Devon White’s injuries and ineffectiveness causing the team to trade for Tom Goodwin in the middle of the season.

Meanwhile, Young has a .294 batting average, with 53 stolen bases and a .366 on-base percentage with 98 runs scored. He has been the second-hardest player in the league to strike out, whiffing once every 17.2 plate appearances.

White is hitting .266 with three steals and a .310 on-base percentage, and, with the Dodgers, Goodwin has batted .251 with 13 stolen bases and a .310 on-base percentage.

Johnson sniped at Young throughout the second half of the season, harping on his defensive weaknesses. Their relationship deteriorated, and the Dodgers sent Young to Chicago along with pitcher Ismael Valdes in a trade for Terry Adams, Chad Ricketts and Brian Stephensen.

The Dodgers--most notably Daly--have some more decisions due in the next few weeks. If they don’t get rid of both Johnson and Malone, they will have to dump at least one of them.

As they prepare to choose which one should have the responsibility to help lead the franchise back into championship contention, they could learn a lesson from their past.

If you’re going to pick a side, better make sure it’s the right one.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com.