Dodgers Have Some Difficult Choices

Once Manager Jim Tracy’s future is resolved, the Dodgers will take on the dual task of conducting an autopsy on their miserable 2005 season and trying to breathe life into 2006.

Tracy is seeking a two-year contract extension that would give him security through 2008. Sources have said that if the Dodgers decide not to give him a new deal, he could be fired before Wednesday.

Another option is for the Dodgers to refuse to extend the deal yet allow Tracy to manage next season under the terms of his current contract. That possibility has become increasingly unlikely, in part because the Dodgers don’t believe Tracy will back off his demand easily. It also would require Tracy to forfeit his seven-day opt-out clause.

“Each outcome has a ripple effect,” General Manager Paul DePodesta said. “This is a thought process where we are looking three years into the future.”

Another factor is the deep philosophical differences between Tracy and DePodesta. The Dodgers were taken aback by comments Tracy made before the last home game that seemed to lay blame for the season’s failures on the front office.

Tracy said a major reason for the disappointing season is that several players he considered integral to the 2004 division championship team were traded or allowed to leave as free agents.

“Familiarity goes hand in hand with success, in my mind,” he said. “Some of the elements we had last year that made us successful were [not here].”

However, nearly every player DePodesta declined to bring back has performed poorly for their new teams. Even the seemingly endless parade of Dodger third basemen, for example, have combined for a higher on-base plus slugging percentage (.723) than Adrian Beltre (.721), whose departure ignited a firestorm of criticism.

Certainly, several players the Dodgers did sign underperformed or missed a significant portion of the season because of injury -- Jose Valentin, Odalis Perez and J.D. Drew, in particular.

But the resentment Tracy finds difficult to hide regarding the changes is a symptom of the philosophical differences DePodesta said are critical to resolving.

Although owner Frank McCourt attended the Sept. 8 meeting where Tracy requested the extension, DePodesta will make the decision. McCourt, a source said, will play an “advisory role.”

On the field Saturday, Edwin Jackson and five relievers combined on a three-hitter in a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres. The loss guarantees that the Padres (81-80) will finish with the worst winning percentage for a division winner in a non-strike season.

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The Dodgers say they want to win next season and won’t wait for their prospects to star in Chavez Ravine.

Jeff Kent will be the judge of that.

The Dodgers say they will spend enough money to bring in the proven talent to win next season.

Kent will be the judge of that.

Kent’s keen eyes, the same ones that enabled him to bat .289 with 29 home runs and 105 runs batted in, will lock in on every move the Dodgers make -- and fail to make.

And he’ll make his own assessment.

Not because he thinks his opinion counts more than the owner, the general manager or anyone else. He will pass judgment because time is running out for him to win a World Series. He will be 38 in March and can’t stand the thought of enduring another 90-loss debacle.

If the rebuilding passes muster, he’ll report to spring training and prepare in his typically austere manner. If it doesn’t, he’ll let the front office know, and maybe he’ll ask to be traded to a team that has a plan and a prayer of winning.

Kent won’t disclose what he thinks the Dodgers need to do. He’s mindful of a player’s place in the pecking order. He’s respectful of ownership and the front office and has a healthy appreciation for the task at hand.

But when he signed a two-year contract before this season, he talked excitedly about the commitment he believed McCourt and DePodesta were making to bringing a World Series championship to Los Angeles for the first time since 1988.

Halfway through his deal, the Dodgers clearly are farther from their goal than they were a year ago.

“I’ve got a lot to think about,” Kent said. “I’ve got faith in the people making the decisions and I’ll just wait and see.”

His first step will be a long drive. Kent will jump into his pickup and make a 22-hour beeline for his Texas ranch, where his family and a winter’s worth of chores await.

“I won’t even have the radio on most of the way,” he said. “I’ll just let everything soak in, the whole season.”

His thoughts could drift to last year’s winter meetings in Anaheim, when he was introduced at a news conference and shed a tear because his surprised parents were sitting in the front row. They live in Orange County and would finally be able to attend most of his games.

Then Beltre got away and so did several free agents the Dodgers wanted to sign. The roster was sufficient to win a weak division only if everyone stayed healthy.

But almost no one stayed healthy. Games missed because of injury exceeds 1,150, and players went on the disabled list at a mind-boggling rate.

The key losses were closer Eric Gagne, Gold Glove shortstop Cesar Izturis, center fielder Milton Bradley and Drew.

So after a promising 12-2 start, the season slipped away.

Along the way there was clubhouse friction, including a widely publicized rift between Kent and Bradley, whose history of problems makes his return questionable.

Kent said he would not stand in the way of Bradley coming back, but a bigger hurdle might be the blessing of McCourt, who publicly backed Bradley through several earlier problems and is reluctant to do so again.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Missed Dodgers?

How some of the 2004 Dodgers have fared elsewhere this season:

*--* PLAYER, TEAM AVG HR RBI OB% SL% Shawn Green, Arizona 288 22 73 357 480 Adrian Beltre, Seattle 257 19 87 304 415 Steve Finley, Angels 222 12 54 271 374 Alex Cora, Cleveland 234 3 24 277 335 Jose Hernandez, Cleveland 231 6 31 277 338 PITCHER, TEAM IP H SO W-L ERA Jose Lima, Kansas City 168 2/3 219 80 5-16 6.99 Kazuhisa Ishii, N.Y. Mets 91 87 53 3-9 5.14

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