Depth Perception

There is the rock n roll band that I grew up listening to.  My favorite band, probably to this day, and they had this amazing versatility and top-notch musicianship amongst their original players.  And they played these sophisticated chords that were straight out of the Miles Davis and Duke Ellington playbook.  Though their main players were incredible musicians, they’d hire studio guys to help out on their records because the two songwriters and founding members knew that their players in the band sometimes couldn’t bring the sound they were looking for.

So, they’d bring in Rick Derringer, Lee Ritenour, Mark Knopfler, Larry Carlton or Elliot Randall to play lead guitar even though they had guys like Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and Denny Dias that were certainly capable.  Their percussion section was amongst the best, with Jim Hodder and Jeff Porcaro, but if they wanted a certain feel or sound on a song, Steve Gadd or Bernard Purdie would be brought in.  Even keyboardist and founder, Donald Fagen, wasn’t immune from replacing himself, so jazz man Victor Feldman would sit in on sessions. The other founder, Walter Becker could play anything with strings on it, but he primarily played bass at first.  By their 6^th album, Chuck Rainey and Anthony Jackson were playing and he wasn’t even on one song on the whole record.

What I’m trying to say is that the founding members and songwriters at Steely Dan were simply out for one thing.  That perfect sound and perfect recording.

They even grabbed the tenor sax player from Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show Band because they thought he’d be perfect for “Deacon Blues.”  He was.  Pete Christlieb came in and recorded, and the fit was just right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhQ5Dg6gdEw

In the process, they killed off their original musicians.  Their original players left for other bands like the Doobie Brothers and Toto and some became studio musicians themselves playing for bands like Linda Ronstadt, Sammy Hagar, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Burton Cummings, Elton John, and Bryan Adams.  And the studio guys they brought in weren’t having a lot of fun either after repeating takes dozens of times.  Once it was reported by one of the guest guitarists that he had to repeat a lick probably 100 times to satisfy Becker and Fagen.

So, what does this have to do with the Dodgers?

Probably nothing…I just wanted to write about Steely Dan.  Never mind.  Lousy idea.

No, I’m actually going somewhere with this.  At least I think I am.

When you’re in the pursuit of perfection, you might just lose the band sometimes.  When you are juggling a lot of talented egos.  You might not be able to hold a good thing together.  When you bounce a guy back to the minors like a ping pong ball in a hurricane, you possibly are creating a malcontent as a player.  Not everyone is into frequent flier miles between LA and Oklahoma City.  Some don’t perform well in that role, (J.T. Chargois, Brock Stewart).

The Dodgers have a roster of 40 players and every single one of them can contribute.  There are times in the season when each will be needed.  This is unique and not something that many baseball organizations have the luxury of doing because they don’t have the depth.  I think it’s fair to say that the Dodger 40-man roster could probably field two major league teams that would be competitive. 

The thing is, it is tough to get everyone to buy into the 40-man concept, especially when you have guys battling to show they are top tier.  Everyone wants those multi-million dollar contracts.  There won’t be much of a chance of landing one as a platoon player or a cross between a AAAA player and a frequent call-up.  Matt Beaty, Luke Raley, and Edwin Rios know that they could start on a number of teams and show their talents.  Kike Hernandez is in a contract year and you know he wants a good 400-500 plate appearances.  As much as all players will give lip-service to being excited about being on a competitive team, there are those that want playing time and an opportunity to show that they belong and will stick in the big leagues.

It’s much easier to do that in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Miami, and even San Francisco right now.  The Dodgers are busy plugging in players that are that perfect fit at a specific time as they aim to win that elusive World Series.  Would some of these young guys prefer to be playing every day on a 100+ loss team like Baltimore? I think there are some.

The Dodger pitching staff will carry probably 12-13 players, but in reality, it’s as deep as 20.  There is this juggling act of plugging in the ideal guys at the best time of the year.  Perhaps early on, Friedman can afford to drop a young guy like Josiah Gray on to the roster for a game or two.  Get his feet wet.  A taste of the show.  Just to see how he will respond on the big stage.  Not for a long time.  Just enough to see how he handles the pressure, and in case he’s needed in the stretch run.

Maybe you plug in Caleb Ferguson as that lefty in the bullpen for a time and then test out Adam Kolarek a bit later and Alexander after that.  The Dodgers can certainly afford to allow Dustin May a lengthy amount of time to recover from his side (oblique) issue.  No rush, they have about 7 other capable guys that could start.  What’s important is that he’s ready in September and October.

And the position players?  There are plenty of outfielders.  Probably too many.  Matt Beaty could start on 50% of the major league teams out there.  So could Chris Taylor and Kike Hernandez.  Rookie Zach McKinstry deserves a shot, but there’s no place for him.  Gavin Lux is touted to be the favorite for Rookie of the Year, and even his place on the starting 26-man roster is not a certainty.

Dave Roberts has so many chess pieces to choose from, it’s like a who’s who of second basemen or left fielders that he has available to put in the lineup. The eight-inning guy?  You have Baez, Treinen, Kelly, Nelson and maybe Graterol available. If Jansen is tired, plug in one of the previously mentioned five to handle it for a day.  Who do you want to play lead guitar? Larry Carlton or Rick Derringer.  I guess that depends on the sound you are looking for.  For Roberts, you have variables like, opponent, ballpark, who is best rested, the recent successes each has had, who is back in Oklahoma vs. on the 26-man, things like that.

How much depth is too much depth?  It’s a difficult question to answer as there are some seasons when the injury bug hits them full blast.  Wasn’t it two years ago that they had more Injured List time than any team in recent history?  It is important to remember that depth is good.  Some can’t afford to move talent.  A bad trade can set some organizations back for years.  That isn’t the case in Los Angeles. Trade fodder at the deadline is a valuable option to have.  Watch for this year to be that year when a big name or two is moved at the deadline for a roster weakness that hasn’t been identified yet.

There are always disappointments in a season.  Someone will underperform.  Perhaps age hits Turner hard this year or Pollock repeats his injury history.  You never know going in.  This Dodger team will have a huge target on their backs as the National League favorites.  Young and hungry teams like San Diego, with a lot of talent, will want to show that they belong in the discussion as possible winners.  A trade at the deadline is certainly a possibility for this team when they see what their needs are at the time.

Now I think this may be where Dave Roberts brings his strength to the organization.  What he lacks as a strategist he makes up for as a psychologist.  He has the ability to get his guys to buy into the program.  We seldom hear of players griping about playing time.  Every now and then there is something about Pederson or Maeda being unhappy, but for the most part, Roberts has control of his team.  He’s got them all believing that their role, even if it is small, is important to the big picture.  Something that Fagen and Becker probably would….Nah, they wouldn’t care what any studio musician would think.

So that moves me on to my next comparison with Steely Dan. They sang these weird lyrics on topics that usually had to do with junkies, or prostitutes, or criminals, drug chemists, etc.  You know, that all that all-American stuff from back in the 70s.

Yeah, I have nothing…

From Mark Timmons:

… and then there was their comeback on Letterman 20 years later.