According to SI.com, the Dodgers’ second baseman went off in the clubhouse last night. Los Angeles continued its slide from playoff contention and lost its fifth straight game, 9-4 to the Colorado Rockies, and Kent “cast a wide net” to cast blame to unnamed individuals in the organization.
Kent, 39, is hitting .298 with 20 home runs and 78 RBI for 2007 as of Friday, although his 14 errors at second base aren’t helping the Dodgers much. He is also the only man in baseball that makes Lamar look like the non-asshole he thinks he is. (image courtesy of giantswin.com)
There’s no questioning Kent’s skills. He’s the greatest offensive second-baseman of the live-ball era. In 16 seasons, he’s accumulated 365 homers and over 1,400 RBI. He’s got a .290 batting average and .504 slugging percentage for his career. He was the National League MVP in 2000, despite playing on the same team as Barry Bonds. If he’s not a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, then the whole selection process needs to be scrapped.
Sadly, it’s always been about Jeff Kent and only Jeff Kent to Jeff Kent. Throwing an injured and undermanned Dodgers team under the bus (even within the confines of the locker room), despite its game attempts to stay in contention, is pure bush league. The team needs Kent now more than ever, but he’s too busy covering his own backside and pushing blame around to be bothered.
Two thoughts spring to mind:
- Whose clubhouse is he going to poison next year?
- James Loney, Russell Martin, and Andre Ethier should help him wash his truck this time.