Dodgers: After down year, is LA at breaking point

Published Categorized as Journal

http://carpaltunnel-cure.com For the first time in a decade distinguished by five division championships, the phrase “Break up the Dodgers” has new meaning. Their fans are saying it — not their opponents. The Dodgers were that bad in 1986. They matched their worst record (73-89) in Los Angeles history and came within a half-game — a mere Atlanta-Montreal rainout that was not made up — of finishing in last place for the first time since 1905. www.carpaltunnel-cure.com So it seems a foregone conclusion that a complete overhaul is necessary for the Dodgers to contend again in 1987. It’s time to back up the truck carpaltunnel-cure.com. Or is it Al Campanis, 70, the Dodgers’ vice president for player personnel, doesn’t think so. In fact, he arrived for major-league baseball’s winter meetings feeling optimistic about his club’s chances of bouncing back — whether or not he’s able to swing a trade for a proven short reliever or a center fielder before April. The Dodgers will be dangling trade bait such as first baseman Greg Brock, third baseman Bill Madlock and reliever Ed Vande Berg this week in an attempt to fill their biggest needs, but Campanis feels his team can win the division even if he can’t make a deal. What encourages Campanis most is word that his top two home-run hitters — outfielders Pedro Guerrero (ruptured patellar tendon) and Mike Marshall (debilitating back stiffness) — are feeling no pain and determined to prove themselves again after injury-shortened 1986 seasons. “The darkness that surrounded us after this past season because of the many problems that we had — mostly physical — has been illuminated by the optimism that we have because of the recovery of two very important players,” Campanis said. According to Campanis, Marshall told him last week his back has responded to his exercise program and he plans to start swinging a bat this week for the first time since August.