Losing to the Dodgers Sucks

As a devout Angels fan there are certain teams that:

a) I don't like losing to
b) I hate losing to
c) I really hate losing to.

Just so you know, the Rangers, A's and Mariners fall into the "don't like losing to" tier, the Yankees and Red Sox fall into the "hate losing to" tier, and the Dodgers stand alone in the "really hate losing to" tier. I figure that a loss to the Rangers, A's or Mariners, though tough to swallow, isn't horrific considering we play each team about 20 times a year. A loss to the Yankees or Red Sox, though worse than watching From Justin to Kelly, isn't exactly reason to jump off a cliff considering we play them both about 10-12 times a season.

However, a loss to the Dodgers is worse than 4-putting from 10 feet. Losing to the Dodgers is worse than getting pantsed in front of your crush. Losing to the Dodgers hurts more than hearing Paris Hilton trying to talk politics. Losing to the Dodgers is more excruciating than watching Lindsay Lohan's digestive system trying to break down a cheeseburger. Losing to the Dodgers is worse than sliding into second and not quite making it there a la Willie Mays Hayes in "Major League." You get my point.

I really hate losing to the Dodgers 1) because we only play them 6 times a year 2) because we hail from the same region of the country and 3) because I really hate losing to the Dodgers. Our rivalry isn't on the same echelon as Yankees/Red Sox, but for Angels fans, the Dodgers are the closest thing to a rival we have.

There are many reasons to hate the Dodgers; their fans, their championships, their storied history, their perfect play-by-play TV announcer, their overpriced Dodger Dogs, their ego-driven manager, their historic ballpark with a perfect view of the Hollywood sign in the distance, etc... In actuality it's hard to find a reason not to dislike the Boys in Blue.

However, after Sunday night's 5-3 loss to Joe Torre's squad, there's one thing you can't take away from them - the impact of their homegrown prospects. So here's a little dap for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles.

You see, the Dodgers farm system is everything the Angels' farm system was supposed to be; a breeding ground for the next big Angels superstar or superstars. Over the last two years, the Dodger's farm system has produced the nucleus of guys leading this team to the best record in the National league and at the very least a spot in the National League Championship Series. All this without their $50 million dollar left fielder.

The Angels' farm system on the other hand continues to produce borderline starters and disappointing busts. For every Mike Napoli there's been a Dallas McPherson. These touted single-A, double-A, and triple-A prospects have flourished in the minors year in and year out, yet have always seemed to shrink upon their graduation to the big leagues.

Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Erick Aybar, Kendry Morales. Those were the four homegrown prospects in the opening day lineup for the Halos. Since then, Howie Kendrick has been demoted, Jeff Mathis has assumed back-up catcher duties with his .196 batting average and Erick Aybar is dangling onto the starting lineup by his dreadlocks. The only serviceable one of the bunch is Kendry Morales who's a switch hitter that can't hit right-handed.

Maybe I'm being too harsh on the Angels farm system which has produced John Lackey and Jered Weaver (just to name a couple highly-regarded prospects that have panned out). Maybe I'm steaming after a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the effin' Dodgers. Maybe I'm immensely disappointed because now that Howie Kendrick is in the minors I won't be able to see anymore Marlon Brando-like performances by Kendrick in the Howard's Appliance and Big Screen Superstores commercials. Who knows.

All I'm wondering is when is management going to realize that proven veterans - though more expensive - are a safer bet than fresh-faced rookies. Hasn't management learned from the recent success of dependable veterans like Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu? The only exception to this is when referring to the cast of "Superbad," which had a nucleus of young, fresh-faced actors that propelled the movie to "Citizen Kane" and "Gone With The Wind" heights.

Look at the Mark Teixeira acquisition last year. We gave away Casey Kotchman, who was rounding into a quality first baseman at the time, for a proven veteran who had a long string of success in the majors. Couldn't have worked out better for us. We improved our World Series chances by a jillion by placing a patient, yet powerful first baseman in the middle of our lineup, which in turn took all the pressure off Vladimir who distanced himself from all the "he can't produce in the playoffs" stigma. You ask every Angels fan whether they'd take that Teixeira trade back and all of them will give you the same answer, no.

I've been the biggest proponent of trades this side of giddy fantasy baseball owners. If a prospect is getting a lot of hype and looks like he's going to be "the next big thing" I say trade him faster than CC Sabathia can devour a double whopper with cheese. If I've learned anything over the years it's that too many "can't miss" prospects have gone by the wayside. I don't blame the players as much as I blame the penny pinching owners and the gun shy general managers for clinging on to every rising prospect because they may be The One.

With all this said, the two out of three loses at Angels Stadium sucked, but what sucked even more was seeing the Dodgers young guns flourish and the Angels young guns flounder.

I don't like losing to the Rangers. I hate losing to the Yankees and Red Sox, but man I really hate losing to the Dodgers.