Dee Gordon a delight for the Marlins - and paid in Dodger dollars
LOS ANGELES - Dee Gordon was taken aback at the large number of news media members waiting for him before Monday's game, but not so much that he'd let his guard down.
The Miami Marlins second baseman, acquired in the offseason as the key figure in a seven-player trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was returning for the first time to Dodger Stadium, the ballpark he called home for the first four years of his career.
Gordon flashed his toothy smile, bantered with local media and said all the right things. He professed his gratitude to his former club for the opportunity it gave him, talked about the lessons he learned and exchanged greetings with ex-teammates, even rubbing Andre Ethier's beard.
"I'm happy to be back and be welcome with open arms,'' Gordon said. "I'm really grateful for the time I had here. It definitely made me a professional. It made me a man, a stronger man, with the ups and downs I had.''
If Gordon had any desire to rub in the Dodgers' face what they've been missing, he didn't express it.
His performance has been doing it for him.
More than a month into the season, Gordon leads the majors with a preposterous .439 batting average – the second highest entering May 11 for a player joining a new team since 1914 – and an even more impressive 54 hits in 29 games played. Only two players in the last 100 years have piled up more hits through their first 29 games.
None of them were getting paid by another team. Gordon is, and so is Dan Haren, the veteran right-hander also sent to the Marlins along with infielder Miguel Rojas and cash considerations for top pitching prospect Andrew Heaney, reliever Chris Hatcher, utilityman Kike Hernandez and minor-leaguer Austin Barnes.
The money added up to $12.5 million, the combined salaries of Haren and Gordon this season.
Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said trades are often viewed in light of the players a team gives away, but his club looks at what it received in return and is happy with the package.
"It's more about the totality of the trade," Zaidi said. "We wanted to get better and deeper, not just for this season but also for the future."
Gordon will have the full three-game series to showcase his game-changing abilities and, just maybe, demonstrate he may be more valuable than the Dodgers deemed.
For Haren, who is 4-1 with a 2.68 ERA and has allowed two runs or less in five of his six outings, the opportunity will come with Tuesday's start.
"It's been great to watch him succeed like this because when you get traded, you always want to prove (your old) team they did you wrong," Haren said after beating the San Francisco Giants last week. "I think he probably feels pretty good about that."
And you?
"I've been traded a lot of times, so … Jeez, the Dodgers paid me to go away. I try not to dwell on the past. … I don't want to get caught up in the moment because the season is so long.''
And the Dodgers are faring quite well without them. Despite losing starters Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy as well as closer Kenley Jansen to injury, Los Angeles sits comfortably atop the NL West at 20-10, taking a 4½-game lead over the San Diego Padres into Monday's action.
And the player the Dodgers acquired to take over for Gordon – veteran second baseman Howie Kendrick – has been a steady contributor, batting .288 with 16 RBI and sparkling defensively.
Gordon's inconsistent fielding was one of the reasons the Dodgers' new management team opted to replace him, even though he was an All-Star last season and led the majors with 64 steals and 12 triples.
The club also preferred a leadoff man who got on base more regularly. Despite his abundant speed, Gordon never posted an on-base percentage higher than .326 in his four seasons in L.A., which saw him go from a touted prospect to an afterthought banished to the minors for most of 2013, then to All-Star status.
Gordon said it was difficult to learn the ropes as a major leaguer playing for a team intent on winning right away, and therefore short on patience.
"I'm just really happy my game's starting to develop better,'' he said when asked if his .439 average flashing on the Dodger Stadium scoreboard would be a source of satisfaction. "That I can go out on a daily basis and play hard for my team. That's the satisfaction in itself, showing people I'm capable of being a major leaguer every day.''
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