The Dodgers' Secret Weapon

The Los Angeles Dodgers have defied the experts thus far this season. Despite crippling injuries, most notably to last year's MVP should-have-been Matt Kemp, they remain in first place. They are not a strong hitting club; their front line pitching is too dependent on aged arms; the debacle of their former owner's nasty divorce still offends the nostrils. Yet they win their share of one-run games and come-from-behind victories so crucial to a team's morale. Some of the credit has to go to manager Don Mattingly. (Yankee fans may never get used to the sight of their great first-baseman in Dodger blue.) But I think a second secret of their success can be summed up in one word: genes. Look at the Dodgers roster and you see six sons of former players. There are the juniors: Tony Gwynn, Ivan de Jesus, Jerry Hairston. Then there is Dee Gordon, flashy shortstop swift as Hermes, the son of reliever Tom Gordon, who lined a ball between outfielders tonight and glided into third base with a triple. Andy Van Slyke's son Scott won a game for the Dodgers with a home run, Justin Sellers, son of Jeff (I think), is the sixth baeball brat on the team. The Dodgers' theory. as I infer it, is that the sons of capable major leaguers are likelier to have mastered the intangibles of the game and to perform well under pressure. It's nice to have Tony Gwynn bat for you when there are two men on base with two outs in the ninth inning -- in theory and, so far in 2012, when the game is on the line.  -- DL