For those not in the know, the MLB trading deadline came and went on Saturday. Some teams in need of a boost made some great trades - Cubs, Red Sox, Marlins - all hungry contenders needing to make a push in the second half of the season. They made some major overhauls that could pay off.

And then there were the Dodgers.

The FIRST PLACE Dodgers.

A team defying all expectation this year? Could they cave? Sure. Of course. It's not like they have a 10 game lead or even a 5 game lead. The Padres are only 3.5 back, with the Giants not far behind either, and there's a lot of baseball to be played. According to recent Dodger tradition, conventional wisdom says they choke.

But still, there was something about this team...

Like my buddy Andy would say, "I like these Dodgers. They're scrappy."

And they were. The would find crazy ways to pull out a win. Roughly 30 of their 60 W's this season have been come-from-behind victories. And it was fun to watch them do it, no huge superstars, but a true team with true chemistry, lead by their spiritual leader and fan favorite, Catcher Paul LoDuca.

So it was exciting, the Dodgers looking good in first place, albeit a very tentative first with two teams chasing them. They could definitely use a few fine tune-ups at the trade deadline, but nothing crazy.

So what does GM Paul DePodesta do? HE GUTS THE TEAM. Just reaches in to the collective Dodger chest, Temple of Doom style, and tears out their heart, letting the team descend into a fiery abyss while the beating heart catches flame.

GM Paul DePodesta, who apparently makes waay too much cash...that I should be making instead, trades:

Loyal Dodger Dave Roberts (who cried during the press interview, acknowledging how special this season was shaping out to be)

Juan Encarnacion

One of the top setup-pitchers in baseball this year: Guillermo Mota

and, the man who has risen to represent what the Dodgers are all about, the heart and sould of the team:

Mr. Paul "The Duke" LoDuca

[silence.]

Paulie also wept, btw. Nice to see we trade the two guys who loved playing here so much, so sincerely, with so much passion, that they openly cry at their press interviews. Good job. Glad to see my team is in such good hands.

Before we treaded G-mo Mota, the Dodgers were 45-0 when ahead after 7 innings (hence him being one of the top, if not the top setup man).

The day after we trade him? New setup man Darren Dreifort blows a 2-1 lead in the eighth, losing the game. 45-1.

The day after we trade Paulie LoDuca? On the first pitch of his first at bat wearing an awkward, uncomfortable looking Marlins jersey? He belts it out of the park. Home run.

Meanwhile Dodger backup-turned-starting catcher Dave Ross is still looking for a hit...

I may not be a smart man but I know what love is. I also know you don't trade your marquis players without knowing for sure you're gonna land Randy Johnson (which we didn't). Give me the money and I may not be an amazing GM, but at least I won't torpedo the damn team!

It's just unbelievable. How do you screw with a team like that, that the LA faithful is turning out in droves to watch, unless you don't care?

Oh wait, our new "owner" Frank McCourt (no relation to the Angela's Ashes guy, who btw, even he would be a better guy at the helm) is a Boston real estate owner. He's a businessman and a BoSox fan, with no true love for the Dodgers, and, in true East Coast form, no real regard for those fans out West.

Now, as a fellow Georgetown grad I've defended Frank. I showed alumni loyalty when he raised parking prices. Reverence when he raised the price of beer and Dodger dogs, difficult though it was...

...But the floodgates have opened.

My fellow alum, my lifelong brother in blue in gray.

My sworn enemy.

Frank McCourt has taken my boyhood team and, with the help of his yes-man Paul DePodesta, run it into the ground, kicked it a few times, and then lit it on fire.

Funny, I remember writing that same line like last week... Oh yeah! That was for Laker GM Mitch Kupchak after he torpedoed our other LA team!! Unbelievable! Folks, it has been a rough summer out here in SoCal. Even the sun, the bbq, and the beach volleyball have done little to distract us from our outrage.

Give me the keys, I'm confident I could drive better than the two Keystone Cop GMs we have out here. It's shocking, but the Dodgers actually pulled a play out of the Clippers' book, putting their top players on the chopping block (like the Clips did for Kobe), taking a ridiculous gamble with the fans' hearts and minds, not to mention the future of the team, and LOSING. The Dodgers. The Clippers. In the same sentence!!

I'm not one to throw around conspiracy theories like so many bits of loose change, but...

I can't take this anymore. If you don't give me the keys, well, the bath I've drawn in the other room is warm and ready. The razor blades lie in wait on the counter. Except, instead of scrawling "IT" on the tiles in my own blood, I'm writing something far more terrifying:

"MCCOURT!!"