The turmoil that engulfed the Dodgers during last week's dismal 1-6 trip had been slowly building for weeks but erupted publicly only when the team's postseason hopes disappeared.
Although second baseman Jeff Kent was the first player to speak on the record about the Dodgers' internal problems -- most notably a widening schism between some veterans and a group of first- and second-year players -- there was palpable tension in the clubhouse for much of the second half.
The separation developed largely along generational lines, with the 39-year-old Kent and 40-year-old outfielder Luis Gonzalez among the players on one side and outfielder Matt Kemp, who turned 23 on Sunday, 25-year-old Andre Ethier and 23-year-old first baseman James Loney on the other.
At issue wasn't performance. Heading into the opener of the Dodgers' final homestand of the season tonight, Kemp (.333) and Loney (.331) are the team's leading hitters. Another second-year player, 24-year-old catcher Russell Martin, who has remained above the fray, leads the Dodgers with 85 runs batted in.
Instead, the veterans grew frustrated with their diminished playing roles at the same time that what might have been their last, best chance at the World Series was disappearing.
In addition, they say, the young players haven't paid them or the game proper respect. It's an old-school notion -- that rookies should be seen and not heard.
"Some of the guys that you see around that are young are a little cocky," said pitcher David Wells, at 44 the oldest Dodger, yet one of the few who has moved comfortably between both sides in a split clubhouse. "But you know what? They're going to get humbled. And when they do, they'll switch their attitude. It's not my place and time to tell people how to act. But I pay attention.
"And if I feel the need maybe I'll say, 'Hey, maybe you want to try this approach.' Because I was told that."
There are other veterans who share that approach, but still others who prefer to remain inside their own tight circle. And that's caused others to choose sides.
Before a game on the last homestand, an attendant placed a trash can too close to Kemp's locker in the Dodgers' crowded clubhouse. But when the outfielder got up to move it, one veteran complained aloud -- but not to Kemp -- about how rookies today are different from those of the past.
