Dodgers Woes Attributed to a Haircut

So disciplinarian Joe Torre made Manny Ramirez cut a whole inch off his dreads. Big freaking deal.

Apparently it is, because the Dodgers' new found mojo went by the wayside along with that seemingly insignificant inch.

The Dodgers were playing like a powerhouse after Ramirez's arrival -- until the Dodgers' hair-challenged manager insisted on Samson cutting his dreadlocks, Ramirez complying and hitting .250 ever since, the Dodgers going 4-7 in that time.

An interesting find here by the LA Times, to say the least. I've never actually had long hair, so I can't speak to how losing it would muzzle Manny's ability to rake ... but I can say that when playing a different position you are definitely affected by your teammates hair. No wonder Jonathan Broxton can't close games, Russell Martin is tiring, and Andre Ethier can't hit the ball out of the infield ... and of course, the always mentally weak Greg Maddux obviously got touched up because he was so bothered by Manny's hair missing that one ever-so-important inch.

Seriously, guys ... isn't this the kind of material writers reserve for Cubs' bad stretches?

At least Torre had a sense of humor about it and played along.

"That's something about discipline," Torre joked after getting Ramirez to snip an inch off his dreadlocks. "You sacrifice wins, the season and everything else to have it."