Vin Scully sits in the Los Angeles Dodgers broadcast booth by himself performing both play-by-play and color, sometimes talking too much for some people’s taste, but always painting a wonderful picture of the ballgame.

In doing so during one recent game he noted seemingly innocuously that Jeff Kent’s batting average had increased 20 points in 10 games since Manny Ramirez arrived to provide him with some protection in the lineup.

In doing so, Scully apparently offended the douchbag of a second baseman, who told T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times “Manny was only hitting .300 in Boston with 20 home runs. And he’s doing way better than that here — so I’m helping Manny.”

He also busted out with “Vin Scully talks too much” and told Simers that talk of Manny’s presence improving his own performance “diminishes my whole career and all the hard work. I take it as an insult.”

Kent has had a fantastic career. In 17 seasons he’s hit 376 home runs and counting. He’s batted .290, played in five All-Star games and a World Series, while he was with San Francisco.

He’s also, by many accounts, been grumpy and cantankerous. He feuded with Barry Bonds in what had to be one of the most tense and angry clubhouses in the history of Major League Baseball.

And last year he ripped manager Grady Little and several of the team’s young players who he said didn’t get “A lot of things. Professionalism. How to manufacture a run. How to keep your emotions in it. …”

Seems like Kent might want to re-read his critique of the youngsters from last year. In attempting to pick a fight with Scully he’s A) taking offense to an innocuous comment, B) getting distracted by an innocuous comment, C) taking focus away from a resurgent Dodgers club that has improved immensely as a unit since Ramirez arrived, D) picking a fight with an icon, beloved by most Dodgers fans, and E) ignoring the fact that his numbers have improved dramatically since Ramirez arrived.

It’s no insult. Great hitters are less great when there is nobody in the lineup to provide protection. Kent now has that protection and he is back to being the feared hitter that he was. I have never met him, but Kent seems to be an odd guy. And he’s entitled to his opinion.

But this is a pointless battle, an offense that he never should have taken. It’ll get him nowhere and it’s nothing but a distraction that this team doesn’t need.