Of course, anything is possible, but being 11 games out of first place on August 17th is not a good position to be in.  It’s highly unlikely that the Dodgers can advance to the playoffs for the third straight year.  There are a variety of reasons for this, but the not the least of which is the disconnect between the coaches and the players.  Joe Torre and Company are not known for being brilliant strategists, and that issue was readily exposed this season.  In my opinion, none of the coaching staff should be back.  There needs to be a clean sweep.  I would give Ned Colletti one more year.  I think he has learned a lot, but I still think giving up James McDonald for Dotel was a bonehead move.  I believe that James McDonald IS BETTER RIGHT NOW than Octavio Dotel.   Giving up Santana was a little more understandable (and the jury is out on that one – I’m not saying it was smart), but McDonald was boneheaded!  I liked Blake DeWitt, but that wasn’t a big deal.  The Dodgers do have to decide what to do with Theriot and Lilly however.

Now, since the Dodgers are effectively out of the race, what happens over the next two weeks will help define their future.  Contrary to the naysayers, who said McCourt wouldn’t spend big on the draft, the Dodgers did just that and broke the bank to sign Zach Lee.  As Jared mentioned, those of you who doubted Logan White’s veracity should be ashamed!   If the Dodgers had offered arbitration to Wolf or Hudson, and one (or both) had accepted, there would have been no Zach Lee signing, and to those who said that they would not have accepted arbitration, I say:  ”You also said McCourt would not pay money for draftees – you have no credibility!”

Now, I freely admit that Frank McCourt has some problems and I think he really has taken too much money from the Dodgers and that his lifestyle is too decadent, but I don’t have all the inside info.  That’s not something anyone has.  I also see all the things he has accomplished and I believe Dodger Fans have an owner who is in it for the long haul.  ”The Divorce” looms large and will go a long in determining the Dodgers future.  It will be interesting as to what happens, but I believe Frank is in the “drivers’ seat.”  That is speculation on my part and I won’t spend much time saying much more because speculation is not worth ZIP!  We just have to wait and see what happens.

• Casey Blake has cleared waivers and it would be nice if someone took him, but I doubt it.  He has slipped badly this year and really can’t be counted on to be a starter next year.  He’ll be an expensive sub!  The Dodgers need a new 3B.
• As bad as Dodger Fans felt Russ Martin was playing, he looks like a Superstar compared to Ellis and Ausmus.  Dodger fans do need to realize that Martin may not be back next year.   Add a catcher to the shopping list.  AJ Ellis probably isn’t even a backup.  Add a catcher to the Dodgers’ shopping list.
• We all know that Manny will be gone after the season.  Let’s hope that he comes back strong and clears waivers, so that some AL team can absorb a little salary to give the Dodgers some relief next year.  Add a left fielder to the shopping list.
• My biggest hope is that Raffy come back and burns up the league and can be traded before August 31st.  I was against his signing because of his injury history and “all out style of play.”  The Dodgers can’t count on him to help much next year.  They should cut bait, if they can!  Add a Starting Shortstop to the equation, although I doubt he can be traded without eating half of his salary.
• As much as the relief pitching has sucked this year, the nature of relievers is that they frequently have off years and then bounce back with stellar seasons.  I believe that the Dodgers are OK in this area, regardless of what the stats say.
• Kuroda, Padilla and Lilly are all Free Agents.  No way the Dodgers offer Kuroda arbitration – maybe Padilla, and if Lilly wants to stay, they might opt to sign him top a 3-year deal.
• Kershaw has shown that he can be the Dodgers ace and Chad Billingsley has been excellent since the end of April with an ERA near 3.00.  I think Lilly fits nicely in the Dodgers rotation – it’s just a question of whether he is affordable.
• As crazy as you think it might be, Charlie Haeger may play the role of the 5th starter next year.  Think RA Dickey!
• Jon Broxton’s star has waned, but he still has good value and the Dodgers just need to trade him over the winter.  He’ll command too much for that position.  If I were the Dodgers, I would not pay it.  Kuo and Jansen can close.  If Belisario gets his head screwed on straight he’ll be an asset too, and Cheryl falls off the books (I hope).
• I have to wonder about the entire coaching staff in the minors and I think that has to be re-evaluated.  We have too many youngstersunderachieving (McDonald, Lindblom, Withrow, Martin, et al).  It’s time for a fresh look.  The Dodgers minor league system is under-preforming with regards to some very good prospects.  Nothing is sacred or off-limits.  The right people are not in place.  Heads must roll.
• I predict Matt Kemp will figure it out and be a Bison again in 2011!
• The Dodgers have a big “re-tooling job” to do in the off-season, which starts now!  C, 3B, SS and LF are wide open!

1. We have all watched the hitters on this bipolar team for 3 years, and it seems that they are all smoking hot or all ice cold. Some of it was predictable.  When Andre Ethier was hitting .393 we all knew he couldn’t keep that up.  That his batting average has dropped a .100 points is no shock.  What will be a shock is if he doesn’t go on a tear and get it back up to the .310+ range.  I think his time off with family will help him re-focus and heal.  I will be shocked if he doesn’t start his late-inning heroics again.
2. Why this team runs hot and cold has to have some root in the coaching.  The Dodgers have 2 batting coaches and I see Torre talking to guys about hitting as well.  Could it be that they are irrelevant… or worse?  That has to be considered.  In my opinion, everything is on the table, up to and including the firing of Mattingly and Pentland!   Bring in a fresh face.  I know it’s late in the season, but in what way could it hurt?  Could they hit any worse?  It might serve as a “wake-up call.”
3. It’s probably too late in the year for Matt Kemp to recover his focus and screw his head on straight.  Matt Kemp should be carrying this team, but he is dragging it down.  The whispers around the ballpark are that he has a crappy attitude, and it is obvious to everyone that he has lost focus on the field.  He could regain it with a big SLAP IN THE FACE (like sit him for the next series and announce why), but it will probably take the whole off-season to do it, IF he can do it.    Matt Kemp is a classic case that proves the difference between a superstar and a journeyman lies almost solely between the ears!  Matt is at a crossroads in his career.  Robinson Cano was at a similar crossroads in 2008, when he hit .246 the first half of the season with 6 HR – he has rebounded nicely!  Is Kemp closer to being Robinson Cano or Raul Mondesi? That is the question.
4. Russ Martin and Casey Blake both hitting 20 to 30 points below their career averages does nothing but garner support that Pentland and Mattingly must go! I already have serious questions about Mattingly’s mangerial ability anyway!
5. I am certain that Ned had to take Theriot and give up DeWitt in order to get Lilly, and that may or may not have been a good move – time will tell.  This I do know – Blake DeWitt doesn’t have the arm and the power for 3B, so forget that nonsense.  He was never going to be the Dodgers (or for that matter, anyone’s) third baseman.  I think Blake DeWitt will be a fine 2B and I still believe he will hit 15-20 HR, especially at Wrigley.
6. Now, that I have pretty much trashed the team, I will say that we all know they are capable of getting “white hot.”   I can see a big run left in this team, say where they win 22 out of 25 games!  They have done it before.  Belisario will be back soon.  Reed Johnson will be back and Manny will return in a couple of weeks, and hopefully Garrett Anderson will retire.  I still think that they have one last BIG RUN left in them.  With Lilly filling the #5 spot, and the rotation very solid, the bullpen better with Dotel and the return of Belisario, I do not think the Dodgers are dead.  The next series will determine their fate.  They just need to bring their brooms!
7. Kershaw and Billingsley and Kuroda and Padilla are among the best quartets of starters in baseball right now.  Kershaw and Billingsley have certainly been stellar lately.  The Matt Kemp of 2009 may have caught the double in the gap last night…
8. I have also resolved to only say good things about Jon Broxton:  So here goes:  When he is gone – GOOD!

BTW – Lilly is an A Free Agent – The rest of the new trades are all B’s.

Jared Massey and I were both at Blogger Night in LA on Monday Night and during the six plus hours at Dodger Stadium we gained a lot of insight into the 2010 Los Angeles Dodgers.  So,

Ned Colletti chatting with us stinkin'bloggers

here is some of what we have learned:

Ned Colletti spoke with us for nearly an hour and was forthright, honest, never-hedging questions and downright frank.  He answered every question and gave Dodger fans some reasons to believe.  Here’s some of what he said:

• Ned Colletti admitted that during his Dodger tenure, he’s made good and bad deals and said that in the beginning he tried too hard to make things happen, which resulted in bad deals.   He showed me that he can be critical of himself and look at things with a rational and scientific mind.
• Is he worried about Russ Martin?  Yes, but it’s not for a lack of trying – he’s still one of the hardest workers on the team (Vicente Padilla is another).
• Jerry Sands – “Professional approach and great leadership.”  Cautious, yet very optimistic!
• Ned expects James McDonald to get back into the swing of things, and has not ruled him being a starter. It is natural for McDonald at this stage to be working on his pitch consistency and Ned likened him to Eric Gagne in this respect.
• John Ely – Ned Colletti shared a story of discussing options with Juan Pierre after the 2009 season. Colletti’s relationship with Ely’s college coach at Miami gave him confidence in Ely as part of the deal. Colletti had great things to say about Ely; he likes how he competes and “how his thought process adapts mid-game.” Colletti also gave Ely a lot of credit for his start at Wrigley Field, especially being a native Chicago boy and having the hometown pressure, but he was cautious about not reading too much into Ely’s early success and recent lack of it.  Personally, I think Ely is AAA bound.
• Blake DeWtt – Ned appreciates  how hard Blake works. He talked about DeWitt being a great guy to be on the team for his character, and Ned values character, which brings me to…
• Garret Anderson, who according to Colletti, still has a lot of value to the club and “can be a threat.” This is the part where I thought Ned was high on drugs. Put down the crack pipe, Ned!
• Xavier Paul has a lot of potential and his call-up hinges on Manny Ramirez’ status.  Ned talked about  how challenging it is to try to refine and advance a players’s development at the major league level.
  

  Ron Cey and Jared - Jared doesn't even remember him...

• Matt Kemp – he liked how Kemp’s positive results the last couple of games.  Not mentioning Kemp in particular, he did say how difficult this game is to play, and how the Hall-of-Fame Players that he has seen have had to keep working at it diligently even when they’re at the top of their game, and mentioned how particularly difficult that is to do in baseball.
• Ned emphatically stated that he Dodgers are very determined to sign Zach Lee, and he said it was a challenge to have their first pick in the draft so low in the order, which is why the Dodgers took a chance on him.  He was Top 10 or Top 5 Talent and due to the Dodgers winning ways, they generally don’t pick so high, so Lee was worth the risk.  I got the feeling from Ned that the Dodgers were willing to pay 3 to 4 million for Lee, maybe more!
• Ned said that he is also looking for relief pitching, but that it is is so volatile, it’s hard to find quality relievers at the trade deadline.
• George Sherrill? Ned has no clue why he is struggling (I told you to trade him, Ned).  When asked if Sherill had been asked to go to the minors, Ned paused, long enough to let us know that the Dodgers had asked him and he had refused!  When asked that, Ned didn’t deny it.
• Colletti thinks the time off for Ramon Troncoso will help him work out the kinks in some of his pitches.  He said that his sinker wasn’t sinking.
• He talked about how the Vicente Padilla deal happened and how it involved personal face-to-face contact regarding Padilla’s reputation prior to joining the Dodgers. Colletti appreciates how Padilla has been “a model citizen” for the team.  He said that Padilla promised he would not be a problem (he did not promise that he wouldn’t shoot himself in the foot, however).
• Scott Elbert – He hopes he comes back and fixes whatever was eating him.
• Ned is acting like he will be able to take on payroll if the right opportunity presents itself (which I have been saying all along).
• Ned says that Josh Lindblom’s velocity is down, and they have no clue why.  By the way, I have observed that Jon Broxton’s velocity is also down.  Hummmm….
• Ned recounted his first “disagreement” with Joe Torre.  When Ned had first brought Clayton Kershaw up (because the coaches “begged” for it), Ned told Joe that he needed to be handled with kid gloves.  One particular game, Joe left him in and brought him out in the 8th inning, during which Clayton had problems and was ultimately removed.  Ned said he bit his tongue until he got home and asked Joe “can you explain your thought process in bringing Clayton back for the 8th inning?”  To which Joe, said “I get it boss.  I get it!“
• I also talked to another Dodger employee who said that he was convinced (through conversations with common friends) that Randy Wolf would have “almost certainly” accepted arbitration and would have probably gotten around $12 mil (their number, not mine) and that if Wolf  had accepted arbitration, he could have offered the Dodgers a two year deal in the $18 to $20 mil range.  He also went on to say that the Dodgers felt Wolf had his career year and was not worth that.  He acknowledged that O-Dog was not as likely to have accepted arbitration, but that Ned says “When you OFFER arbitration, you had better be prepared to PAY it.”  It’s easy to say the Dodgers should have offered arbitration to Hudson, but IT’S NOT YOUR MONEY!  IT’S EASY TO SPEND OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY!  He also said that Wolf is miserable in Milwaukee…
  

  Ron and I comparing notes on our hip replacements

All-in-all, this was the best blogger night ever. The Dodgers had Roy Cey, Lou Johnson, Kim Ng, Dennis Mannion, Josh Rawitch, Ned Colletti, the High-Life Man and others drop by the suite for conversation.  Mannion was as engaged as he was engaging.  Josh Rawitch did an awesome job in putting this together and you have to give him credit for being way ahead of the curve by getting bloggers involved.

I left feeling that the Dodgers are in good hands with Ned Colletti as GM.  Some talk about Kim Ng and Logan White being GM’s, and while they may or may not ever become one, Ned is the consummate professional in this respect.  He delegates, is through, thoughtful, scientific, personally probing and level-headed – perfect for a GM!  He admits to learning from his mistakes and is not eager to repeat them.  What more can you ask?

Eleven Things That Will Happen  in the Second Half

1. I expect the Dodgers to acquire an arm.  They didn’t have that hitter to get  Cliff Lee that the Rangers did.  Oswalt is still a possibility…. However, Ned plays his cards close to the vest.  Speculation who the Dodgers will get is just that – speculation.  I do predict that they will get a top-of-the-rotation starter.
2. Manny will get hot and carry the team for a spell.  I think Joe will “ease” him back in.
3. Ace?  Clayton Kershaw is just improving little-by-little EVERY start.  Joe is about ready to anoint him the ace.  Clayton will step into the #1 spot after the All-Star Break.  It will be Kershaw, Kuroda, Billingsley and Padilla.  All Ned has to do is find a Number 2 or Number 3, but Oswalt would do too.
4. Ely will return to AAA.  Classic case of the league catching up to him.
5. Rafael Furcal will continue his hot ways.  He only needs a handful of at-bats to qualify for the lead in the batting average race.  He looks like the Young Raffy!  He is the Dodgers spark plug.  It was good to see him make the All-Star team and he deserved it over Reyes anyway.
6. George Cheryl will be given a few more weeks, but the Dodgers can’t continue to ride a limping horse.  At some point, that horse will have to be “put-down” if it can’t recover.
7. Brad Ausmus will be back and play a large role off the bench, both as a backup to Martin and a pinch hitter.
8. Garrett Anderson will have to be replaced by Xavier Paul.  Jon Weisman made an excellent case why Paul is the better choice and why AAA does nothing for him.  By the way, how about the play where Paul threw to the cutoff man and got the runner at the plate?  Good block by AJ too!  AJ is who we thought he was – a .214 hitter.
9. Look for a hot streak by both Ethier and Kemp.  Kemp is climbing out of the doghouse and is slowly getting his act together.
10. The surprise of the second half will be Vicente Padilla, who has some of the best stuff in all of baseball.   I still think this team will win 94-95 games.
11. The pitching will become rock-solid the second half.  Write it down.  You may see some new faces:  McDonald, Troncoso will be back and maybe a pitcher or two acquired by way of trade.  Cheryl and Miller and Ely will likely be gone soon.

Future Dodger?

Several months ago, I was already sick of hearing how the Dodgers would not spend any money, the divorce was crippling the Dodgers, the Dodgers need a new owner and blah, blah, blah.  I was on-board with all their off-season moves – the non-tenders of Wolf and Hudson, the trade of Juan Pierre for Link and Ely and the signings of Jamey Carroll and Ronnie Belisario (OK, I hated the Garrett Anderson signing).  I knew what was happening – the Dodgers knew they couldn’t get Roy Halliday, and Cliff Lee wasn’t available.  They weren’t going to settle for chumps.  Many (strike that, most) of you thought that the Dodgers were just cheap and would not spend any money.  There was even some cowardly idiot named McCheapness who came on this board and make fun of what I said and made an ass of himself in the process.  Come to think of it MOST,  YES MOST, of you argued with me about the same thing.

Well, the fact of the matter is that the Dodgers are a very good team, are in the thick of the pennant race, and have as good or better chance of going to the World Series as any other NL team. The fact that Ned stood pat over the winter and didn’t sign a chump like John Lackey, means that the Dodgers have enough cash to trade for a high-profile pitcher.  Ken Gurnick reported today that the Dodgers were pursing starting pitching. That’s not news, I told you that a month ago! Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee, Zach Greinke and some others may be available and the Dodgers are players.  They won’t “gut” the farm, but they will be aggressive.  I guarantee it!  My preference is Cliff Lee – he’s a rent-a-player who the Dodgers could re-sign next season (or not), who would give them a legitimate ace.  He’s not going to command a lot of top prospects, but the Dodgers may have to give up Martin and Withrow along with someone like Ely.

Look, we have three (count ‘em 3) good starters:  Kershaw (near Ace), Kuroda (strong #2 or #3) and Billingsley (#2 -#4, depending upon a lot of factors).  Vicente Padilla or John Ely may be our #4, but Ely’s star is setting.  I am not writing him off, but he’s going to have to change what he’s been  doing lately.  I like the kid.  I like his moxie, but the league has “caught up to him” and he has to figure it out or go back to AAA.   Monasterios needs to pitch out of the pen – too young, too inexperienced.  He can be effective in middle relief.

Of as much concern is Ramon Troncoso who was Lights Out in Cincy and Lite Up in Boston.  He didn’t look like the same pitcher.   It appears to me that some days he has absolutely NO CONTROL of his curve-ball. Maybe he should abandon it altogether!  His velocity is fine.  It’s the curve that is doing him in.

Rants & Raves

• It hurts to have Raffy out of the lineup – a lot!
• Travis Schlichting has been a godsend!
• Adrian Beltre would look good in the middle of the Dodger order right about now.  He is leading the Red Sox in RBI (48), Hits (87) and is hitting .339 with 10 HR and 18 Doubles.  He is OPSing .908 and playing Gold Glove Defense.   And, And… he generally doesn’t really hit until the second half.  I hate to say it, but I told you so!  ;)   Of course, I told you so about Andy LaRoche too, but .500 would win a batting championship …
• James Loney – Dodger RBI Leader – an argument could be made he should hit 3rd!
• Andre Ethier – Struggles on the Road Continue
• The way Loney is hitting, I like this lineup:

1. Raffy  SS
2. Kemp  CF
3. Loney  1B
4. Ethier  RF
5. Manny  LF
6. Blake  3B
7. DeWitt 2B
8. Martin  C

I like Martin at #8 – DeWitt will see more pitches.

An Ace:  While no one on the Dodgers will say it publicly, Clayton Kershaw is morphing into that Ace the Dodger fans covet, probably sooner that most expected.  As Tony Jackson of ESPN/LosAngeles points out, he is 6-1 with a 1.83 ERA in his last 8 starts and is pitching much deeper into games.  He has allowed only 4 HR in 85 innings pitched – just one in the past six weeks.  He did get off to a poor start this year and walked a lot of batters early in the season, but last night he showed how much better his command has become.  Clayton threw 110 pitches last night, 79 of which were strikes.  When you are actually at a game, you can see what the other hitters think about the guy on the mound – when the Reds hitters walked to the plate, they looked like a death-row inmate going to the execution chamber, and when they walked back to the dugout, they were muttering under their breath.   The thing is, I have seen Clayton with a much better curve-ball than last night, but he has learned to work with what he has and he trusts whatever stuff he has.    I still would like to see the Dodgers get another Ace, but the fact is, they already have one.

The Chip: This has to be the thing on Manny’s shoulder.  He played last night with a vigor and a zeal I haven’t seen from him in quite a spell.  Forget the laser shot to right center field that got out of Great American ballpark in about 3 nanoseconds – he can still do that.  What impressed me is that he played a double off the wall into a single, and then threw the runner out at the plate when he tried to score from 2B on a slow single.  Manny caught the ball and threw in one quick motion, unleashing a laser-like throw which probably never got more than 20 feet off the ground.  I mean, I have watched Manny throw those “moon balls” back to the infield so many times that I had no clue he had a throw like that in him.  Maybe it was the last one, but it was a good one.

Rants & Raves

• Ronald Belisario’s stuff is not nearly as devastating as last season.  Kuo?  His ball “pops” and moves like crazy.
• Raffy is playing like a much younger man.
• Travis Schlichting was recalled last night and probably could see action this afternoon if needed.
• Print the tickets:  Claudio Vargas was re-signed by the Dodgers to a minor league deal.
• Andre Ethier gets all the ink, but James Loney is tied with him for the team RBI lead.
• The Reds are first in the NL in hitting, but the Dodgers are 2nd and they don’t play in a bandbox.
• The Dodgers are now 8th in the NL in pitching, and have moved from 15th to 12th in fielding.
• Even with DeWitt’s error last night, he is playing much better defense at 2B and looks very comfortable there.  If he’d just show some power…
• Don’t look now, but Kyle Russell is making adjustments.  See Jarod’s Minor League Report
• First Place!  Some of you don’t know what to do – there’s nobody to bash today!

The Knucklehead:  Getting shot in the leg is enough to cause you to get branded as a knucklehead, but there’s a lot more to it than that.  Vicente Padilla arguably has some one thebest stuff you will ever see, but it’s his “knuckle-headedness”  which has kept him from achieving his potential.  Obviously, something happened in Texas which caused many of his teammates to turn on him and the Rangers to eat his contract.  In spring training this year, he was regarded as a “knucklehead” in several establishments which service alcoholic beverages and he was regarded as a “knucklehead” by people who leased him his expensive sports car and his neighbors around the condo he leased.  Thus, it comes as no surprise that Padilla is involved in some form of “incident” in a hotel room in the 3-4 AM hours.  Once a knucklehead, always a knucklehead.  I thought that since he was a 1-year deal, he might settled down and pitch like he is capable, and his stuff is #1 stuff, but his head is #13.  A True Knucklehead he is!

Linchpins: Matt Kemp, Manny Ramirez, Russell Martin and James Loney are all important to the Dodgers offense, but the Dodgers “Offensive Linchpins” are, without a doubt, Rafael Furcal and Andre Either.   After going 3-4, Raffy looks to be back and Andre is due back at any moment.  The Dodgers are an entirely different team when they are in the lineup.  Raffy sets the tone, but if you have to pick one true “linchpin” it is “Walkoff” Ethier.  I am considering changing his name from “Walkoff” to “Game-Over.”

Leftys:  It’s always something with left-handers.  Case-in-point – George Sherrill, who seems to be very good or very, very bad and lately it has been the later.  Hong-chih Kuo has outstanding “Closer” type stuff, but his arm hangs by a thread and each pitch could be his last.  An MRI could tell a lot, but I am sure that neithe he nor the Dodgers wants to know…  And then we have Mr. Scott Elbert, whose curve-ball and slider should play out much better than in the PCL, but who is wilder than a March Hare.  What is it with these left-handers anyway?  They are all wacky, except for Mr. Clayton Kershaw – he’s OK in my book, and after all, he is our Ace.  The Dodgers last two attempts to trade for an ace were exercises in futility (Brown and Schmidt).  I think the Dodgers have to get an Ace the old-fashioned way – you grow one!

I Told You Sos: In the off-season before this season, I said that I was in favor of not offering Orlando Hudson and Randy Wolf arbitration.  Most of you have disagreed with me, but you will change your minds soon enough.  Watch and learn.  You surely have learned that what I said in the off-season before the start of the 2009 season is true.  I said that I was not in favor of signing Manny Ramirez, but if I signed him it would only be for one year.  I was told by most of you that Manny would require a three to five year deal and was called all kinds of names for saying I wouldn’t sign him.  When the Dodgers signed him for two year against no other bidders, I was somewhat relieved, but felt that $45 mil for an aging superstar was too much and too long… and it was!  I root for Manny because he is a Dodger, but I fear that we are seeing the best of this aging-former-steroid-using-superstar-who-can’t-recover-as quickly-as-he-needs to.  I fear that there is little market for him and if the Dodgers can trade him, it will be at the expense of having to eat half his salary or more – they might as well keep him for that.  The only team I can see wanting or affording him is the Yankees and that would be “iffy.”  You got what you wanted with Manny and now you are stuck with him.  I hate to say I told you so, but “I told you so.”

Cliff Lee, Zach Greinke and Roy Oswalt will all be on the market this year.  Randy Wolf makes more than Cliff Lee.  Who would you rather have?  The Dodgers can now be players for those pitchers because they don’t have the salaries of Wolf or Hudson… or both.  They would really be sitting pretty if they didn’t have Ramirez!

2012:

Lineup:

1. Gordon  SS
2. DeWitt 2B
3. Ethier  -  LF
4. Pujols  - 1B
5. Kemp  CF
6. Beltre  3B
7. Sands  RF
8. Ellis  C

Subs:

• May
• Hu
• Paul
• Hoffman
• DeJesus

Rotation:

1. Kershaw
2. Lee
3. Martin
4. Ely
5. Haegar

Bullpen:

• Wade
• McDonald
• Guerra
• Link
• Adkins
• Leach
• Lindblom – Closer

Parting Shots:

• The Dodgers lack of hitting doesn’t concern me, right now – they will hit.
• Garrett Anderson is stealing space from a worthy ballplayer.  He is soooooooooooooo done – stick a fork in him!
• The Dodgers need to convert Lindblom back to a Closer
• James McDonald is back on the road to LA
• Xavier Paul will surprise you – watch and see.
• Rumor has it that Elbert will go back down today to make room for Ethier, and that Paul will go back to make make room for Haegar on Tuesday.  A better move would be to keep Paul and DFA Anderson.  Answer this question:  Are the Dodgers better with XP or GA?  End of discussion…

• The Dodgers took a lot a flack for signing Jamey Carroll and I was on record as saying that he could not play SS.  Well, he showed the naysayers that he has value.  He is hitting .280 with a .382 OB% and played a very solid, if not spectacular SS while Raffy was out, and he showed me that he could play SS.  He was the SS during the Dodgers current winning streak.  Of course, the stat geeks will point to his .320 slugging percentage, but this guy is a sub!  He’s not Hanley Ramirez.  He did his job.  He showed up, stepped up, shut up and put up.  Jamey Carroll can play on my team any day (as a sub, of course).
• Raffy will be back Friday – Green has to go.
• Ramon Ortiz?  What is he?  I have no clue!
• Tony Jackson of ESPN/LOS Angeles had a Q & A today, in which he said (among other things) that Matt Kemp may be a clubhouse problem, that he’s difficult, doesn’t listen, a coach wants to trade him, and implied that Ned “didn’t tell the half of it.”   I think that there is a lot of truth in what Tony said, but it is wildly over-hyped.  While he is much closer to the team than I, during the time I was in Arizona, I saw nothing that would lead me to believe there is a locker room rift.  Matt is pretty full of himself.  I have a 23-year-old son, who doesn’t have millions of dollars, athletic talent out the wazzoo, and a singer girlfriend and he is insufferable.    I imagine that Matt is too.  I have never had a problem with him when I spoke with him.  He has always been polite to me, but then again, some of that is probably just MY persona.  I know his dad and his dad says that he’s a knucklehead sometimes – shoot all young kids in a position like him probably are.  To expect him to be otherwise, is unrealistic.  Hopefully, he will mature and get past this. I don’t see it as a big deal.
• Tony also had a good article about Clayton Kershaw.  Read it HERE.
• Now, ponder this: I believe the Dodgers are looking for a starter, but not just any starter.  Some say that Derek Lowe might return to the Dodgers.  I say the chances of that happening are “slim and none.”  While I cannot know who the Dodgers have targeted, I can tell you that I have four pitchers in my sights, and while it probably won’t happen for a while, it could happen if these four teams slip out of contention, and most of them are headed that direction.
  • Kansas City Royals (12-23) – Target: Zach Greinke
  • Chicago White Sox  (14-20) – Target: Jake Peavy
  • Seattle Mariners (13-21) – Target:  Cliff Lee
  • Florida Marlins (16-18) – Josh Johnson

Now let me say, that I think the odds of getting Josh Johnson and Zach Greinke are slim (and none).  The Dodgers should try, but they probably won’t be successful.   That narrows it down to Peavy and Lee. I would take either one, but if both of their respective teams keep going south (and the odds are that at least one will), one or both may become available.  Since Lee is not signed, it would seem more likely that he would be available, but you never know.  What I do know, is that to get either pitcher, the Dodgers would have to give up a lot.  Start with Ethan Martin and Chris Withrow, and throw in Jon Broxton and James Loney.    As ironic as it sounds, would you trade Martin, Withrow, Broxton and Loney for Peavy and Konerko? Think about that one…  You might have to throw in Padilla and Haeger so that they could fill a spot in the rotation.

Actually, Roy Oswalt is also a possibility…

Lineup:

1. Furcal  SS
2. Kemp  CF
3. Manny  LF
4. Ethier  RF
5. Konerko  1B
6. Blake  3B
7. DeWitt  2B
8. Martin  C

Rotation:

1. Peavy
2. Kershaw
3. Kuroda
4. Billingsley
5. Ely

Dodgers 2B for the Next 1o Years?

On April 26, 2009 Clayton Kershaw was pounded by the Colorado Rockies.  He lasted 4.2 innings while giving up 9 earned runs, on 2 HR, and his ERA sat at 7.29 after that game.  I his next start he pitch 7 shutout innings against the Padres and won 1-0.

When Clayton Kershaw gets beat, he gets mad and gets even.

The pounding that he took yesterday is simply going to Unleash the Kracken!

After the game, Clayton said:

“There aren’t a whole lot of positives coming from tonight.  A lot of people told me growing up that the way people look at your character is how you handle adversity. I’ll just try to bounce back and have a good one on Sunday.”

Watch out, he’ll be back with a vengeance.  Sometimes it’s good to feel a good beating, so that you don’t want to experience it anymore.   When some people get beat, they get beat down mentally.  That’s not Clayton Kershaw.   His ERA is now 4.99.  He’ll be better for this.  Watch and see!  Unleash the Kracken!

Out of 49 players who have played 2B this year, Blake DeWitt ranks 13th with a .294 batting average and is 4th in OB% with .400. He has 8 RBI and 5 doubles while hitting mostly in the #8 hole.  In twice the at-bats, Orlando Hudson has 11 RBI to go with 5 doubles (he also has 2 HR) and is hitting .297 with an OB% of .376.  Yes, O-Dog has a better glove, but at this juncture, I can’t say he’s worth $8 million more than DeWitt.  Shoot, he’s not worth a million more than DeWitt.  Would we have  better record with Hudson?  Unleash the Kracken!

Rants & Raves

• Why do the Dodgers think Stan Conte is so great?  I don’t get it!  Nice guy, but is he a good trainer?  Not in my book!
• Manny will probably be activate VERY soon.
• Weaver will probably see another outing.
• Nick Green (Yawn) is OK on defense.  No good or great, not bad or horrible. Hu else could the Dodgers have called up?
• It was good to see Charlie Haeger pitch well after his first inning troubles.  This could keep him on the roster.
• How can you keep and aging, surly, .116 hitting, slow-footed outfielder on the roster?  Not that X.Paul is all that, but I like what he brings more than Anderson.  It’s time to cut bait.
• That bum, Andy LaRoche,  who (according to some) never could hit, is hitting .333 with a .403 OB%… and he’s a slow starter.  He hit his 3rd HR last night in 68 AB’s, and made some excellent defensive plays.
• WOW!  James Loney’s HR to CF got out with a quickness.  Is he finding his power?  That was his 2nd HR at Dodger Stadium this year – He only hit 1 last year.  Unleash the Kracken!
• If C-Bill pitches 3 good games back-to-back-to-back, I’ll consider him back. Unleash the Kracken!

• I think James McDonald and Josh Lindblom will both play a big role with the 2010 Dodgers.
• If Hiroki Kuroda can continue to hit 95 MPH on his fastball and mix up his pitches like he has, he will be an All-Star this year.
• The Kiddie Corps of Chad and Clayton are starting to hit their stride.  I’m liking the Dodgers top 3 starters.  You can buy and ace or grow an ace.  I prefer the later.
• With Padilla likely out until June, John Ely and Carlos Monasterios will each get another start or four.
• Charlie Haeger can’t even pitch in a 9-1 blowout?  That doesn’t bode well for his future.  He is in Joe’s doghouse.  Charlie Haeger and Been Sheets have similar ERA’s.  I guess I’d rather be Ned Colletti than Billy Beane on that one.
• George Sherrill needs another pitching coach.  He scares me, but he’s better than he shows.
• What’s not to like about Casey Blake? He gets big hits, makes good plays and is a good teammate.  He’s hitting .263 with 3 HR, 6 Doubles and 15 RBI, which is 3rd on the team.  He’s solid, steady and will benefit if he only has to start 125-130 games, but he can pinch hit in the rest.  Casey Blake can play on my team any time.
• Have the Dodgers fired Joe Torre yet?
• When do Sands and Russell move up?  With Lambo in Limbo, Russell should go to AA and Sands to IE.
• Somebody told me I was crazy last season when I suggested that Andre Ethier could hit 40 HR.  I may be crazy, but he CAN hit 40 HR, like THIS year! No more Mr. Softee.
• Speaking of Soft, Andy LaRoche looks “soft” to me.  It looks like I was wrong in his evaluation.
• Matt Kemp is a streaky hitter.  He’ll hit like crazy for 4 or 5 games and then look horrible the next 4 or 5 games.  Sooner or later, the bad times will be less and less.  I guess the same can be said about Ethier.
• Who likes Garrett Anderson over Xavier Paul? No me!  Paul has better speed, is better defensively, has a cannon on his shoulder compared to Anderson’s popgun and is hitting better than Anderson.  That kind of performance needs to be rewarded.  Paul has to stay on the team when Manny is activated.   Simple as that.  While Paul is not a great CF, he can play there as well, and Anderson can’t.
• Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com has a nice article about the reformed Pedro Guerrero.
• Don’t get too excited – it was only the Pirates…
• It looks like Hu will be called up on Tuesday and Raffy will go on the DL.

Maybe you have wondered why the Dodgers didn’t spend much money over the past off-season.  Maybe?  You have absolutely wondered that if you are a Dodger fan.  After all, the owners were getting a divorce and arguing over money and control, so that’s it – McCourt is bad and he won’t spend any money. Many fans have this position.  I am here to tell you right now that conventional wisdom is usually wrong.  However, in this case, it’s not conventional wisdom.  It’s conventional “piling on”!

You all know that a A player with six or more years of major-league service (on the team’s 40-man roster) who is not under contract for the following season is eligible to file for free agency.  Teams can receive compensation for the player with a draft pick in the following year’s draft in June. In order to receive compensation, the team must offer the player salary arbitration.

It is then up to the player to either accept arbitration or sign with another team. The team must offer salary arbitration to the player by early December or the team will not be allowed to negotiate with or sign the player until the following May 1.   After arbitration is offered, the player has two weeks to accept or refuse salary arbitration. If it is refused, the player can only negotiate with the club until January 7th after which no more negotiation can take place until May 1st.

Top free agents are classified as Type A (the top 20 percent at their position as determined by the Elias Sports Bureau), Type B (between 21 and 40 percent at his position). If a Type A free agent who had been offered arbitration signs with another team, the team receives two first-round draft picks the following June – either a first- or second-round pick of the new team (depending on a team’s record the previous season) and a “sandwich” pick between the first and second rounds. Type B free agents earn just a “sandwich” pick.

If there are 14 or fewer Type A or Type B free agents available, no team can sign more than one type A or B player. If there are between 15-38, no team can sign more than two. If there are between 39 and 62, there’s a limit of three. However, teams can sign as many Type A or B free agents as they’ve lost, regardless of the limits above.

Now, think about this for a minute.  If a Type A player like Wolf and Hudson refuses free agency, then the team who loses them get compensation.  On the other hand, if they accept arbitration, it is binding.  Do you actually think it would be fair that a team could “opt out” if the player got more than they wanted to pay?   It is beyond foolish to think that has any root in reality.  You should know better than that.  A deal is a deal!  There is no rescinding it !  If you offer arbitration, it is binding!  Duh!

If the Dodgers had offered arbitration to Randy Wolf and  Orlando Hudson, then they would be bound to have accepted the results, contrary to what some people on this board may think.  They would have had to pay that player their number or the players number.  No recourse!

Now that we all understand what could have happened if the Dodgers offered arbitration to Wolf and Hudson, let’s consider the underlying reasons why the Dodgers did not offer either of them arbitration.  Wolf and Hudson were at the “right place at the right time” to both have made a fortune at arbitration.  Randy Wolf was a good pitcher for the Dodgers in 2009, but he has never been all that.  However, after stringing together some solid seasons, he qualified as a Type A Free Agent and was one of the top free agent pitchers in a very thin class of pitchers.  The same can be said of Orlando Hudson.  While he was never a perennial All-Star, he did win some Gold Gloves and made two All-Star appearances.  O-Dog also qualified as a Type A Free Agent and was one of the Top 2B in baseball… but he wasn’t “all that” either.  Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudson were good players, but if the Dodgers had offered them arbitration, there is a chance they would have accepted.  What that chance was depends upon who you ask.  It might have been 10% or it might have been 60% – no one knows, but here is what we do know:

If the Dodgers had offered arbitration to them and they had accepted, in all likelihood, here is what they might have asked:  Wolf would have gotten $10-13 mil and Hudson would have gotten $8-11 mil. You can say that the Dodger’s Kim Ng wouldn’t lose, but it all depends upon what is asked and offered as well.  I think the minimum the Dodger would have had to pay them both would have been $18 mil and the maximum may have been $24 million.  To put that in perspective, the Dodgers could have signed CC Sabathia for that, and that’s what Ryan Howard just signed his new deal for.

The Dodgers have made the mistake in the past of signing who was available, not who was really needed.  Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt, Andrew Jones, even Jeff Kent were signings which maybe didn’t make sense.  You don’t just look at who is available – you have to look at what you need.  If Ned and Frank had not signed Schmidt, Jones and Pierre, you might just be looking  a staff with CC Sabathia as ACE.  What would make the Dodgers better – Hudson and Wolf or Sabathia or Hudson and Wolf or Ryan Howard (then you could trade Loney for pitching)?  Forget these five-and-dime guys.

But, the Dodgers are blasted for not getting an ace.  Wait a minute –  they tried to get Cliff Lee – the Indians just liked the Phillies offer better.  There was no chance Doc Halladay was coming to the Left Coast.  Not in a million years!    That left Lacky – no thanks.  Good things come to those who wait.  The Dodgers are waiting.  They didn’t sign Wolf or Hudson because they know that something better is out there.  It may be Cliff Lee next winter, or maybe by the All-Star Break.  You don’t know.  Zach Greinke could suddenly become available, if KC really stinks and wants a multitude of prospects to rebuild (again).

Don’t expect the Dodgers to tell you this.  They can’t – it’s not something you share with your competitors, but when Ned says it’s business as usual, it is – in the sense that this is now the plan. The Dodgers won’t pay $15 – $18 mil for a player like Lackey, Schmidt, Jones, but they will pony up $20+ mil for a Cliff Lee or  $25 mil for a Zach Greinke.  You have to have both the Superstars and the Role Players.  The Phillies are built that way with Utley, Howard, Rollins, Halladay and all the rest.  I think they make a mistake in signing Raul Ibanez, because that might prevent them from re-signing Jason Werth.  Ibanez was important to them last year, but this year he stinks, and they have to pay him one more year.

In three years, the Dodgers could have contract obligations of $65 million a year to three players – Kemp, Ethier and Kershaw.  Frank McCourt knows that to build the empire he wants – he has to put a winner on the field.  He can’t do it with players like nickel-and-dime  players like Hudson and Wolf.  He needs about 4 or 5 superstars, a strong farm system and some role players to plug in.  Many have interpreted the fact that the Dodgers would not offer arbitration to Wolf and Hudson as Cheapness.  Actually, it’s the opposite – the Dodgers are now in a position to trade for a big arm THIS YEAR.  I believe the Dodgers could have a payroll closer to $120 mil by the end of the season.

Some people choose to believe fiction (such as it is possible to refuse to pay the arbitration settlement, or that Bud Selig told the Dodgers not to go to arbitration).  HOGWASH!   Some people choose to believe that McCourt will not spend the money necessary to win.  HOGWASH!  What the Dodgers did last off-season was about “positioning.”  The Dodgers are trying to get positioned to get some impact players, not the five and dime variety like Wolf and Hudson.  The Dodgers won’t spend the money?  HOGWASH!  The Dodgers are just going to be positioned to spend the money where it can make a difference.  The Dodgers are still paying for their (Ned’s) mistakes to Pierre, Schmidt and Jones, but they did get Link and Ely for Pierre (who has been a disappointment for the ChiSox).  Both of those player have promise.

The “mistakes” gradually come off the books over the next year or two.  On the horizon are Dee Gordon, Jerry Sands, and a bunch of pitchers who throw 95+ MPH.

The Dodgers have learned (the hard way) that you don’t sign the “five-and-dime” free agents – you have to go after the big boys!  Watch and see what happens.  In a few months, the people who ridiculed Frank McCourt will be wearing brown grocery bags over their heads with “eye slits.”

All I am saying is “Give the Dodgers a Chance!”

Oh….  Fire Joe Torre!  His horse finished 16th out of 20 in the derby.  Say no more!

Rants & Raves:

• I thought Andrew Lambo had put his character issues behind him.  I guess I was wrong.  I am officially off the LamboWagon!
• Ramon Ortiz – 3 IP/ 2 Hits/ 5 K’s to get the win.  He can stay!
• Carlos Monasterios looked like  24 year-old making his first major league start, but I saw promise.  He could just stick in the rotation.
• Charlie Haeger’s butt is glued to the pine.
• Andre Ethier is a beast!

A 1-0 loss is generally not very easy to swallow, but this one might be a little easier, if only for the fact that Chad Billingsley pitched like he was capable.  Even though he was hung with

Chad Billingsley in Motion

the loss, he pitched 6 strong innings while allowing only 4 hits and 1 run.  Additionally, he struck out 5 while walking 2 and lowered his ERA to 5.40.  The fact that he needed only 86 pitches in 6 innings, and had a 93-95 MPH fastball all day long is a strong statement that we can still rely on him as an elite pitcher.  In April of 2009, he had an ERA of 2.14, but ended the season at 4.03.  Maybe he’ll do it backwards this year. CHAD IS STILL IN THE GAME!

Sometimes, in order to get better and go to the next level, you have to go through some trials and tribulations.

Case in point:  Clayton Kershaw.  This time last year, most of you were saying that the Dodgers should not have brought Clayton up so soon.  You said they rushed him.  You pointed to his 7.29 April ERA and his 4 April Home Runs and felt like you knew a whole lot more than you did.  Clayton finished the year with 2.76 ERA and only allowed 3 more HR the next 5 months!  When will you learn?

RANTS & RAVES:

• These guys are too good to be bad very long.
• When you can’t blast McCourt and criticize the Dodgers, what do you do?  Beat your wives?    You are about to lose your edge.  (that’s a joke)  ;)
• Even George Sherrill seems to have gotten it together.  Last you you blasted Mota in April, but he ultimately turned into a very serviceable pitcher for us.
• Ramon Troncoso was very effective for the final two innings.  The Dodger bats weren’t very effective.
• Our defense, while horrid up to now, is a very good defense.  Why it’s been so bad, I have no clue, but again, these players are too good to keep playing this bad on D.
• I have a feeling that Ramon Ortiz will get Padilla’s next start.  If he does not do well, he is history.  In his defense, his stuff has been very good – it’s just the fact that he throws that ONE bad pitch (per inning)..  That has to stop!
• Think about this:  Time Wakefield has more innings pitched for the Red Sox than any other pitcher, and more wins than any other Red Sox pitcher other than Cy Young or Roger Clemens.  Still think there’s not hope for Haeger?  Think again!
• Don’t draw conclusions from this small sampling.  Look at the big picture.

Clayton Kershaw was imperfect but pitched well enough to win.  It only takes a pitch “here or there” and he’ll not walk anyone.

Then our closer blew a save, but the pen came through with 4 innings of excellent pitching.  George Sherrill “righted his ship” with 1.1 innings pitched and Carlos Monasterios was impressive in his 2.2 innings in route to the win.  You can see him growing.  He might be growing into a starter – he has plenty of pitches.

The defense continues to bother me and poor defensive teams are ALWAYS a reflection of the coaching staff and manager.  Are you listening, Joe? ALWAYS!

I feel it coming together.  I’m sorry that you will have less to complain about, but the Dodgers are getting better.  Are you going to cut your wrists when they win seven in a row?

• Charlie Haeger has a 6.46 ERA – It is what it is, and thus far, he is not the Dodger’s Savior.  It was Joe Torre who said “you don’t catch a knuckleball, you defend against it.“
• The Dodgers have 18 errors.  The manager and coaches have to take a large portion of the blame for this.
• Sit tight.  It’s not as bad as you think.  You should see what you were posting the last two years…
• I could see Matt Kemp as a RF in the near future with Ethier moving to LF.  Ethier has a good arm, but is a below average RF.  He would be better in LF.  Who plays CF?  Not Paul.  Robinson is a CF, but probably won’t be ready next year.  The Dodgers could sign one…  or convert Gordon to CF (I think outside of the box).  Put Gordon in CF and you could have the RF and LF sit down – he’d cover it all.
• As good as Manny was hitting, I think the Dodgers will be fine with him sitting down for 15 days.  Growth is painful, but necessary.
• The National Announcers said that “Ronnie Belliard was singing to his fat in the locker room before the game.”   Well, that explains a lot!
• It’s about time Clayton Kershaw stepped up and pitched 8 or 9 innings.  Tomorrow is his hour.
• On April 20, 2008, I wrote:

Chad Billingsley will never be a TOP Starter – he throws too many pitches and has never pitched deep into games. I see the stats. You are going to try and say “well, look what he does when….” I am basing this on what I see – now and in the past 2 seasons. Chad Billingsley can run it up to 98, 99 MPH when he has to pitch in short bursts. He was 95 consistently yesterday. He’s a PERFECT CLOSER! Trade Saito and move C-Bill to the pen.

How different would things be if that had happened?

After a promising first inning where the Reds went down 1-2-3, Chad Billingsley suddenly started “grooving” pitches and giving up hits.  ”Here it is right down the pipe for you, go ahead and hit it,” and they did.  Chad didn’t walk anyone in his three pathetic innings.  Instead, he pitched like a man who had been told he was going to be flogged with a cat-o-nine tails if he didn’t throw that ball right down Broadway.

As someone said yesterday, you can’t fire the players, so maybe it’s time to fire the guy whose job is to instruct these guys. His training, teaching, mentoring and instruction isn’t working.  Rick Honeycutt is a genuinely nice guy, but the pitchers aren’t listening.  It’s time for a new voice.  Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, and now Ramon Troncoso, have been plagued with fits of “walkitis.”   The wildness has been an issue for a few years and maybe, just maybe, the Dodgers success in pitching the past few years has been more of a testament to the drafting ability of Logan White and Company and not a glowing endorsement of Honeycutt.  Maybe the pitchers have been as good as they have been because of their ability and not the instruction they are receiving.  Ken Howell is the bullpen coach, and while another really great guy, the Dodgers need a new voice.  This one is not working.

The Dodgers already have a seventy year-old “figurehead” manager (which may or may not be just what they need), in that Don Mattingley and Bob Schaefer handle a lot of the managing decisions. Honeycutt handles the pitching staff and Torre handles his horses. It was revealed that he was going to visit his derby horse whose name is something like “Somebody’s Homeboy or the Other.”  Look, you can visit your horse in the off-season.  This team has some issues with it’s pitching and you had better solve them, Joe.  Hold your horses, you need to be calling new candidates for the job that should be open.

The Dodgers lead all of baseball with a .306 batting average, but are 26th in ERA at 5.55 – only the Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates have allowed more runs.  Chad Billlingsley had a live arm last night, hitting 93 MPH on the gun.  When a pitcher with his stuff gets beat like a rented mule, you have to do something.  When walks plague your best setup man and costs you the game, you have to do something.  When your best pitcher has 15 bases on balls in 17 innings pitched, you have to do something.   When a team such as the Dodgers, with a long legacy of exceptional pitching has a 5.55 team ERA, you HAVE to do something.  It’s way past time to do something about it!

When you do what you have always done, you get what you have always gotten and that is INSANE!   It’s time to change.  Do Joe and Ned have the guts to do it?

There may be another BIGGER issue at work here:  Do the Dodgers have a good minor league pitching policy?  Maybe they should consider doing what the Cubs did when they made Greg Maddux a special assistant to the GM and in charge of the team’s pitching programs.  Who should fill that spot for the Dodgers?  Do we need a “Pitching Czar?”  Give me some ideas….

DODGER NOTES:

• After 2 shutout innings where he looked pretty impressive, Jon Link was sent back to AAA while Ramon Ortiz and his 8.00 ERA got to say.  I don’t know, but I think I would have liked to see more what Jon Link is about.
• It was obviously a bad move to insert Belliard at 1B in the bottom of the 8th inning.  Yes, I am second-guessing, but you don’t put in an inexperienced 1B in at the end of a tie game.
• Garrett Anderson hit the ball very hard only to be robbed of a hit and extra-bases by Jay Bruce, w ho caught it at the wall.
• Does anyone still think Casey Blake is washed up?

Two weeks into the season and many questions still exist.  Did the Dodgers pitching staff actually spend the last two weeks in a simulated extended spring training?

The following lists the pitching staff’s ACE Meter scores (A concept that I introduced here last year):

The ACE Meter takes into account and blends ERA, IP, and WHIP statistics.  The IP per game variable obviously has a different standard for stating versus relief pitchers.

Regarding the Hitting I like to concentrate on stats like OPS and Clutch:

All of the Dodger hitters have a passing OPS Grade except for the Anderson who is failing.  As for DeWitt (D+), he may be placed on probation if he does not improve his Grade.

Written by Ken

When asked that, I just “shrugged.”  If I have to explain that… well, I won’t!

Booooooooo Yaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

The real question is, “Who is Jon Link?”

John Link was acquired in the Juan Pierre trade along with John Ely.  Both are RH pitchers with Ely being the ChiSox 12th best prospect (according to Baseball America) and Link being the 28th best prospect.   Here’s what BA says about Jon Link:

“After leading the minor leagues with 35 saves in 2008, Link was positioned to reach the big leagues last season.  Instead he took a step back. mostly because it took until July for him to throw his slider with the depth and command that he showed previously.    While it wasn’t as consistent, the slider remains one of the best in the organization, but Link seemed to lose confidence in it too quickly and went to his low-90′s fastball more often.  He can be hard on himself when he isn’t having success.  Though he struggled at times against Triple-A hitters, he still finished with more than a strikeout per inning.  His command improved later in the season, after his big league window had closed, but he took advantage of a chance to work as a closer in the Venezuelan League, going 2-0, 2.95 with seven saves in 21 innings of work.”

Jon Link is a student of the game and is pitching coach material once he retires.  He was hit pretty hard at AAA this year, but don’t read much into that.  Watch what he does in the Majors.  I have no clue what that might be.  We will find out soon enough…

Sunday’s Game:  Giants Suck, Giants Suck, Giants Suck!

They said Clayton wasn’t ready to be an Ace.  Who are “they” anyway?

They said “Manny was washed up.”  They?  Who?

P.S.     I have another new writer coming to the blog.  Jared is pretty good isn’t he?   There will be another one soon.  He’s good too!

P.S. 1  There will be a Three Game Series in Cincinnati starting Tuesday.  I’ll be there with my cameraman (son-in law) and my two sons.  It will be a blast.

P.S.2  Vin Scully – 60 years on the same job?  Crazy & Amazing!

P.S. 3  9 Months post-op of having my hip replaced and I moved a Tri-Ax full of Top Soil today.   I feel so Goooooddd (damn, I’m sore)!  My 23 year-old son and my brother who is 9 years younger than me plan to play softball together this year.  I have never played with either one.   It should be fun, although I can’t run very fast right now…

P.S. 4  Troy, cut your sideburns and wear a fedora.  I’ll see you in Cincy!

P.S. 5  Remember Sunday’s win.  It’s one of the best regular season wins in Dodger history.  Understated, quiet, astounding!

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UPDATE:

People were lauding the Giants Madison Bamgarmer, who was rated Baseball America’s #14 Top Prospect.   Well, times change.  Read this report from ESPN’s Rob Neyer:

Certainly plenty of 19-year-old pitchers tire late during a season, so Baseball America ranked him as the game’s 14th-best prospect this season and Bumgarner’s declining velocity wasn’t a huge story until he showed up at spring training to compete for the fifth spot in the Giants’ rotation. His fastball rarely topped the mid-80s and he predictably got rocked for a 6.43 ERA while handing out seven walks with zero strikeouts.

Read the rest of the article – it gets worse.

The Giants pitching, while pretty good, will not be as good as it currently is, and ours will get much better too.  Kershaw, Kuroda and Padilla have had good starts.  Bills is up next.  The question is Charlie Haeger.  I look for Kuo to activated tomorrow.  The question is whether Link or Ortiz will be gone…

Russ Ortiz was DFA’d with Jon Link taking his place.  No surprise.

Ramon is next.  Will it be Kuo or Belisario who takes his place?

Today’s Lineup:

1. Furcal  SS
2. Martin C
3. Ethier  RF
4. Kemp CF
5. Blake 3B
6. Belliard  1B
7. Johnson  LF
8. Carroll 2B
9. Kershaw P

DeWitt and Loney sit against the LH Zito.

Manny will be availalbe to PH.

Throw Strike One, Clayton

Saturday was a bad day to be a Dodger fan!

Here's What Happened Last Time I Saw Badger!

First the good news:

• Andrew Lambo went 2-5 with a triple and has raised his batting average to .306.
• Jerry Sands was 3-4 with 2 doubles and a triple and is hitting a lofty .421.
• I like the fact that Padilla hit Rowand after the Giants got close to our hitters.  I don’t like to see him hurt, but Padilla will not tolerate that crap!  Oh, and for the record, he says he didn’t hit him on purpose.  Oh, OK!  Wink!  Wink!
• Carlos Monasterios looked good in two innings of pitching.  His velocity was better – he topped out at 93 MPH on his fastball and while he didn’t strike out anyone, he didn’t walk anyone either.  His separation was excellent.  He gets to stay another  week (or two).
• AJ Ellis had 2 hits.  Very nice!

That’s it’s that’s all the good news.

Now, the bad news:

• All the Dodger teams got hammered!  0-5!  That’s as bad as it gets.
• The Dodger offense was horrid.  The Dodger Defense was horrid.  The Dodger pitching was horrid.  Other than that – the Dodgers played very well!
• 9-0 on 8 hits!  You should accidentally get a few runs on 8 hits.
• Do we have to watch Jamie Carroll play SS every two weeks?  Couldn’t we just have Chinese Bamboo Torture instead?
• After one start Charlie Haeger’s ERA was 4.50, but since he struck out 12, people were ga-ga.  Now, his ERA is 7.20 after his shelling yesteday and you know his leash is short because he’s a quote from Joe Torre:   “You don’t catch a knuckleball, you defend against it.” Charlie won’t get a lot of rope, because Joe knows that even though you strike out 12, you can easily allow 4-5 runs and beat up the catcher in the process.    I am not for or against Charlie (although I did believe that he could pitch 200 innings and give us a 4.00 ERA), but he has to get his act together.  His 7.20 ERA is what it is and while he’s struck out 16 in 10 innings, but has allowed 11 hits and 10 walks.  That’s acceptable, like NOWHERE!  People get excited and think he can pitch between starts out of the pen.  He can try that once he shows he can pitch every 5th day.  Until then, KEEP HIM OUT OF THE PEN, JOE!
• Horrible ERA’s: Haeger – 7.20, Ramon Ortiz – 7.71, Padilla – 8.04, Russ Ortiz – 10.29, George Sherrill 12.46.  Now, Sherrill and Padilla aren’t going ANYPLACE because they each make over $4 mil a year, but Haeger and the Ortiz’s are all in danger of being demoted.  We have Justin Miller, Hong-chih Kuo and Ronald Beliasrio at the ready.  I would guess that the Ortiz’s are toast and that Haeger will get another start – It had better be a good one or he’s on the train to AAA!
• When the Dodgers play this way, you can always rest assured that those purveyors of muck – TJ Slimers and Bill Plaschke will magically appear, like a sick Genie to Damn the Dodgers to Hell and Back!
• Let’s take two out of three from the Giants – Clayton is due for a good outing.

I’ve got something for you Badger, Scoop, Rory – whoever you are today….

But I am sure that Joe Torre just needs to give Charlie Haeger the baseball every 5 days and let him pitch as long as he can. He’ll have some good outings.  He’ll have some bad ones, but the

200 IP - Write it down!

good will outweigh the bad.  He’ll pitch over 200 innings for us and most importantly, he’ll eat innings and keep us in games.

Here’s some other things I am sure of:

1. Josh Lindblom will be a very good pitcher… I am just not sure if it will be as a starter or reliever.  If I had to bet, I’d say he’s a closer.
2. Ditto on James McDonald, but a setup guy!
3. If Matt Kemp learns to lay off that low and away pitch, he might win a batting title, and he will be a Superstar!
4. Blake DeWitt is a ballplayer, but he’s a work in progress at 2B as he is struggling defensively.  He will work through it.
5. In a week, the Dodgers will have one or none – Ortiz’s that is!

Steve Dilbeck goes on ad nauseous about how the facility in Vero Beach should be allowed to be called Dodgertown.  Here’s the only problem, Steveo: it’s not Dodgertown anymore. Maybe they can call it Ex-Dodgertown.  Really, just make a sign which says “The Place Formerly Known as Dodgertown.”    Hello?  What a stupid article!

Dylan Hernandez has a good read on Kershaw’s and Billingsley’s new pitches.  One tidbit:

Concerned that Kershaw’s high pitch counts prevented him from going deeper into games, Honeycutt urged him in the middle of last season to develop the pitch that he sometimes playfully threw to teammates along the base lines.

The rationale was that by learning how to throw something other than his fastball for strikes, Kershaw would face fewer unfavorable counts, which would, in turn, allow him to preserve his arm for the later innings.

While Kershaw’s 12-to-6 curveball might be his signature pitch, it has one significant shortcoming: Because the break is so extreme, it often drops out of the strike zone, meaning that if there’s no swing, there’s probably no strike.

Young Clayton goes tonight.  Let’s hope he’s not to hyped-up.

Fans arriving early will enjoy pregame entertainment featuring LeAnn Rimes, Will.i.am and Larry King

Home, Sweet Home

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers start the season at home on Tuesday when they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at 1:10 p.m. Pregame entertainment on Opening Day will include Grammy Award-winning country star LeAnn Rimes singing the National Anthem, Grammy Award-winning frontman and producer of the Black Eyed Peas Will.i.am throwing out a ceremonial first pitch and legendary journalist and Dodger season ticket holder Larry King announcing “It’s time for Dodger Baseball” at the start of the game. Tickets to Opening Day at Dodger Stadium are still available for fans that purchase a mini plan or season seats, which are available at dodgers.com/tickets or by calling 866-DODGERS.

Fans can enter the stadium parking lots as early as 10:10 a.m. on Tuesday and the stadium as early as 10:40 a.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early, carpool and take the Dodger Stadium Express shuttle from Union Station to help alleviate parking congestion. The Dodger Stadium Express will pick up fans at the Patsaouras Bus Plaza adjacent to the east portal of Union Station every 10 minutes prior to the start of the game starting at approximately 11:00 a.m. and drop them off in the parking lot behind left/center field. Dodger tickets will be honored as fare.

Tuesday also marks the launch of several new seven-game ticketing plans that give fans the opportunity to purchase tickets to the June 25-27 series against the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium. Starting Tuesday morning, fans will be able to purchase seven-game ticket packages, including three packages focused around the popular Bleacher Beach section, that incorporate a game against the Yankees. Packages can be purchased by calling 866-DODGERS or by logging on to dodgers.com/tickets.

Fans will notice on Opening Day that several renovations took place at Dodger Stadium over the offseason, most notably the remodeling of the Stadium Club, which now features outdoor seating, and updates to the Dugout Club.

New portable concessions areas have been added on the Reserve level to help alleviate waiting times for concessions. For information about other new food options at Dodger Stadium this season, see the news release on dodgers.com. Fans can also visit the six new Guest Relations Centers located throughout the stadium for any gameday questions or comments. The new Guest Relations Centers are located at Reserve level section 39, Reserve level section 40, between sections 112 and 114 on the Loge level, on the Field level at each baseline box club and in the left field pavilion.

New merchandising options at Dodger Stadium this season include customizable jerseys, the launch of a new signature series T-shirt for men, women and kids that will be available all season, an Opening Day merchandise line that is available for women and kids for the first time, a new Opening Day pin and 17 new signature styles for New Era fitted hats that are stadium exclusives.

Fans arriving early to the stadium on Tuesday can enjoy pregame activities including Dodger alumni Tommy Davis and Maury Wills signing autographs in Autograph Alley beyond center field and the joint armed forces presenting a giant flag on the field. United States Navy FA-18C Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadron 97 will fly over Dodger Stadium at the start of the game. The Hornets recently returned from an eight-month combat cruise in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and are based out of Lemoore Naval Air Station.

Steve Finley, the most recent Dodger center fielder to receive a Rawlings Gold Glove award, will present Matt Kemp with his award during pregame ceremonies. Eric Karros, who earned Silver Slugger honors in 1995, will present Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp with their Silver Slugger trophies on the field as well.

The two-time defending National League West Division Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, pioneers in sport and world culture, have won more games, more pennants, and more World Series than any other club in the National League since moving to Los Angeles.  Since the start of the modern era in baseball, the Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles, combined, have a cumulative attendance of more than 184 million, the highest total in the history of baseball or any other sport.

Visit the Dodgers on the Internet at www.dodgers.com.