Just in case you haven’t figured it out, attendance at Dodger Stadium is not the only source of income for the Dodgers.  While their have attendance has been stellar,

Hu's on the team

 most other teams  have seen substantial declines in attendance, which means that the Dodgers get a smaller cut of the gate and concessions.  It is not clear what the amount of the decline is to me, but I estimate it at around $15 to $20 million a year.  Couple that with MLB Apparel and Memorabilia sales declines and the Dodgers could be losing as much as $20 to $25 million a year in revenue as a result of the recession.  It may get better next year.  It may not.  Some teams (can you say Cincinnati Reds?) are looking to dump payroll.  The Dodgers are looking to stay level or even drop payroll.  I have an idea:

How about Juan Pierre, James McDonald, Ivan DeJesus, Jr., and Blake DeWitt to the Reds for either Aaron Harang or Bronson Arroyo and Brandon Phillips?  Up-shoot:  The Reds save $10 mil a year and get some prospects (along with a  leadoff hitter – Dusty Baker loves Pierre) and the Dodgers spend only an extra $10 mil to get an “inning eater” pitcher and a 2B.  Next, the Dodgers should offer Hudson and Wolf arbitration, making it clear to Hudson that Phillips is the 2B, and if he won his arbitration case he’d be a backup.  Hudson would decline arbitration, but Wolf could accept.  That’s fine!

Dole out the raises to the youngsters and the Dodgers are done!  Our rotation would look something like this:

1. Kershaw
2. Billingsley
3. Kuroda
4. Arroyo/Harang
5. Wolf or Heager

Lineup:

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

I could live with that!  Harang makes $11.5 mil next year and Arroyo makes $11 mil, so pick ‘em.  You never know – they could be a dud or they could be a Godsend!  Sometimes you have to roll the dice.  Castro is headed to Philly and Hu is the logical backup infielder.  Xavier Paul, Jason Repko and Jamie Hoffman are candidates for two outfield spots.  Ausmus may or may not play for a million next year, but if he doesn’t Ellis or another bargain Free Agent will be available. 

The Dodgers should be able to field an excellent team for under (or around) $100 million.  Harang and Arroyo’s average years are not what I expect.  I would hope for a “carrer year” for whichever one come to LA.  You gotta’ believe!  The “kids” will be year better next and Martin and Loney will “breakout.”  Believe it!

GoodNews/BadNews:

• Bud Selig will be commissioner at least 3 more seasons.
• The Marlins are shopping Josh Johnson… Hummmmmm, I may have to revise my thinking…

 This team is far from needing rebuilding, but any good team needs to ”retool” every year.  Last year, the Phillies won the World Series with Pat Burrell in LF.  They evidently decided

Must Be A Padre Fan...

 that he wasn’t the answer this year, so they signed a guy even older who ended up having his career year.   The Phillies may yet be sorry that they signed Raul Ibanez, but right about now, that move is looking pretty good.    They added Shane Victorino and Jason Werth in 2005 and 2007 as key pieces to the puzzle.  How did they get them?  No Big Blockbuster Deals, just incidental signings, which turned out to be pretty good.    I don’t think we need to rebuild – the core of the team is in place, but re-tool, we must!

I have taken the 40-Man Roster, plus some others who are technically not on it and divided them into three (3) groups:

1. Core players who we need to keep – in BLUE;
2. Players who we needs to keep under the right conditions – in BLACK; and
3. Players we need to try and lose, trade, release or not sign – in RED.

It’s not hard to see that our core is young and will get even better.  I have Jon Broxton on the BLUE list (even though I have serious doubts about him), because we don’t currently have better options (that too could change).  Now, I am not saying that I wouldn’t trade Broxton or some of the others, but it would have to be a trade that we would make from a point of strength.  Read the full story

Mark Loretta?  That bum is a waste of roster space!Ronnie Belliard?  Why should he start over Hudson. 

Kirby Lee - US Presswire

Jeff Weaver?  Keep McDonald on the playoff roster for crying out loud!

Jim Thome?  Forget it, he’s shot!

Juan Castro?  Why waste a spot for him when he won’t play?

It was Joe Torre who decided which guys he wanted on the playoff roster, and four of the five have already made an impact.

The Big Dodger in the Sky had a say in all this, including when he “blinded” Matt Halliday in the 9th inning.  Read the full story

Some people have said that you have to get Carpenter early or you don’t get him.  Not true – for the past three years, the league is hitting .305 against Carpenter after 61 pitches. The Dodgers need to be patient… and then NAIL Carpenter.  POUND him!  HAMMER him!  SAW him off!  SCREW him!  If that doesn’t work, then  try something else.

Question:  What do the Dodger Starters for the first three (3) Playoff Games all have in common?

Answer:  None of them (Wolf, Kershaw or Padilla) has ever started a playoff game.  Billingsley is slated for Game 4, unless he is used in relief which he will be.

It should be interesting!  Very interesting! Read the full story

I have read extensive analysis of which match-ups are the best for the Dodgers in the NLDS, which is a lot like all the baseball pre-season predictions.  I read all those magazines (and save them, which shows how stupid I am) and then go back and see how the prognosticators fared.  A monkey throwing darts at players names would be more accurate. 

These people PRETEND to have some special ability to foresee the future because of their vast baseball knowledge.  PURE RUBBISH!  To try and analyze (AND PREDICT) that the Cardinals are the best match-up for the Dodgers is like doing your taxes by starting at the bottom line and working up.  It’s silly and dis-honest! 

Look, no one knows what will happen at a time when ANYTHING can happen.  Who will step up?  It could be someone like Raffy or Russ Martin, who have had less than stellar seasons.  Casey Blake could be the MVP.  Vicente Padilla could be lights out.  Chad Billingsley could pitch a perfect game (OK, I got carried away on that one).   Maybe Manny will find his stroke and hit like last year (OK, now I am really delusional).  The point is – we play the Cards.  We have to beat the Cards to go on.  Read the full story

Juan Pierre - 3rd Place in Dodger MVP Race?

Now that we have clinched a playoff spot and are within two games of  clinching the NL West Championship, I think it is time to shift the emphasis from our starters, namely Russell Martin, James Loney, Orlando Hudson, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, and recognize the Stuntmen.  Actually, this year they go by the moniker “Bomb Squad.”

It’s appropriate to start with Brad Ausmus, who has appeared in 35 games and sports a .301 Batting average, which is the highest of his career for the defensive specialist.  However, the veteran presence and clubhouse camaraderie fostered by Brad (who, by the way is a REAL smart guy) is hard to quantify.  Ned got his money’s worth on Ausmus play, but his clubhouse presence is priceless.  Ditto on Doug Mientkiewicz, Mark Loretta (who swooned mid-season, but seems to be heating-up again), and Juan Castro, who has hit a solid .288, filled in defensively for Raffy and has been an all-round stabilizing influence on this team. Blake DeWitt has to get a hand for bouncing up and down like a yo-yo between AAA and the big club.  He certainly didn’t have the offensive year we expected, but he played 3B, SS and 2B and never complained.  His stock hasn’t dropped in my eyes.  Blake DeWitt is a ballplayer.  Others made some contribution, such as Xavier Paul, AJ Ellis, and Jim Thome who delivered in the clutch last night.  Let’s not forget the late season heroic of Ronnie Belliard, who has hit as many HR in a few weeks for the Dodgers as he did all year for the Nats.

Last, but not least – I saved the best for last is Juan Pierre, who is some respects has been one of the most valuable Dodgers.  Behind Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, Juan Pierre has to be somewhere around 3rd in Dodger MVP votingfor what he did while Manny was suspended and how he has played all year.  He just shows up (early), shuts up (no complaints) and steps up (in 360 AB’s he has hit .311 with a .371 OB%, stole 27 bases and scored 56 runs).   Juan Pierre is the Captain of the Bomb Squad! Read the full story

“We know we are a good team.”- Andre Ethier

Just shut up and do it!

“The one thing I found out about them, is every time they’ve been tested they’ve done all right.” – Joe Torre

“We’re just going through a bad stretch right now.”  – Russell Martin

“We’re all right.  We’ll come back tomorrow and have a better game.” – Matt Kemp

“We have more games to play.”- Ramon Troncoso

I DON’T WANT TO HEAR THE RHETORIC!  QUIT TALKING AND START CHALKING. 

If you are a good team, step-up and show it. 

If you are a bad or mediocre team, shut-up and go home, you bunch of losers. 

The time for talking is over.  Someone needs to pitch a shutout, someone needs to hit a 3-run homer.  Read the full story

and I don’t mean that Joe needs to pop a cold one after the game.  THESE GUYS NEED THEIR BUTTS KICKED!  Figuratively!  If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Big Pappy, I need more Juice!

  You can put a lot of this offensive malaise on Manny, but not all of it.  If I were Joe, I’d start this lineup tonight:

1. Perrre  LF
2. Repko  CF
3. Hudson  2B
4. Thome 1B (Don’t worry if you can’t bend over)
5. Loretta  3B
6. Mientkiewicz  RF  (I don’t care if you can’t throw, run it back in)
7. Castro  SS
8. Ellis  C

I GUARANTEE THAT THIS LINEUP COULD SCORE 2 OR 3 RUNS.   I would run them out there for 2 or 3 days and tell our pretty boys to go home.  Say what you want, these guys need their collective butts kicked!  Disgraceful, is what it is!  Give those uniforms back, you can’t be impersonating Dodgers!   The Big Dodger in the Sky is Mad and Will Send Down Fire to Devour You!   Wait!  He just did!  SEE!  It’s your fault California is/was burning!  Did I mention you were pathetic? 

Today, Seth Godin writes: Read the full story

With 88 games completed the Dodgers have 56 wins, which is the best in baseball.  The last Dodger team to do this well was the 1977 Dodgers who had 57 wins at the same juncture, and went on to win 98 games.  If  we just play .500 ball the rest of the way, we will 93 games, and I cannot see us not playing any worse than that.   Unless we lose 4 or 5 regulars and a couple of starting pitchers, that is simply not going to happen.  It seems more likely that we should win at least 40-43 games.  This team is better and more experienced than last year Read the full story

• Don’t even get me started about yesterdays’ decisions on pitching, because I am sure that Joe Torre has a pet chimp named Bonzo whom Joe allowed to make all the pitching decisions.  After all, monkeys throwing darts at the stock pages is how Joe picks his stock portfolio, isn’t it?  That’s what it was – no big deal.  Bonzo will get better…  But, now it’s Bedtime for Bonzo! Read the full story

First, I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July, but I suspect DRomo had the best.  What a day to be able to celebrate your daughter’s birthday!  Congratulations!  Read the full story

Literally!  He threw 67 pitches in 5 innings and was on his way to his best outing of the year and was so “lights out” that a bank of lights literally went out (or didn’t come one) which resulted in a nearly 2 hour “light delay” and ended his night.   The pen held on after Cory Wade gave up a HR to the Fathead (more about that later) and the Bison blasted a 2-run HR to win the game.  Maybe Joe Torre knows more than we do about where to bat Kemp, but right now, Matt feels like he should be in the “middle-of-the-order.”  Maybe Joe thinks Matt is not ready to hit in the middle of the order.  Maybe Joe thinks he’ll doe better right now under less pressure – I don’t know what Joe thinks, but there have to be some reason you bat a guy like that 9th.  At least I hope there’s a reason… Read the full story

It was evidently over before it started.  I think the Dodgers are afraid of lightening and it messed with their psyches.  According to Dylan Hernandez of the LA TIMES, Matt Kemp said: “I’m going to blame it on the lightning. The lightning was scary. I was up to bat worried I was going to get struck by lightning. That’s why I didn’t get that hit when I needed it.” Read the full story

Lineup:

1. Pierre, LF
2. Furcal, SS
3. Loney, 1B
4. Blake, 3B Read the full story

“Hey, how is your team doing, Buddy?”

“The good news is that attendance is down, but not too much.  The bad news is that our MVP candidate has missed nearly half the season, our All-Star leadoff hitter when the season started, is hitting .240, our opening days starter has been on the DL for most of the season, the two vets signed for the bullpen (Mota and Ohman) have been arsonists, the rookie who was supposed to be our #5 starter is back in AAA, and the man annointed to be our cleanup hitter who had 22 RBI in April has only 8 in May!  Read the full story

RANTS & RAVES

• I am not sure if AJ Ellis has made it to the game as yet, but his call-up and Ohman going to the DL leaves only two arsonists in the bullpen (Mota and Wade) – those guys are four-letter words right now.  
• No one seems to know if Joe will move Russ to 3B at times now that we have 3 catchers and I doubt he will say.  We will just have to wait and see. 
• I really think something is wrong with Raffy.  I watched him closely last night and he just didn’t move right at times.  I just can’t put my finger on it…  But not playing in a day gime following a night games tells you something. Read the full story

Get out those brooms again ….

.. because if the Dodgers can win tomorrow’s getaway matinee at Coors, they will have swept a series of at least three games for the fifth time this season. Throw in that two-game blanking of the Snakes a few weeks ago, and they’re actually going for their sixth series sweep.

Did anyone notice that Matt Kemp has now gone 10 consecutive plate appearances without striking out? I mean, I realize he went 0 for 5 tonight, technically without a ball leaving the infield (his ninth-inning popup, when he was robbed of a bloop single on a nice play by Omar Quintanilla, sort of left the infield). But the fact he put five balls in play has to count as some degree of moral victory, does it not? Read the full story

A long day’s journey into early evening  – Greetings from the beautiful Ozark Mountains. Finally arrived at my parents’ home in Fayetteville, Ark., at about 2:30 a.m. on Monday morning, slept til noon, then spent the rest of the day relaxing, visiting and NOT watching the Dodgers on mlb.tv. By the time I finally did get around to logging onto Gameday so I c0uld update the scorebook, I came across what had to have been the boys’ most hideous victory of the season, although I’m sure some of you who did see it can either vouch for that fact or shoot it down. Funny thing about victories, though, the ugly ones count the same, and the Dodgers maintained a comfortable, 7 1/2-game lead over the surging Pods, who have now won 10 in a row. Read the full story