The Dodgers were shut down for the most part by Brandon Webb and fall in the first game of this four game set.
Brandon Webb got the win, he's 15-4. Derek Lowe took the loss, he's 8-9. Brandon Lyon picked up his 23rd save.
Derek Lowe pitched a good enough game. He went 6 and 1/3 innings, giving up just two runs on seven hits while striking out seven. He also collected nine groundball outs. 
Hong-Chih Kuo struck out two over a scoreless inning and 2/3. Cory Wade struck out one in a perfect 9th.
The Dodgers managed to collect only seven hits on the day. Juan Pierre went 2-3 with a run scored. Russell Martin went 1-4 and had the only RBI on the day. The rest of the hits were scattered about between several other players.
The Dodgers fall back to .500 while the Diamondbacks are now four games over. They've taken a two game lead on the Dodgers now in the NL West. The Dodgers will try to take a game back tomorrow at 7:40 L.A. time.
Also: Matt Kemp went 1-4 to extend his hitting streak to 18 games... Perhaps I was wrong about this one: Mark Sweeney now has two hits in his last two at-bats, raising his average to .119
Opinion: Today was the last day of the old Dodgers, Manny Ramírez should be in L.A. tomorrow in time for the game to save us all! Seriously though, this isn't a litmus test for the season: the Dodgers have never hit well against Brandon Webb (9-3 career lifetime against us with a 2.65 ERA in 15 starts). Tomorrow will be an interesting game. Will Manny adjust to the National League right away? I guess we'll find out. Meanwhile, Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News speculates that Delwyn Young could be Designated For Assignment to open a roster spot for Manny. God, I hope not. He also said it's a possibility Sweeney could be DFA'd. I'd like to think that would be the logical move, but then again, there haven't been too many logical moves this year to set a precedent (ie. playing certain people in center field for so long holding on to hope they'll pull our of their season long slump, starting Juan Pierre in left field constantly [which coincidentally, I wouldn't be surprised to see continue], or creating a gaping hole in our infield for next season), so why start now?
Ok, the last post was the simple informative post on the big trade. This one is reserved for my opinion and analysis.
I'll be honest, I'm having a flurry of emotions with this trade. There are some good points, and bad points, and overall, it raises a lot of questions.
For one, let me say this (and as a Dodger fan it pains me to say this): we are not that good a team this year. I had decided not too long ago that the goal for this year should be to get into the playoffs (something I think we could have done given our current players) and maybe win a game or two. Who knows, we could have lucked out and maybe even won a series. I had made peace with the fact that this year was more a rebuilding year, as we got to watch the kids play and grow a little, and we work toward the future. I was a huge supporter of letting the kids play, and saving up for the future.
Well, apparently, that has all changed. This trade for Manny is saying we want to win now. And for me, that's both the good and bad in this whole thing.
I'm glad we are committed to winning. I'm really glad we have a guy in the lineup now who will instill fear in the opposing pitchers. I'm glad we have that player who will be the guy that managers fear seeing on the lineup card every day (something the Dodgers have lacked since Adrián Béltre in 2004). It's going to be awesome to have that kind of power in the lineup. That's great...
But let's all be honest for a second. How much is Manny really going to help us? This is the part that raises the questions.
Is Manny good enough to carry us into the Playoffs? No doubt. We can easily take the Diamondbacks down now.
Is Manny good enough to help us win in the first round of the playoffs? Maybe. It depends on who we are playing...
Will we be able to out-slug the Philadelphia Phillies? What about the Chicago Cubs? Or for that matter, can we even come close to matching the Angels lineup or pitching should we even get that far?
What is our goal this year? How far into the playoffs are we trying to go? Because Manny alone won't be enough to get us there. He has no protection around him in the lineup. Our pitching staff, in its seemingly constant state of flux, might or might not survive the playoffs. If they aren't constantly on their game, we still might not make it past the first round. And that was something I was ok with before.
But...
The Dodger world is changed by this trade. I could accept some minimal success if this were still a rebuilding year.But now?
Anything LESS than a World Series seems like a waste... especially because Manny has a $20 million dollar option for next year that we aren't going to pick up (part of accepting the trade here for Manny).
This trade says that we want to win THIS year, and honestly, I don't think we are ready for that. I don't think this team is ready for that.
And what did we give up for the trade. Well, for one, Bryan Morris was an intriguing pitching prospect. He was a first rounder that was coming off elbow surgery, but was looking like he had regained form, and was starting to pitch up to par. Sure, he was in Single-A. He might not even pan out, low risk there. But here's the killer for me: Andy LaRoche.
Again, it goes back to the idea of winning this year. If we somehow can win the World Series, then it will be all worth it. But here's my biggest question:
What happens if we don't?
Manny will probably leave at the end of the year. Casey Blake looks to be leaving at the end of the year. Jeff Kent will most likely retire at the end of the year. Who, exactly, do we plan on replacing Blake and Kent with? The Free Agent market for 2nd baseman, and especially for 3rd baseman looks very weak this year. Blake DeWitt is not going to hit for the kind of power that is expected from a 3rd baseman, if that's where the Dodgers plan on keeping him. If that's the case, who plays 2nd. If he moves to 2nd, who plays 3rd?So what becomes of our team next year? If we don't accomplish anything this year, where does it leave us?
For years since Adrián Béltre left for Seattle, we've seen a revolving door of 3rd baseman... just a list of guys who couldn't cut it with the bat, or with the glove, or both. 
In Andy LaRoche, I saw a kid who could draw a walk, who could play a pretty good 3rd base, who could hit for a solid average, and most importantly, could hit for power. I saw... a solution. And all the scouts saw it. All the other teams saw it. Dodger management were the only ones who didn't. Them, and the Dodger fans who wanted LaRoche's head because he didn't immediately come up and hit .400 and 10 homeruns by pinch hitting every third game. He got all of four starts in a row to prove he could handle the 3rd base job, though by most scout's estimations, he's a streaky hitter that was going to need to play everyday to show what kind of player he could be. But, apparently, all the Dodgers needed were 152 big league at-bats, scattered inconsistently over two seasons (that has seen him be sent back to Triple-A three times since his debut) to decide he wouldn't be the player they wanted handling the hot corner for the next several years. By comparison, Jeff Kent, with his day's off here and there, has had 154 at-bats since June 5th alone. That's it, less than two months of playing time (by the way, Kent had only had eight more hits than LaRoche over that stretch). And now our solution to the 3rd base issue is going to be playing 3rd base in Pittsburgh. I hope for his sake that Pirates' management treats him better over there than the Dodgers treated him here.
But on top of all this, I still have other questions...
If we were able to get Manny, could we have not as easily got Jason Bay, who was also involved in this trade, and who is younger than Manny, hits very well, is less of a clubhouse distraction, and who is under contract for at least another year? The pieces all seem to be in place, why not skip the middle man in Boston?
And will Joe Torre make out the lineup the right way every day? He now has five outfielders. There are three that should be out there every day. Can he bring himself to stick Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones on the bench where they belong?
And the third, and one of the most important questions:
How will Manny behave for us? Peter Gammons, who was on ESPNews after the trade to give his analysis was nearly in tears recollecting Manny's time there. Gammons, a life long Red Sox fan, grew up in a time when the game was played for love of the game. When he started talking about how Manny gets paid $20 million dollars to play the game of baseball, and then on top if it all, he gets unhappy and starts doing his little primadonna act and playing lackadaisically, you could hear his voice start to break. 
Manny was a perfect example of how the game has changed. There's not a lot of love for the game of baseball. It's become a lot more a game based on personalities and paychecks (Look for the Peter Gammons Analysis Video Here, listen to the sadness in his voice when he talks about what this has all done to Terry Francona).
But I can understand that. I'm 19, I've grown up in a time where it's been made abundantly clear to me that baseball is a business. I can understand how that would be a lot harder to take for 63-year old Peter Gammons. I, honestly, am at a point where I couldn't care less about money, as far as how much players earn. Yes, they are grossly over paid for simply having the ability to hit a ball with a bat, but I'm fine with that. What I won't be ok with, is if Manny chooses to not care anymore. It's bad enough that Andruw Jones clearly doesn't. It's going to be very hard to watch if another player joins him.
So... those are just my issues, but who am I but a lowly blogger. You want to know why I think this trade really happened?
...Because there is not enough foresight. Because it doesn't matter what the future holds (or doesn't) if you can get some positive press now.
Attendance has been down this year for the Dodgers. In part because the team has struggled, and in part with the struggling economy and people having less to spend.
What will Manny bring to the Dodgers? Attendance.
Already in radio stations and on message boards, people have begun to express how enthusiastic they are that the Dodgers have acquired Manny. They exclaimed that they are going to be heading back to the stadium now because the games are going to be exciting again. Have these people even considered what they want from the team? Do they think that Manny will be enough to put us over the top? I hate being so negative... but he won't. Do you really think we are making it to the World Series?
But what does Frank McCourt care? As long as Manny puts butts in the seats...
And Ned Colletti will breath a sigh of relief. The media might just get off his back long enough that he might actually believe he has some job security. And if not, what does it matter, he'll be gone before the effects of what's he's really done begin to take shape.
But sure, for now, the Yahoo Sports or Fox Sports writers will write about how the Dodgers were "winners" at this year's trade deadline. And they'll leave us here to play our games, then won't think twice about what happens to us in the future.
And Bill Plaschke will jump up and say "Ah hah, ah hah! I said this should happen! I was right!" and when the Dodgers are full of holes next season and playing below average, he'll write a piece about the Dodgers having no soul or something like that, and condemn them for their lousy playing.
And T.J. Simers will write a moronic piece, kissing the Dodgers' butt, saying they are now the favorites to win everything, and exclaim he was a supporter all along. And then we will fail to make it to the World Series, and he'll write a piece where he explains how he wasn't really a supporter, and how the Dodgers were really a bad team all along.
And next year, he'll write 27 more articles about how he hates Andruw Jones... and collect a paycheck for doing so. Wow. Just wow...
But for now, all that matters is that the Dodgers have Manny. They have a four game series starting tonight against the Diamondbacks, of which Manny will probably make it to play for the last three of the series.
And who knows, we might just make it out of this weekend in 1st place, and never look back as we push towards the playoffs.
Presently, that doesn't sound too bad.
And that's what I'll have to do.
I'll keep thinking about the Dodgers in the present... because it makes me a little sick thinking about the future.
The Dodgers, in the last few minutes of the trade deadline, completed one of the biggest deals of the year. They sent Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris to the Pirates, who in turn, sent Jason Bay to the Red Sox, who sent Manny Ramírez to L.A. Boston also sent Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen to the Pirates to complete the trade.
The Dodgers get some great pitching and shut down the Giants for the second game in a row, earning the win, and taking the series.
Chad Billingsley got the win, he's 11-9. Jonathan Sánchez took the loss, he's 8-7.
Chad Billingsley had one of his best starts of the year, if not his entire young career. He went the full nine innings, giving up only five hits and no walks, while striking out eight. He shut out the Giants until getting into some trouble in the 9th. 
After giving up a double off the top of the wall to José Castillo, Randy Winn hit looping base hit to left field. Andre Ethier charged the ball as Castillo rounded 3rd and fired a strike to home. Russell Martin made a good block of the plate and applied the tag to end the game and preserve the shutout.
Speaking of Martin, he had a good night with the bat as well. He went 2-3 with a walk, 2 RBIs, and a run scored. Jeff Kent went 2-4 with an RBI double and Matt Kemp went 1-2 with two walks, two stolen bases, and two runs scored.
The Dodgers moved a game above .500 for the first time since May 27th. The Arizona Diamondbacks won again, and so they will remain one game up on the Dodgers going into the big four game series starting tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: With Matt Kemp's single in the 5th inning, he extended his hitting streak to 17 games... Chad Billingsley's complete game shutout was the first of his career... Billingsley's win today was his 11th on the season, good for first place on the team... James Loney had an RBI sac-fly today as well, that gives him 60 RBIs on the season and puts him first place on the team in that category... The Dodgers shut out their opponent for the 10th time this year, which puts the team as a whole in first place in the National League in shutouts.
P.S. I attended the Dodger game tonight, and had a good time. I tried getting into the clubhouse for some post-game interviews but apparently I didn't have the credentials, so sorry, no quotes for this story... maybe another time...
The Dodgers shut down the Giants to take the second game of the series and move back into .500.
Jason Johnson got the win, he's 1-0. Matt Cain took the loss, he's 6-9. Jonathan Broxton picked up his 5th save.
Jason Johnson, who hadn't made a start in the majors in almost two years, pitched an excellent game against the Giants. He went six innings, gave up five hits and no runs, while striking out three and getting 11 groundballs. Chan Ho Park went 1 and 2/3 innings striking out two, and Broxton pitched 1 and 1/3 innings, striking out three to close out the game and pick up his 5th save in five chances.
Overall, the Dodgers managed to get nine hits in the game. Their big inning came in the 6th. Matt Kemp led off with a single, then stole 2nd. Andre Ethier advanced him to 3rd. Jeff Kent lined out. James Loney followed with a clutch 2-out RBI single to left to score Kemp. Casey Blake followed with a double, and in an odd play, Giants left fielder Fred Lewis deflected the ball into the stands to allow Loney to score. Those two runs would prove to be enough though.
The Diamondbacks also won today, so the Dodgers will remain one game back again. They'll take on the Giants tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time in the rubber match of the series.
Also: Matt Kemp went 2-4 with a stolen base and a run scored, extending his hitting streak to 16 games... Jason Johnson's win tonight was his first win since May 28th, 2006... Though Giants catcher Bengie Molina is notoriously hard to steal on, the Dodgers stole four bases in five attempts in the game... The only extra-base hit in the game was Blake's double in the 6th... The only RBI in the game came from James Loney's single as the second run scored was unearned due to error by Fred Lewis... The 6-9 hitters in the Dodger lineup went a combined 1-13 with nine strikeouts, the only hit was Blake's.
The Dodgers fell behind quickly, and then rallied to get close, but ultimately didn't have enough to come back and they lose the first in the three game series.
Kevin Correia got the win, he's 2-5. Hiroki Kuroda took the loss, he's 5-8. Brian Wilson picked up his 28th save.
Kuroda had his third bad start in a row. He went only 3 and 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits, though he wasn't helped out by a few questionable calls from the umpires. Since the All-Star break, Kuroda has gone 11 and 2/3 innings giving up 18 runs (17 earned). The Dodgers bullpen did an excellent job, though. Combined, the bullpen today went 5 and 1/3 innings, striking out seven and only allowing a walk over that span.
The Dodgers had all their offense come in the middle of the game. The first 13 batters went 1-13. In the 5th and 6th innings, the Dodgers plated six runs. The Dodgers were retired in order of the next three innings going 0-9. A weird game overall, with the Dodgers getting 4 RBIs combined from the 8th and 9th hitters (Ángel Berroa, Andruw Jones, and MARK SWEENEY with a two RBI double raising his average to .106) Other than that, Casey Blake went 2-4 with two runs scored, and Andre Ethier went 1-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
Arizona also lost today, so even though the Dodgers fall back to one game under .500, they remain one game back in the NL West race. The Dodgers will try to even up the series tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: Matt Kemp went 1-4, extending his hitting streak to 15 games.
The Dodgers shut down the Nationals for the second straight game and complete the three game sweep, getting their record back to .500 for the first time since May 30th.
Clayton Kershaw got the win, he's 1-3. Jason Bergmann took the loss, he's 1-8. Jonathan Broxton picked up his 4th save.
Clayton Kershaw made the best start of his young career, going six innings, giving up no runs on just four hits and a walk while striking out five. More importantly, he kept his pitch count low, and pitched a lot of strikes. When he was taken out of the game, he'd made only 86 pitches, 57 of which were strikes. Chan Ho Park and Hong-Chih Kuo pitched a scoreless inning each, and Broxton pitched a perfect 9th, striking out one. He's been 4-4 in save opportunities.
The Dodger offense was not too potent, but got the job done. Russell Martin went 2-3 with a walk and an RBI. The other run came from James Loney on a solo homerun in the 2nd inning.
While the Dodgers were busy sweeping the Nationals, the Arizona Diamondbacks were up in San Francisco, sweeping the Giants. The Dodgers came out of this weekend at the .500 mark, but remain a game back of the streaking Diamondbacks. Speaking of the Giants, they'll come to Dodger Stadium for a three game series starting Monday at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: Matt Kemp had a walk, a stolen base, and two hits to extended his hitting streak to 14 games... Nomar Garciaparra left the game in the 6th inning with a knee issue (Here's to hoping he's ok, or at least there will be no knee-jerk trades for an average shortstop)... Mark Sweeney was activated from the 15-day DL in time for today's game. He came in to pinch hit in the 7th and struck out. He's now 6-65 this season (.092). Check #3 here.
The Dodgers got a combination of good hitting and excellent pitching and take the second game of the three game series.
Derek Lowe got the win, he's 8-8. Odalis Pérez took the loss, he's 3-8.
Lowe went eight innings, walking one and giving up just one hit while striking out four. More importantly, though, Lowe forced batters into 15 groundball outs. He made 107 pitches over the eight innings so he was replaced in the 9th. Joe Beimel started the 9th, got one out and gave up a hit.
Cory Wade replaced Beimel, got an out, gave up a walk, then struck out the next batter for the final out.
Every Dodger in the starting line-up, excluding Jeff Kent and Andruw Jones collected hits today. Matt Kemp had a two-run homerun in the 1st inning, and Nomar Garciaparra hit one in the 4th. Nomar also had a scoring fly-ball in the 1st, collecting two RBIs on the day. Even Derek Lowe had a good offensive game. He went 2-3, with two singles and an RBI. In his third at-bat, he drove a long fly ball to center that was caught at the warning track.
The Dodgers with the win today move back within one win of .500. The Arizona Diamondbacks also won today, so the Dodgers remain one game back in the NL West race. The Dodgers will try tomorrow to go for the sweep at 1:10 L.A. time.
Also: Matt Kemp's homerun gave him 12 on the year, good for first place on the team... Kemp's homerun also extended his hitting streak to 13 games... Casey Blake, in his first game as a Dodger, went 2-3 with a single and a double... Blake DeWitt was sent down to Triple-A to make room for Casey Blake, and in Triple-A, he will occasionally work at 2nd base, which is something I was hoping for.
With less than a week away from the trade deadline, the Dodgers acquired veteran 3rd baseman Casey Blake from the Cleveland Indians for minor leaguers Jon Meloan and Carlos Santana.
There are some positives and negatives to this trade:
First, if the Dodgers were looking for a big bat (a homerun hitter the likes of Adam Dunn, Mark Teixeira, or Jason Bay), Blake won't be it. Blake did have 28 homeruns in 2004, but has seen his power numbers decline each year since.
Blake, however, does come cheaply enough (more on that below) and will probably fit in nicely with the current line-up. His 11 homeruns this year are tied for the team lead (with Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp), his 58 RBIs put him in the lead, one more than James Loney, and his .289 average puts him in 4th place on the team in between Matt Kemp (.290) and Andre Ethier (.277).
As for what the Dodgers gave up for Blake, it's not too bad. Jon Meloan had some promise, but his role was unsure with the Dodgers. He started as a reliever, and had some success, but was recently converted to a starter and struggled in Triple-A. He might ultimately find success in Cleveland, but the Dodgers have enough quality pitchers that they can afford to see Meloan go.
Carlos Santana was an intriguing player. He is a switch hitting catcher in Single-A who was batting .323 with 14 homeruns and 96 RBIs and is, supposedly, pretty good defensively with a strong arm. He might someday be a very good catcher, but the Dodgers currently have a very good catcher (an All-Star to be exact) in Russell Martin. They also have Lucas May, a 23-year old catching prospect playing in Double-A right now. He's a pretty good hitter, and a year closer to the major leagues than Santana was, so Santana became expendable. It is possible that in a few years, Santana could still be as good a player? Yes, but you never know how a prospect will perform in the future, and his value might never have been higher than it was now. How Santana evolves might be the biggest indicator of the success of this trade. That will definitely be something to keep an eye on.
And while Blake isn't the impact bat the Dodgers probably need to go deep into the playoffs, in the weak NL West, Blake might be enough to at least get the Dodgers into the playoffs. Ultimately, though, Blake is a rent-a-player. He will be a free agent at the end of the season, and the Dodgers won't probably make too much effort to resign him.
And that is why I'm also a little worried. Trading for Blake is a move for this season, not for the future, and there has been talk now, that since the Dodgers have Blake, Andy LaRoche might be next to be traded. This would be a big mistake in my opinion. LaRoche, I believe, is our 3rd baseman of the future. Given that Blake is 35, and will most likely move on at the end of the season, he's obviously not a long term solution at 3rd, and if LaRoche is traded, the future of 3rd base becomes a big question mark again. 
LaRoche has not really been able to get his bat going this year due to injuries and inconsistent playing time, but I feel that given the 3rd base job, he will perform. Also, by many scout's projections, LaRoche is believed to have the best power of any of the current Dodger young players (Loney, Kemp, Martin, etc.). LaRoche will be valuable to us in the future. I feel the best plan would be to send Blake DeWitt down to Triple-A and have him play 2nd base. I feel that is where DeWitt's future is, considing his projection to hit for high average, but low power, plus his good range makes him an ideal candidate for 2nd. He can take that spot over after Jeff Kent most likely retires at the end of this year. As for now, he needs to learn better to adjust to pitching, as his batting average has significantly dropped since the end of May. For now, allow LaRoche to stay with the team, play backup to Blake, play a little 2nd on Kent's off-days, and even give Loney a day off or two at 1st. LaRoche has nothing left to prove at Triple-A, but he still has a lot more to show at the major league level, he just needs to be given the chance.
Currently, the move to acquire Casey Blake seems to be a positive one. Two prospects were lost but the question now is what corresponding moves to the trade will be. I just hope moves aren't made (in desperation) to try and win in the present that will end up hurting us in the future.
The Dodgers got good pitching and just enough hitting to pull out a victory in the first game of this three game weekend series.
Chad Billingsley got the win, he's 10-9. John Lannan took the loss, he's 6-10. Jonathan Broxton picked up his 3rd save.
Billingsley gave up just two runs over 7 and 2/3 innings on five hits and three walks, while striking out four. He made just 106 pitches over that span. Broxton pitched 1 and 1/3 innings and retired all four batters he faced, one on a strikeout.
The Dodger offense collected just six hits, but got them when they counted. Nomar Garciaparra had a big two RBI single in the 6th inning to give the lead to the Dodgers. James Loney followed with an RBI groundout to make the score 3-1. The Nationals would tack on another in the 8th, but the three runs would prove to be enough.
With the win today, the Dodgers remain one game back of the Arizona Diamondbacks who also won today. They'll try for another win tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: Matt Kemp singled in the 6th inning to extend his hitting streak to 12 games... Chad Billingsley, with the win today, brought his season total to 10 wins, he is the first Dodger pitcher this year to have double digit wins... With today's win, the Dodgers reached the 50 win mark, they are still however, two games under .500 (50-52).
The Dodgers fail to win the rubber match of the series and head home losing two in a row.
Glendon Rusch got the win, he's 4-3. Hiroki Kuroda took the loss, he's 5-7. Brian Fuentes picked up his 17th save.
Kuroda had a better outing than his last, but still managed to give up five runs over six innings on nine hits and a walk. Chan Ho Park pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
The Dodger offense struggled to mount much offense against Rockies starter Rusch. He went five innings, giving up three runs, and the Rockies bullpen shut down the Dodgers the rest of the way. The Dodgers did manage to collect 11 hits, but ultimately left 18 runners on base.
The Dodgers are off on Thursday as they head home to host the Washington Nationals for a three game series starting Friday at 7:40 L.A. time.
Also: Juan Pierre in a rehab start for Triple-A went 2-2 with a walk and two runs scored. He could return by the weekend.
The Dodgers, after having an offensive explosion yesterday, failed to mount any offense against the Rockies and lose the 2nd game in the series.
Ubaldo Jiménez got the win, he's 6-9. Clayton Kershaw took the loss, he's 0-3.
Clayton Kershaw was called back up to start today's game, and there's no better place for a 20-year old rookie making his first start in 20+ days than Coors Field. Kershaw made it only through three innings, giving up five runs on 10 hits and three walks. Jason Johnson came in and provided solid relief, going four innings and giving up just one run. Ramon Troncoso, though, pitched an 8th innings where he gave up four runs on six hits to allow the Rockies a total of 10 runs on the day.
The Dodger offense, meanwhile, was shut down for the most part by Jiménez. Jiménez went the full nine innings, giving up just one run (on a Matt Kemp 9th inning homerun to make the score 10-1) on four hits and two walks. Only two Dodgers reached base twice: Kemp on the homerun and walk, and Andy LaRoche on a single and a walk. The only other offensive output came on a Russell Martin pop-fly single and an 8th inning Nomar Garciaparra double. Overall, Jiménez got 18 Dodgers to groundout out, while striking out another four Dodgers on only 114 pitches. A bad offensive night for the Dodgers after a great one yesterday.
The Arizona Diamondbacks won their game today to move into sole possession of 1st place in the NL West. The Dodgers will try tomorrow at 12:05 L.A. time to win the rubber match of the three game series.
Also: As an update to yesterday's story, Eric Stults was sent back to Triple-A when Kershaw was called up for today's start... Matt Kemp's homerun, which was a monster shot over the wall in dead-set center field, was his 11th on the season, tying him for the team lead with Andre Ethier.
The Dodgers have an offense outburst against the Rockies to get the win in the first game of the three game series and move back within one game of .500.
Brian Falkenborg got the win, he's 2-2. Kip Wells took the loss, he's 1-2.
As far as pitching goes, the Dodgers were not impressive throughout the game. Starter Eric Stults went only 3 and 2/3 innings giving up three runs on six hits and three walks. In total, the Dodgers used five pitchers in the game, and each one gave up at least one run and other than when Stults set the Rockies down 1-2-3 in the 1st inning, the Rockies managed to get at least one baserunner every inning.
They also managed to score at least one run in each of the last seven innings.
The pitching performance would have been much harder to take if not for the Dodger offense. The collected season highs in both runs (16) and hits (18). Every position player in the starting line-up collected a hit. Every player in the starting line-up, including Stults, knocked in at least one run (except Andruw Jones, who failed to collect any RBIs on the day, but including Ángel Berroa, who knocked in two runs after his first 73 at-bats in which he went without an RBI) as well as scored a run. The two best offensive performances would have to go to Jeff Kent (who went 3-3 with a walk, two RBIs, and three runs scored) and James Loney (who raised his batting average back to .300, going 3-6 with five RBIs and two runs scored).
The Arizona Diamondbacks also won today, so the Dodgers will remain tied for 1st place in the NL West
Also: Clayton Kershaw will be called-up for tomorrow's game, which starts at 6:05 L.A. time. No word yet as to who's spot he will take on the roster.
The Dodgers rally for five runs in the 9th to win the game and the series and jump back into a 1st place tie.
Ramon Troncoso got the win, he's 1-1. Brandon Lyon lost, he's 2-4. Jonathan Broxton got his 2nd save.
Derek Lowe had a fairly weak start for the Dodgers, he went just 5 and 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and three walks. Ramon Troncoso pitched a strong two innings, striking out five and giving up no hits or walks to put him in position to get the win. Broxton gave up one run in the 9th, but settled down and closed out the game.
The Dodgers struggled all day against Brandon Webb, who coming into the game had a 9-3 career record against the Dodgers with a 2.78 ERA in 14 starts. He went eight innings, giving up just one run while getting 16 groundball outs. The Dodgers then exploded against Diamondback closer Lyon, who got into trouble in the 2nd game of the series, but ultimately shut the Dodgers down. Today, however, they rallied for five runs against him, though one run was cashed in on a hit given up by Leo Rosales, in to relieve Lyon. Andy LaRoche, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Russell Martin all collected 2-out RBIs in the 9th, and Kemp had an especially good at-bat against Lyon, fouling off multiple pitches before driving a ball into the left-center gap to drive in the tying run.
With the win, the Dodgers end up two games under .500, but tied for 1st in the NL West. The Dodgers will now travel to Colorado to face the Rockies for a three game series starting tomorrow.
The Dodgers were unable to mount any offense until the 9th inning, but by then, it was too little too late as they lose the game and fall a game behind the Diamondbacks.
Dan Haren got the win, he's 9-5. Chad Billingsley lost, he's 9-9. Brandon Lyon picked up his 20th save.
Billingsley had an average start stats wise, but was unimpressive in general. He went 5 and 2/3 innings on 114 pitches. He gave up seven hits and three walks, but was lucky only to give up three runs. 
Joe Beimel followed with 1 and 1/3 innings of scoreless ball and Cory Wade pitched a scoreless 8th to keep the D-Backs to three runs.
Dan Haren, meanwhile, kept the Dodger offense in check, allowing only six baserunners over seven innings of work while striking out seven. The Dodgers finally broke through in the 9th against Arizona closer Brandon Lyon. Jeff Kent hit a monster homerun to left center field and Delwyn Young had a huge double of the big wall in center field to plate a second run, but after getting to 3rd base with two outs, Matt Kemp flew out to right to end the game.
The Dodgers will try tomorrow to win the rubber match of the series, and get themselves back into a 1st place tie.
The Dodgers out-slugged the Diamondbacks in their first game back from the All-Star break to move back into a tie for first place.
Cory Wade picked up the win, he's 1-1. Doug Slaten took the loss, he's 0-3. Jonathan Broxton picked up his first save of the year.
Hiroki Kuroda had a bad start, going just two innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on a walk and eight hits. Jason Johnson, in his first game since being called up from Triple-A (and his first major league game since September 2006) to replace the injured Takashi Saito, went the next three innings giving up just one run. Six other pitchers (including Broxton in his first save situation since taking over for Saito)
out of the Dodger bullpen combined over the next six innings to hold the D-Backs to seven runs. Cory Wade got the first win of his career by pitching a scoreless 10th inning before the Dodgers took the lead in the 11th.
The Dodger offense flashed a little power in the game. They had four homeruns: two from Nomar Garciaparra (who had three hits and three RBIs in the game), a game-tying homerun from Matt Kemp in the 7th, and a go-ahead homerun from James Loney in the 11th. The Dodgers were also able to score five runs (four earned) against Dodger nemesis Doug Davis. Davis coming into the game was 4-2 in six career starts against the Dodgers, with a 1.33, but lasted only three innings today.
The Dodgers get back to within two games of .500, but more importantly, they brought the D-Backs down to two games under .500 and into a tie for first place. They've got two more games now to see where they can go from here.
Entertaining game, the American League won, so no homefield advantage for the Dodgers if they get to the World Series.
The only Dodger All-Star, Russell Martin, played a pretty good game.
He went 1-3, had a sac-bunt, and made a couple of really good defensive plays.
Now, after a long All-Star game, he needs to get home and rest up. The season re-starts on Friday.
Also: In not good news, Takashi Saito will be out six weeks with a strained ligament in his right elbow. Jonathan Broxton will be the replacement closer, at least for now.
The Dodgers get good pitching and good hitting salvage the last game of the series and go into the All-Star break on a high note.
Chad Billingsley got the win, he's 9-8. Andrew Miller lost, he's 5-9.
Chad Billingsley had an excellent start, going seven innings, giving up only one run on five hits, while striking out a career high 13. 
Also, a really good sign for Billingsley: no walks. He had his command today. Joe Beimel and Cory Wade pitched a scoreless inning each to keep the Marlins in check.
The Dodger offense, while only scoring eight runs in the first three games of this series, managed to plate nine runs today, including six in the 1st inning. Except for the pitcher's spot, everyone in the starting lineup managed to score a run, and six of the nine had RBIs in the game. Matt Kemp had an especially good game, going 3-4 with a double, two stolen bases, and two RBIs. Nomar Garciaparra went 2-3 with two RBIs as well.
With the win today, the Dodgers took four of seven in the season series against the Marlins. They also moved within a game back of the Diamondbacks for first. They'll face the Diamondbacks in the next series starting Friday.
Also: Dodger shortstop prospect Ivan De Jesus went 2-3 with a walk in the All-Star Futures game in New York.
The Dodgers go down in a back in forth game to lose their third in a row and fall to two games back of the Diamondbacks.
Doug Waechter got the win, he's 1-2. Ramon Troncoso lost, he's 0-1. Kevin Gregg got his 20th save.
Hiroki Kuroda went 6 and 2/3 innings in his worst start since coming off the DL. He gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk. 
The Dodger bullpen shut down the Marlins the rest of the way until Troncoso gave up two runs in the 11th.
The Dodger offense continued to struggle meanwhile. After loading the bases with nobody out in the 1st, the Dodgers were only able to score one run. They continued to struggle getting timely hits throughout the rest of the game, the only other two runs they scored coming from solo homeruns, one by Matt Kemp, one by Andre Ethier. The 3-6 hitters went a combined 1-19, with a walk, and six strikeouts (five by Andruw Jones to tie a Dodger record).
The Dodgers will try to avoid the sweep tomorrow at 1:10 L.A. time in their last game before the All-Star break.
The Dodgers offense was shut down for most of the game and go down for the second straight game to the Marlins.
Chris Volstad got the win, he's 2-0. Eric Stults took the loss, he's 2-2. Kevin Gregg picked up his 19th save.
Eric Stults got into trouble earlier, giving up three runs in the first inning on two homeruns but settled down and kept the Marlins scoreless over the next five. Cory Wade pitched two scoreless innings and Brian Falkenborg pitched a scoreless 9th to keep the Marlins offense to three runs.
The offense of the Dodgers, however, was held in check by Chris Volstad, making his first career starts. Volstad held the Dodgers to one run on five hits and a walk, while striking out six. The rallied for one run in the 9th and Jeff Kent sent a ball to the warning track with a chance to tie the game, but the ball didn't have enough power to go out, and the Dodgers fell short.
The Dodgers have two more games to salvage a split with the Marlins in this series, but despite falling to three games below .500, they still remain a game back in the standings as Arizona lost today. With today's loss, the Dodgers are assured of entering the All-Star break with a sub-.500 record.
The Dodgers played two hours longer than the previous game only to go down in extra innings to the Marlins.
Joe Nelson got the win, he's 2-0. Brian Falkenborg took the loss, he's 1-2. Kevin Gregg picked up his 18th save.
The starting pitching for the Dodgers faltered today. Chan Ho Park giving up four runs (three earned) on nine hits, including a homerun. 
The bullpen then combined to shut down the Marlins over the next six innings before Brian Falkenborg gave up a go-ahead homerun to Hanley Ramírez (who had five hits on the day) in the 11th.
Hitting wise, the Dodgers had some troubles. Their best sequence came in the 3rd, when Ángel Berroa got a one out single and was sacrificed over to second base. With two outs, Matt Kemp then singled him in. With Andre Ethier at the plate, Kemp stole second. Ethier then drove him in with a single. Ethier then stole second. Russell Martin then drove him in with a single. It was a good combination of hitting and running to plate three. Martin also had a solo homerun in the 6th. Other than those two instances, the Dodgers for the most part, were shut down.
It was a tough loss for the Dodgers, pushing them back into second place in the NL West, but they'll try again tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time.
So there's been talk recently about the shortstop position and what the Dodgers should do there.
Well, first and foremost, Nomar Garciaparra deserves the chance to continue showing the Dodgers he can handle short, which I believe, if he can stay healthy, he can.
However, we do know how injury prone Nomar is. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Nomar could find his way back to the DL by the end of the season, and if he does, we don't have any real good solutions at short.
Recently, a lot of talk centered around the Dodgers trading for Jack Wilson from the Pirates. I don't hate the idea as far as Wilson the player, but from what I've heard, Wilson likes the Pirates and the Pirates like Wilson so they aren't too willing to part with him. And that means if we want him, we can't just ship them any nobody and they send us Wilson as a salary dump. We'd need to send them something of value, and I definitely don't think the Dodgers should give up any real value for Jack Wilson.
Also, yesterday, Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com noted in his game recap:
"After hearing constant rumors during the day that he was headed home to Detroit in exchange for Tigers shortstop Edgar Renteria, Lowe focused on outdueling Tim Hudson in a 2-1 win over the Braves..."
After hearing about a really bad possible trade with Cleveland that was vetoed a few days ago, now there's news of this. Again, what a ridiculous trade. How would giving up a solid part of our starting rotation for a shortstop who has not been hitting well at all this year help us? Would Renteria really help us win more games than Derek Lowe would? If we trade Derek Lowe, we are basically saying we are out of it and not looking to make the playoffs this year, and if that's the case, trade him for a good prospect, not a declining, older shortstop.
MLB.com has a section devoted to the trading block, and one specifically dedicated to middle infielders.
Here are some options I'd look at if we were to try and pick up a shortstop:
There is also David Eckstein. I like him as a player, but he's not great, and he's probably not a long term solution. However, he could be probably be gotten pretty cheaply. There is a question as to how much he has left but he might be worth a shot if it doesn't cost us much.
Cristian Guzmán is having a great season, and is still fairly young. The page says the Nationals might try to negotiate an extension with him, but if they feel they can't they might trade him. The Nationals, however, are one of those teams that enjoy building up themselves with prospects, so they might ask for a good amount from us for him.
The page also mentions Juan Uribe. I think Colletti tried getting Uribe before Berroa. He's not too bad. He's hit for power in the past, but he's got a pretty low average. He's pretty good defensively, and the page says that might be enough for the White Sox to keep him.
Also, Felipe Lopez. The page says he's making 4.9 million this year. He had one good year in 2005 and hasn't come close since, he's got ok speed. I think I'd only take him if he came really cheap.
Finally, from the page, Bill Hall. His stats have been sagging since his great year in 2006 so that might make him cheaper to come by, but I don't care for his complaining over playing time. There is also the question of if he can play ss, he hasn't since 2006, though he has been playing some infield this season. He still might cost a pretty penny, and I'm not sure if it's worth it for the Dodgers.
Now, thinking outside the box a little bit, there are two other options the page didn't mention. There is an issue however, and that is that they are both from NL West teams and there always seems to be an issue trading within the division.
In any case, the Rockies have four players who can all play in the middle infield positions: Clint Barmes, Troy Tulowitzki, Ian Stewart, and Omar Quintanilla. Quintanilla isn't too good a hitter, and the Rockies are high on Stewart and Tulowitzki, so I see Barmes as an option. He had a good year in 2005, has struggled a little since, but is making a good comeback this year, and is still young enough to be a long term solution at short for us. There is the question, though, of how much it will cost us and if we are willing to deal within the division.
Another idea from in the division might be Khalil Greene from San Diego. He's under performing this year, and many in San Diego are losing patience with him, which could make him a cheaper pickup. He's solid defensively, and can hit for some power, even in ridiculous Petco Park. The main issue is that the Padres don't have anyone to replace him. Therefore, we'd need a package that included a replacement ss for them, and we don't necessarily have that. We could offer them someone like Berroa or Maza just so they'd have someone (anyone) to play shortstop, but we'd need to give them a good prospect as the real meat of the trade, or possibly Chin-lung Hu and another prospect.
Ultimately, I want to see how well Nomar can still handle shortstop. So far, he's done well. The question is: for how long? The big dilemna comes around July 31st. If Nomar is still healthy, should we gamble and assume he can make it the rest of the season, or play it safe and add another shortstop? That's for Colletti to decide. And that worries me a little...
The Dodgers get their second excellent pitching performance of the series to get the win and take two out of three from the Braves.
Derek Lowe got the win, he's 7-8. Tim Hudson took the loss, he's 9-7. Takashi Saito picked up his 17th save.
Lowe was on his game today, he was working fast and getting ground balls (16 to be exact) and was perfect through six innings. Ultimately, he went 7 and 2/3 innings, giving up just one run (a hanging sinker that Jeff Francoeur hit out)
and striking out four. Jonathan Broxton finished up the 8th, and Saito pitched a perfect 9th to close out the game.
Offensively, the Dodgers did just enough to get the win today. Matt Kemp hit a homerun in the 6th inning of Hudson, and Andruw Jones had a big RBI single in the 7th to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. He now has three hits in his last seven at-bats.
The Dodgers, with the win today, have now won four straight series. They'll take on the Marlins who they swept in Florida a couple months ago.
The Braves exploded for the offense they were missing entirely yesterday and take the win from the Dodgers setting up the rubber match tomorrow.
Jair Jurrjens got the win, 9-4. Chad Billingsley took the loss, he's 8-8.
Chad Billingsley, following one of his better outings of the season, had one of his worst. He went 5 and 1/3 innings giving up six runs, five earned. Actually, when he left the game, he had given up four runs and had two runners to his credit on base, but in a sign of things to come, 
Ramon Troncoso allowed both inherited runners to score. He did, however, pitch a scoreless inning in the following inning. Joe Beimel, though, started the 8th inning, getting only two outs while giving up a run. Cory Wade came in to close the 8th, but surrendered back-to-back homeruns to Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann (his second homerun on the night).
The Dodgers offense, meanwhile, was unable to mount much against Jurrjens. They scored only one run on a check swing double by James Loney. They were able to scratch across two more in the 9th, but at that point, it was too little, too late.
The Dodgers will try to win the series tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time. The Dodgers are 1-4 this season against the Braves so far.
There was a lot of talk recently about the attempts the Dodgers were making to obtain C.C. Sabathia from the Indians and ultimately why the Dodgers didn't acquire him.
In my opinion, it wouldn't have been a good idea to trade for Sabathia. As of right now, pitching is not our problem, hitting is, and almost all sources indicated that Matt Kemp was likely to be involved in the trade, along with a few other prospects as well. And that was just a deal for Sabathia...
Well, according to Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News:
"Dodgers owner Frank McCourt nixed a trade that would have brought Sabathia to Los Angeles, along with Indians third baseman Casey Blake and utility man Jamey Carroll."
This was a great call. First off, for Sabathia alone, the Milwaukee Brewers had to give up four prospects. Can you imagine how many players we'd have to give up for Sabathia, and Blake and Carroll on top of that?
Secondly, how could this trade have helped the team? We would have added Sabathia, who is an excellent pitcher, but he would have pushed someone out of our already crowded starting rotation, that has been doing very well recently. On top of this, we'd acquire Casey Blake, who will be 35 in August, and has seen his numbers decline the past few years, and frankly, wouldn't add much to our starting lineup. 
I'd rather see Blake DeWitt or Andy LaRoche out there. Also coming over in the deal would have been 34-year old Jamey Carroll. Carroll is a light-hitting (and I stress light hitting: 9 career hrs, .272 career average, plus not too much speed to speak of) utility infielder. What could Carroll give us that we couldn't already get from Luis Maza?
And to think, we could have given up some good prospects for that? I haven't agreed with too much Frank McCourt has done, but he gets some points in my book if he did, in fact, veto this trade. Now there's talk about what to do at the shortstop position, and whether or not there should be a trade. I'll write about that later.
The Dodgers got some excellent pitching to continue their hot streak and collect the win, they are now 6-1 in July.
Hiroki Kuroda got the win, he's 5-6. Jorge Campillo took the loss, he's 3-4.
Hiroki Kuroda pitched a great game for the Dodgers. He was perfect through seven innings before giving up a leadoff double to Mark Teixeira in the 8th. 
He then settled down and retired the next six batters to shut down the Braves the rest of the way on one hit. Kuroda was quick and efficient, he struck out six, but for the most part pitched to contact, making just 91 pitches to complete the game. Kuroda now has two of the three Dodger shutouts on the year.
Offensively, the Dodgers were able to put three runs on the board for Kuroda. The big shot came from Nomar Garciaparra, who hit a two-run homerun in the bottom of the 5th off a hanging breaking ball. Blake DeWitt also collected three hits and Matt Kemp also knocked in a run on a single to center to make up the five hits the Dodgers got in the game.
It's been a good start in July for the Dodgers, and they'll try to continue this hot playing tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time.
The Dodgers take the rubber match of the series and have now won three series in a row.
Brian Falkenborg got the win, he's 1-1. Matt Cain took the loss, he's 5-7. Takashi Saito picked up his 16th save.
Eric Stults started the game and was shaky, giving up seven hits and two walks over four innings. He did, however, only allow two runs (one earned). Brian Falkenborg came in in the 5th inning to relieve Stults who got into some trouble and got out of the inning unscathed. Hong-Chih Kuo pitched two scoreless innings and Jonathan Broxton added a perfect 8th. Saito came in for the 9th and got into some trouble, giving up one run before setting down the Giants and closing the game.
The Dodger offense was pretty good throughout the game as well. James Loney collected three RBIs on two hits (both doubles) and Andre Ethier continued his hot hitting scoring two runs and knocking in one on three base hits. Collectively, the Dodgers had 10 base hits on the day.
The Dodgers will head home to take on the Braves tomorrow, and congratulations to Russell Martin, who was named to his second All-Star game.
I was out of town while the Dodgers took the last three games of the series against the Astros and the first of the series against the Giants. I got back to L.A. just in time yesterday to watch them lose to the Giants. I should go on vacation more often. I'll pick up with game recaps after today's game.
Hong-Chih Kuo struck out two over a scoreless inning and 2/3. Cory Wade struck out one in a perfect 9th.
Also: Matt Kemp went 1-4 to extend his hitting streak to 18 games... Perhaps I was wrong about this one: Mark Sweeney now has two hits in his last two at-bats, raising his average to .119
