So, I'm writing this week recap up now, before the game today for two reasons. One, if I wait until after the game, it tends to mess up my entire night. Two, regardless of whether the Dodgers win today's game or not, this is already a sucky week.
I said last week that the coming week would be big. Either big good, or big bad.
As of today, the Dodgers can only hope to finish this week 2-4 against the two teams in front of them in the playoff race, so I guess you know how that panned out. (Post game update: 1-5 on the week. So. Whatever.)
More importantly, the trade deadline came this week, and the Dodgers, for some reason, decided to be buyers.
Here's the realization I came to this week: if the Dodgers happen to find success this year, they will do so in spite of management and ownership.
I mean, maybe, in the back of my head, I've always known this to be true, but as long as the Dodgers were winning, I was willing to let management slide.
But this week has just been a Doctorate level course in bad management, at both the manager and GM level. So, if you'll indulge me (more than you already are just by visiting my blog), I've got a lot of complaining to do.
First, you have the manager. Much has been made about Joe Torre's managing style, especially his mismanagement of the bullpen (which is terrible*) but at this point, I almost don't even care about it so much. Yeah, really.
*Long aside: another shining example of which came on Thursday. Dodgers vs. Padres, 9th inning, tie score, and both Jonathan Broxton and George Sherrill warming in the bullpen. So, who comes in to face a righty heavy portion of the San Diego lineup? George Sherrill, of course, who, by the way, can't seem to get anybody out, but especially can't get out right handed hitters. Shocker upon all shockers, Sherrill loses the game. Broxton, meanwhile, stands in the bullpen waiting for a save opportunity that will never come. Ok, his terrible bullpen management still does make me miserable, but...At this point, I'll take any manager, bullpen mistakes or not, who is able to make roster moves that aren't mind-numbingly stupid. I mean, for God's sake, why is Sherrill still on this team? And why the Hell is Garret Anderson still allowed to eat up a valuable roster spot? And who's bright effing idea was Jack Taschner?!
All I really want is someone who is willing to give Sherrill and Anderson their walking papers. Or someone, who, when presented with the idea of bring Jack Taschner up to the major league roster, stops for just a second and thinks: "That's a terrible idea. Absolutely not."
Seriously, why is this so damn hard? If we are so dedicated to winning this year, why are we not filling our roster with the 25 best players we can?
... which brings me to the General Manager.
Ned Colletti had one hell of a trade deadline this week.
Colletti completed three trades this week. Lucas May and Elisaul Pimentel for Scott Podsednik. Blake DeWitt and pitching prospects Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit for Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot. And finally, right before the deadline, Colletti swapped James McDonald and Andrew Lambo for Octavio Dotel. Now, before I break down these trades, I need to address whether or not the Dodgers should have even been buyers.
There's a good argument to be made that the Dodgers should have sold at the deadline. Hiroki Kuroda, Manny Ramirez, and Vicente Padilla will be free agents this offseason. Also, one or two of the handful of young players who will look for raises in the offseason could have also been on the move. Any of these players could have been shipped out for what would likely be a good return.
The counter-argument to this, though, is that the Dodgers were still within five games of the Wildcard when the deadline passed on Saturday.
Add to that the fact that most Dodger fans would have revolted, and I could see how it would be difficult justifying a fire sale.
So, you have two other options. You can do what the Dodgers did and buy ... or you can stand pat.
Personally, I would've have done nothing. I can see how this method also might have it's issues. Again, you deal with the fans who see this as waving the white flag. Also, you probably end up getting nothing for leaving veterans like Kuroda, who will most likely not receive an offer for arbitration in the offseason.
But, I'm sticking with this as having been the best choice. I see it like this, aside from the starting pitching, the Dodgers are playing far below their potential. When the Dodgers scored five runs on Friday, it was only the fourth time since the All-Star break that the Dodgers scored more than three runs in a game. (Ironically, they are 0-4 in those games, so, yes, the only time the Dodgers can score runs is when the pitching is giving up even more.)
What is it going to take for the Dodgers to reach the postseason? The regulars need to show up. Casey Blake and Russell Martin continue to fade offensively (though they might never turn it around). Matt Kemp, meanwhile, needs to pull out of his long, long slump. Rafael Furcal, who was so vital to the Dodger offense for the first half, has only been hitting .263 since the break. Worse off is Andre Ethier, who is hitting .135 (.507 OPS) since the break. If the Dodgers hope to have any success this season, these guys (plus Manny) have to return to form.
So, what did the Dodgers do? They added Scott Podsednik, who, admittedly, could be a nice complementary piece, but isn't going to be the difference maker in the race for the pennant.
They added Ted Lilly, who fills the gaping hole of #5 starter, and Ryan Theriot, an offensive downgrade at 2nd base to both Blake DeWitt (now on the Cubs) and Jamey Carroll (now warming the bench).
Then Colletti finished his tour with the addition of Octavio Dotel, who, again, could be a nice complementary piece, but isn't a game changer with his shiny 4.28 ERA (his 3.84 FIP is nicer but not more so than the man he's replacing ... Travis Schlichting has a 3.16 FIP in only 18 less innings).
In case it wasn't obvious, I'm not a fan of these trades. And I have four reasons to back this up.
1. We are buying when we shouldn't be. To rehash a previous point, we really should have sold or stood pat, just given the growing improbability that we actually make the playoffs.
2. Almost all of these trades were severe examples of overpaying.
Look at the Podsednik trade. Didn't we have the leverage? The Royals are going nowhere and Podsednik is a free agent at the end of the season. What were they going to do, keep him? Did we really need to send both our last bit of catching depth (May) and a promising young pitcher (Pimentel)? It really feels like one or the other should have been enough. If the Royals demanded more, then just say no. We really needed Podsednik that badly?
The Lilly/Theriot trade was more fair in terms of returns for each team. Don't get me wrong, it's a bad trade in it's own rights (Lilly is unnecessary and Theriot is a downgrade) but as far as one young 2nd baseman and two low level pitching prospects for a solid left handed pitcher and extremely average major league 2nd baseman, it's about even.
But all that is ruined with the Dotel trade. If Colletti had just sent James McDonald (a cheap, young pitcher who has shown a lot of promise in the past) to Pittsburg for Octavio Dotel (a 36 year old reliever), the trade would have been a win for Pittsburgh.
But. But... For some reason, Colletti threw into the trade, one time highly rated prospect Andrew Lambo. Yes, Lambo has had some issues in the minors with substance related suspensions. And, yes, he has struggled so far to adjust to high minors level pitching, but he's 22. He's got time to adjust. And he's got a high, high ceiling. So, why in the world was he sent to Pittsburgh for a 36 year old relief pitcher? I mean, if I had to guess, it'd be because the Pirates are paying the $500,000 remaining on Dotel's contract, but that's not really what I'm getting at.
What I'm saying is, when Dotel's name was brought up for trade consideration, why, when the Pirates asked for both McDonald and Lambo didn't Colletti just say no. It's so easy...
"You want Dotel. We want James McDonald."
"Eh, ok."
"And we want Lambo."
"You do realize Dotel is a 36 year old relief pitcher? And he's got an ERA over 4.00? So... no."
3. The returns the Dodgers received for all the players they gave up was overall, probably a lot less than it could've been. This is related to overpaying. This has been covered by several other blogs, but I think Jon Weisman tweeted it best:
"If you package Pimentel, May, McDonald, Lambo, DeWitt, Wallach and Smit together, I think that gets you something nicer."
Yeah, it probably does. If we were willing to send off all of these young players for a handful of average players, some of which we really didn't need, couldn't we have turned these young players into a really good player that we could use?
4. Finally, these trades didn't need to be made. At least, not now. Not at this point in time.
Look at it like this: with the exception of Ted Lilly (maybe), do any of the players the Dodgers acquired become off limits past the July 31st deadline?
Was Scott Podsednik really not going to clear waivers? Or Theriot? Or Dotel?
Couldn't we have waited another two or three weeks and saw where we were in the standings before we pulled the trigger on a trade that sent away a bunch of prospects. Two weeks from now, if we were still in the race, couldn't we have then called up the Royals and asked about Podsednik? We were really that worried someone else was going to win the Octavio Dotel sweepstakes?
And, by the way, these players would most likely come cheaper the later into the season we acquire them.
What's the downside? Two less weeks of Ryan Theriot?
It's just frustrating.
It's so, so frustrating.
I'm back, returned from the land of analytical papers. 'Tis a strange and lonely place, and it smells of despair.
In any case, I'm here to completely ignore the failure of the Dodgers the last half a week or so and just copy and paste some of my best tweets from the last month, you know, on the Twitter.
- Weird that Clay Zavada wasn't brought in to face Ethier. Maybe he needed the day off to rest his mustache.
- Zavada is in. Guess I was wrong. The mustache needs no time off. It is always ready to go.
- Sergio Romo's facial hair makes him look like an Aladdin villian.
- My Dad, on seeing Jim Thome getting ready in the dugout: "Oh good, Bigfoot is going to come up." Oh yeah, he went there...
- Can I just RT something I said earlier this season: "Over/Under: Juan Pierre finishing the season batting .300."
- Man, anyone know who that young third baseman is on the Pirates? That kid can hit! Though, hey, I guess Mark Loretta is 1-2 today...
- Dear Dodgers, you should have traded Blake DeWitt instead of me. Signed, Andy LaRoche.
- I totally get taking out Duke here. Best pitcher all season, 2 outs, 9th inning, 10 run lead, last home game for the Pirates. Good move.
- Plus, this 59th win is pretty vital to their season, so can't risk blowing a 10 run lead, at the expense of giving the fans something nice.
- I like Everth Cabrera's name. It's like someone with a lisp trying to say Everest.
Playoffs starting soon. Remains to be seen if we'll be the NL West champions or the Wild Card. Sadly, I'm only half joking.
So, I was at the game last night. What? Don't believe me? I'm not sure why you wouldn't. But that's ok. I have proof!
I got on television!
See me? No?
How about now? I'm the pixel blob on the right. The other two pixel blobs are my mom and grandpa. I think...
By the way, I know it's been said many times before, but Dodger Stadium is really one of the best baseball parks in the world.
Seriously.
But, I digress. While at the game, some interesting stuff went down. And we should talk about it...
Ronnie Belliard! Nice homerun!
Oh... and we traded for Jim Thome and Jon Garland. Ok, I guess if we have to talk about this, let's talk about it.
We got Thome for virtually nothing. An older low-A prospect who wasn't hitting too well, which is great.
And Thome certainly fills a void for us. He'll provide an excellent pinch hitting option off the bench, and looking into the all-to-distant future, a DH in an American League ballpark.
My only gripe with the Thome trade (and it is very minor) is just a question of how much we can actually use him. Thome himself told Ned Colletti that he can't really play first base anymore (though during the phone call he personally placed to Colletti, he did say that he was perfectly happy riding the bench and pinch hitting which, to me, shows good character from a guy I already liked). So, Thome will primarily be used as a pinch hitter. Maybe he'll get a start once or twice (if there are no lefties in the lineup to hit it at him) but ultimately, we're kinda just looking at something like 30-40 at-bats for Thome, and the possibility that somewhere down the line we use him at DH anywhere from 2-4 games. It's not too much. That's the danger with acquiring anyone this late in the year.
However, (and remember, I warned you this was just a small gripe) when looking at what we gave up for him, if Thome can affect a game or two with even just a couple of those at-bats, then he's given us value.
And now, we turn to the Jon Garland trade. At first, admittedly, a bit of a head-scratcher. Geez... I don't like that term at all. Conundrum is too extreme though. I'll have to work on this.
But, again, I digress.
Garland was acquired for a PTBNL. Now, before we discuss Garland's value, the PTBNL needs to be addressed.
So far, the only name being branded about is Tony Abreu, which would be unfortunate. Yes, Tony Abreu is probably too much for Garland, though there are certainly enough options for the positions that Abreu plays (third and shortstop are shored up for the next several years, and resigning Orlando Hudson, Ivan DeJesus Jr., and Blake DeWitt are all options at 2nd next year, not to mention Chin-lung Hu, who has recently had a resurgence in AAA). But. But... Tony Abreu's name is only being brought up in the most flimsy of manners. The D-backs beat writer said on his Twitter account that Dodger players were saying that Abreu was the PTBNL. Now, obviously, I don't know anything about a professional clubhouse, but I was under the assumption that the players weren't making the trades.
In any case, we'll see. Again, Abreu for Garland is probably too much, but even if it is Abreu, I'm not going to be too broken up over it.
Now, for Garland's worth. Like Thome, Garland probably won't be able to contribute too much this season. He'll most likely make 5-6 starts, though some of his value might come if his arrival makes Joe Torre comfortable enough to go with a six-man rotation. If Garland's arrival allows Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley (or both) to skip a start or two while still providing quality pitching in their place, he'll have provided value.
The next question comes if (when?) we make the playoffs. Garland might or might not be the 4th starter. He'll probably battle it out with Kuroda for that spot, though I wouldn't mind giving it to Garland, given his prior playoff and World Series experience (2 excellent starts: 9 IP, 2 ER and 7 IP, 2 ER). Not to say Kuroda's two starts last year weren't quality, they just weren't as good. Either way, I'd be comfortable with both pitchers on the mound.
Looking at the big picture, I'm happy with both trades. Yes, the PTBNL in the Garland trade might dampen my happiness a bit, but I think I'll still take it.
Overall, pretty good, and kind of exciting to have so much happen on one night...
I mean, Ronnie Belliard hit a homerun in his first at-bat with the Dodgers.
How cool is that?
So I've been watching all the drama that's come from the Rafael Furcal signing and trying to figure it all out.
It's a lot of he said/he said, but from what I gather, there's probably going to be more than a few boos for Furcal when the Dodgers travel to Atlanta in 2009.
In any case, whether or not there was some shady business going on in the deal, I really like the signing, as it solves a lot of problems.
Well, first things first, I'm not crazy about the amount of years. However, it really became obvious that we would need to offer Furcal at least three years to get him. So, even though I don't like it, I understand it had to be done.
That's what I didn't like. Here's what I like about the signing:
1. It shores up our infield. With the earlier signing of Casey Blake and now with the Furcal signing, plus having the right side of the infield pretty much penciled in as James Loney at 1st and Blake DeWitt at 2nd, we don't need to think about our infield anymore. We also got our utility infielder in Mark Loretta. Sure, maybe you add a defensive replacement here and there or a pinch hitter, but for the most part, any questions about the infield in 2009 should be solved. That's pretty good considering that coming into the offseason, three spots on the infield were, for the most part, question marks. Furcal, when healthy, is a name you can put on the lineup card every day.
2. We don't need to look for another shortstop. This includes having to trade away prospects to try and bring in a player to play short. Trading away the kids should be the last option. However, this also means we won't be signing a player like Orlando Cabrera. Not to say he's a horrible player, but Furcal is younger, and when he's healthy, he easily outhits Cabrera. Plus, signing Cabrera would mean surrendering a draft pick, as he declined arbitration earlier in the offseason.
3. ...and most important: we have a leadoff hitter. I guess this correlates with #1, but it's important. Sure, Furcal is a name you can put on the lineup card every day, but more importantly, he's a name you can put at the top of the lineup card. Without Furcal, the question of who would end up leading off for us in 2009 would be a pretty daunting one. With Juan Pierre asking for a trade, we really wouldn't have an established lead off hitter on the team. We could put Matt Kemp back in the role, possibly, but I'd still like to have his bat more in the middle of the lineup. Now, with Furcal back, that really becomes a moot point because we, once again, have an excellent leadoff hitter on the team.
Then again, this is all good if Furcal can stay healthy. The back issue is a bit scary, but if he can make it through the year, our team is going to be that much better.
Let's keep those fingers crossed...
Player: Andy LaRoche
2008 Stats: .203 (12-59), two homeruns, six RBIs (Full Season: .166, five homeruns, 18 RBIs)
2008 Analysis: It was a bit of a tough year for Andy. After suffering a painful injury in Spring Training, LaRoche rehabbed quickly to try and get back to help the team. Upon recovering from his injury, he found his 3rd base job being filled by Blake DeWitt (having the best month of his life). So LaRoche was optioned to AAA, where he began to play 1st and 2nd base to try and get back to the majors. He was called up June 10th and hit a homerun in his first game on June 11th. Then he was benched. He made a few spot starts here and there until late July when he got to start more than two games in a row.
He was being showcased for a trade.
On July 31st, he was traded.
2009 Outlook: Andy LaRoche is will be the starting 3rd baseman in 2009...
...for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Here's my issue, and it has been ever since the trade. Manny Ramírez was fun. He got us to the playoffs and we won a series... but we didn't win it all. In fact, all we really won was the title of NL West 2008 Division Champion (which is nothing to be ashamed of, but nothing to be too proud of either).
Now, this is where it really hurts. I cringe looking at the 3rd basemen free agent list. I'm not kidding when I tell you that Joe Crede and Casey Blake are the only options worth consideration in that free agent pool (and by the way, don't think they don't know that). And now that the Dodger owners might or might not be willing to spend money to bring in quality free agents, I'm starting to get very scared about what 3rd base will look like next year (Mike Lamb anyone?).
To tell you the truth, I'd give back our minor success in 2008 to have Andy LaRoche back as our starter in 2009. And the funny thing is, the money we now have to spend to get a quality 3rd baseman could have gone toward signing Manny away from the Red Sox. We could have had both, now we don't have one, and might not end up with either.
Isn't that ironic?
Player: Blake DeWitt
2008 Stats: .264, nine homeruns, 52 RBIs
2008 Analysis: Well, for a kid who was mostly expected to play no higher than AAA in 2008, playing in 117 games at the big league level and starting at 2nd through the entire playoffs was a bit of an upgrade. And for a kid who had that low expectations coming into the season, how he performed was above and beyond the call of duty.
That being said, DeWitt was a lot less impressive over an entire year. He was solid in April, excellent in May (.322, five homeruns, 18 RBIs, .896 OPS), then dropped off for the rest of the year. Following May, until the end of the year, DeWitt batted .235 with only four homeruns and 23 RBIs. His OPS over that span was .649.
DeWitt's fielding at 3rd was solid, even though his fielding percentage was an average .969. DeWitt's percentage wasconsiderably better at 2nd (.981) though in less chances. He did look uncomfortable there at times, though.
2009 Outlook: So what are we to make of DeWitt's numbers in 2008. Can he play more like a May-DeWitt or will he play more like a 2nd-half-DeWitt? Baseball is always said to be a sport about adjustments. Can DeWitt make those adjustments? Scouting reports must have come out after May, because pitcher started hitting him with breaking balls low and in that DeWitt could neither hit nor hold off on.
Here's what I feel. DeWitt is good baseball player. He's not going to hit well enough to warrent a third base job (you'd ideally like someone with a little more power over there), but he could be our 2nd baseman for years to come. If he can make the adjustments he needs to, he could hit maybe somewhere around 15 homeruns and bat in the high-.200's for a whole season. If we get that kind of production out of him at 2nd, I'll be happy.
I hope to see him shore up his defense at 2nd base and come into Spring Training 2009 ready for the job.
There were a handful of rookies that came up this year for the Dodgers, but only three really made an impact. Here are your nominees for Rookie of the Year:
Clayton Kershaw
-Kershaw debuted May 25th and had a strong six inning outing against the St. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in 22 games in 2008, going 5-5 with a 4.26 ERA, striking out 100 batters in 107.2 innings. His best outing came on August 7th, in St. Louis, when he gave up one run over seven innings while striking out seven.
Cory Wade
-Wade got called up and made his first appearance April 25th. He brought his ERA down from 3.00 to 2.35 on May 9th, and from that point until the end of the season, his ERA never cracked 3.00 again. He went 2-1 with a 2.27 ERA in 55 games in his rookie season.
Blake DeWitt
-DeWitt won the starting 3rd base job by default coming out of Spring Training, but showed he had some staying power. By the end of a terrific May, DeWitt was batting .303 with five homeruns and 29 RBIs. He settled down after that, but finished 2008 batting .264, with nine homeruns and 52 RBIs and started over 100 games combined at both 2nd and 3rd base.
...and the Rookie of the Year is...
Cory Wade
Blake DeWitt was all the rage for the first couple months, and he was important, don't get me wrong, but he seriously faded after that. Clayton Kershaw was hyped up, and while he wasn't lights out, he was still impressive.
However, Cory Wade received no hype but was quietly one of the best and most consistent members on the pitching staff. He settled right into the bullpen and pitched like a multi-year veteran. He might not have the most brilliant career of the three players mentioned here, but if you want to talk about who had the best year this year, it was Cory Wade.
There you have it, Cory Wade, "J's Dodger Blog 2008 Rookie of the Year."
Ok, moving on to 2nd base.
Player: Jeff Kent
2008 Stats: .280, 12 homeruns, 59 RBIs
2008 Analysis: Was it just me, or did it seem like Jeff Kent missed more than just 41 games this year? In any case, Kent played well... for a 40-year old 2nd baseman though underperformed by his own standards.
He did have 440 at-bats this year, which isn't a full season, but enough of a sample size. His batting average and OBP was the lowest it's been since 1997 (his slugging was its lowest since 1996) and despite having only 54 at-bats less than he had in 2007, he had eight less homeruns and 20 less RBIs.
Defensively, Kent, who never was a Gold Glove 2nd Baseman to begin with, was sometimes difficult to watch playing 2nd. He's lost a step or two... his range is obviously much less than it used to be. 
His fielding percentage was .976 in limited chances. But then again, Kent's defense was never his strong suit.
2009 Outlook: There are a couple possible scenarios for Jeff Kent:
1. Kent decides to retire. If he does, then good for him. He's had a good long career (Career: 377 homeruns, 1518 RBIs, .290 average) and is most likely Hall-of-Fame bound.
2. Kent decides to keep playing. If he still wants to play, the best place for Kent is probably the DH position on an American League team. If he's willing to accept that DH role, he could have another year or two of swinging the bat left in his tank. However...
3. Kent decides to keep playing, but wants to remain a 2nd baseman. Jeff Kent is a man of pride. He might not want to play in the watered down position of a DH. Should he still want to play, and remain a 2nd baseman, he might be able to find a team willing to give him that role. The Dodgers, however, with Blake DeWitt in the wings, might be ready to move on. If that's the case, Kent will have to look elsewhere, possibly out of his comfort zone (his adopted state of Texas or his homestate of California) to find the job, which could be much less appealing.
How do I think this will all go down? Most likely, I feel like Jeff Kent will choose option 1. He's missed time due to injury the last three years, and his stats are falling, if only slightly. It might be time to ride off into the sunset. Kent certainly has some outside interests that would keep him busy. He's made it clear in the past that baseball doesn't mean everything to him. I think he might go choose to enjoy retirement on his ranch and wait a couple years for the Hall-of-Fame to come calling. But then again, Kent has never been an easy guy to read. Who knows? Maybe his desire for a World Series ring will having him coming back for another go at it. Whatever the choice is, I'm sure we haven't heard the last of Jeff Kent.
The Dodgers strike for five runs in the first inning and never look back as they take the third game in this series.
Hiroki Kuroda got the win, he's 1-0 in the NLCS. Jamie Moyer took the loss, he's 0-1 in the NLCS.
Hiroki Kuroda made a quality start. He went six innings, holding the Phillies to two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three. Cory Wade pitched two scoreless innings in relief and Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless 9th to close out the game.
Several Dodgers had good games at the plate. Rafael Furcal went 2-4 with a homerun, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. 
Manny Ramírez went 1-2 with two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored and Nomar Garciaparra went 2-3 with an RBI. Finally, Blake DeWitt went 1-3, the one hit coming in the 1st with the bases loaded. DeWitt collected three RBIs on the bases clearing triple to give the Dodgers a 5-0 lead early in the game.
With the win, the Phillies lead in the series is 2-1. Game 4 starts tomorrow at 5:22 L.A. time.
Opinion: Coming out strong in the 1st was a good statement. These three games are very important. We need to take care of our business at home, especially because of our troubles on the road... The other good news about today's game? Jamie Moyer looked particularly weak, and if the schedule for the Phillies remains the same, and if we push the series to a Game 7, Moyer will be the starter. That's pretty good news to me...
The Dodgers use the long-ball to beat the Cubs and go up 1-0 in the series.
Derek Lowe got the win, he's 1-0 in the NLDS. Ryan Dempster took the loss, he's 0-1 in the NLDS.
Derek Lowe went six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six. He had an uncharacteristically high pitch count, but still got a quality start out of his outing. Cory Wade, Jonathan Broxton, and Greg Maddux each pitched a scoreless inning in relief to keep the Cubs to two runs.
The Dodger offense started slow, but heated up. After not scoring in the first four innings, including leaving the bases loaded at the end of the 3rd inning. A similar situation seemed to be rearing it's head in the 5th. 
The bases were loaded with two outs when James Loney stepped to the plate. He quickly fell in the hole with two strikes on him, before drawing a few more pitches, then stroking a grand slam homerun into the left-center bleachers to put the Dodgers up 4-2. They wouldn't look back from there. Manny Ramírez hit a solo homerun in the 7th (Manny went 2-4 with a walk, a homerun, an RBI, and two runs scored), Casey Blake singled in Blake DeWitt in the 8th (DeWitt went 2-4 with a double and a run scored), and Russell Martin added a solo homerun in the 9th. Every player in the starting lineup reached base at least once.
The Dodgers get the all important win in the first game of the series. Game 2 in the series starts tomorrow at 6:37 (?) L.A. time.
Opinion: Wow, seriously good win for the Dodgers. They really sent a message that they are a serious contender. 
They came into an opponent's stadium, filled with loud hungry fans, facing a pitcher who's been excellent at home all season, and they pulled out a strong victory. Also, most importantly, this was the win they needed. To win the series, they needed at least one win on the road, and now they've got it. Not that they should leave it all to winning the home games, but they got the road win. Now, just to be safe, let's get another one tomorrow...
The Dodgers, behind the bat of Blake DeWitt and the pitching of Greg Maddux, take the second game in the three game weekend series.
Greg Maddux got the win, he's 8-13. Matt Cain took the loss, he's 8-14. Takashi Saito picked up his 18th save.
Greg Maddux pitched like the Greg Maddux of old. He needed only 47 pitches (38 of which were strikes) to go six innings. He gave up only one run on two hits over those six innings, while striking out two. Chad Billingsley came in to get a little work before the playoffs. He went two scoreless innings in relief. Takashi Saito pitched a perfect 9th, striking out one to get the save and close out the game.
Offensively, the story today was all Blake DeWitt. He went 3-4 with a walk, a homerun, two RBIs, and a run scored. There were a few other players to note: Rafael Furcal went 2-4, Andre Ethier went 1-2 with a walk, and Casey Blake went 1-3 with a walk and a run scored.
The Dodgers will try to win the rubber match of the series, and the last game of the regular season tomorrow. The game starts at 1:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move back up to seven games over .500 (84-77)... Greg Maddux's win was the 355th in his career, putting him at 8th on the All-Time Wins list.
Opinion: While this game was meaningless, there were a few good things that came from it. Blake DeWitt showed he can contribute, Greg Maddux showed he might still be able to pitch, and Rafael Furcal showed he still remembers how to hit the ball. DeWitt hasn't been nearly as impressive since his hot month of May, but he's been hitting the ball better lately (hitting .297 in the month of September). Greg Maddux is either completely on his game, or totally off. He's had two excellent starts for us and four not-so-good starts. How he'll do in the playoff remains to be seen, though. 
Finally, Furcal collected his major league basehit since May 5th and had his first multi-hit game since May 3rd. A healthy Furcal will be a big plus in the playoffs... Ok, one more game to go, let's try and win tomorrow. 85 wins would be a nice way to end the season on a high note.
The Dodgers are out slugged by the Padres and fail to complete the three game sweep.
Jake Peavy got the win, he's 10-11. Eric Stults took the loss, he's 2-3. Trevor Hoffman picked up his 29th save.
The pitching was a bit shaky today. The Dodgers used five different pitchers and each gave up at least one run. Eric Stults started. He went 4.2 innings and gave up three runs. Takashi Saito and Jonathan Broxton pitched an inning each (the 8th and 9th respectively) and each gave up a run.
The Dodgers had a bit of an odd game offensively. 16 different players had at-bats. 
Chin-lung Hu went 2-3 with a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored. Jason Repko went 1-1 and drew two walks. Andre Ethier went 1-2 with a walk and an RBI. Matt Kemp went 1-3 with a walk, a homerun, an RBI, and a run scored. Juan Pierre went 2-3 with an RBI. Finally, Blake DeWitt had an odd game. He went 0-1 and scored two runs without collecting a hit or walk. He came in as a pinch runner and was brought home, then later was hit by a pitch and came around to score again.
The important event today happened before the game. The Arizona Diamondbacks lost so the Dodgers clinched the NL West before today's game even started. The Dodgers will travel now to San Francisco to begin their last series of the season. The three game weekend series begins Friday at 7:35 L.A. time.
Also: With the loss, the Dodgers fall back to seven games over .500 (83-76).
Opinion: There's not much to say about this game, as will probably be the case for the next three games as well. 
The starting lineup was different, but it didn't really matter because the scrubs were all in by the 5th inning. We're just getting everyone out there and getting them some playing time. We are going to see a lot of playing time for Jason Repko and Chin-lung Hu this weekend, and that's fine because we have nothing to gain by winning the next three games, but the possibility of losing a starter to injury before the playoffs is horrifying. That said, it would be nice to go into the playoffs with at least 85 wins, not at the cost of losing someone, but just for some pride and a nice even number. The important thing, though, is that we are in the playoffs, and for now, I'll just celebrate that.
The Dodgers score 10 runs to beat the Padres in the first game of the three game series.
Chad Billingsley got the win, he's 16-10. Wade LeBlanc took the loss, he's 1-2.
Chad Billingsley seemed a little shaky. He went six innings and gave up only one run, however, he also gave up nine hits and two walks over that span. James McDonald, Ramon Troncoso, and Scott Elbert added a scoreless inning each.
Offensively, the Dodgers did much better than they did Sunday. Eight of the nine Dodgers in the starting lineup collected a hit, seven scored a run, and four had RBIs, even Chad Billingsley added a hit, a squeeze bunt, and two RBIs. They had a big 1st inning, in which they batted through the lineup and scored six runs in the process. The top three performers in the game were probably Russell Martin, Nomar Garciaparra, and Blake DeWitt. Russell Martin went 2-3 with a double, two walks, and a run scored, Nomar Garciaparra went 1-2 with a walk, a homerun, three RBIs, and a run scored, and 
Blake DeWitt went 2-3 with a walk, a homerun, three RBIs, and two runs scored.
The Arizona Diamondbacks lost today, so with the win, the Dodgers move back to a three game lead in the NL West. The Dodgers will try tomorrow for their second straight win, and a chance to knock another point off the Magic Number. The game starts at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move back up to seven games over .500 (82-75)... With the win and the Diamondbacks' loss, the Dodger Magic Number is now 3... With their 82nd win, the Dodgers guarantee themselves a winning season... Chad Billingsley's win is his 16th, good for first place on the Dodgers.
Opinion: This was a pretty good statement win. After looking a little lackluster in the weekend series, the Dodgers came out firing. I like it... In any case, now that my last prediction (the one about us clinching on Sunday) was obliterated, I'd like to make a new one. We have two more games against the Padres, the Diamondbacks have two more against the Cardinals. Our Magic Number is three. My prediction is simple: we clinch it at home on Thursday. Hopefully, the Cardinals will keep up their end by causing the Diamondbacks trouble in St. Louis. I'm fairly certain that if we keep playing like we did tonight, our end shouldn't be a problem. I guess we'll see. 3 and counting...
The Dodgers win a game in extra innings to take the series from Pittsburgh.
Scott Proctor got the win, he's 2-0. Craig Hansen took the loss, he's 1-4. Jonathan Broxton picked up his 14th save.
Clayton Kershaw's start was short. He went five innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks while striking out five. 
Unfortunately, it took him 86 pitches to do that, and only 44 of those pitches were strikes (about 56%). The bullpen managed to give up the lead twice in the following two innings, before shutting down the Pirates over the last five. This included 1.2 scoreless innings thrown by Chan Ho Park and a perfect 11th thrown by Scott Proctor. Jonathan Broxton was a little shaky, but ultimately shut down the Pirates in the 12th to close out the game.
The Dodger offense was a bit odd today. They scored four runs on six hits and 11 walks. No one Dodger had a particularly good game. 
The best two really only collected one hit each. Blake DeWitt went 1-4 with two walks and two RBIs. James Loney had the big RBI in the game. He only went 1-6, but the hit came with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the 12th to give the Dodgers the lead.
The Arizona Diamondbacks also won today, so the Dodgers remain 3.5 games in front in the NL West race. The Dodgers now come home to start a three game weekend series against the Giants. The first game starts tomorrow at 7:40 L.A. time.
Also: With the win (the Dodgers' 80th on the season), the Dodgers move back up to seven games over .500 (80-73)... With the win, the Dodger Magic Number is down to 7... James Loney's RBI was his team leading 87th.
Opinion: These last two games weren't so good. The Diamondbacks are heating up. They completed their four game sweep of the Giants (smashing my prediction from two days ago) and now are moving on to Colorado, who might or might not be a little harder. 
In any case, I'm glad we won today. A series split with the Pirates would have been disasterous at this point in the season. The offense seemed a litle dead today. We still got the win, but we seemed to be lacking the passion we've had the past couple weeks. We'd better get that back soon... Looks like Nomar Garciaparra's knee injury is not as bad as I had thought. He could be back in the lineup soon, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried. I just hope it can hold up. We'll see... 
One last note: Manny Ramírez and Andy LaRoche had the same number of RBIs in this series. I'm not saying that Andy would have made more of an impact in the last month and a half. Manny has been a tremendous influence on the team and we wouldn't be anywhere close to where we are now without him. All I'm doing is just merely pointing out an interesting statistic. Just something to chew on...
The Dodgers beat down the Pirates for their second straight win.
Derek Lowe got the win, he's 14-11. Jeff Karstens took the loss, he's 2-6.
Derek Lowe tried to, and almost matched Hiroki Kuroda's performance from yesterday. He went seven innings, giving up just one run on five hits, while striking out three. Chan Ho Park pitched a scoreless 8th, and the bullpen gave up a run in the 9th before ultimately closing out the game.
Casey Blake had an excellent offensive game for the Dodgers. He went 3-5 with a homerun, a triple, two RBIs, and two runs scored. 
He fell just a double short of the cycle. Manny Ramírez had a good game as well. He went 3-5 with a double and an RBI. Blake DeWitt went 2-4 with a sac-fly, an RBI, and a run scored. Russell Martin had an interesting game. He went 1-3 with a walk, a stolen base, a sac-fly, an RBI, and a run scored.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are currently scoreless through the 1st inning, playing against San Francisco in Arizona. For now, the Dodger lead in the NL West is five games.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move up to seven games over .500 (79-72)... With the win, the Dodger Magic Number is now 8.
Opinion: The Magic Number is starting to get awfully small... I like it. I'm glad the Dodgers are still taking care of business against the Pirates. Two games down, two to go. 
I don't want to get too ahead of myself, because I find that making predictions never seems to end too well. Chances are that you end up wrong, and if you, by chance, end up right, you often just look lucky. That said, I'd like to say that the Dodgers will clinch the division by Sunday. We have two more games against the Pirates, then three against the Giants back at Dodger Stadium. In all honesty, we should (read: should) win these next five. That brings the Magic Number to 3. Arizona plays San Francisco three more times, including tonight. Then they play Colorado, in Colorado over the weekend. I'm going to go ahead and make the prediction that they will lose three of those games. I'm thinking two in Colorado, and the Giants, behind Tim Lincecum on Thursday, should take care of them. Again, predictions never seem to work out, but hey, it doesn't hurt to hope... Los Angeles Dodgers: 2008 NL West Champions (Sunday, September 21st, 2008). I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty good to me.
EDIT: Diamondbacks beat the Giants, so back to a 4.5 game lead for the Dodgers and no ticks off the Magic Number... til tomorrow...
The Dodgers take the second game of the series and win their fourth overall.
Clayton Kershaw got the win, he's 4-5. Jorge De La Rosa took the loss, he's 8-8.
Clayton Kershaw had a pretty good, albeit short start. He went six innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out seven. Chan Ho Park pitched two scoreless innings in relief, striking out four in the process. Jonathan Broxton retired the side in order in the 9th, striking out two.
A handful of different players contributed offensively. In fact, each player in the starting lineup reached base at-least once, including Kershaw. Russell Martin went 1-5, but had two RBIs. 
Casey Blake went 1-4, but his one hit was a solo homerun. Blake DeWitt went 0-1, but drew three walks and scored twice. Ángel Berroa probably had best game offensively. He went 2-3 with two doubles, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
The Arizona Diamondbacks as of this blog writing are up 2-1 against Cincinnati going into the 8th inning. With the win, the Dodgers move to four games up on the Diamondbacks. Should the Diamondbacks win, they'll lower the Dodgers' lead back to 3.5 games. If they lose, the Dodger lead will rise to 4.5 games. The Dodgers will try to go for the sweep tomorrow starting at 12:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move to six games over .500 (77-71)... With the Dodger win, the Magic Number is now 12 games. Should the Diamondbacks lose later tonight, that number will be lowered to 11.
Opinion: I really like that we are going out there and handling our business. Yes, it's good to know what Arizona is doing. If they lose, that's better for us, sure. But the win itself is the most important thing. I mean, it's so simple. We just keep winning, and we don't need to worry about Arizona. It kinda helps, too, that we are playing only pretty bad teams, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, whatever that means...
EDIT: Cincinnati tied the score with Arizona to go to extra innings. They then got the go-ahead run in the top of 10th. They shut down Arizona in the bottom of the 10th to get the win. So with Arizona's loss, they fall to 4.5 game back of the Dodgers in the NL West race. That also lowers the Dodger Magic Number to 11.
The Dodgers take the rubber match of the series to extend their lead in the NL West to 3.5 games.
Derek Lowe got the win, he's 13-11. Shawn Estes took the loss, he's 2-2.
Derek Lowe was pitching a pretty good game before leaving in the 6th inning after being struck in the knee with a come-backer. Ultimately, he went 5.1 innings, giving up just one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out three. Brad Penny came off the DL before today's game. He came in to pitch some relief in the 7th inning, but gave up two hits and a walk before being pulled. Cory Wade allowed one runner to score on a sac-fly (charged to Penny) before getting a double play to end the inning. Wade pitched two scoreless innings total. Joe Beimel pitched a perfect 9th to end the game.
The Dodgers, led by Manny Ramírez, scored seven runs of Padres' pitching today. Manny went 2-5 with two two-run homeruns. He had four RBIs and two runs scored. Andre Ethier went 2-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Russell Martin went 1-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI. Blake DeWitt went 2-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
The Arizona Diamondbacks were swept by the San Francisco Giants earlier today, so with the win today, the Dodgers push their lead in the NL West to 3.5 games. 
The Dodgers have an off-day tomorrow as they travel to Colorado. They'll begin a three game weekend series there on Friday, starting at 6:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move to four games over .500 (75-71)... With the Dodger win and the Diamondback loss, the Dodgers' Magic Number is lowered to 14... James Loney went 1-4 with a homerun today, but more importantly, that gave him his team leading 80th RBI on the season.
Opinion: After struggling to score a run in the first game of the series, the Dodgers came back to score 13 runs in the next two games. Continuing the theme from yesterday's game recap, 
Manny added four RBIs today. This gives both Manny and Andre Ethier 11 RBIs each in the last six games. This is also important because we are going into Colorado, where the games so often become slugfests. Pitching is important, but when we go into Colorado, we need to have our hitting win some games for us. We will have a small advantage going in, though. The Dodgers will travel tomorrow from San Diego to Colorado. A relatively short commute. They'll probably get into Colorado sometime early tomorrow, get to the hotel and get some rest before Friday's game. Colorado, on the other hand, has a night game tomorrow, in Atlanta. They are finishing up a three game series out there (where, by the way, they've lost their first two games). It seems like an advantage to me, but then again, can't take anything for granted. We just got to keep up this good play. 10 wins in our last 11 games, and the gap in the NL West race is getting bigger, while the season is getting shorter. We officially eliminated San Diego from the playoff chase this series. We won't be able to "officially" do that Colorado this weekend series, but with a good series, we can, for all intents and purposes, take them out of the hunt. And that's good enough for me...
