The End of the Manny Era

I just wanted to whip this graphic up real quick, because it was made official that the Dodgers just let Manny go to the White Sox on a pure waiver claim.

The black lines indicate either of the two possible actions the Dodgers should have taken with Manny this weekend. Obviously, there's risk and reward for either path, as designated by red circles (for negative outcomes) and green circles (for positive ones).

The blue line indicates what actually happened this weekend.

As you can see: the best of both worlds, really.

Look, I understand the player the Dodgers were likely to get back wasn't going to be a top prospect. At this point though, I just wanted something tangible for Manny.

Sure, the $4 million or so in salary relief is nice, in theory... assuming, of course, the money goes back into the team. But, at this point, with these owners (who currently sit in a Los Angeles courtroom arguing over money and control of this team), then who really knows?

There are a couple things I do know, though.

First, and foremost, there is no reason for Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Octavio Dotel, George Sherrill, Scott Podsednik, and maybe even Casey Blake to remain on this team. There may be other players that I am forgetting, but these six strike me as the most important ones. (Looking at the roster, I think the guy I'm missing is Vicente Padilla, who can't be moved while on the DL, which is really a shame because his stock was so high earlier this season.)

With Manny gone, whether the front office wants to believe it or not, they've thrown in the towel on this season. As such, there's no reason to continue paying veterans with expiring contracts to help this team to a 4th place, .500 finish. Sell. Sell them all. Get whatever you can. But as the final, final trade deadline approaches tomorrow, none of these six players (five if you don't include Blake who has another year on his contract) should be on the roster.

Here's the second thing I know.

Joe Torre, the manager everyone in the media seems to adore for his ability to win, was managing a .500 team to a 2nd place finish in 2008. That was before Manny came along. Suddenly, the Dodgers start winning. Then, the Dodgers make the playoffs. And then, for the first time in 20 years, the Dodgers win a playoff series.

Now, it's 2010. Joe Torre is still here. There's that constant. Manny isn't. He mostly wasn't. (Though when he was, the Dodgers were 10 games over .500.) It's starting to look like crazy speak to even consider contending for the playoffs at this point.

So, you tell me who is really more important to this team.


Here's the third thing I know.

Ignoring the first five games of a season (when numbers like batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging can fluctuate like crazy due to the low amount of at-bats), Manny has never, not once, had his OPS dip below .800 in his tenure with the Dodgers.

For all the drama about steroids, and injuries, and lack of hustle or heart or whatever similar crap, Manny produced.

For all the hate that Manny received from main stream media (see Bill Plaschke, amongst many others), who turned and praised gritty guys like Juan Pierre, steroids or not, Manny always out-hit them.

Look, I'll admit it. When we acquired Manny, I was not thrilled. One, because we gave up Andy LaRoche (who I still like, despite the fact his career is slowly dying in Pittsburgh). And two, I was real worried he might give up on us (this mind you, in the same season Andruw Jones already had).

Well, now that the Manny era is over, I can say this: He never gave up.

The trade was definitely worth it. Resigning him was absolutely worth it. He made mistakes, sure. He was injured, sure. But up until the very last pitch of his very last at-bat, Manny never gave up on the team or the fans.

He showed up. And he produced.

A Medley Of (Semi) Important News

Alright, let's talk about a couple things that have gone down recently.

Jamey Carroll signed with the Dodgers for two years and I am apathetic. Carroll's an average bat, and not bad with the glove. It kind of goes down like this: if Carroll is our starting 2nd baseman, we're in trouble. If Carroll fills the role that Mark Loretta had last year, then we are better off. Either way, the contract is only two years and it's under $4 million, so it's not a bad signing.

The Dodgers also added Luis Ayala on the cheap. As Mike at MSTI points out, Ayala's been (in Mike's words) a "monumental jackass." He did a write up about Ayala here. I don't like how much of a jackass Ayala is, but I'm not worried much about him affecting clubhouse chemistry or anything. The brilliant thing about Joe Torre is, say what you will about his coaching style but the man knows how to control a clubhouse. I don't think Ayala will be a problem. He might suck at pitching, but that's another story...

Speaking of adding players on the cheap, Diamond Leung reported on his Twitter that the Dodgers also brought back Doug Mientkiewicz and Ángel Berroa on minor league deals. I like Mientkiewicz, he's not great, but he's an okay option as a backup to Loney or being a left handed bat off the bench. If we have to use Berroa, I'm going to be off-put.

Off-putting.

And finally, Juan Pierre is gone, and he's still getting on my nerves. When Dylan Hernandez covered the Pierre trade for the L.A. Times, he went to Pierre to get some quotes. Here's a piece of the article:

"'I've been in the witness protection program for the last two years.'

Pierre said he didn't consider his last three years a waste.

'When I first signed with them, people were like, 'What in the world were they thinking?' ' he said. 'I've been criticized so much in the last three years, so I'm ready for the Chicago media. All in all, it's made me a stronger person.'"

Long sigh...

"Witness protection"? You appeared in 264 of 324 games the last two years and started 162 of those games. You weren't a ghost.

And I'm glad this whole experience made you "a stronger person." Guess what, Juan? You were getting paid millions upon millions of dollars to play baseball, so take a little criticism in the media.

And by the way, most of the things I see about you in the media are complementary. Writers and television announcers have had almost nothing but praise for your "grittiness" or "baseball attitude" or whatever.

You're a baseball player, not a pariah. Get over yourself.

Beastmode, Deactivated

I was going to call this post something along the lines of "Our Long National Nightmare is Over" but I always seem to come late to the party.

Anyway, sources (I'm looking at you, Tim Brown) are reporting the Dodgers have shipped Juan Pierre off to the White Sox. Dodgers will eat $10.5 million of the $18.5 million left on the two years of Pierre's contract.

In return, we are getting a couple of PTBNL's, some salary relief, and a new lease on life.

Ok, maybe it's not that bad, but Pierre has been somewhat of albatross on the Dodgers the last three years. A combination of his strikingly sub-par ability to get on-base (as a leadoff man, no less), his horrifyingly below average throwing arm, and his dwindling stolen base rate (71.% in 2009) has made Pierre somewhat of a negative word amongst Dodger fans.

... But all that's over. That's Chicago's problem now.

Now, as for the trade, we could talk about Pierre's (mostly) professional attitude to becoming a bench player for the first time in his life, but that's been covered.

We could also look at the implications of the trade: is this money we just opened up for a free agent or lawyers' bills? Given that we are eating much of his contract, will the PTBNL's we get have some nice value or are we just happy if they have a pulse? Questions to be answered.

... But you know what? That's for a later time. For now, I'll just leave it at this: Pierre it's been fun. Enjoy the fact that you will actually be playing in Chicago. (We all will.)

J's Dodger Tweets - September Edition

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.

The Beaning

Let's talk about the now infamous beaning from last night. Every discussion like this always seems to end up with the main question being: if one of the players on your team gets hit, is it your job to hit a player back?

Personally, I'm all for beaning a player, but you only do it if the timing is right.

All those people who were upset that Chad Billingsley didn't bean a member of the Phillies during the playoffs last year were wrong. Sorry, but there are more important things to focus on during a playoff game than playing macho man. Like winning the playoff game (which, unfortunately, Billingsley didn't do either, but I digress).

Which brings me to yesterday's game. The Dodgers were leading 17-4 with two outs in the 9th. Prince Fielder steps up to the plate, and Guillermo Mota nails him in the leg. Mota is promptly tossed out of the game while Fielder looks at him angrily.

Then, apparently, later, Fielder charged for the Dodger locker room, which itself is a dumb idea. But that's for later.

For now, I just want to discuss the beaning itself, and why it was so pointless.

1. Mota felt like the Dodgers needed to send the Brewers a message. You mean something like beating them by 13 runs? You mean like scoring more runs in the previous inning than they did all game? You mean like Mota himself driving in a run? The offensive beatdown, the biggest one at Dodger Stadium in decades, was a nice enough message to send.


2. Everyone notes that two Dodgers were hit. I'll give you Manny's case. It did seem like that was a message, but Pierre's hit? That guy was throwing 55 MPH. Seriously. Don't tell me that that hit was intentional.


3. When you are up 13 runs in the 9th, you want to use as few pitchers as possible. But because we needed to send the Brewers a message, we had to use another pitcher. So Troncoso, who should have had the night off, had to warm up and get in the game to get a single out. With a 13 run lead.


4. Now, despite the fact that the Dodgers saw the beaning as a retaliation, the Brewers won't feel that way. So, what could have ended will now continue on into today's game and in all likelihood, another Dodger will get hit in today's game. And then what? The benches will clear, players will grunt in each other's faces, nothing will happen, and we'll go back to the game all feeling a little better about ourselves? Come on.
   

Now, that's not to say the Dodgers were all at fault. The beaning was pointless and ridiculous, but the reaction from the Brewers was almost as bad.

Prince Fielder went to the Dodger clubhouse. For what? You are going to pick a fight against a guy while 24 of his teammates stand around and watch? What the hell are you thinking?

And Milwaukee Manager Ken Macha? He had this nugget: "So, to me, giving a guy a $500 fine and a two-day suspension is not enough. This type of stuff should be cleaned up."

Oh, shut up. If there's one thing I can't stand is an old school guy like Macha complaining about an old school ideology. He acts like he's taking the high road. His team fired the first shot across the bow! And you want to tell me, Ken, that if two of your guys got hit, you wouldn't order a retaliation? Just shut up.

To sum it all up:

If the Dodgers wanted to retaliate, they should have done it sooner, the next inning after Manny got hit. Waiting for the very last out of the game is idiotic.

And Brewers? Shut up. Don't give us this whole "Why would they do this to us?" routine. No one is buying your righteous indignation so get over it.

Basically, what I'm saying is, everybody is wrong and stupid.

J's Dodger Tweets - July Edition

So, if you haven't been reading my Dodger Tweets, I thought I'd forcibly make you read them. I mean, I guess not forcibly, you could just ignore this article. It's your choice.

But please don't.

Anyway, I've gone through and cherry-picked what I think are some good Tweets from July. Have at them:

• Anytime Eric Collins feels like saying something like "If you're 3 degrees from Mike Burns, is it 3rd degree burns?" he should just shut up.


• Is it just me or are Todd Coffey and Seth McClung the same person?



• Anytime Eric Collins feels like comparing [Corey] Hart to 1980s singer Corey Hart and referencing "Sunglasses at Night" he should just shut up.


• I'm pretty sure if someone threw up and in and tried to hit [Nelson] Cruz, his chin hair would protect him.


• To me, [Ryan] Franklin's facial hair is the worst choice in facial hair in the last decade.



• ...and that does include Bobby Jenks goatee.



• Sneaky & lame Fringe promotion. If the bald guy from Fringe is there, it better be because giant worms are going to burst out of Brad Hawpe.



• If I were to tell you that about 100 games into the season, [Russell] Martin would have less than 30 RBIs, would your response be: "Is he on the DL?" (Currently 31 RBIs, 104 games into the season)
  


• Unintentional joke of the day - Steve Lyons on where to put his new book: "In the toilet." Ouch.


• Do you think if another player bumped into Renyel Pinto too hard from behind, he'd explode?


• Over/Under: Juan Pierre finishing the season batting .300.


• I thought Cardinals fans WERE THE GREATEST FANS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! Then why the booing and sarcastic signs?
• Random ESPN Panelist: Cardinals fans are the most knowledgeable in baseball. They're the best! Cue: Cardinals fans holding WoMannyWood sign.


• Sorry, I know we're getting blown out, but I can't help but love when a position player pitches. Did you see the screwball [Mark] Loretta threw?


• I am very afraid Dennys Reyes is about to pop.



• I never realized how many r's George Sherrill had in his name until we traded for him.


• Shocker: Bill Plaschke is angry because of today's announcement of [David] Ortiz and [Manny] Ramirez's past steroid use.
• Connect the name of any player that debuted pre-steroid breakdown a few years ago with steroids. Would any result really be shocking?


• With the way the Pirates are selling these days, I wonder if someday we could get Andy LaRoche and Delwyn Young back.


• You know, I'm kinda hoping the Dodgers do trade for Roy Halladay, just so I can count how many sports writers make a "Doc Hollywood" pun.

Thank you and goodnight.

Week Recap: 07/16/09 - 07/26/09

Hey everybody. Welcome back. I've been on a little extended break, and I figured doing a week recap on just the four game series against the Astros might not be entirely worth it. So I'm back for a Week (and a half) Recap.

Let's do it.

The Dodgers split their first four games out of the All-Star break, losing the first two to the Astros before coming back to win the next two games. They followed that up by beating down the Cincinnati Reds in a three game series. Finally, they finished off the homestand on a particularly weak note, losing two out of three games to the Florida Marlins.

The Dodgers went 6-4 over that span.

And now, we shall take a look back at the people who made a difference this last week, be it good or bad. It's Round 13 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE:

COLD:

• Juan Pierre - .105 (2-19), 3 Ks, 1 GiDP, 0-1 SBs - I understand how it can be difficult to play periodically, coming off the bench to pinch hit or spot start. A lot of players have problems with that. But this is really bad. Not that it's surprising. Pierre has been fading for a little while now. He's got a .243 average in July.

• James McDonald - 0-1 (3 games), 10.12 ERA (3 ER in 2.2 IP), .333 BAA - Come on, James. It seems to me that the Dodgers are trying to showcase you, and you're responding by getting beaten up. How can we convince other teams that getting a package of you and Blake DeWitt is almost as good as anything they'll find on the market when neither of you are performing?

• Jason Schmidt - 1-1 (2 games), 7.88 ERA (7 ER in 8.0 IP), .323 BAA, 1.045 OPS against - I don't know if we were expecting anything more from Schmidt, but this is what we got. Maybe we should just be happy we got one semi-productive start from Schmidt and call it a career. My favorite stat from his two starts? Take it away Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports: "That’s two outings spent on the bat barrels for Schmidt, who in those starts has thrown 142 pitches and gotten exactly seven swings and misses." I'm not sure who that's more embarrassing for, Schmidt, or the unlucky few who missed a Schmidt pitch.

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Manny Ramírez - .250 (7-28), 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBIs, 8 Ks - Manny's not getting a lot of hits, but when he does, he's coming up big, with, of course, the highlight of all this being the Manny Slammy, or whatever the hell people are calling it. Still, the semi-slow start out of the All-Star break is a little disappointing.

• Chad Billingsley - 1-1 (2 starts), 9.39 ERA (8 ER in 7.2 IP), 7 Ks - You might question why I would not label a guy with an above 9.00 ERA as "COLD" but I do this because that ERA doesn't tell the whole story. His first start out of the All-Star break was horrific. 1.2 IP, 9 hits, 6 ER. His second start was worlds better. 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Ks. And that's how it happens. A "COLD" start and a "HOT" start equals a "ROOM TEMPERATURE" week.

HOT:

• Jonathan Broxton - 1-0, 3 SVs (5 games), 0.00 ERA (5 IP), 8 Ks - I just want to give Broxton some quick acknoledgment for bouncing back from his handful of awful outings. He hasn't been as dominant as he was earlier this year, but he has shut the door, and that's what counts.

• Clayton Kershaw - 1-0 (2 games), 1.38 ERA (2 ER in 13.0 IP), 11 Ks - Kershaw continues to make people who've suggested trading him look like idiots. He is putting it together in front of our eyes. If he figures out how to consistantly limit his walks so his pitch count stays down, he could become one of the best pitchers in the league, and soon.

• Orlando Hudson - .412 (14-34), 2 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 2 RBIs, 1.017 OPS - I like to see Hudson turning it around. He was slumping pretty bad going into the All-Star break, but in the second half so far, he's been back on his game.

• Claudio Vargas - 0-0 (5 games), 1.29 ERA (1 ER in 7.0 IP) - I got to give Vargas some credit. I didn't think much about this signing in the offseason. But he's appeared in seven games so far this season, and he's only given up one run. Whether or not he can keep this up is a different story, but for now, I'll enjoy the fact that he's contributing.

• Guillermo Mota - 0-0 (4 games), 0.00 ERA (7.0 IP) - Another good week for Mota. Do I trust him yet? No. I don't think I will until the season is over. But giving up just one earned run since May 22nd is definitely a good start.

• Andre Ethier - .485 (16-33), 5 2Bs, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, 5 BBs, 1.371 OPS - It's good to see Ethier start hitting well again. Ethier really appears to be a streaky hitter. When he's down, he's really down. But when he turns it on, he's scary. And for his excellent hitting, he was awarded the National League Player-of-the-Week award for the second time this year.

Interesting week coming up. The trade deadline is coming up Friday. Meanwhile, the Dodgers take on the Cardinals in St. Louis for a four game set. The on to Atlanta for three games. That's a tough road trip. It would be a nice message to send to the rest of the league if we went over .500 this week.

First Half Recap - Hitters

Ok, let's do the hitters now.

And again, we'll use the good old system of COLD, HOT, or ROOM TEMPERATURE:

COLD:

• Rafael Furcal - .256, 4 HR, 21 RBIs, 36 BBs, 49 Ks, 5-9 SBs, .682 OPS - What happened to the guy who came out of the gates last year as a potential MVP candidate? He just hasn't been there this year. At least, on the bright side, he's been better since Manny's return. Take a look at our offense now, and imagine adding a Furcal in full swing. It could be scary.

• Russell Martin - .258, 2 HR, 27 RBIs, 48 BBs, 54 Ks, 8-12 SBs, .688 OPS - The really sad thing is that you look at our struggling lead-off hitter's numbers and realize they're almost the same numbers as another guy who most people thought would be a strong part of our offense this season. Neither one is really hitting. Both have more strikeouts than walks. Neither are stealing bases at a high enough percentage. Very few homeruns and RBIs, bad averages and OPS. These are ugly numbers.

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Manny Ramírez - .355, 9 HR, 29 RBIs, 31 BBs, 21 Ks, 1.156 OPS - This is a weird one. Yes, Manny was gone for 50 games. And yes, it probably hurt us. But for God's sake, he's out-hitting Martin! I can't label him "COLD." He was gone, sure, but whenever he is here, he's still an amazing hitter.

• Orlando Hudson - .283, 7 HR, 48 RBIs, 38 BBs, 64 Ks, 6 SBs, .779 OPS - Hudson's had two seasons. There was All-Star Hudson, who in April and May hit .332, had a .877 OPS, and hit for the cycle. Then there's flailing Hudson, who after the beginning of June has hit .205, with a .618 OPS. On the bright side, he has hit more homeruns in the second part, so... that's something.

• Andre Ethier - .250, 18 HR, 56 RBIs, 39 BBs, 69 Ks, .813 OPS - It's so weird how I love some parts of Either's stats, and hate other parts. I love the 18 HRs and 56 RBIs. I hate the .250 average, and the 69 strikeouts. Ethier isn't looking like Andre Ethier, so much as he's looking like Adam Dunn. And it's a little odd.

HOT:

• Juan Pierre - .328, 19 BBs, 19 Ks, 23-31 SBs, .804 OPS - Pierre's two seasons have been well documented. I won't rehash them. The point remains, Pierre took over well during Manny's absence. And look at the OPS. It's not great compared to other people, but it's 83 points higher than his career average, so... that's something.

• Casey Blake - .285, 12 HRs, 55 RBIs, 36 BBs, 62 Ks, .850 OPS - Blake even added two stolen bases this first half, in one game! Which reminds me... He could steal 100 bases in a season, but chooses not to, because he doesn't like to dirty his beard. Casey Blake is... the Most Interesting 3rd Baseman in the World.

• James Loney - .281, 7 HRs, 54 RBIs, 37 BBs, 36 Ks, 6-7 SBs, .752 OPS - The OPS is ugly, but I like the RBI numbers and I like the BB to K ratio. I even like the stolen bases. Not bad. And call it a hunch, but I'm feeling a good second half coming for Loney.

• Matt Kemp - .320, 11 HR, 50 RBIs, 34 BBs, 78 Ks, 19-23 SBs, .879 OPS - I don't care that you didn't get named to the team, you're my All-Star, Kemp. Those are some excellent numbers. The one black mark being the 78 strikeouts. However, he makes up for it in my book with another nice stat: 10 outfield assists so far this season. Nice. Kemp is slowly blossoming into the guy we all thought he could be. A true 5-tool player.

Okey dokey folks. There's your first half. Now, to enjoy the All-Star game.

By the way, in case you haven't noticed it yet, I've started a Twitter account. I'm going to try and live-blog during Dodger games and other baseball events. If you have a Twitter account, follow me. Please. Don't make me beg.

Week Recap: 06/29/09 - 07/05/09

Hey people, welcome back. Let's talk about the week.

Compared to last week, this one was a considerably better.

The Dodgers started the week by splitting the first two games against Colorado, before shutting them out in the third game to take the series.

They followed this with the return of the Dreadlocked one on Friday, a game in which they beat the Padres. The bullpen blew a lead Saturday to allow the Padres to even up the series. Sunday could have ended worse than Saturday, with the bullpen blowing an even bigger lead, but the Dodgers pulled it out in extra innings to secure the game and the series.

They went 4-2 on the week.

Ok, that's settled, let's get to the meat. Round 12 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE:

COLD:

• Orlando Hudson - .000 (0-16), 6 Ks - Now, admittedly, Hudson's had a pretty weak month as it is, but this week was of Russell Martin-esque proportions. Hudson isn't making solid contact, if he's even making contact at all. Interestingly enough, he was named to the All-Star team just in time for Joe Torre to bench him for several games. If I could offer some advice to Hudson, look for that silver lining.

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Russell Martin - .263 (5-19), 2 BBs, 2 RBIs, 5 Ks - Week 2 of the Martin Leg Lift Watch. He was actually benched earlier in the week, a la Hudson, in an attempt to, I don't know, wake his bat up? It almost worked. He went 4-8 in his first two games back, before going 0-6 in Sunday's game. Yew.

• Rafael Furcal - .364 (9-26), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB, 4 R - How do I label a guy who batted .364 "ROOM TEMPERATURE"? Watch me. Well, honestly, I do this because Furcal has had two weeks in one. The first three games of the week? Furcal went 1-10. The last three games of the week Furcal hit .500 (8-16). Which Furcal will show up next week? Who the hell knows?

• Jonathan Broxton - 0-0, 2-3 save opportunities (4 games), 6.75 ERA (3 ER in 4.0 IP), 8 Ks - Guess who else had an up-and-down week? No, not Brad Ausmus. Broxton started the week going three scoreless innings, striking out seven out of nine batters, collecting two saves. Then Sunday? Broxton. What was that? One inning pitched, three walks, two hits, three earned runs, and one very blown save. It's weird, it's like he and Hudson both had negative reactions to being named to the All-Star team.

HOT:

• Chad Billingsley - 0-1 (2 starts), 3.45 ERA (6 ER in 15.2 IP), 16 Ks / .333 (2-6), 1 2B, 1 HR - You know who didn't have a negative reaction to being named to the All-Star team? Stop guessing Brad Ausmus, he's not in this week's article. Billingsley had two nice, quality starts this week, but really became a victim of his circumstance. He went 7.2 innings against Colorado in his first start of the week, allowing only three runs over that span. Unfortunately for Chad, his counterpart Jason Marquis was dominating the Dodgers that game, and Chad ended up taking the loss. Then, in Billingsley's second start, he held the Padres to one run for eight innings, before allowing a homerun to start the 9th. He followed that up by allowing a double before getting pulled. Who was he pulled for? Ausmus? No. Broxton, who proceeded to allow not only Billingsley's runner to score, but three more runners after that, to effectively cancel out almost everything Billingsley did that game. Everything, that is, except for Billingsley's first career homerun, which gave the Dodgers an extra run that was, ultimately, pretty important.

• Brent Leach - 0-0 (5 games), 0.00 ERA (0 ER in 2.1 IP), 1 HLD, 1 K - Talk about being a workhorse. Oh, you weren't talking about being a workhorse? Well, start talking about it so I can interject with this point: Brent Leach appeared in five of the Dodgers' six games this week. And he did well. And he's been doing well. And I'd like to acknowledge that. After struggling when first being called up, Leach has settled into his role, and since the beginning of June, has posted a 1.80 ERA. He's the left handed reliever we were actually looking for.

• Jeff Weaver - 1-0 (2 games), 0.00 ERA (0 ER in 4.0 IP), 5 Ks - A nice week for Weaver. He had a Rocky inning against Colorado (see what I did there? Yeah, I'm ashamed of it, too) but battled out a jam by striking out the side. He then went three scoreless innings on Sunday to hold the Padres at bay while the Dodgers took a 13th inning lead. This was especially important, because it would have been a bad game to lose. It was the difference between winning or losing a series to the lowly Padres. The difference between finishing the week over .500, or just at .500. It was big, and Weaver came up big for us.

• James Loney - .304 (7-23), 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 3 BB, 1 SB - You know who else came up big for us Sunday? Aus... never mind. Loney did. A big 13th inning homerun to put the Dodgers up for good. Loney also collected a hit in every game this week, so there's also that.

• Randy Wolf - 0-0 (2 starts), 2.25 ERA (3 ER in 12.0 IP), 12 Ks - Wolf bounced back from an ugly week to put up two quality starts this week. Not much else to say other than good work.

• Juan Pierre - .381 (8-21), 1 BB, 1 RBI, 5-7 SBs - This is not just for Juan Pierre's week. It's for the last 50 games. Listen, Juan, I really appreciate you filling in admirably during the suspension. I'll ignore the fact that after your nice May, you batted .264 during June (.319 OBP). You were put in a bad position. This is the second year you thought you'd be a starter and the Dodgers have brought someone in to replace you. And for the most part, you've handled it in a classy way. Yeah, there was some trade demanding and a little complaining, but you never stopped showing up to play. And yes, your reward is a trip back to the bench with the occasional start. It's tough, I can imagine. So this is just to say: Thanks. Thanks for doing what you do. And who knows, maybe we'll find you a nice home somewhere else, where you can start and be free to run where you please. But for now, please quietly return to the bench and readjust to your role. I know you will, that's what you do.

Ok then folks. That's it. One last road trip this week before the All-Star break. Here's to finishing the first half strong.

Week Recap: 06/08/09 - 06/14/09

Ok, folks. I'm back.

I won't lie to you, I've been a little distracted.

First and foremost, the Dodgers are my #1 love. I'm a baseball fan and a Dodgers fan. They are my team.

However, the Lakers are a pretty close second. And in case you weren't paying attention at all recently, the Lakers won their 15th NBA Championship yesterday. And I've been pretty invested in their journey.

Hence my distraction.

But now that's all over. The Lakers played, the Lakers won, the playoffs are over. The Lakers are World Champions. Hoo-rah.

...and now I can focus on baseball again. Not to say I haven't been paying attention this last week. In fact, I'm ready for another week recap. So let's talk about this.

Dodgers started the week with a two game series against the Padres that went, well, less than ideal. A split with the Padres? Come on...

We did follow that up, though, by beating the AL West First Place Texas Rangers, two out of three games in Texas. Nice.

Dodgers went 3-2 on the week.

HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE. Round 9. Start!

COLD:

• Russell Martin - .167 (3-18), 3 BBs, 2 Ks - Russell! Russell! What is going on?! Russell was already struggling coming into the month of June. How's he doing in June? He has four hits. That's it. Four hits in the whole month of June. That's good for a .111 average. I have to believe something is wrong with him health-wise. I have no other explanation for what he's doing (or not doing) this year.

• Mark Loretta - .125 (1-8), 1 BB, 1 run - After starting the year doing so well off the bench for us, Loretta has really seen his numbers drop. In fact, remember how bad Martin has been in June? Loretta has been worse. He's 1-22 in June (.045).

• Clayton Kershaw - 0-1 (1 start), 10.13 ERA (3 ER in 2.2 IP), 4 BBs, 5 hits, 81 pitches - If I could use one word to describe Kershaw's start this week, I think I'd use ineffective. He couldn't find the strikezone, and when he did, he gave up hits. He threw 81 pitches and couldn't make it out of the 3rd inning! I mean, wow, Kershaw. Where was almost no-hitter Kershaw from the Marlins start from three weeks ago?

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Juan Pierre - .200 (4-20), 2 BBs, 3 SBs, 4 runs - My second week in a row of just one Room Temperature guy, and this week, Pierre fits the bill. Now, granted, Juan is still fourth in average for the National League (.343, good!), but he's actually been fairly pedestrian in June (.260, meh!) and this week has been his worst in a long time.

HOT:

• Chad Billingsley - 2-0 (2 starts), 3.55 ERA (5 ER in 12.2 IP), 8 Ks - Sure, this hasn't been Billingsley's greatest week, but his two wins this week placed him first, atop the National League in wins (tied with Matt Cain). Very nice.

• Casey Blake - .368 (7-19), 3 2Bs, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 3 runs - I think, instead of posting nice stuff about Blake when he does well, I'll just make a the Most Interesting Man in the World quip. When he swings his bat, he generates a lot of power with his legs, and even more with his beard. I hope Blake keeps it up so I can do this again.

• Ramon Troncoso - 0-0 (4 games), 3 Holds, 0.00 ERA (0 ER in 4.1 IP) - I don't know how he does it. He's given up almost as many hits as innings pitched (37 in 41.2 IP), and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is only 2:1, but he's still posting a 1.51 ERA on the season, and he hasn't given up a run since May 24th, and only two since May 8th. That's fantastic.

• Jonathan Broxton - 0-0 (3 games) 3 saves, 3.00 ERA (1 ER in 3.0 IP), 6 Ks, 1 baby - Broxton gave up one run this week, but it was a gimme-run. He had a three run lead and wasn't holding runners, so I'm not really counting it. With the three saves this week, he brought his total up to 16 on the season, tied for third in the National League. Also, he had a baby this week, so congrats on that. I haven't heard much about the baby, but just basing it on the fact that Broxton is his father, I'm guessing the baby was born weighing 40 pounds and throwing a 85 MPH heater.

• Rafael Furcal - .313 (5-16), 2 2Bs, 2 RBIs, 3 BBs, 3 Ks, 1 SB, 1 run - Ok, so this wasn't the greatest week ever. And it probably wasn't even the best week on the team. But for Rafael Furcal, it was a sign of life, and that's good enough for me. Furcal was bumped down to the 7th spot in the lineup earlier this week, and responded by stringing together a nice little hitting streak (it's up to 8 games). He's not striking out as much, he's drawing a few more walks, he's got a couple extra base hits, and he's even driven in a few runs. I got to give him props. I just hope that this is the beginning of getting better for Furcal, and not just a blip of "HOT" on an otherwise "COLD" season.

Ok, so we got more interleague, nice. I still enjoy this stuff. Some people say it has run it's course but I (and attendance at the games) disagree. And as much as I despise the DH, it's still fun to get to use one every now and then.

A's and Angels this week. See you then.

Week Recap: 05/18/09 - 05/31/09

...and we're back. Took a week off there, but I'm back now and ready to jump into a good old recap.

To start, we swept the Mets in a three game series in Dodger Stadium, and followed that excellent series by losing two out of three to the Angels.

The Dodgers then went into Colorado and swept a three game set there before going into Chicago, where they split a four game weekend series.

The Dodgers went 10-4 over the two weeks.

And with that, let's do Round 7 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE:

COLD:

• Jeff Weaver - 0-0 (3 games, 2 starts), 6.23 ERA (6 earned runs in 8.2 innings) - How did Jeff Weaver respond to losing his spot in the rotation? Badly. 1.1 innings, 2 earned runs. 2.1 innings, 3 earned runs. The ERA is rising. Not good.

• Andre Ethier - .189 (7-37), 3 2Bs, 1 RBI, 4 BBs, 6 Ks - The slump continues. One RBI in two weeks isn't good. Here's the good news, Manny's suspension is almost half-way through.

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Russell Martin - .250 (12-48), 3 2Bs, 5 RBIs, 5 BBs, 7 Ks, 2 SBs - Martin was showing some signs of life for a little bit, but he's gone back average-ness. Oddly enough, he's still probably in the top 5 catchers in the National League.

• Rafael Furcal - .294 (10-34), 2 2Bs, 1 RBI, 3 runs, 5 BBs, 4 Ks - He's hitting a little better, but he's still hovering around .250 for the season. His OPS on the season is .613, not pretty.

HOT:

• Ronald Belisario - 0-0 (7 games), 1.04 ERA (1 earned run in 8.2 innings) - Belisario had a pretty good week, but what I like to do is give people credit when they've been consistently good all year. Belisario has been a workhorse in the pen, and a quality workhorse at that. Here's to hoping he keeps it up.

• James Loney - .333 (18-54), 4 2Bs, 11 RBIs, 7 runs, 2 SBs - Loney has really been knocking them in these last few weeks, without the use of the homerun. That means he's coming through a lot when given the opportunity. And that's good for us.

• Matt Kemp - .360 (18-50), 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 8 runs, 4 SBs - Kemp flashed a little power this last series with the Cubs. He's definitely got the potential to hit a ton of homerun, but his patience needs a little work. His over-agression at the plate does cost him a little (10 Ks in 50 at-bats).

• Juan Pierre - .316 (18-57), 10 runs, 2 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 8 RBIs, 3-4 SBs - Pierre is not playing out of this world like he has been (He's 1 for his last 13) but he's still contributing with a nice mix of RBIs and runs scored.

• Casey Blake - .389 (14-36), 5 2Bs, 1 HR, 10 RBIs, 6 runs, 5 walks - Blake has had some hamstring issues the last week or so, so he has missed a few games, but in the time he has played, he's made an impact.

• Randy Wolf - 1-0 (3 starts), 3.00 ERA (7 earned runs in 21.0 innings), 13 Ks - Wolf hasn't had his best stretch these last couple weeks, but this "HOT" is awarded in part for his week, but more for the year. When we got Wolf, I was just expecting him to be a nice number four starter, but he's really turned into a solid number two guy behind Billingsley. His 3-1 record doesn't nearly reflect how good he's really been.

Alrighty then, Dodgers are back home for a 9 game homestand. First game is tonight against the D-Backs.

I'm feeling good about this.

How Come The Only Team We Can't Sweep Is The Team I Want To Sweep The Most?

With the win today, the Dodgers completed a second sweep in their last three series. Of course, the non-sweep was actually a series loss against the Angels. But let's not discuss that.

Let's discuss what is really going on with the Dodgers.

The offense.

For an offense that was already considered good, they've outdone themselves these last few games.

Run outputs of 16, 7, and 8? I know they were playing in Coors Field, but this is ridiculous.

Just some quick numbers for this series:

Juan Pierre: .500 (8-16)
Orlando Hudson: .416 (5-12)
Casey Blake: .333 (4-12)
Matt Kemp: .385 (5-13)
James Loney: .429 (6-14)

and...

Juan Castro?: .462 (6-13)

I mean, come on. This isn't just ridiculous. This is redonkulous.

How come we couldn't do this against the Angels?

Week Recap: 05/11/09 - 05/17/09

Yeah, I didn't post for a week. Doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention.

Been updating my computer, working to get all my programs back and running, yadda yadda, so I didn't have time for posts.

But I'm here now, so let's do this.

This week, the Dodgers started and completed a 6 game East Coast road trip. And did pretty damn well.

They started out slow, losing the first game in Philadelphia to Chan Ho Park, of all people. They came back, however, to win the next two. They then went to Florida, where they split the first two games, but followed that up by winning the rubber game to take that series as well.

The Dodgers went 4-2 on the road trip. Oh, and by the way, they have the best record in baseball.

Round 6 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE? Already. Wow, time is flying by. Ok, here we go.

COLD:

• Rafael Furcal - .167 (4-24), 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 Runs, 2 Ks, 1 CS - As bad as Furcal has been this year, he's really hit a low this week. He's striking out, he's not drawing walks, and he got caught stealing. What happened to the Furcal of last year? He's got to turn it on at some point.

• Guillermo Mota - 21.60 ERA (4 ER in 1.2 innings, 1 game) - It seems like I'm picking on Mota. I mean, after all, he only had one bad outing this week (the 12-5 win at Florida, May 17th). But honestly, folks, this was just another bad outing in a series of bad outings. I mean, for God's sake. It's 12-1, 9th inning. All you have to do is get out of the inning so we can all go home. You get two outs. Alright, good start. 10 minutes later, you've somehow loaded the bases, given up a Grand Slam, and forced the manager to pull you. How can you mess up an inning so damn badly? Why is he still on this team?!

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Eric Milton - 4.50 ERA (2 ER in 4.0 innings), 2 hits, 4 walks, 3 Ks - So, Eric Milton made his first start in the majors since 2007, and how'd he do? Meh. He wasn't terrible, but he was by no stretch of the imagination, good. He was making way too many pitches, and for the kind of stuff he has, he was giving up way too many walks. He made 84 pitches (only 43 strikes) and was pulled before the 5th. But hey, at least he didn't give up a Grand Slam or something like that.

• Andre Ethier - .200 (4-20), 1 2B, 2 walks, 2 RBIs, 5 Ks, 1 SB - Ethier continues his luke-warmness. I feel like he's the Champ Kind to Manny's Ron Burgundy: "I need you. I'm a mess without you. I miss you so damn much. I miss being with you, I miss being near you. I miss your laugh. I miss your scent; I miss your musk. When this all gets sorted out, I think you and me should get an apartment together." Ok, maybe it's not that bad. But Ethier has been hurting, and whether that's Manny related or not, I'd like it to stop. You hear me, Ethier? Stop it.

HOT:

• Russell Martin - .333 (6-18), 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3 runs, 5 walks, 2 SBs - Nice Martin, a 2nd week of "HOT" in a row. All I can say is, keep it up. Oh, and maybe, let's notch a homerun or two.

• James Loney - .308 (8-26), 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, 1 walk, 4 runs - Well, it took long enough for Loney to get out of the homerless category. And once he did, he came back for more. Sure, they were both in Philly, but I won't hold that against him. A homer is a homer.

• Casey Blake - .368 (7-19), 2 2Bs, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 1 walk, 6 Ks - That's actually quite a few strike outs for just 19 at-bats, but still, extra base hits and RBIs are good stuff.

• Mark Loretta - .500 (4-8), 1 2B, 4 RBIs, 2 walks - I just wanted to give Mark Loretta some credit for what he's been doing this year. He's been a solid pinch hitter and spot start all year, and this week was really a good microcosm of that. I can't remember a year when we've had a bench of this quality, and he's a big part of that.

• Clayton Kershaw - 1-1 (2 games), 3.75 ERA (5 ER in 12.0 innings), 14 Ks, 8 walks - Yes, those stats look pretty pedestrian, but if you've watched Kershaw, you know he has pitched better than his stats indicate. He was pretty hitable in Philly (a 5-3 loss, May 12th), but was almost the opposite of that in Florida (a 12-5 win, May 17th). 7.0 innings of no-hit ball only to finally give up a hit in the 8th, collecting nine strikeouts along the way. He's been up and down this year, but this was definitely an up.

• Juan Pierre - .407 (11-27), 4 2Bs, 1 3B, 5 RBIs, 2 walks, 4-5 SBs, 7 runs - Juan Pierre is a man on fire! I mean, he's playing like a man who's trying to prove he can still be a starter somewhere and that when a certain outfielder returns in early July, another team should take a flier on him. Yeah, a little long winded, and kinda a cheap shot, but what are you gonna do? Pierre's been go, and I like it. So good, in fact, he's started a grassroots movement. Yep, Juan Pierre is in BeastMode, and that's a good thing for us.

Ok, hopefully I'll get in some more posts this week than last week. We'll see.

3 game series against the Mets in L.A. starts later today. See you then.

Week Recap: 05/04/09 - 05/10/09

So, a pretty uneventful week, huh?

Let's just jump into it.

The week started out pretty good. A two game sweep of the Diamondbacks, and a win in the first game of a two game series against Washington. With those three wins, the Dodgers went 13-0 in their first 13 home games to set a new Major League record.

Then Manny Ramírez got suspended for 50 games.

Then, maybe coincidentally (but not really), the Dodgers lost three of their next four games.

They went 4-3 during the week.

Ok, then, Round 5 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE coming up!

COLD:

• Manny Ramirez - Only three hits this week? Wow. I'm going to suggest Manny take the next 46 games off, and then come back refreshed and ready to hit. But seriously folks, I think we've discussed Manny enough this week.

• Cory Wade - 0-1 (3 games), 2 blown saves, 12.00 ERA (4 earned runs in 3 innings) - Wade has been one of the two major problems in the bullpen this week. His two blown saves this week bring him up to three in just nine appearances this season. He hasn't been nearly as effective this year as he was last year. So, what do you do with him? He's still young, and maybe he's just going through a slump. I say let him try to pitch out of it, but maybe don't use him in high pressure situations for a little. At least until he proves he's got his stuff together.

• Guillermo Mota - 0-1 (4 games), 8.44 ERA (5 earned runs in 5.1 innings) - ...and here's the other major problem this week. Mota has walked the tightrope in almost every appearance he's made this season. In 14 appearances, he's only had three 1-2-3 innings, and none of them have been in any sort of pressure situation. He capped this week off by giving up the lead in extra innings during the May 10th game (a 7-5 loss against San Francisco), twice! Simply put, Mota has not been good, and frankly, I'm not sure why he's even on the team. There has GOT to be someone better. I mean, he's a right handed short reliever for God's sake. If that isn't a replaceable spot on a major league team, then I don't know what is.

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• James Loney - .172 (5-29), 3 runs, 4 RBIs - I wasn't sure what to do with Loney this week. He does this to me a lot. He stops hitting, yet, in some weird way, he manages to knock in and score runs with his limited chances. Eh? What are you gonna do?

• Andre Ethier - .207 (6-29), 1 HR, 3 RBIs, 5 walks, 4 runs - Ethier started the week out pretty strong but faded in the last couple games. He's currently riding an 0-10 streak, though he does have a walk in his last 11 plate appearances, so I'll give him that.

HOT:

• Orlando Hudson - .308 (8-26), 4 2Bs, 7 walks, 5 runs, 4 RBIs - Have I mentioned how pleased I've been with the Hudson pickup? He just continues to perform.

• Russell Martin - .500 (9-18), 1 2B, 2 RBIs, 8 walks, 5 runs - Boy, wouldn't it be great if Martin started hitting? His bat has been slow all year, but this week, he's been excellent. Hitting, getting on base, scoring runs. That's the All-Star Martin we all know and love.

• Casey Blake - .391 (9-23), 2 2Bs, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, 4 walks, 8 runs - This week is really an odd week for players labeled "HOT". Other than Hudson, the four other players that I've dubbed "HOT" this week have been strangers to said category. This includes Casey Blake, who I called out last week as being perpetually "ROOM TEMPERATURE". Well, he responded this week. Now we have to see if he can keep it up.

• Juan Pierre - .474 (9-19), 3 2Bs, 4 RBIs, 2 walks, 4 runs, 2 SBs - Pierre has really stepped up in the absence of Manny. Yes, he's still done a few infuriating things this week (he was caught stealing twice this week) and he killed a few rallies, but I have to give credit where credit is due. He's been good this week.

• Eric Stults - 2-0 (2 games), 1.23 ERA (2 earned runs in 14.1 innings), 9 Ks, 1 complete game shutout - Who would've thought the Ace of the pitching staff this week would be Eric Stults? He had a good enough start to get him a win during our 13-0 home streak at the beginning of the week (a 7-2 win, May 4th against Arizona). Then an excellent start to halt a two game skid near the end of the week (an 8-0 win, May 9th against San Francisco). Good job Stults, keep it up and you might finally stay in the majors for a full season.

Alright folks, off-day today. Big East Coast road trip coming up Tuesday. Our bullpen really needs to come around, they've cost us two games this week. Other than that, the hitting hasn't suffered too badly without Manny.

Just in case though, 4 games down, 46 to go...