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.

Dodgers Acquire George Sherrill

The Dodgers acquired George Sherrill earlier today from the Baltimore Orioles for prospects Josh Bell and Steve Johnson. Let's look at the trade.

Things started off interestingly enough. Rather, infuriatingly enough. Original reports said the trade sent Bell and Scott Elbert to the Orioles for Sherrill, which would have been... terrible. Frankly, a trade of Scott Elbert straight up for Sherrill would have been terrible.

But then reports updated to state that the Orioles would be acquiring Bell and Johnson for Sherrill, which led me to breathe a sigh of relief.

Don't get me wrong. I liked Josh Bell. He was turning out to be a pretty solid prospect, but I don't know for sure if I was sold on him. I guess we'll see in a few years how that turns out.

I hadn't heard much on Johnson. He's had his ups and downs in recent years, but recently did put up some nice numbers in AA Chattanooga. I think he was fairly low on even the Dodgers Pitching Prospects chart and I'm not sure if he ever had a place in his future with the big club.

As for Sherrill, I do like the pickup, especially if Hong-Chih Kuo is back and healthy, which so far, so good (1.2 IP in 2 games, 1 K). Sherrill has been excellent against lefties. That means if a situation comes up in the 6th or 7th and Torre feels he needs to use a lefty to get out of it, he now has two excellent options out of the pen. And he still has another bullet in the chamber for later in the game, should the need arise. Plus, Sherrill has been a closer in Baltimore, and should be able to step into that role for Jonathan Broxton should Broxton need some rest.

I guess what I'm saying is that I really like Sherrill's versatility. I think there's a number of situations he can be used in, and he should provide quality relief in those various situations.

Overall, I'm a little sad to see Bell go, but I'm still happy with the trade.

I Had Forgotten What It's Like To Lose

I suppose it was bound to happen. We were bound to lose three games in a row this season. How could a team go a whole season without losing three games in a row? Every team has it's slumps.

But man, are we slumping.

One win in our last six games, with the one win coming on a fluke-y walk-off pop fly single. Which is odd because it seems when you're down, nothing seems to go your way.

So what happened? How did it get here? Let's take a look at our last three games:

• Monday, July 27th - Cardinals 6, Dodgers 1 - Despite collecting the same amount of hits as the Cardinals (11), the Dodgers manage to score five less runs. Collectively, the Dodgers left 20 runners on base. What was the other problem? The bullpen. 2.0 innings, 4 runs (though only 2 earned).

• Tuesday, July 28th - Cardinals 10, Dodgers 0 - This time, the Dodgers actually managed to out hit the Cardinals (9-8). Another 17 runners left on base. And the pitching. Oh, the pitching. Chad Billingsley - 6 earned runs. Bullpen - 4 earned runs. For the second night in a row, Brent Leach comes in and is unable to record a single out. When Mark Loretta is the only guy out of the bullpen to not surrender a run, things aren't looking good.

• Wednesday, July 29th - Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2 - For the third time in a row, the Dodgers get as many, or more hits than the Cardinals (13-11). And this time, they were able to break their own record. 24 runners left on base. And the bullpen? Two blown leads, and later in the 15th, a blown game.

So, the question again: What happened?

Our bullpen is melting down. That's a start.

And our timely hitting, which has been a vital part of our offense this season, has been virtually non-existent. 61 runners left on base in three games. 3 runs to show for it. The Cardinals had more timely hitting and scored more runs in the 6th inning of game two against Billingsley than the Dodgers have gotten the whole series.

Speaking of. As much as I love the guy, a big problem for us right now is Chad Billingsley. He's been pretty horrendous in July. A 7.52 ERA in five starts. 29 hits, 22 earned runs in 26.2 innings pitched. So... Should we ship him out of town? Will he melt down like this in the playoffs? NO!, and who knows? Look, Billingsley, like our team, is slumping. Like I said before, it happens. That doesn't mean that Billingsley won't turn it around at any point and be the pitcher we know he is. And as for the playoffs... there are never any guarantees. But with Billingsley, I like him. I trust him. And I'll take my chances.

Either way, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

For now though, the great thing about baseball is that we don't have to wait a week to try again. Today's a new day, a new game, another shot at ending our losing streak.

I had forgotten what it's like to lose like this, but now that I remember, I'm ready for it to end.

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.

First Half Recap - Pitchers

Alright folks, there's your first half. No week recap this week. Instead, we'll take a look back at the first half.

And what better way to do that than with a little HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE?

We'll start with pitchers:

COLD:

• Will Ohman - 1-0, 5 HLDs (21 games), 5.84 ERA (8 ER in 12.1 IP), 4 HRs - I was totally for the Ohman signing when it happened near the end of Spring Training. I thought he could be a helpful lefty out of the pen, I thought he could eat a few innings. I thought wrong. Ohman stunk. He gave almost a hit per inning, and more walks than strikeouts. And way too many homeruns per innings pitched. In any case, Ohman now sits on the DL and it's unknown when he'll be back. Though frankly, it's become a moot point anyway.

• Hiroki Kuroda - 3-5 (10 games, 9 starts), 4.67 ERA (28 ER in 54.0 IP) - Yeah, this was the guy that started Opening Day for us. Well, unfortunatly, that's all he started for us until June. And since that return in June, he's been sub-par. He did have two quality starts, peaking with a 8.2 IP, 2 ER, 9 K performance against the White Sox on June 23rd. But, since that point, his starts have gotten progressively shorter, and his ERA continues to rise. His stats aren't too bad (less hits than innings pitched, and a better than 3:1 K to BB ratio) but he's just giving up runs. Here's to hoping for a better second half for a guy who's supposed to be our 2nd or 3rd starter.

• Cory Wade - 2-3, 7 HLDs(27 games), 5.53 ERA (17 ER in 27.2 IP) - Talk about a fall from grace. Cory Wade was going to be our setup guy for our setup guy this year. Simply put, he hasn't been. He's in a bad position for a guy who throws the way he does. He relies on movement of pitches and placement of pitches. The pitches aren't finding the zone enough (less than 2:1 K to BB) and when they do, he's getting hit too often (28 hits in 27.2 IP). Luckily for the Dodgers, other pitchers have stepped up and filled Troncoso's role (more on that later).

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Guillermo Mota - 3-2 (38 games), 3.51 ERA (16 ER in 41.0 IP) - Mota has had two seasons in one. Before May 18th Season: 15 games, 9.00 ERA. After May 18th Season: 23 games, 0.35 ERA. Yeah. What In The World?! I've always been indifferent to Mota, and I still am. I won't deny how excellent he's been these last two months, but do I trust him? No. Do I want him in, in big pressure sitations? No. But if I can have it so the 12th guy out of the bullpen for the Dodgers has a mid-3.00 ERA then I'll be a happy man.

• Randy Wolf - 4-3 (19 starts), 3.45 ERA (44 ER in 114.2 IP) - Well, Wolf's been consistent to say the least. Over his 19 starts, he's averaging 6.0 IP a start, about 2.5 ER, and about 4.5 Ks. And really, if you take a look at his game log, most of his starts are around that area. Some are better, a few are worse, but really, most are about the same. It's ok, not great, though I suppose it's what you want out of your number four starter. And consistancy is nice in many ways.

HOT:

• Ronald Belisario - 1-3, 10 HLDs, (43 games), 2.42 ERA (13 ER in 48.1 IP) - Belisario has been solid as the 7th inning guy a good portion of this year. Unfortunately, he might have been used too much, too fast. He's on the DL now, indefinitely, and that could spell some trouble for us in the near future.

• Ramon Troncoso - 3-0, 5 SVs, 8 HLDs (41 games), 1.75 ERA (11 ER in 56.2 IP) - For a guy who was pretty much an afterthought last year, he's really established himself as an excellent setup man this year. And honestly, it's surprising how he does it. He gives up a lot of hits and a lot of walks. But he's been getting the well timed strikeout or double play, and as long as he keeps it up, he'll keep his ERA low.

• Clayton Kershaw - 7-5 (18 starts), 3.16 ERA (35 ER in 99.2 IP), 99 Ks - Kershaw actually leads the starting staff in ERA, and that's due to a recent streak where he has really been locked in. Since June 16th, Kershaw is 4-0 in 6 starts with a 0.76 ERA. Not bad for a 21 year old.

• Jonathan Broxton - 6-0, 20-22 SVs (38 games), 3.10 ERA (14 ER in 40.2 IP), 65 Ks - Broxton has been crazy good this year as the Dodger closer. 65 Ks in 40.2 IP? Crazy. Good. Unfortunately, he's hurting a little bit right now. His toe could be causing him problems, and now there is some talk it could be a year long problem. With Belisario out, and Broxton maybe not at 100%, the bullpen could be in a little trouble.

• Chad Billingsley - 9-4 (19 starts), 3.38 ERA (47 ER in 125.1 IP), 119 Ks - Billingsley has really taken over as ace of the staff. He's been a little up and down recently, but his body of work over the whole year has been fantastic. He's near the top in many of the major statistics in the National League, and for it, he was rewarded with a trip to the All-Star game.

Ok, there's the pitchers. Home Run Derby is tonight.

First Half Recap for Hitters is tomorrow. See you then.

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.