As the LA City Council climbs on board with the AEG/Philip Anshutz give away in order to build a football stadium in downtown LA, two things seem clear: 1) The reality of a Los Angels NFL team is now more likely than it has been since the 1994 exodus of the Rams and Raiders, and 2) The powers that be in LA are uncaring, black-hearted, opportunists, who would steal from their grandmothers and crawl under the covers with the devil to curry favor with their most vocal constituents.

I wrote a more politically-themed post concerning Anshultz on theHoundDawg blog back in April ("Where Politics and Sports Meet: A Tale of the Two SoCal Hockey Team Owners, How They Use Their Billions, and What it Gets Them"), but suffice it to say here that Anshultz, while partially motivated by the bottom line, is now and forever dedicated to advancing his ultra-right wing Christian conservative agenda, and in controlling so much of the Los Angeles entertainment scene, with his Kings, his Staples Center, his LA Live, his hotels, and now his football stadium and likely (at least in some part) his football team, he will be exerting his political and economic influence as he has around the US for two decades now, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fight against gay rights, to remove the study of evolution from schools, to require the teaching of creationism, and to elect his pet politicians, such as george w bush, to office.

We do not need him in LA, and we certainly we do not need our over-powering lust for a football team to obliterate all rationale thought and give him the keys to the candy store.

And just how ridiculous is it to approve a plan to tear down the Convention Center and rebuild it a block away, so he can build his stadium a block closer to his Staples Center and LA Live?

And what of that football team? How did Ram and Raider fans feel in 1994? For that, matter, how did Charger fans feel in 1960? I was a trermendous Charger fan in 1960, and was devastated when they moved two hours to the south. Well, what about the dedicated fans in Minnesota? Or the Jaguar fans in northern Florida? Or the St. Louis fans who saw a former owner, Bill Bidwell, rip the Cardinals from their guts and move them to Arizona; the same Cardinals that had earlier said adios to their legion of fans in Chicago? And yes, what of the loyal Charger fans in San Diego? Does anyone in Los Angels give a fuck about any of these other fans? Hell NO! Give us a TEAM! Who cares about anyone else!

Bull. We've waited since 1994. We can wait until the next expansion.

One more important point we need to keep in mind. In 1996, Peter O'Malley was ready, willing and able to build his own privately funded football stadium next to Dodger stadium, where an EXPANSION team would make its home. At that time, the LA City power structure, led in this effort by Mayor Dick Riordan and Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, had declared that no NFL team would EVER play ANYWHERE else but in the moribund 70-year-old LA Memorial Coliseum. They told O'Malley where he could stick his millions of available non-taxpayer dollars.

The effects of this have had a disastrous effect on the Los Angeles sports scene ever since. First, and least important, LA was never on an NFL expansion list because the NFL knew no professional team would ever consider playing in the Coliseum. So, while teams were awarded to the likes of Jacksonville, Carolina, and Houston, LA stood cut off and out in the cold. Second, was the effect this had on LA baseball.

O'Malley was so disgusted with LA politicians, that he decided to get out of LA sports, and made the decision to sell the Dodgers. The ultimate outcome was the McCourt ownership, but just remember how horrendous the six years of Fox ownership were. The Dodger never made the playoffs during the Fox years, but did so in four of McCourts' first six years.

Had the Mayor and LA city council embraced O'Malley's plan, today LA would be in its second decade of having its own football team, not one stolen from another city, and we would have never know the vile Fox ownership nor the corrupt McCourt years.

And Peter O'Malley would be the owner and would be running the show, for both teams.

And we wouldn't be handing the keys to the city to Anshultz.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Crime |Dodgers |Humanity |AEG

Willie, Mickey, and the Duke

theHoundDawg

Tags: Deaths |Dodgers

In the past few years, two watershed events occurred in Los Angeles baseball, forever changing the course of two successful franchises, previously competing yearly for division titles, and league championships.

Headlines for a year and a half now have detailed the facts, fictions, and fantasies of the event forever changing in ways not yet fully known, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hamstringing expenditures, the McCourt divorce has been the high-profile roadblock to Dodger spending, and Dodger success. Less noteworthy, but more relevant to the objective of on-the-field success, was the earlier event that forever changed the fortunes of the Los Angeles Angels, the retirement of General Manager Bill Stoneman.

For a year, the McCourt divorce handcuffed GM Ned Colletti, and the results were oh-so evident on the field during the 2010 season. But, low and behold, this winter the purse strings have miraculously opened, and the Dodgers have dramatically improved their roster. The addition of Jon Garland and the re-signing of Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda and Vicente Padilla have transformed a questionable rotation into a solid, deep group of starters, and the signing of Matt Guerrier has added depth and solid set-up help to a bullpen that can dominate in the late innings. The signing of Juan Uribe to play second base gives the team the first solid, 3, 4, 5, 6 infield it has had in years. Re-acquiring Dioner Navarro solidifies a now deep and veteran catching corp, that should exceed the diminished play of the 2009-2010 Russell Martin (who I expect to have a big comeback in NY). The left field platoon of Jay Gibbons and Marcus Thames will provide a major improvement over last year.

The one deficit the Dodgers must try to overcome in their quest to return to NL West prominence, is, of course, the presence of Don Mattingly in the manager's seat. The hope here is that the start to the season will be so horrendous that Donny will swiftly be shown the exit, and that the guy who should have gotten the job, new 3B coach Tim Wallach, will then replace him. Should that occur, then the effect of the McCourt divorce will, at least for 2011, be minimal, and the Dodgers can enjoy a successful comeback from the disastrous 2010 season.

Now the Angels are another story.

The single most important even in Angel history was the hiring of Bill Stoneman as GM in 1999. His greatest move, of course, was the hiring of Mike Scioscia as manager, but for eight years, he made move after move, some under the radar, that built and maintained a solid contender, the 2002 World Champion, and a team that thereafter won the Western Division title on almost a yearly basis. Then following the 2007 season, he abruptly retired. The team and the system was so good, that his successor, Tony Reagins, could do little to harm Scioscia's Angels for the next couple of years, though any honest appraisal would reveal that the team was just not as deep and as solid and as special as the 2002-2007 teams.

In stark contrast to the low-key mastermind Stoneman, Reagins felt the need to make a splash, and his trademark became top-of-the-news trades and signings. Some early moves admittedly were not bad, most notably, the signing of Torri Hunter. Others, not so much, such as mortgaging the future with the rental of Mark Teixeira, knowing the impossibility of signing him for the following season. Following the 2009 season, the team was devastated by the free-agent losses of John Lackey, Vladimir Guerrero and Chone Figgins. As time went on, his moves became more and more desperate, such as trading for Scott Kazmir, and then trading for Dan Haren at the price of four young pitchers, including solid, proven starter Joe Saunders, over whom Haren is only a modest improvement, if an improvement at all. Major league rosters are laden with ex-Angel pitching prospects, never allowed to mature in Anaheim, but showing ability, talent, and bright futures elsewhere. That list includes Sean O'Sullivan, Darren O'Day, and Dustin Moseley, not to mention ex-Angel veterans Darren Oliver and Francisco Rodriguez.

And then came the 2010-2011 off-season. Full of promises to sign Adrian Beltre, Rafael Soriano, Carl Crawford, and maybe even Cliff Lee, Reagins was totally shut out. As time marched on towards spring training, he felt compelled to make a move, and a move he did make. Making probably the worst trade by a southern California team since the Dodgers gave away Mike Piazza, he traded Juan Rivera and Angel stalwart Mike Napoli for the over-priced, over-rated, and over-the-hill Vernon Wells. Wells' numbers last season were not too bad - 31 HRs and 88 RBIs, with a .273 average. However, that is one home run every 19 at-bats and an RBI every 6.7. Compare that to Napoli's home run every 17 at bats and RBI every 6.5 at bats. Compare all this further with the fact that before last season's "comeback", Wells had had three consecutive bad years, averaging only 17 home runs and 75 RBIs a year. Add in the fact that there are no assurances the Kendy Morales will be totally healthy at the start of the season and able to play first base every day. If he cannot, without Napoli, the Angels have NO back-up first baseman. Without Rivera, they do not even have a back-up designated hitter. And the Angels owe Wells $86 Million.

Despite one of the great managers in baseball, a starting staff with true quality at the top, and a tremendous defense, the Angels are headed for a bad season, with no light at the end of the tunnel.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |Mike Scioscia |Kendry Morales |Tony Reagins |Don Mattingly |Ned Colletti |Tim Wallach

In a season that began with such promise, but that as summer began to wain fell apart both on the field and in the front office, today’s revelations that Joe Torre would not be back as manager, and that his protege’, Don Mattingly, would be his successor, were dual kicks to the groin that exemplified the season of disappointment.

It seemed pretty obvious that Torre would not return, and as he “groomed” his bud Mattingly to be a manager-sans-experience, that horror did seem inevitable. The twofold result is first that the wounded, bleeding Dodger franchise in being placed in the hands of a neophyte who in two games as a manager (one in spring training, one in the regular season filling in for the ejected Torre) committed two blatant errors that ANYONE who had spent any time at all around major league baseball should know to avoid (messing up line-up and making errant extra trip to the mound), and second, the guy, with the REAL future as a major league manager, who had been gaining real managerial experience in the Dodger minor league system, former Dodger third baseman Tim Wallach, has been bypassed, and will likely be in another team’s dugout next season.

Does that scenario sound a bit familiar? Ten years ago, the Dodgers, for whatever stupid reason you can insert here, were reluctant to promote long-time player and future Manager of the Year Mike Scioscia, losing him to the Angels, where he quickly established himself as one of the game’s great managers, leading his team to a world championship in only his third year.

Tim Wallach will find similar success.

Don Mattingly? Doubtfull.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Joe Torre |Don Mattingly |Tim Wallach

Chaos is the word to describe the flurry of trades coming seemingly every few minutes as the trade deadline approaches.

As of now, division leaders in the AL West and East and in all three NL divisions seem to have solidified their positions, with at least one cellar organization making a significant improvement in its outlook for the future.

At first look, it seems like the floundering Dodgers have significantly improved with the acquisitions of Scot Podsednik, Ryan Theriot, and Ted Lilly. With the likelihood of Podsednik being a solid replacement for the missing Manny, not to mention getting on base and stealing bases from the leadoff position, of the veteran Theriot solidifying the infield as the new second baseman, and of lefty Lilly providing a solid, inning-eating presence in the starting rotation, one would think the Dodgers are poised to make a real run at the Padres. BUT, look at what the pitching-rich but light-hitting Padres have now done: They’ve added power and run production in both the infield and outfield with the additions of Ryan Ludwick and Miguel Tijeda, while, unlike other National League contenders, giving up no players from their major league squad.

In the East, The Phillies have likely improved with the acquisition of Roy Oswalt, but that is not etched in stone. J.A. Happ was a key part of their run to the World Series last year, and his disappearance this season has been a real mystery. As soon as the trade was announced, Happ high-tailed it to the Astros, and pitched 6 shoutout innings, lowering his 2010 major league ERA to 1.27. Given his non-use in Philadelphia, the trade is a plus for the Phillies, but at this stage in their careers, and given their respective ages, I’d rather have Happ than Oswalt. And meanwhile, the first-place Braves have solidified their position with the acquisitions of SS Alex Gonzalez, OF Rick Ankiel, and relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth.

In the Central, the Cardinals seemingly have been in the hunt for every available pitcher, and finally landed a good one in Jake Westbrook. If he stays healthy, he could be the difference in their fending off the Reds, who received their own rotation-boost by the return to action of Edinson Volquez after 1-1/2 years of inaction.

In the American League East, the yankee scumstripes landed not one, but two power-hitting outfielder/first basemen/dh-types, in Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns, to solidify their position in first., and Kerry Wood to add yet another are to their bullpen. But, Tampa is inching closer, and the Red Sox may soon have their load of injured players back. Nothing certain in that division, despite what the “experts” say.

In the Central, the White Sox took a giant step backward in trading for the over-rated, ineffective, and overpaid Edwin Jackson. Detroit was able to replace the injured Brandon Inge with Jhonny Peralta, but those other injuries to Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen have not been addressed. The Twins, on the other hand, made the biggest deal among teams in the division, by acquiring a needed closer in Matt Capps. I’m sticking with them to win the AL Central.

And then there is the AL West. I picked the Angels to win the division again, but then when Kendry Morales was lost for the season, I said the Angels were through, that they could not win the division without his bat. Showing real panic, Angels GM Tony Reagins has made some deals that make on shudder, giving up far too much for far too little, and “solidifying” positions that did not need solidifying, all the while ignoring the hole at first base. Trading young starter Sean O’Sullivan for infielder Alberto Callispo may have been an improvement overall, but giving up the talented O’Sullivan when your pitching prospects are few and far between, without a first baseman in the deal, was mistake number one.

The major mistake, however, was the deal with Arizona, for Dan Haren. Haren is a terrific starter, with many excellent years ahead of him. But what did they give up? JOE SAUNDERS AND group of young prospects. You cannot tell me that Joe Saunders, over last three seasons, has not been just as effective a starting pitcher as Haren, and he is one year younger. At best, the trade is a wash, and given the Angels’ other needs, was a huge mistake. Couple all of this with the losses of starters Scott Kazmir and Joel Pineiro, Reagins and the Angels have mortgaged the future to try to win a division title that is out of their reach.

The Rangers, acquiring Benji Molina, Cliff Lee, Jorge Cantu, and now Christian Guzman to replace the injured Ian Kinsler, have a hugh, insurmountable lead, and the Angel organization should have realized that before trading away Joe Saunders.

The other team that did real well in the flurry of trades was the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks. They helped themselves immensely by ridding themselves of Edwin Jackson, and his $4.6 Million contract (How in the world???), and they acquired two young pitchers in the process, and they obtained a front-line lefty starter and a parcel of young talent in the Dan Haren-for-Joe Saunders deal. An added bonus is the fact that Saunders earns about 1/3 of what Arizona was paying Haren. Note their 2008-2010 W-L records: Haren 37-27, Saunders 39-24.

On a final note, with David DeJesus out for the year, and with the trades of Scot Podsednik and Rick Ankiel, who is going to play the outfield in KC for the rest of the season?

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |scumstripes |Manny |Kendry Morales

Only a couple of days into the season’s second half, some of the returning walking wounded are making their presence felt.

In Chicago, the Phillies were in danger of losing two out of their first three to the pathetic Cubs, when a four run ninth inning gave them a 4-1 win, with the catalyst to the comeback win being a leadoff hit from Placido Polanco, in his first game back.

In Boston, Kevin Youkllis, fighting numerous injuries but staying in the lineup most of the time, doubled in the ninth to tie up their game against Texas, (stealing a win from Cliff Lee) then won the game with a sac fly in the 11th. The winning pitcher? Manny Delcarmen, returning form the DL and making his first appearance of the month.

The big news on the comeback front, however, came in Cincinnati, where Edinson Volquez made his first appearance in one and one-half seasons. In his return from Tommy John surgery, Volquez showed he was really healthy, throwing six innings, allowing only one run, and striking out nine. A healthy Volquez might be what the Reds needed to stay ahead of St. Louis, and make the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

But then, there is the Dodgers’ situation. No Manny, again, and now Russell Martin has joined the hurt list, and the Dodgers have started the second half 0-3 against St. Louis.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Manny

The Good: The National League, as predicted here, tonight snapped their 14-year, 13-concluded All-Star game losing streak, stunning the arrogant American Leaguers, 3-1, in the House that Autry build. The dead steinbrenner insipidness was kept to an acceptable minimum, and lo and behold, a member of the scumstripes was the losing pitcher.

the Bad: Dodger Hong-Chi Kuo's horrible throw halfway to the Honda Ponda cost the NL a run and gave the AL a 1-0 lead, and the Met's David Wright had a fifth-inning meltdown when he stole second and had his head up his ass as an errant throw from Joe Mauer went into right fied. Wright stood scratching his aforementioned ass instead of going to third, and when Dodger Andre Ethier singled to short right, Wright could then only go to third, instead of scoring, and the NL was denied the run when the next two batters made outs. Angel Torii Hunter went 0-2 and left three men on base.

the Ugly: Not since the dulcet tones of Carl Lewis and Roseanne wafted across stadiums and arenas has the National Anthem been so assaulted, diced, sliced, shredded, and crapped out, until this evening, when Fox, in their ever-vulgar self-promotion, put some 18-year-old talentless Fox TV performer center-stage before the sports world to fall miserably on her face.

That had to be the worse performance of the Star Spangled Banner ever performed by a supposed professional singer at a major sporting event.

But the game was, in the words of C. Montgomery Burns, Excellent!.

theHoundDawg

Tags: scumstripes |Dodgers |Angels

With the game only a couple of hours away, I need to say that the managers and their boss made the right choices in adding some really deserving players in the last group of replacements, in particular Dodgers Rafael Furcal and Hong-Chih Kuo, and Angel Jared Weaver.

And the streak will end tonight - NL to win, NL to win!

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels

How about an infield of Vic Martinez at first, Dustin Pedroia at second, Jed Lowrie as short, and Mike Lowell at third. You’ve got Jason Veritek behind the plate, and Jacoby Ellsbury and Jeremy Hermida in the outfield. Starting pitchers are Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz, and there are Manny Delcarmen and Junichi Tazawa in the bullpen. Not to shabby of a major league team.

Well, it’s not a team, it’s the current Boston Red Sox disabled list.

How about this list of players: Jake Peavy, Grady Sizemore, Kendry Morales, Josh Fields, Greg Zahn, Joe Nathan, Kelvim Escobar, Justin Duchscherer, Travis Buck, J.P. Howell, Dustin McGowan, and Joel Zumaya.

Pretty good nucleus for a team? Or two?

Those are some of the major league players who this year have suffered season-ending injuries, some as early as spring training, some as recent as Jake Peavy’s injury this past week.

The Philadelphia Phillies played a big chunk of the season without Jimmy Rollins, and J.A. Happ has pitched 10 innings. Placido Polanco, Carlos Ruiz, and Chase Utley are currently disabled and will be for some time.

Starting pitchers Brandon Webb, Edinson Volquez, Eric Bedard, Chien-Ming Wang, and Jordan Zimmerman have yet to throw a pitch on a major league field this season, and Carlos Beltran has yet to step foot on CitiField this year.

The Braves are still in first despite injuries to Nate McLouth and rookie sensation Jason Hayward; the Orioles are still last despite injuries to Brian Roberts, Mike Gonzales, Luke Scott, Jim Johnson and Kevin Millwood. Injuries in the past few days have thrown the AL Central askew, with the White Sox losing Peavy and the Tigers losing Zumaya, for the duration, as did earlier the Twins lose Nathan. Had the last place Indians not lost Sizemore, Asdrubal Cabrera, and now Shin-Soo Chu, they might have been in that race.

I’ll hold off mentioning Dodger starting pitchers, Manny, and the Angels and Morales and Maicer Izturis, and..... Do I really have to go on?

When has there been a season with this number of major injuries? None that I can remember in the more than 50 years that I’ve been a fan.

A final note: HE DID IT AGAIN TONIGHT! Mario Solis on tonight’s late news sports segment, talking about the possibility of Derek FIsher signing with Miami, “quoted” Kobe regarding Fisher being indispensible to the Lakers, thusly: “Fisher’s significance cannot be understated.”

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |Manny |Mario Solis |Sports Announcers |Lakers

Compare these two sets of stats:

PItcher One: W-L 9-4 IP 116.2 Ks 131 BB 48 ERA 3.16
Pitcher Two: W-L 9-4 IP 112.1 Ks 128 BB 50 ERA 2.96

Pitcher One is a National League All-Star. Pitcher Two will spend the All-Star break fishing back home in Texas.

Pitcher One is two-time NL Cy Young Winner Tim Lincecum. Pitcher two is LA Dodger Clayton Kershaw. Did the “name” Tim Lincecum or all that hardware enter into the selection? Explain that, Charlie Manuel. And while you’re at it, Omar Infante? And Michael Bourne?

Oh, and also compare these stats:

Center Fielder One: HR 15 RBI 59 SB 16 AVG. .267
Center Fielder Two: HR 16 RBI 49 SB 14 AVG .264

Not a whole lot of difference. Neither one screams out “All-Star”. But, while Center Fielder One is All-Star Chris Young, Center Fielder Two is much maligned Dodger Center Fielder Matt Kemp, who has been criticized all season for his underachieving and overall poor play.

Joe Girardi, you’re worse. You left off the AL’s best healthy pitcher, Angel Jared Weaver. (See my July 1, 2010 post.) Who is on the AL staff? Why Matt Thornton is. And Fausto Carmona. No Jared Weaver. And no Felix Hernandez.

You can’t please everyone; there are always worthy players left off, but there are some really bad selections this year - players that do not belong.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |Clayton Kershaw

The three games in SF to start this week provided a monumental step up for the Dodgers, on several fronts.

Since briefly pulling into a tie with the Padres a couple of weeks ago, the Dodgers have been floundering, including the almost total tank in interleague play. The bullpen had been in shambles, and the 48-pitch losing effort by Jonathan Broxton on Sunday seemed to foretell worse days approaching. The horrible play and subsequent benching of the team’s most talented player, Matt Kemp, seemed to be a microcosm of the entire team as far as overall play and attitude.

With all this, the Dodgers headed to SF and three games with the second-place Giants, likely without the option of Broxton in the bullpen, and the big question of the health of Chad Billingsley coming off the DL to start game one, followed by the recently inconsistent John Ely in game two, and then with Vicente Padilla making his thirdd start since returning, in game three.

Well, game one saw Billingsley pitch an excellent six innings, with fine relief following him, including a save from Hong-Chih Kuo. Tuesday saw Ely in fine form, plus a save from Ronald Belasario. But, the game also saw an injury to Manny, who is now likely day-to-day for a couple of weeks. But that injury meant a return to the lineup for Matt Kemp. He responded with two hits yesterday, but he followed that up today with three hits, including his 13th HR, 3RBI, and perhaps a re-awakening. Padilla was also in top form, giving up three hits and a run in seven. The bullpen, no thanks to George Sherrill, managed to hold on to most of an 8-1 lead.

This series could be a turning point in a so far erratic season. Healthy returns by Rafael Furcal, Billingsley and Padilla have been key, but Matt Kemp has to be the offensive leader the rest of the way.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Manny |Jonathan Broxton

Throughout his tenure with the scumstripes, Joe Torre was perhaps criticized more for his handling of his pitching staff, and in particular his bullpen, than for any other aspect of his game. As the Dodgers looked like they were assured of taking two-out-of-three from those same scumstripes this weekend, it was Torre’s handling of the pen that again did him, and the Dodgers, in.

Totally wasting a fine effort from Clayton Kershaw, not to mention 5-0 and 6-2 leads, Torre chose to leave usually stellar closer Jonathan Broxton in throughout a disastrous ninth inning, throwing 48 pitches, and allowing four runs. Even a casual observer knew Broxton did not have it tonight, when he entered the game throwing 92 and 93 MPH fastballs, rather than his usual 96-98 “warm-up” throws. I don’t think he ever exceeded the occasional 97, let alone his usual upper-level range of 99-100. I guess Joe just didn’t see it, or was hoping Broxton would suddenly “click”, but the only “clicking” that was heard was the sound of scumstripe cleats hitting the plate, as they scored the four tying runs in the ninth.

Besides blowing a key game the Dodgers seemingly had locked up, Broxton now should not be anywhere near the mound for perhaps the first two games of the important series against the second-place Giants. The good news is that Chad Billingsley is back from the DL and rehab to start tomorrow.

The Angels start a series with Texas, that getting close to the midway point and the All-Star break, is key to their team morale, not to mention the numbers game, as they continue to trail the Rangers by 4-1/2. Eric Aybar returning much sooner than anticipated was a big boost, as was the return of Jeff Mathis from his group of injuries. The Angels should now settle down with a more steady lineup of Mathis behind the plate and Mike Napoli at 1B. And, that grand slam hit by Brandon Wood should give him some confidence, and just maybe it will be the start of some consistent offense form the perennial can’t miss untouchable prospect.

In a season that has seen my pick to win it all, the Red Sox, go into the season with health issues involving key players, that saw them lose new CF Mike Cameron for an extended period, that saw them lose LF Jacoby Ellsbury for basically the entire first half, if not more, and that saw an ineffective Josh Becket go on the DL with no real timetable for his return, it got much worse the past couple of days. Frist, Dustin Pedroia, who also had missed a few games with minor injuries, broke a bone in his left foot. Then Clay Buchholz hyper-extened a knee on the basepaths, where he should not have been and would not have been were it not for interleague play, and then to top it all off, today Vic Martinez broke his thumb.

The Angels have a steep mountain to climb without Kendry Morales, but the Red Sox have Mt. Everest to climb with their hospital list.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |scumstripes |Clayton Kershaw |Angels |Jonathan Broxton |Joe Torre |Kendry Morales

Well, theHoundDawg just got back last night from four days in the bay area. Thanks to satellite radio and Tommy’s fabulous Mexican restaurant in SF, I didn’t miss too much LA sports.

Thursday eve in SF, I was able to hear some of the Laker finale on SiriusXM, and then at dinner at Tommy’s I had an excellent view of the TV for the fourth quarter. A great margarita, a great meal, and a sensational final quarter to the NBA season. As it was the City, as the game ended, the Warrior, Celtic and anti-LA fans that populated the place broke into a sustained round of silence, with a few rationed applause sounds from me and a couple of other brave souls. MrsHound remained silent so as not to enrage the masses.

On Sunday, as the afternoon turned into evening, driving home on the aromatic five, the sounds of Dodger baseball helped pass the time, though losing that third in a row to Boston was painful.

Even more painful was the fact the SiriusXM broadcasts of both the Laker-Celtic game (and the post-game we listened to after leaving Tommy’s) and the Dodger-Red Sox game were feeds of the Boston broadcasts, with Boston’s homer announcers, including the basketball color guy, the never-to-be forgotten Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Lakers |2010 NBA Playoffs

The steroid era of major league baseball is officially over.

Rest in peace, hitters. Pitching is king.

With a bare third of the season having been completed, Tiger pitcher Armando Galarraga today came within a single out (and a clearly wrong umpire’s call) of pitching the third perfect game and fourth no-hitter of the season.

The much maligned Dodger pitching staff is currently on a streak of 31 consecutive scoreless innings, after completing consecutive 1-0 extra-inning 1-0 wins.

Four teams currently have team ERAs lower than last years major league low 3.41, which was posted by those same Dodger pitchers.

There will still be a lot of home runs hit, and a lot of long home runs, but overall the tide has turned, and the days of multiple 50+ home run totals in a single season are history; the days of a Brady Anderson breaking that 50 level are over. It’s doubtful that there will be a return to the pitching dominance of 1968 when a single American League hitter broke .300 (Carl Yastrzemski at .301) and the National League’s league ERA was 2.99, led by Bob Gibson’s 1.12, but when the Mets can throw three consecutive shutouts against the Phillies as they did last week, hitters are struggling and there is no quick, or legal, remedy in sight.

The great pitching being turned in by Clayton Kershaw, with little to show for it, is reminiscent of another great pitcher of the pitching-dominant 60s - former Dodger Claude Osteen. Last season Kershaw made 30 starts, compiled a 2.79 ERA, threw consistently well, had a solid offense behind him - solid by 2009 standards - yet won only eight games. This year he started out with similar results: good efforts, few wins. Overshadowed by Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, Osteen was one of the finest pitches of his era. Season after season he started 37, 38, 39, 40 games per season, pitched 250 to 300 innings, compiled stellar ERAs (3.30 lifetime ERA), yet struggled to end most seasons at .500. His lifetime won-lost record? 196 wins, 195 loses. Kershaw deserves a better fate.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Clayton Kershaw

AL 2010

East:
Boston - Unmatched pitching depth, great defense, and a veteran bench full of guys who can play make them best in the AL.
New York - Vasquez can't pitch when it means anything and Johnson should wear "DL" instead of 26. Lack of depth will be killer.
Tampa - Too much reliance on young pitchers and no proven closer keep them behind NY.
Baltimore - Major offensive additions help them overtake Toronto, but big pitching questions keep them far behind top three. Expect big rebound from Atkins.
Toronto - Step back from this time last year - no Halladay and still big questions with Marcum and McGowan. Lind and Hill can't keep them ahead of Baltimore.

Central:
Minnesota - Solid offense and deep pitching, if not for loss of Nathan, could be in WS.
Chicago - Good mix of vets and youth on the field, solid pitching, especially addition of Peavy, make them solid contender.
Cleveland - Lots of aging vets ready in case gaggle of youngsters can't cut it, but whether they contend or end last depends on pitching, starting with Westbrook and Carmona.
Detroit - Scherzer, Willis & Bonderman mean too many questions on starting staff, new CF Jackson yet to bat in majors, and can expect adventure with Damon in LF (he and DH Guillen will try switch before May 1).
Kansas City - Lots of lineup changes but doubtful that means team has improved, though great arms in pen plus development of young starters could pull them closer to middle of division.

West:
Los Angeles - Losses of Lackey and Figgins tough to fill. Make or break for Brandon Wood. Wasted $$ on Pineiro. Still, no one close in AL West.
Seattle - Big bucks won't buy title. Lee starts season injured, and still need healthy Bedard to contend. Like I said about Cubs last year, no team relying on Milton Bradley will ever win anything. Note - Figgins out of position at 2B; his best spots are 3B & CF.
Texas - Still big questions on pitching staff, but again solid offense, especially if Vlad happy and healthy at DH spot.
Oakland - "Experts" have A's overrated; way too many wusses like Chavez, Crisp, and Sheets to contend.

Division series - Minnesota over Los Angeles and Boston over Chicago
Championship Series - Boston over Minnesota


NL 2010

East:
Philadelphia - Polanco at third is plus, Halladay slight improvement over Lee but there for whole season. Nobody in NL can touch them.
Atlanta - Same hype this spring for Heyward as last year for Schafer, result likely the same, but will contend due to solid staff. Healthy Hudson ad Glaus could mean playoff spot.
New York - Bay big plus in OF, as is no Sheffield, but Beltran and Reyes injuries and no pitching depth help to doom season from the start.
Florida - Looks like step back from surprising 2009; Maybin, Sanchez, 3-5 starters, pen all need big years to approach 87 wins again.
Washington - Solid infield and top of rotation needs lots of help from young starters and pen. Ok start and arrival of Strasburg in summer could make for interesting year.

Central:
St. Louis - Good bullpen and two great starters, but big questions after Carpenter and Wainwright (Lohse, Penny and Garcia 18-20 last year). A problem 90 HRs from Puljois and Holliday can help with.
Milwaukee - Disappointed last year due to immature staff, added vets should help this year; solid offense could get boost with encore from Edmonds.
Chicago - Still see as overrated though no Bradley a big plus. Will go as far as pitching takes them; big comeback from Zambrano is essential.
Houston - Too many questions to break .500 - Oswalt's health, is Manzella a major league SS, is Myers a major league starter, and more.
Cincinnati - Much is the same as what I said last year: Overrated pitching staff won't keep up with improved offense, plus too many questions in outfield.
Pittsburgh - Not nearly the talent they had two years ago, and that team was bad. Going in wrong direction.

West:
Los Angeles - What I said last year: Top-notch offense, defense, bullpen, and will go only as far as their starters will take them.
San Francisco - Solid front-line pitching and improved offense make Giants contenders again, but lack of depth will take toll in late summer.
Colorado - Let some keys guys go and starting season with Street and Francis questionable. No repeat of last year's surprise.
San Diego - Will battle Arizona for last, but stronger pitching staff will be difference.
Arizona - Haren only reliable starter: Jackson trade big mistake, Kennedy and Lopez are not major league pitchers, and Webb is question mark.

Division series - Los Angeles over St. Louis and Philadelphia over Milwaukee
Championship Series - Philadelphia over Los Angeles

Boston over Philadelphia in World Series (repeat of last season's pick - but this year it WILL happen.)

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |scumstripes

In January, I wrote:

"Orlando Hudson. Ron Belliard. Vicente Padilla. Brad Asmus. Juan Pierre. Jim Tome. Juan Castro. Mark Loretta. Jamie Hoffmann. Randy Wolf. Jon Garland. Doug Mientkiewicz. Tony Abreu.All gone from last year's roster.Not one addition to the pitching staff, and overall only reserve infielder Jamey Carroll has been added. .....Unless some major work is done pretty soon, the Dodger roster figues to be filled out with a host of minor leaguers and guys who have spent their careers on the Albuquerque-LA shuttle, like Eric Stults, AJ Ellis, Chin-lung Hu, Scott Elbert, and of course the talented but always injured Jason Repko."

In the following weeks, Ned Colletti re-signed Padilla, Asmus, and Belliard, added veteran position and bench players Garrett Anderson, Reed Johnson, and Nick Green, and brought in a handful of veteran pitchers to compete for the fifth rotation spot.

These LA-Alburquerque shuttle guys have been the resultant casualties, in particular Eric Stults and Jason Repko. After several brief chances to be part of the rotation, Stults' Dodger days are now over, as Stults is now the property of the Japan League's Hiroshima Carp. He showed flashes of major league talent, but never any consistency. Chances are he'll be back in the US and likely fighting for a major league job in a couple of years, but with some other team.

Repko unquestionably has major league talent, but injuries have riddled his career. This spring, an outfield log-jam, and likely lessening patience with his physical ailments, have now lead to his release. Hopefully even at this late date in the spring he will find a major league fit. If not, a new perspective in a new organization could still lead to major league at bats later in the season.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers

Word came last night that longtime Dodger Center Fielder Willie Davis, who Vin Scully usually referred to as "The Three Dawg", has died at the age of 69.

Davis, of whom former Dodger GM Buzzie Bavasi described as having Hall-of-Fame talent and a 10-cent head, was the Dodger center fielder for 14 seasons, and holds many team records. He was a great talent, possessing blinding speed, and though he had several excellent years late in his career, he never developed into the great player envisioned early in his career.

In fact, Davis will always be best remembered for his defensive lapses in the last game ever pitched by Sandy Koufax, Game Two of the 1966 World Series, which Sandy and the Dodgers lost to Baltimore, thanks in great part to Davis' World Series Record Three Errors in one inning.

Besides that, I will always remember Davis for the stats he compiled in the 1968 season. Playing 160 games in center field and coming to bat 643 times in the number three slot, and though recording 161 base hits, including ten triples, Davis managed to drive in the absolutely incredible number of 31 runs.

He was a personable guy, and his deep, resonant voice lead him to a part time career of guest-spots in a handful TV sitcoms. Later in life, he made the news a few times due to some erratic behavior, including threatening his parents with a Samurai sword and Ninja-type weapons.

He made games, and life, interesting. So-long, Three Dawg.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Deaths

Orlando Hudson. Ron Belliard. Vicente Padilla. Brad Asmus. Juan Pierre. Jim Tome. Juan Castro. Mark Loretta. Jamie Hoffmann. Randy Wolf. Jon Garland. Doug Mientkiewicz. Tony Abreu.

All gone from last year's roster.

Not one addition to the pitching staff, and overall only reserve infielder Jamey Carroll has been added.

Spring training is in five weeks, isn't it?

The McCort divorce was seen as a major roadblock to improvement over last year, but letting all of these players go with no replacements is somehing that was not foreseen. Granted, this week Chad Billingsley and Matt Kemp were signed to big raises, but if this were a year earlier, maybe both would have gotten longer-term contracts.

The Giants and Arizona will both be greatly improved over last season, and San Diego may also be even better than what they showed the last few weeks of the year. Colorado, as good as they were last season, has yet to put together two goods years in a row, and they have lost a couple of key guys, most importantly, Jason Marquis.

Nevertheless, the NL West overall will be substantially improved throughout, with one glowing exception as of now: the Dodgers.

Unless some major work is done pretty soon, the Dodger roster figues to be filled out with a host of minor leaguers and guys who have spent their careers on the Albuquerque-LA shuttle, like Eric Stults, AJ Ellis, Chin-lung Hu, Scott Elbert, and of course the talented but always injured Jason Repko.

Aren't there a few bucks in the coffer to bring back a Vicente Padilla, or even Orlando Hudson (though he probably would not consider it, with what the team did to him the end of last season), or how about a Jarrod Washburn or Erik Bedard? Wouldn't Eric Byrnes or Endy Chavez make a great fourth outfielder on this team, and how about a Jose Molina for the back-up catcher?

Come on Frank, let Ned do something!

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers

As last season ended, the future looked good for the Dodgers and Angels, despite the disappointment of the post-season. The past month, however, has been a disaster, on all fronts.

As the season came to a close, the news of the McCorts' breakup and its effect on the team was an unknown poisonous cloud, darkening every aspect of the Dodgers' ability to improve for next season. At this point, they've lost Randy Wolf, and are totally silent on the free agent acquisition front, and the trade rumor mill is also pretty silent, save for the one mention of Cub interest in Juan Pierre. The Dodgers have a serious need to add two quality starters, and it does not look like they will be opening the McCort vault to pay for a Lackey, Pineiro, or Marquis, and after the first few free agent starters, the pickings are very thin, and full of injury prone Nick Lowrys and Erik Bedards, too similar to the Jason Schmidts and Eric Miltons they paid so dearly for over the past three years. Time will only tell if the Dodgers will pay out anything to improve the staff, or will Billingsly, Kuroda, and Kershaw be followed by the likes of Charlie Haeger and Eric Stults?

The Angels have now lost Chone Figgins, and do not seem to be making any headway in re-siging John Lackey. Instead, the talk seems to be of further depleting the now-thin infield with a deal for Roy Halladay that would see Erick Aybar, Joe Saunders and Mike Napoli all going to Toronto. Despite the benefits of an absolute stellar number one starter in Halladay, this trade would be a loser for the Angels. They would need to make several additional moves in order to maintain their great defense and vastly improved offense if they go into next season without Figgins, Aybar and Napoli, and in giving up the guy who is probably now their number one starter (assuming Lackey is gone) to get a number one, this still leaves the starting staff woefully short in the numbers game. From what we saw of Anthony Ortega and Sean O'Sullivan last season, neither one of them can fill a regular sport in a major league rotation. Maybe a Mark DeRosa, or even an Adrian Beltre, can fill the void at third, with Maicer Izturis taking over as the regular at shortstop, but this overall picture is a major step back from last year's team.

All of this is with the backdrop of the scumstripes ripping off not one, but two teams, in one of the biggest steals of the 21st century. I can see Detroit's rationale in giving away developing superstar Curtis Granderson for the pile of pitching they received, but what are they doing in Arizona? How can they possibly rationalize giving up one of MLB's best arms and top young pitching talents in Max Scherzer, and only receiving the overrated career dud and one-year-flash Edwin Jackson, and yankee-wanna-be/never-will-be Ian kennedy? As far as this affects the Dodgers, I'm very glad o have Scherzer out of NL West, and am ooking forward to feasting off of Jackson and Kennedy.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |scumstripes |Clayton Kershaw |Jason Schmidt

In last year's Division Series, the Dodgers looked invincible against the Cubs, but then went down in flames in the Championship Series against the Phillies. Why will this year be different? There are many reasons, but one sticks out.

The first few all revolve around the Dodgers. The starting staff is similar to last year's, but it doesn't matter this year. A Randy Wolf, a Clayton Kershaw (not to minimize the development of Kershaw and the fact that he can dominate a game), a Vicente Padilla, who can provide five good innings is all they need, with the solid bullpen they now have. The return to health of Hong-Chih Kuo and the acquisition of George Sherrill combining with Ronald Belisario and the now more experienced Jonathan Broxton is a powerful component they did not enjoy last season. The additional year of experience that Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp have gained cannot be over-emphasized. These guys are now full-fledged major league stars, producing stellar defense, key hits, and those little intangibles, game after game. And take a look at second base. Last season, the soon-to-be-retired Jeff Kent was injured through the end of the season and missed the playoffs, replaced by the likes of the displaced Brad DeWitt, Angel Barroa, and Pable Ozuna. Today, the Dodgers' lineup features the all-star play of Orlando Hudson and the late-season heroics of veteran Ronnie Belliard. All of these reasons foretell a better outcome for the Dodgers in the Championship Series.

But what else?

Easy. This year they won't be facing the total dominance of Brad Lidge. Lidge was THE reason the Phillies knocked off the Dodgers and went on to the title. Whether it is the Phillies again or the Rockies, neither team has at this time, a closer who can compare to what Lidge used to be - neither Ryan Madson nor Lidge himself with the Phillies, nor Houston Street with Colorado.

I'll take the Dodgers' chances to make it to the World Series for the first time since 1988. And there is a real chance that there could be a Freeway Series, with the Dodgers facing the Angels.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels

Any sane person would have to pick the scumspripes and Cards to get to the World Series, but I think there will be more surprises along the Division and Championship Series route. No expert gives the floundering Dodgers a chance against the dominant St. Louis pitching, but that series will decide the NL title, as the Phillies cannot make it without a closer and the Rockies will not see a repeat of history. In the AL, right now the Angles have the dominant starting staff and a hot-and-cold closer to compliment their great offense and stellar defense. The charging Twins may or may not have enough pitching to continue their run, but that will be an interesting series. If only Justin Morneau could play, and where is Francisco Liriano?

I loved the over-rated Tigers' collapse, which came a few weeks later than I anticipated.

Randy Wolf, Clayton Kershaw and Hiroki Kuroda will have a lot to say about who moves on in the NL.

theHoundDawg

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Tags: Dodgers |Angels |scumstripes |2009 MLB Playoffs

Once again, Mario Solis has shown that he is the worst announcer currently reporting sports news in the western world.

This evening on the Channel 4 News, he told listeners, to their shock, that budding star Clayton Kershaw injured his shoulder during batting practice before today's game, and that he would miss his next start.

Frightening news. Terrible news. Could it be serious? Will he miss the rest of the season and the playoffs? Is his career in jeopardy?

All unanswered questions, but likely too early to have any answers.

But wait! Solis never said which shoulder was injured.

A quick turn to Yahoo! Sports, and it was immediately seen, with great relief, that he hurt his RIGHT shoulder, so all those thoughts of a career-threatening injury to his pitching shoulder were eased.

Solis, of course, probably doesn't even know that Kershaw is lefty.

theHoundDawg

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Tags: Dodgers |Sports Announcers |Clayton Kershaw |Mario Solis

The Philadelphia Phillies are World Champs because of Brad Lidge. Their chances of repeating are up to ....... Brad Lidge.

His phenomenal season, playoffs and World Series carried them to last year's title, but for all the Cliff Lees, Pedro Martinezes, and Ben Franciscos they acquire, they will go only so far as Lidge takes them, and with his major league leading eight blown saves, 7.27 ERA, and total unreliability, that does not look like it will be too far.

Similarly, the biggest single reason for the Dodgers' recent slump, has been the bullpen, and specifically, Jonathan Broxton, as last night deomonstrated. They had another good outing from the starter (which ended prepaturely with Hiroki Kuroda's injury), and some timely hitting, but another disasterous outing from Broxton lost the lead and the game.

As I have said before, whether it's his sore toe (most likely), fatigue, or the league just catching up with him, Broxton needs some time away from the closer's role. The Dodgers now do have another option, with an experienced, suffessful closer on the roster, thanks to the asquisition of George Sherrill, and if Broxton is hurting, put him on the DL and let Sherrill close until Broxton is well. If Broxton is not hurt, then just the mental aspect of less pressure for a couple of weeks, setting up instead of closing, may do the trick.

It's no coincidence that the scumstripes recent streak has coincided with the vast imporvement in their bullpenn, in particular remaking Phil Hughes from an awful starter into a valuable set-up man.

theHoundDawg

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Tags: Dodgers |scumstripes

This past March, I wrote a lengthy post on theHoundDawg Blog entitled "Snoop Dogg and Farrakhan", describing the rise of Snoop Dogg as a cultural icon despite his sociopathic history and his association with Louis Farrakhan.

Now, the Dodgers have chosen to use Dogg in the marketing of their new "Ticket Truck" campaign. Following is a comment I left on the Dodgers' official website, folowing the article announcing this campaign:

The Dodgers now have their own Michael Vick - a man who spent several years in prison, has had numerous drug and firearm related arrests, has been on trial as an accomplice to murder, has been sued for allowing (or ordering?) his "crew" to assault a fan, and who has been a driving force in making obscene, violent, and misogynistic lyrics a mainstay of popular music, and worse yet, who has admitted his membership in the Nation of Islam and of his fervent support for the most miserable, disgusting anti-Semite on the American scene, Louis Farrakhan, who, during a lifetime spewing lies and hatred, was quoted in the New York Times as calling Judaism a "gutter religion", and who in a 1984 speech broadcast on a Chicago radio station stated unequivocally that "Hitler was a very great man". Jamie McCourt, as Dodger CEO and as an active member in the Jewish community, you should be ashamed of yourself in associating the Dodgers with Snoop Dogg.

There is not much more that I can say about my disgust with this situation, other than how much I resent his soiling of the noble "Dogg" ["Dawg"] name.

theHoundDawg

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Tags: Dodgers |Crime |Humanity

A few teams really helped themselves in late July and early August deals, especially in each leagues' Central division.

The White Sox did the most to upgrade their shot at a division title, or wild card, getting Jake Peavy, healthy enough they hope for a September and playoff time boost. Now, they have added a bat in center field, in Alex Rios, and they look like they could be the AL central's best bet for a September-October playoff run. Detroit did booster their staff with the addition of Jarrod Washburn, but I never felt the Tigers had enough to win their division, and I don't see Washburn alone making the difference, especially because my pre-season pick for the wild-card, Minnesota, has helped themselves as much by adding Carl Pavano, and with the return of Nick Punto from the DL. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in the batting title and home rune races respectively, figure to keep the Twins' power going strong to the bitter end.

In the National Leagues' Central, my pre-season pick, Milwaukee, did little to help their stretch run, acquiring only Claudio Vargas, on a team with a disappointing starting staff. St. Louis, who I felt needed a bit more, including a healthy Chris Carpenter, to take the division, now feature not only an 11-3 Carpenter (with a 2.26 ERA), but Matt Holliday in the outfield, and Julio Lugo at short. The Cardinals figure to ride their current roster to a division title. The Cubs are a sinking ship, and will finish fourth or fifth. Their best hope is that Lou won't blow a gasket and be able to return to make another run at it next season.

The Red Sox also need mentioning. The team that looked so solid in every facet only a few weeks ago, now seems to be floundering. The many deals Theo Epstein pulled of in a short time make little sense. Of course Victor Martinez is a great addition, but injuries to the staff make the trade of Justin Masterson seem like a mistake. The crown around first base is also hard to comprehend, especially since offensive leader Kevin Youkilis should be there every day. But where does that leave Martinez, let alone Casey Kotchman?

The return of Jason Bay - out of the lineup during much of the Sox' slump - and the combination of the Red Sox' overall talent, the managerial capabilities of Terry Francona, and the liklihood that the staff will get healthier, still, however, makes me think that the ship will be righted, and that it will be Boston on top of the East come October 4.

theHoundDawg

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Tags: Dodgers |Angels

The Sporting News pretty much stays out of the news these days, but they did raise some controversy this week when they released their poll of the 50 greatest coaches of all time. I absolutely agree with their choice of John Wooden as the greatest coach in any sport. As should be the case, the vote was not even close, with the Wizard receiving 57 first place votes, from the TSN panel of 118 "experts". Unfortunately, many of their last 49 choices miss the mark.

The list includes only six additional college basketball coaches and five NBA coaches, and none of them, incredibly, is Larry Brown. His omission is the most glaring misstep on the list. The list contains ten NFL coaches, and eighth among them, and number 20 overall, is Bill Belichick, who should be the second-ranked pro football coach, following the list's number two, Vince Lombardi. Also as to NFL coaches, the bottom two, Bill Walsh and Bill Parcells, at numbers 26 and 33 overall respectively, should be above the higher-ranked Paul Brown, George Halas, Joe Gibbs, and Tom Landry.

Their ranking of college football coaches is not too badly composed, but I would elevate Bud Wilkinson, number 29 overall, from the seventh spot among college football coaches, to the third spot, behind only Bear Bryant and Knute Rockne, and I'd make Rockne number one, not Bryant.

As to the five NHL coaches that made the list, perhaps Scotty Bowman deserves to be higher overall than number seven, and there are dozens of coaches from other sports who deserve the last spot, over Herb Brooks. He's listed as an NHL coach, and that does not merit him a spot on the list. Call him an Olympic Hockey coach, and there is at least a sentimental and patriotic basis for his selection.

The list includes ten MLB managers, with the over-hyped, over-indluged, and over-rated Casey Stengel on top, at number nine overall. Give him Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, and the like, and he can win pennants. He managed three other teams, before and after the scumstripes, and to call his performances mediocre would be overly generous. He still owns, at least until the Washington National's current season comes to a close, the worst single-season record in major league history, with the 1962 Mets. For my money, in following MLB as close as I have for more than 50 years, and in reading and studying much of early baseball history, the four best managers I have seen, are Walter Alston, Tony La Russa, Sparky Anderson, and Joe Torre. Their listings at numbers 35, 41, 38, and 32, respectively, are absurd. The four should all be in the list's top 20 overall.

Finally, how could the panel waste valuable, limited positions on the list with the inclusion of not one, but two, woman's basketball coaches?

theHoundDawg

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Tags: UCLA |Dodgers |sc brain surgeons |scumstripes

Well, after a very shaky first inning, Jason Schmidt gave a decent impression of a major league pitcher for another four innings last night, and tonight Randy Wolf got the run support missing from his starts most of the season, and suddenly the Dodgers have a four game winning streak and have their best overall record in 19 seasons.

The one downside of the Dodgers' great overall performance tonight was the hand injury Manny suffered when hit by a Homer Bailey pitch, but as they say, x-rays were negative and he's day-to-day.

In three games today and tonight, Los Angeles averaged 10 runs per game, with the Dodgers scoring 12 against the Reds, and the Angels taking two from KC, 8-5 and 10-2. The Angels are 5-1 since the break, and are weathering the losses of Vlad and Torri Hunter quite well, thanks in large part to the schedule maker, loading them up with KC, Oakland, and Cleveland while 2/3rds of the outfield is healing.

Injuries are affecting the current complexion of the AL East, with TIm Wakefield joining Dice-K Matsuzaka on the Boston DL, and the Red Sox falling into second, with a four game losing streak, despite the return of Jed Lowrie. The current success of the scumstripes not withstanding, I'm sticking with my pre-season picks that two playoff teams will come out of the AL East and neither will be from NY. With a healthier Scott Kazmir and a new ace in Jeff Niemann, Tampa will finish the season in second, behind Boston.

theHoundDawg

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Tags: Dodgers |Angels |Manny |scumstripes |Jason Schmidt

On December 6, 2006, Dodger starting pitching woes were forever resolved, with the signing of Jason Schmidt to a three-year contract, at the bargain basement price tag of $47 Million, a mere $15.5 to $16 mil per season.

What a deal! As of today, Schmidt has cost the Dodgers a mere $47 Million PER VICTORY.

That's right, fans, in case you forget. In two-and-one-half years, he has produced exactly ONE WIN for the Dodgers.

He makes his return to the Dodgers' rotation tonight, having not pitched in the majors in two years plus a month, and with a lifetime Dodger record of six appearances, a 1-4 won-lost record, and a 6.31 ERA.

Not to say that the Dodgers cannot use a new, live arm on the staff, especially in the rotation now that Eric Milton's comeback has been derailed by back surgery. But, realistically, what are the chances that Schmidt can even be competitive, let alone be good enough to improve upon Jeff Weaver or Eric Stults?

And, Weaver and Stults are not getting paid $7.83 Million per start.

theHoundDawg

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Tags: Dodgers |Jason Schmidt

The Dodgers started the season's second half by being embarrassed in back-to-back losses to Houston. Lack of timely hitting, Chad Billingsley's continued recent struggles, and an overall aura of complacency, all colored what appeared to be two lackluster performances.

Then, up stepped Clayton Kershaw. Last night, he continued, and even improved upon, his streak of impressive outings, this time becoming the guy to end a short, but potentially unsettling, losing streak. Kershaw is now 5-0 with a 0.63 ERA over his last seven starts, has lowered his season ERA to 2.95, and most important of all, stretched last night's outing to seven full innings.

Any more of those "experts" out there still want to see the Dodgers trade him?

theHoundDawg

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Tags: Dodgers |Clayton Kershaw

As the second half of the season is set to begin, pitching is, as always, the key to success down the stretch.

First, and in consideration of rumor number one, which may just be speculation and defective, stupid controversy created by certain second-line radio commentators, is the ridiculous theory that the Dodger would even consider trading Clayton Kershaw and/or Matt Kemp, in order to obtain Roy Halladay. Kershaw and Kemp are rare talents that come along infrequently. At the start of the year, I felt that Kemp would put it together this season, and become a star, and that is happening before our eyes. He deserved to be on the All-Star team. Kershaw has more ability than any pitcher to reach the majors in many years, but I did feel it would be at least until next season before he took his place as a number one starter, and Cy Young contender. Well, he has just about reached that level over the past six weeks, with only his penchant for making too many pitches and being able to only go an average of six innings per start keeping him from reaching that level. The fact is, though, that he has been scored on in only two of his last six starts, giving up a total of three runs in his last 36 or so innings, lowering his ERA from 4.50 to 3.16.

He is on the verge of becoming the ace the Dodgers have been seeking, and only more experience and more consistent control stand in his way.

Trade him or Kemp? Never, for any current player in the majors, save that Albert guy in St. Louis.

Second is that other rumor that indicated that Toronto would commit franchise suicide by trading Halladay to the Redsox or scumstripes. Trade the AL's reigning pitching star within your division, to one of the best teams in the league, whose only weaknesses relate to pitching? No way. If so, through, fire the GM and pack the trunk and move to Moose Jaw.

Toronto does not realize their situation. Their limited success this season is due to Halladay, their vastly improved offense, which is due to the maturation of several of their young players, and the development of several young pitchers, such as Ricky Romero. Add back injured young stud starters Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum, and the 2010 Blue Jays are a real contender. Don't screw that up and hand the division to one of those other teams.

The seemingly healthier Angels' staff now has to not only compensate for the loss of Vald and Torri Hunter, but for the continued struggles of Earvin Santana. He starts opening night of the second half, and has to show that he is regaining last year's form, or else he might need a Howie Kendrick Triple A vacation.

Overall, at the mid-point, four of my six division picks are in first place, and all of my picks except Cleveland are in the running for the playoffs. And, Torri Hunter is the AL's MVP at this point in the season.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |scumstripes |Clayton Kershaw

Wow. First, one of the most ridiculous publicity stunts in recent memory - press, celebs, Dodger executive, and lots of TV cameras, to announce that Dodger Stadium now has its own ZIP code; the only stadium in the country so honored.

Now, the team announces, with far less fanfare, something of actual interest and moderate importance - a three game series at the stadium, where fan parking is (yea, no joke) FREE! For the three interleague games against Oakland on June 15, 16, and 17, fans can park in general parking lots for free. Of course, there is no refund for fans with season parking, but, it's still an amazing gift from management to the fans, even if these figure to be three lowest-interest games on the schedule.

Thanks, Frank and Jamie. Now go look for some more bullpen help.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers

The Angels' early-season nightmare is over.

With Earvin Santana back in the rotation, John Lackey about to be back, with Joe Saunders and Jared Weaver pitching outstanding, consistent ball, and with the emergence of Matt Palmer, the Angels' decimated rotation is now back to AL dominance. With the anticipated return of Glad, the consistent play of Kendry Morales, and the tremendous defensive improvement of Chone Figgans at third base, and with a division full of early-season pretenders, the Angels should now be on their way to another year of regular-season dominance.

Whether or not they can, for the first time since 2002, carry that over to the post season and actually win something of importance, is another matter.

Yet another matter is the Dodgers. Despite winning two-of-three on the road from the Champion Phillies, the Dodger mess is still not pretty. Andre Ethier continues to struggle, Juan Pierre is coming back to earth, and the previously dominant Jonathan Broxton "vultched" his fourth victory of the season yesterday, after blowing his second save of the season.

With Jeff Weaver entrenched in the rotation (at least for now), Eric Mitlon's recall, Jason Schmidt's beginnng rehabilitation, the demotion of John McDonald, and Clayton Kershaw's struggles, the face of the Dodger staff is seemingly in the process of a dramatic change from reliance on strong, young, healthy arms, to being composed of tired, old, questionable, injury-prone retreads.

This could, in the long run, be more of a problem then the loss of Manny.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |Manny

In 2007, the season before last, the Arizona Diamondbacks had the NL's best record, and manager Bob Melvin was Manager of the Year. Now, with the team off to a 12-17 start, behind the stellar hitting of Chad Tracy (.221), Stephen Drew (.205), Chris Snyder (.204), Conor Jackson (.191), Chris Young .177), and Eric Byrnes (.139), and a team batting average of .222, plus the loss of ace starter Brandon Webb, on the DL with an era of 13.50, he no longer knows how to manage.

He brought the team back from oblivion in his first season as the Diamondbacks' manager, leading a 51-111 2004 team to 77 wins in 2005. His 2007 team won with mirrors, and Melvin's rare managerial talent, compiling a 90-72 record, despite being outscored for the season, by 20 runs.

GM Josh Byrnes and owners Ken Kendrick, Paul Schloss, and Jason Ellis should be ashamed of themselves. Melvin's replacement, former catcher A.J. Hinch, has zero managerial experience anywhere. Learning on the job, a team batting average of .222, and a disabled list loaded with key players, makes for a long season for Hinch and, unfortunately, for the D'Back fans.

All I can say is that what certainly seemed to be no worse than the second most talented team in the NL west is now no longer a threat to overtake the Manny-less Dodgers.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Manny

At this time last evening, the Dodgers, led on the field, as well as emotionally and spiritually, by Manny Ramirez, possessed the best 2009 won-lost record in baseball, the record for most home wins at the start of a season, and looked to most observers as the team to beat in the NL, if not in the majors.

24 hours later, the team is demorzlied and fans disgusted, as Manny is gone for 50 games under baseball's baned substance policy, and after a valient offensive effort failed due to a total meltdown by the bullpen, the Dodger's home win streak is now just a piece of historical fluff.

The young Dodger nucleus, of Andre Ethier, of Matt Kemp, of James Loney, of Russell Martin, of Chad Billingsley, of Jonathan Broxton, needs to focus on the game and nothing else, and play as if there is and there was no Manny. They cannot feel that his loss is a reason, an excuse, to lose. The Dodgers can, and should, win the West Division, without Manny. The team needs to prove that to the fans and to themselves.

Joe Torre needs to show why he is one of the game's great managers, and that he belongs up there with Walter Alston as the best the Dodgers have had. He needs to convince his team they had their bad day, and that the season starts tomorrow, with a new winning streak, and a drive to still be in first place, and maybe they'll even have the best record in baseball on July 3, when that guy with the long hair returns.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Manny

After being away from SoCal, and much of the sports world, for almost nine days, some random thoughts:

The Angel pitching woes just keep getting worse. Since April 14, they have now also lost Dustin Moseley, Darren Oliver, and Kevin Jepsen; Brian Fuentes, Scott Shields and Jose Arredondo have ERAs of 13.50, 14.40, and 7.20, respectively, and tonight they are starting Matt Palmer, whose Triple-A ERA this season was approaching 12. Paul Byrd, Pedro Martinez, and maybe the late Art Fowler, are you busy at the moment?

Manny is heating up, and the Dodgers are still in first place, despite one reliable starting pitcher. As I'm writing this, Chad Billingsley is on his way to becoming the first pitcher to reach 4-0.

I saw a game at SAFECO Field in Seattle, and it's a great place to watch a game. Friendly, really helpful staff, great food, and wonderful site lines, seating, and other accutremonts make it one of the best partks I've been to. As an aside, as I saw Mike Sweeney go 3-for-3, I commented to one of the people I was with what a great hitter he could have been if not for so many debilitating injuries the past few years. Then I saw that he got injured yet again the next night.

The scumstripes are feeling the pressure from so many empty premium seats, and, according to Yahoo Sports are considering lowering their pricing from the obsene $2625 price tags they have been trying to extort from the rich and famous. If they don't improve attendance, and revenue, it would be real nice if the scumstripes have their new house that greed built forclosed.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |Manny |scumstripes

Eric Stults did a great job tonight, replacing now-injured "Ace", Hiroki Kuroda, but with Kuroda out and James McDonald's poor performance last night, the Dodgers' starting staff is again in awful shape. Pedro Martinez wants $5 million and the Dodgers' reportedly have offered $1 million, but I really doubt he would be the answer they need. Other free agents out there include Paul Byrd, and though no savior for the staff, he might be just as effective as Pedro, at a less steep price tag.

Though Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, and rookie Ronald Belisario have done well, overall the bulllpen has been disappointing. In particular Guillermo Mota and Cory Wade have had some rocky performances,

The first week is coming to a close, and the NL West looks much more competitive than the experts told us it would be. San Diego and Colorado may have more balanced teams than were expected, and San Francisco may just have enough offense to give their great staff more success than figured during the spring. It may be more than a two team race with Arizona, and the Dodgers have to make a move to add at least one more arm, even anticipating more quality starts from Stults.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers

AL 2009
Boston - A healthy Beckett and a return to form from Brad Penny, and the BoSox won't be caught.
Tampa - Last year was no fluke, but not enough with Boston in their division.
New York - More bucks, more losses. Girardi may not last the season. Pressure on Teixeira won't be pretty.
Toronto - Could have been vastly improved but for injuries to Marcum and McGowan.
Baltimore - By July, theHoundDawg may be their fourth starter.

Cleveland - Healthy Martinez, Hafner, and Pavano, and the Tribe is back.
Minnesota - Baker, Bonser and Neshek - too many injured pitchers.
Chicago - Would need BIG comebacks from too many to challenge.
Detroit - Best thing going is no more Sheffield, but pitching is too suspect
Kansas City - They seemed to be building on their young starters, but sending down Bannister and Hochevar while giving spots to Ramirez and Ponson are major steps backward.

Los Angeles - Second Best team in AL when healthy, and starting season with injuries to three starters should not effect division runaway.
Oakland - Much improved but too much depends on totally inexperienced starters.
Texas - As always, questionable pitching, but no longer the offensive machine of past few seasons.
Seattle - Ten more wins still means last place. Outfield was a disaster before Ichiro got sick.

Division series - Los Angeles over Tampa and Boston over Cleveland
Championship Series - Boston over Los Angeles


NL 2009
Los Angeles - Top-notch offense, defense, bullpen, but will go only as far as their starters will take them.
Arizona - Pretty much the same as with LA, but D'Backs have no Manny.
San Francisco - Reverse of division's top teams - starting pitching and lots of question marks. OF and catching are set, but that infield?
San Diego - Improved from last year, but young talent not ready to compete for top three spots.
Colorado - Not the power-laden team of the past, and questionable pitching depth, but biggest problem is no more Matt Holliday, plus Jeff Francis gone for the season.

Milwaukee - Outstanding offense and despite loss of Sabathia and Sheets, staff has good mix of savey, dependable vets and young talent.
St. Louis - Return of Chris Carpenter solidifies starters, but big voids in bullpen, and infield looks like Pujols and three guys from central casting. Glaus return from injury is always tenuous.
Chicago - No team depending on Milton Bradley and Rich Harden will ever win anything.
Houston - Only health, depth of starting staff keep then behind Cubs.
Cincinnati - Overrated pitching staff won't keep up with up-and-coming offense, plus too many questions in outfield.
Pittsburgh - Lots of young talent on the field, but lack of same on staff will keep them in cellar, unless Karstens and Ohlehdorf suddenly become major league pitchers.

Philadelphia - Improved pitching from start of season and except for Ibanez for Burrell, same team on field as last year's champs.
New York - Addition of great closer more than offset by signing of worst person in baseball, G. Sheffield.
Atlanta - Will go as far as totally revamped pitching will take them, plus rookie CF Jordan Schafer must be for real.
Florida - Health of returning starters, poor defense, big question marks at 3B and entire outfield, all point to disappointing season.
Washington - Addition of Adam Dunn not nearly enough.

Division series - Los Angeles over Milwaukee and Philadelphia over Arizona
Championship Series - Philadelphia over Los Angeles

Boston over Philadelphia in World Series

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |scumstripes |Manny

The numbers game has apparently hit the 2009 Dodger outfield hard, as it looks like Joe Torre will be carrying only four outfielders to start the season. Starters Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier will be joined by only one more outfielder, and that will have to be the un-deserving but big-buck contracted Juan Pierre. The more deserving and eventual major league regular Delwyn Young is thus on the way out, as is super-talented but injury-prone Jason Repko.

All this because Torre feels he needs seven infielders. The inf now figures to include the four regulars, Casey Blake, Rafael Furcal, Orlando Hudson, and James Loney, plus free-agent pinch hitter, inf and of sub Mark Loretta, slick-flelding Doug Mientkiewicz, who can also play third and right field as well as first, and the return of middle infielder Juan Casto, who came up with the Dodgers seemingly decades ago. Thus, on the outs are Chin-lung Hu and last season's rookie sensation at third (and later second), Blake DeWitt.

The starting staff seems still in limbo, though the Dodger stay for Shawn Estes was short and un-sweet. Former Dodger Randy Wolf has solidified his spot in the rotation, and apparently Eric Milton has impressed Torre enough to still be in the running for a spot, though it seems that James McDonald now has the edge over the earlier front-runner Jason Schmidt, for the fifth rotation spot.

The Dodgers unloaded Andruw Jones. but they are sabotaging this year's roster by keeping big-contract under-producers like Pierre and Schmidt, causing talented players like Young, Repko, and others to find work elsewhere. With Manny's big contract and this off-season's acquisitions, the Dodgers look like they can go really far this season, and by signing Manny, Wolf, Hudson, and others, it seems like management was doing all it could for that end. They need to pull the plug on some other contracts if the players involved cannot contribute as much as others could, and put the best 25 in the dugout.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Manny

Well, it took an extra month from when I said it should happen, but the deal is done, and on the same basic terms as were on the table then, and months earlier. Months of aggravation for the fans, gamesmanship by Boras, and lounging by Manny. All just a ploy for Manny to avoid spring training? Can we enjoy spring training now? No, but the season looks a bit more promising. Rafeal Furcal Orlando Hudson Andre Ethier Manny Ramirez Matt Kemp James Loney Russell Martin Casey Blake Not too bad a lineup. The bench as well looks powerful, with Mark Loretta, Blake DeWitt, Juan Pierre, Brad Ausmus, Jason Repko, and Delwyn Young. Now about that starting staff .........

Manny Ramirez Dodger T-Shirt $21.95

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Manny

We should be enjoying spring training - seeing the prospects play above their heads, visions of "This Year" in our heads, the thought of Opening Day!

But we are not; at least, I'm not.

What am I thinking about?

The hole in left field and in the batting order, that may only be filled by paying out as much as $55 million over the next two years to the spawn of Scott Boras. The stigma of steroids that has totally eveloped baseball. Jim Bowden's resignation in light of allegations of skimming of bonus money from third world prospects. The scumstripes new rotation. The Dodgers no longer in Vero Beach. The Brad Penny-Larry Bowa he-said-he-said absurdity.

Some things are, however, as they normally are: Andruw Jones struck out in eight of his first nine abs with Texas and Milton Bradley is injured.

Somehow, that's just not enough to make it good.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Angels |Manny |scumstripes

I've written a few posts this off-season about the makeup of the Dodgers' starting staff, basically referring to the lack of experience and depth. In the past week, Ned has gone the other extreme, signing every out-of-work cast-off he could find.

This characterization does not include Randy Wolf, who is a capable starter, and should fit well as the number four or five starter. His one prior year with the Dodgers started well, but ended early due to injury, but given his effectiveness and history, I felt then he should have been re-signed despite his missing half of that 2007 season. He was decent last year with a bad Padre team, and then went 6-2 down the stretch with Houston.

The same cannot be said for the other two out-of-work re-treads signed this week, neither of whom saw the majors last year - Jeff Weaver and Eric Milton. Milton was 0-4 with a 5.17 ERA in Triple-A last year, and Weaver, who went 7-13 with a 6.20 ERA with Seattle in 2007, sat out last season altogether. The chances of either making the team and contributing are below minimal, but the cost is low, and who knows, it might be worth the gamble.

Meanwhile, there appears to be no progress with Manny, and Adam Dunn is off the boards.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Manny

Now is the time for Boras and the Dodgers to get together and get this done. It seems after Boras rejected the Dodgers' one year - $25 M offer, that their original offer of around $45 M for two years is about to be put back on the table, and would look much more attractive to the agent, after months of hype, but no actual offers from other teams. Boras needs to stop dreaming, look at reality, and get a deal done now.

If not, then maybe the Dodgers do need to look elsewhere. Adam Dunn looks pretty good from here.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Manny

All across the blogosphere and, seemingly, the entire net, scumstripe fanatics are laying claim to having won the 2009 World Series.

NY Daily News Blogger Jesse Spector, and others, are pulling for more deadsteinbrenner dollars to sign Manny, for added insurance for this inevitability. While you're at it, Pat Burrell and Adam Dunn are still available, and so is Trevor Hoffman. How about Milton Bradley, and Joe Crede? There's also Ken Griffy and Jim Edmonds, as well. Just sign everyone out there, and continue your efforts to destroy major league baseball. As the bronx pseudo-brain surgeons (sorry, sc) continue their best efforts to price real fans out of major league stadiums, the rest of mlb, and probably even Scott Boras, sit dumbfounded.

This holiday season, I'm thankful that the Cashmans and Steinbrenners, and the others pulling the scumstripe strings are such incompetents. If anyone with actual baseball knowledge or expertise had that kind of $$$$$ to spend, they would be working on a string of world championships, rather than acting out of desperation to crawl back into the playoffs.

With over 100 free agents still unsigned, two things are for sure: teams will continue to overpay, and overpay considerably, for mediocre talent, and it's far too early to make any 2009 predictions.

Oh, and by the way, Manny will re-sign with the Dodgers.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |scumstripes

Well, the staff might have just gotten a lot thinner with word today that "Ace" Chad Billingsley slipped on some ice at his Pennsylvania home, and suffered a broken leg. He had surgery to insert a plate, but the medicos say he'll be out of his cast in two weeks, rehabing in less than two months, and ready for spring training.

Sure.

The Dodger starting staff now features veterans .......... ??

OK - this is it:

Hiroki Kuroda - Major League Starts: 31
Clayton Kershaw - Major League Starts: 21
James McDonald - Major League Starts: 0

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Clayton Kershaw

It looks like the Dodgers are taking the initiative and making an offer to Manny, but what is up with the Dodgers' starting staff? What does Ned Colleti have in the works?

With Derek Lowe a free agent and little being heard about re-signing him, and now with Brad Penny gone, is this the Dodger's starting staff:

Chad Billingsley - Major League Starts: 68
Hiroki Kuroda - Major League Starts: 31
Clayton Kershaw - Major League Starts: 21
James McDonald - Major League Starts: 0
??

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Manny |Clayton Kershaw

The Dodgers have to sign Manny, whatever the cost.

Pre-Manny, they were a moribund team, underachieving, fighting a slew of injuries, aging veterans competing with great but raw young talent, and a frustrated Joe Torre. The under .500 second place Dodgers were playing before unenthusiastic but hopeful fans.

Then Ned Colleti saved his job by trading for Manny.

Manny Ramirez Dodger T-Shirt $21.95

With that move, following the trade for Casey Blake, the Dodgers were a different team. It was more than the home runs, more than the clutch hitting, more than the excitement, it was a new attitude, not seen in LA in years. The team, and the fans, came together, and the whole was greater than the parts. For more than a month, the Dodgers were the best team in baseball. They played that way through the Division Series against the Cubs, but it didn't last, and a solid Phillies team is champion of the National League. They can continue that compassion, that excitement, and be that team for the whole of next season, if Manny returns. With him, the continued development of Matt Kemp, Russell Martin, James Loney, Andre Either, Blake DeWitt, Chad Billingsley, with a healthy bullpen, led by Takashi Saito and Jonathan Broxton, and no more Andruw Joneses, this team can jump that final hurdle and be play until the final out of the season.

They need to rid themselves of the albatross that was Andruw Jones, the contract of the never-to-be-seen Jason Schmidt, the worst throwing arm in baseball in Juan Pierre, the attitude of Jeff Kent, and, unfortunately, the walking hospital ward, and no longer defensively adequate, Nomar.

They need to keep, along with Manny, the other guy that played so well once he came on board, Casey Blake, and Rafeal Furcal. Unless they pull off another coup and sign C.C. Sabathia, and maybe even if they do sign him, they also need Derek Lowe back. The success of the pitching staff, however, depends on the health of Takashi Saito, and Brad Penny. A healthy Saito means a great bullpen, a questionable Saito means question marks, and dependence on a yet unreliable and inconsistent Jonathan Broxton. A healthy Brad Penny means a stalwart to grind out innings, win games, and maybe even re-establish himself as the ace of the staff.

theHoundDawg

Tags: Dodgers |Manny