Lee Shines in Phils Debut

Cliff Lee made his Phillies debut tonight and didn't disappoint. Lee tossed a complete game, allowing just one run, on four hits, and collecting two hits, including a booming double in the eighth inning off Bob Howry, and scoring a run, as the Phils beat the Giants 5-1. Lee made a total of just 109 pitches in the win. The complete game was his third in his last four starts.

Jayson Werth drove in three runs, including hitting his 22nd homerun of the season.

The Giants fall back into a tie with the Rockies for the NL Wild Card lead, while the Phillies pickup their 59th win of the season and maintain their six game lead in the NL East over the Florida Marlins.

Dodgers, Schmidt Blank Braves

Was that the same Jason Schmidt who missed two years to injuries out there tonight?

What a nice effort by Schmidt tonight in Atlanta. Schmidt pitched six scoreless innings of one-hit ball, newcomer George Sherrill struck out the side in the seventh in his Dodger debut, and Andre Ethier hit his 21st homerun of the season while driving in four runs as the Dodgers shutdown the Braves, 5-0.

The Dodgers have seemingly put their four-game skid behind them and have won two in a row. They improved the league's best record to 64-39, and can push their division lead over the Giants back up to eight games with a Giants loss tonight in San Francisco. (Cliff Lee is making his Phillies debut tonight at AT&T Park and currently has a 1-0 lead in the third inning.)

Randy Wolf takes the hill for the Dodgers tomorrow afternoon and opposes former Dodger Derek Lowe.

All Quiet On Dodger Front

Nothing ever became of the big rumor below, and the Dodgers made no other moves today. No starting pitcher, and no other bullpen depth.

While the non-waiver deadline has come and gone, deals can still be made through August. The difference is players must pass through waivers first before being dealt. The Dodgers last year reacquired Greg Maddux in the middle of August in a waiver deal.

The Blockbuster Deal That Almost Happened

(UPDATE 6:41 PM CT): According to SI's Jon Heyman, the Padres almost traded Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell to the Dodgers for James Loney, Russell Martin, Blake DeWitt, James McDonald and Ivan Dejesus, Jr. Wow!

**********
UPDATE (5:32 PM CT): While this deal never consumated, here's what really happened...

According to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, the Dodgers had called the Padres to get a feel for Heath Bell. The Dodgers had been rumored to be looking for addition bullpen help even after acquiring George Sherrill yesterday when they were convinced acquiring Roy Halladay or another starter today wasn't going to happen.

Stark says when the Dodgers called the Padres, the Padres asked the Dodgers if they had any interest in Adrian Gonzalez and would be willing to expand the deal to include him. They talked, and kick around names, but were never really able to get anything going.

**********
A big turn of events has transpired in the last hour. According to one report, the Dodgers have turned their attention to Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell of the Padres. James Loney could be part of this directly, or indirectly.

Not sure how much juice this has but it makes no sense to me. The Dodgers need an arm in the rotation. Deadline is 41 minutes from now. We'll know soon enough if this comes to fruition.

Dodgers Trade Claudio Vargas

For a team in need of pitching depth anywhere they can find it, I'm not sure what this deal means. Either way, the Blue have shipped Claudio Vargas to Milwaukee (he was a starter there in the past) for minor league catcher Vinny Rottino.

Could this be a precursor to something else? Or is this just to make room on the roster for George Sherrill? We'll find out soon enough... deadline is just over two hours away.

Trade Deadline Day Has Arrived

UPDATE (3:40 PM CT): The deadline has now come and gone, and these are all the confirmed deals, so far. Some additional deal announcements might still trickle in over the next 15 or 20 minutes, but for whatever it's worth, Roy Halladay was not traded.

• (3:22 PM CT): Padres trade Jake Peavy to White Sox, again, for Clayton Richard and three other minor leaguers. Peavy waived his no-trade clause this time around.
  
• (2:57 PM CT): Nationals trade Nick Johnson to Marlins for minor league pitcher Aaron Thomspon.
  
• (2:40 PM CT): Blue Jays trade Scott Rolen to Reds for Edwin Encarnacion and two minor leaguers. Rolen waived his no-trade clause to play close to his Indianapolis hometown.
  
• (2:26 PM CT): Rockies acquire reliever Joe Beimel from Nationals for two minor leaguers.
  
• (2:23 PM CT): Yankees acquire Jerry Hairston, Jr. from Reds for a minor league catcher.
  
• (2:22 PM CT): Red Sox trade Adam LaRoche to Braves for Casey Kotchman.
  
• (2:05 PM CT): Indians trade C/1B Victor Martinez to Red Sox for pitchers Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price.
• (12:27 PM CT): A's trade Orlando Cabrera to Twins for minor league shortstop prospect Tyler Ladendorf.
• (12:25 PM CT): Dodgers trade reliever Claudio Vargas to Brewers for minor league catcher Vinny Rottino.

Instead of starting a new post for every trade, I'm going to just update this one as deals are made and completed. I will include links to each of the deals, as well. And with that, the day's first deal has already been completed.

• Mariners trade Jarrod Washburn to the Tigers for pitcher Luke French and a minor league pitcher.

Skid Ends

Dodgers nearly wasted another stellar pitching performance, but rallied to beat the Cards in 10 innings tonight, 5-3. Matt Kemp had the big two-RBI hit in the 10th to give the Blue the lead. Jonathan Broxton fared better tonight than he did last night, preserving the win for the Dodgers, who continue to have the league's best mark at 63-39. With the win, the Dodgers snapped a season-high four game losing skid. Before this streak, they hadn't lost three straight all season.

Jason Schmidt takes the hill for the Blue tomorrow as they move to Atlanta for a three game series. Trade deadline is tomorrow at 4 PM ET. Will the Dodgers be making any moves?

Some More Deals Today

There's still about 22 hours left before tomorrow's deadline but teams aren't waiting around to make deals. Here's a rundown of today's deals, so far:

• The Tigers traded outfielder Josh Anderson to the Royals for cash considerations.
• The Dodgers acquired reliever George Sherrill from the Orioles for two prospects (third baseman Josh Bell and pitcher Steven Johnson).
• And the Pirates continued to overhaul their Major League roster by dealing pitchers John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to the Cubs for three minor leaguers.

All the links on these can be found at MLB.com and MLBTradeRumors.com in the right column under Top Stories.

There are sure to be more wheelin' and dealin' in the next day so, be sure to keep checking the aforementioned MLBTradeRumors.com, as well as tune into MLB Network tomorrow for complete coverage of all the rumors and actual deals.

Dodgers Pick Up Sherrill From O's

UPDATE (2:45 PM CT): The Dodgers have acquired Sherrill in exchange for two minor league prospects, third baseman Josh Bell, and pitcher Steve Johnson. Ken Gurnick has the details here.

Sherill will slide into the set-up role behind closer Jonathan Broxton, and occasionally fill in for Broxton when needed.

Solid move by the Dodgers. This should not preclude them from still going after Roy Halladay.

**********
Rumor circulating that Sherrill has indeed been traded to the Blue. Confirmation en route?

Trade On The Way?

UPDATE (10:56 PM CT): Ned Colletti has told the Times that the Elbert move does not have anything to do with a trade, but that's as much as we know as he didn't elaborate further. This could get interesting. (And for the record, Elbert was sent down by the Dodgers on July 20th, so he can be recalled as early as tomorrow. The Times speculates he could be replacing Brent Leach, however, who could be headed to the DL.)

**********
UPDATE (10:33 PM CT): False alarm? Whatever is going on with Elbert, has nothing to do with a Sherrill acquisition.

**********
For what it's worth, Scott Elbert was scratched from his scheduled start tonight down in Albuquerque. Unless he's hurt again, he's either being recalled by the Dodgers, or traded. I wouldn't be surprised if he's part of a George Sherrill deal since his name came up in rumors yesterday as part of a possible Sherrill deal.

Stay tuned.

And Yet Another Trade...

Freddy Sanchez has been officially traded to the Giants. The Giants sent pitching prospect Tim Alderson to the Pirates. Ask me? The Giants got robbed here. Here's the latest with links from MLBTR.

Tonight's Game, and Cliff Lee

Well, we now know Cliff Lee won't be a Dodger since he was traded to Philadelphia earlier today (and both teams did very in the deal). So the question is, are the Dodgers going to be stupid enough to cave in to Toronto's asking price and include Chad Billingsley in a possible Roy Halladay deal? My gut still tells me it won't happen, but it does make you wonder.

Having said that, I still think the team needs another starter in the rotation, and at this point, because of Toronto's asking price for Halladay, the next best bet who's actually available is Jarrod Washburn. While he is no Halladay, and he is no Cliff Lee, he does have some post-season experience having pitched for the Angels in the 2002, 2004 and 2005 playoffs. His career post-season numbers are about average for an A.L. pitcher: 1-3 record, 4.91 ERA in eight total games (36.2 IP total). Washburn's also having a nice season for the Mariners (8-6, 2.64 ERA in 133 IP).

The team is still aggressively pursuing Baltimore reliever George Sherrill, and a deal could happen soon since there is mutual interest in each other's players. The O's love Dodger's AA 3B prospect Josh Bell, and with Aubrey Huff and Melvin Mora slated to be free agents after next season, Bell would fit in nicely at 3B in 2011. The Dodgers would probably have to include a pitcher to get a deal done, and Scott Elbert's name has come up.

Stay tuned... about 46 hours until the trade deadline Friday afternoon.

As for tonight's game, Dodgers look to halt their first three-game skid of the season with Clayton Kershaw on the bump. No surprises in tonight's lineup...

Go get 'em Blue!

More Trades Before The Deadline

Two deals of note to mention in the past 90 minutes...

The first is Cleveland sending Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco to the Phillies for four minor leaguers (none of them are Kyle Drabek, J.A. Happ or Dominic Brown). The Phils get their "ace" even though it isn't Roy Halladay. Here are all of the links on this deal.

So where does this leave Halladay? Where does he end up? L.A.? Boston? New York? Texas? Or does he stay put in Toronto? We'll know soon enough.

The other deal that took place about an before the Lee deal is Pittsburgh sending Ian Snell and Jack Wilson to Seattle in exchange for Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno and three minor leaguers. The Pirates are also sending cash in the deal to pay for just about all that is left on both Snell and Wilson's contracts. This is probably a precursor to a Jarrod Washburn deal, possibly to the Yankees or Dodgers, which would explain Ian Snell being part of this deal. MLB Trade Rumors has all the links to this deal, as well.

Check out MLBTradeRumors.com for all the latest news and rumors, with links from sources!

Seven Trades That Could Happen Before Friday

With the non-waiver trade deadline just two days away, instead of running through some of the rumors flying around since there are so many of them, I thought I'd run down some of the trades that could happen. So without further ado...

1. Roy Halladay to Phillies. The Phillies desperately need another starter to anchor the front of their rotation. They've had a lot of inconsistencies and injuries to their rotation and bullpen this year that you almost have to wonder if the pitching staff could withstand a long playoff series again. The Phils have the prospects to pull off a deal, but because the Jays are asking for the world for Halladay, the question becomes, who blinks first, Toronto, Philly, or neither? Other suitors: Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels, Brewers, Rangers.

PREDICTION: My bet is Halladay doesn't get traded at all.

2. Cliff Lee to Dodgers. The Dodgers could use some depth in the rotation, as well. While Hiroki Kuroda was brilliant in the post-season last year, Chad Billingsley has struggled immensely in his last eight starts, and he didn't look too hot against Philly in the NLCS last year. Clayton Kershaw is unproven in the playoffs and Randy Wolf hasnever been in a playoff game in his 11 year career. The Dodgers have the prospects to pull a deal off without having to give up Billingsley or Kershaw. If the Indians are willing to accept a package that doesn't include Billingsley, Kershaw or any other player currently on the Dodgers major league roster, a deal could get done. Other suitors: same teams in on Halladay.

PREDICTION: Because Halladay doesn't get traded, Phill will turn their attention to Lee and have their "ace" by day's end.

3. Jarrod Washburn to Yankees. He might not be Halladay or Lee, but pluck him in the middle of the Yankee rotation and they're the clear-cut favorites in the A.L. At the same time, it won't cost them Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes to get him. Other suitors: same teams in on Halladay and Lee, and Twins.

PREDICTION: Dodgers need a starter more than the Yanks do, so I expect Washburn to land in L.A.

4. George Sherrill to Angels. Sherrill is a perfect fit for the Halos, whose bullpen is among the worst in baseball. They have their closer in Brian Fuentes, they're just having trouble getting the lead to him. Other suitors: Dodgers.

PREDICTION: The Dodgers have been the most aggressive in their pursuit of him. Sherrill will be a Dodger before Friday.

5. Freddy Sanchez to Giants. This deal was near completion on Monday night, and then at the last minute, Sanchez was held out of Pittsburgh's lineup on Tuesday night in San Francisco. As it turned out, no deal was completed, but the Pirates are looking to move him (and Jack Wilson) due to their inability to sign them to extentions. The Giants, who added Ryan Garko on Monday in a trade with the Indians, have been looking to upgrade their offense anyway they possibly can. Sanchez isn't a known power hitter, but he should bring stability to an inconsistent lineup on a team with arguably the league's best starting rotation. Other suitors: Twins.

PREDICTION: Sanchez will eventually end up in the Bay Area, although the Giants will take their time completing the deal to make sure his knee is sound.

6. Orlando Cabrera to Twins. Oakland GM Billy Beane has already made one trade by shipping Matt Holliday to St. Louis for a package of prospects, and with several Twins players lobbying for an O-Cab trade, it wouldn't be a shock to see him in a Twins uniform come Friday. Other suitors: Red Sox.

PREDICTION: I'm still on the fence about where O-Cab lands, but I think eventually he lands in the Twin Cities.

7. Victor Martinez to Red Sox. The Red Sox have coveted him for quite some time. They did just trade for Pittsburgh's Adam LaRoche for depth at first base that would allow Kevin Youkilis to play some third base and give Mike Lowell some much needed days off, but the growing feeling is they want V-Mart behind the plate, pushing Jason Varitek to a reserve/back-up. Other suitors: Tampa Bay.

PREDICTION: If the Indians move Lee, you can almost bet they'd move V-Mart, whether in the same deal, or a separate one. In the end, I believe V-Mart will wind up in Boston.

Now, on to a couple of teams in need:

• The Dodgers are also looking for relief help, so if they can't get their hands on Sherrill, they could turn their attention elsewhere.
• The Red Sox are desperate for starting pitching, as well. The rotation is very shaky after Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. Most teams will ask for Clay Buchholz in any trade from the Red Sox, so unless they can get a quality starter in return, don't expect the Red Sox to move Buchholz. The Red Sox are also in the market for another bat and have been tied to Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who the Padres say isn't on the market, and Martinez. V-Mart has been linked in a package with Lee to several teams including the Red Sox, Dodgers and Rays.
  
• The Rangers, too, are "scrambling" for starting pitching with the uncertainty of Vicente Padilla's health (swine flu), Kevin Millwood's recent struggles, and no experience behind either of them. Look for the Rangers to make a minor deal to get a starting pitcher as finances will be a sticking point in them landing a major player.
• The Rays are looking to make a big splash anyway they possibly can, and have supposedly dangled Scott Kazmir (Angels?), Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford. The only way they move Pena and Crawford, however, is if they can get Lee and Martinez from the Indians.
  

Streak Is Coming To An End

Well, the Blue were the only team in the league to have not lost three consecutive games all year. That's all about to end in their 100th game of the season.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning of tonight's game in St. Louis, the Cards lead the Dodgers 10-0. Both teams have eight hits, but the Dodgers have not been able to capitalize on their hits. Dodger pitchers have issued nine walks tonight, and most of those walks have come around to score for the Cards.

The game was scoreless in the sixth inning when Chad Billingsley walked four Cards hitters, and the Cards wound up scoring six runs. They've added four more so far here in the eighth inning, capped by a Mark DeRosa three-run jack. Utility infielder Mark Loretta is now in the game to pitch to Matt Holliday (who just flew out to Manny in left field for the final out of the inning).

The Dodgers last night had just one run on 11 hits, so between the first two games (so far) of this four game series, the Dodgers have scored just one run on 19 hits. You can figure out the math on the number of base-runners the Dodgers have left in the two games.

The Mess That Is The Mets

In case you missed this, check it out. The Mets today fired team executive Tony Bernazard after he confronted Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, as well as and other minor league players in the organization and challenged them to fight.

Now, that's just the story, and the press conference. But there's more. Here's a rundown of some of the aftermath.

You kind of have to wonder what's going on in Flushing. But I kind of have to agree with Buster Olney. This organization is an utter mess. Omar Minaya has become a public relations nightmare for the Mets, a public relations liability, a public relations disaster. Moreso, the team is a mess on the field. It's been one disaster after another, from runners missing third base to infielders dropping routine pop ups that costs them games.

But, back to today. This was supposed to be a simple announcement that Bernazard was let go. Instead, Minaya arrived with another agenda. He got into a verbal spat with the very same reporter who broke the story about Bernazard's actions in Binghampton recently, and then accused the reporter, NY Daily News' Adam Rubin, of lobbying for a job to several members of the Mets front office.

Minaya acknowledged that the Rubin's story was accurate, so why he felt the need to corner Rubin because he was forced to relieve his friend, Bernazard, of his duties is beyond me. Afterwards, Rubin called Minaya's accusations "a low blow" and "deplorable."

For now, Rubin is till on Mets beat writer for the Daily News, and probably will remain there, but , even with the backing of ownership, I think it's only a matter of time before Minaya gets canned for this entire mess.

Trade Deadline Talk

Update (4:38pm CT): Kevin Baxter of the Times now says there's absolutely no truth to Ken Rosenthal's story below.

The flip-flopping in the media on these rumors is bound to last another five full days, so hang on to your hats, folks!

**********
Even though I haven't typed much in this space in a little over two weeks, it hasn't precluded me from keeping up with what's going on. I'll get back (and backtrack a little) to some of the on-the-field stuff that has taken place in the past two weeks a little bit later, but for the moment, a couple of print media pieces to share with you relating to the deadline Friday.

The non-waiver trade deadline is coming up on July 31, just five days away, and the Dodgers, with the best record in baseball, are tied into just about any and every starting pitcher and reliever on the current trade market. The two big rotation guns available are Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. Both Toronto and Cleveland are asking for nearly the same type of packages for their pitchers: either a boatload of prospects or a couple of prospects and a couple of guys off the Major League roster.

There's no question the Dodgers could use another starting pitcher in the rotation for the post-season. This team's rotation is not quite built for the post-season. Joe Torre has been advocating the need for another pitcher in the rotation, as well as the bullpen. Several players, including Manny, have acknowledged that pitching will be the key to success in the playoffs.

That said, with the kind of package Toronto is asking for Roy Halladay, I would ask the Dodgers to politely say "Thanks, but no thanks." Toronto wants Clayton Kershaw in any deal for Halladay. While Halladay is arguably the best right-handed starting pitcher in the game right now, do you really want to risk losing a kid in Kershaw who is regarded as one of the top young pitchers in the game, for what could amount to just three months of Halladay? Halladay will have the right to demand a trade after the season if he's traded before the Jays-imposed-deadline-to-trade-Halladay of July 28, which is two days from now. He won't be a free agent until after 2010 though. So there's a huge risk in trading for Halladay in more ways than we care to discuss.

Now, back to the print media blurbs. In this morning's Times, three columnists all touched base on the Dodgers need for a starting pitcher. Not oddly enough, all three had different scenarios and different ideas for getting a starting pitcher, one particularly named Halladay. But the fact that three different columnists basically wrote the same piece in their own words, is a bit of overkill on the Halladay quest. Jon Weisman of the Times' Dodger Thoughts broke down the nonsense. Pay closest attention to his take on Bill Plaschke's diatribe at the end of his post.

It would seem to me the Dodgers, like most teams involved in the Roy Halladay chase, feel Toronto's asking price is simply just too high. So like other teams, the Dodgers have turned their attention to the other pitcher available: Cliff Lee.

Late word now from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is the Dodgers and Cleveland are in heavy discussion that would send both Lee and catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez to L.A. for, among others, James Loney. Cleveland is also asking for either Kershaw or Chad Billingsley and a couple of prospects.

I wouldn't mind doing this deal, as long as it doesn't involve Kershaw, and or even Billingsley. While I do think something like this would dramatically improve the rotation, and even the offense, including Kershaw in particular doesn't make sense. If you're willing to include him, or Billingsley in a deal for Lee, why not for Halladay? Sure, you're getting a more solid bat in the middle of the lineup in Martinez in return, but is it still worth the gamble of moving Kershaw or Billingsley?

The names of some of the prospects being mentioned include Scott Elbert, and I would bet a lot of teams would love to have a kid like Elbert. While he is no Kershaw (not yet anyway), he does have a lot of upside and potential to be a solid starter in the league someday. He was listed at one time as the Dodgers #1 pitching prospect until injuries got the best of him, and Kershaw surpassed him. Unfortunately, there just doesn't seem to be much room for him in L.A. But Kershaw, and even Billingsley, are supposed to part of the young core that prompted Ned Colletti to negate any talk of moving them once their names were brought up in trade talk with other GMs in the past. Until now?

The Dodgers know they're on the cusp of something special. But they also know that what they have in the rotation might not be quite enough to get them over the hurdle they couldn't get past last post-season.

I don't think Halladay is going to be traded, but the Dodgers can't sit back and assume this, and need to be proactive in getting an arm in the rotation. On the flipside, be smart about it. You can afford to move a couple of prospects if need be because there simply isn't a lot of room on the big league roster right now anyway, and there might not be for several years. What you can't afford to do is mortgage what you've said you wouldn't do, which is break up the young core that could win for years to come. Stick to your guns, Ned.

Cards Get Matt Holliday

Who says you have to wait until the 4pm ET deadline on July 31 to complete a non-waiver deal? The Cards wasted no time upgrading their lineup, acquiring Oakland left fielder Matt Holliday this afternoon.

Here's a rundown with all the important links regarding to the move.

This obviously makes the Cards a very formidable contender now, as they now have another bat in the middle of their lineup to "protect" Albert Pujols.

Are You Kidding Me?!

Someone tell me I did not see what I saw tonight. "Wow!" is about all I can think to describe what I saw.

Last night, Manny was plunked on the left hand by a Homer Bailey fastball. He was pulled from the game immediately and taken for precautionary x-rays, which came back negative. Joe Torre opted to give Manny tonight off because his hand was still sore.

Tonight was Manny Ramirez Bobblehead Night out at the Ravine. The game was already sold out long before tonight. But with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and a tie game, Torre, who had Mark Loretta in the on-deck circle to bat for Chad Billingsley, opted to go with Manny. Before Loretta was even summoned back to the dugout by Torre, the sellout crowd sensed what was about to happen, and then went ballistic when Manny came out of the dugout to pinch hit for Billingsley. Red's manager Dusty Baker then countered and went to his pen and brought in Nick Masset to relieve starter Bronson Arroyo.

Manny crushed Masset's first pitch over the "Mannywood" sign in left field for a grand slam and a 6-2 lead, igniting the Stadium crown into a wild euphoria. Russell Martin and Matt Kemp, both on base when Manny hit the slam, each had "you've-got-to-be-kidding-me" looks on their faces as they circled the bases ahead of Manny.

For Manny, it was his first career pinch-hit home run, his 21st career grand slam, second all-time, and his 538th career home run overall. His previous home run pushed him past Mickey Mantle for 15th on the all-time home run list.

Manny received not one, but two curtain calls from the Dodger Stadium crowd, the second one coming at the end of the half inning. And they were both very well deserved.

The buzz from the home run is already being compared to Kirk Gibson's 1988 Game 1 World Series home run. Personally, I think that's a bit of a stretch, since one was a middle-of-the-game slam in mid-July, and the other was a World Series walk-off in the mold of The Natural's Roy Hobbs that turned the series around. But if I had to rank Manny's slam among the biggest home runs I've seen hit by a Dodger, I'd have to put it fourth overall, behind Gibson's shot, Steve Finley's division-clinching walk-off slam in 2004 against the Giants, eliminating them from playoff contention, and Nomar's walk-off dinger in extra innings against the Padres in 2006 in the back-to-back-to-back-to-back home run game.

As for tonight game, the Blue eventually won by that same 6-2 score, and they continue to roll through their schedule. They now have a 61-34 record, still, best in the majors, a five-game winning streak, and are a season-high 27 games over .500.

Next up, Florida for three starting Friday night at the Ravine.

The Break

With the All-Star Game upon us this Tuesday night, its time to rank the 30 teams for the first half of the season. Keep in mind these are not based on just records, but rather the teams as a whole, including offense, defense and pitching.

1. Dodgers - They have the best record in the league, one of the top offenses, defenses and pitching staffs.

2. Red Sox - The have the best record in the AL, as well as a solid offense, and a great bullpen.

3. Yankees - One of only three teams with 50+ wins, and they own the league's best offense with 495 runs scored.

4. Angels - Despite a bad pen, and inconsistent starting pitching, they have one of the league's best offenses.

5. Giants - One of the biggest surprises of the season so far, they own the league's best pitching staff.

6. Rangers - Another of the season's surprises, they employ a well balanced team of offense and pitching.

7. Phillies - While the pitching staff is still a mess, the offense has been carrying the load as expected.

8. Tigers - They own one of the best pitching staffs in the AL, to go with their potent offense.

9. Rockies - They have completely turned their season around after a managerial change.

10. Cardinals - They're led by the one and only Sir Albert, and they're getting solid pitching, as well.

11. Rays
12. Brewers
13. Marlins
14. Twins
15. Mariners
16. White Sox
17. Cubs
18. Braves
19. Blue Jays
20. Astros
21. Mets
22. Reds
23. Orioles
24. Pirates
25. Royals
26. Athletics
27. Indians
28. Padres
29. Diamondbacks
30. Nationals

Dodgers Explode in the 10th

The Blue slugged five homeruns tonight en route to a 12-8 win in 10 innings in Milwaukee. Andre Ethier (17th), James Loney (7th), Manny Ramirez (9th), Russell Martin (2nd) and Matt Kemp (11th) all went deep for the Dodgers.

Kemp's homerun was a grand slam that capped off a six-run outburst to break a 6-6 tie in the 10th inning. For Kemp, it was his third grand slam of the season. He now has 11 hits in his last 16 at bats including three straight three-hit games. Kemp capped off the night with a running, over-the-head basket catch to dead center field to end the game.

Manny's homerun tied him with Mickey Mantle for 15th on the all-time homerun list with 536.

Meanwhile, Chad Billingsley struggled a bit in his shortest outing of the season, and Jonathan Broxton came in to pitch the bottom of the 10th inning and struggled a bit, as well, giving up two runs.

With the win, the Dodgers move their major league-best record to 55-31, reaching a season-high 24 games over .500. They remain seven games up on the Giants, who won 8-0 tonight over the Padres in San Francisco, behind a no-hitter from Jonathan Sanchez.

Giants' Sanchez Tosses No-No

Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez pitched a no-hitter tonight in an 8-0 win over the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Sanchez came within five outs of a perfect game when third baseman Juan Uribe booted a one-out Chase Headley grounder in the 8th inning. He nearly lost the no hitter with one out in the 9th when Aaron Rowand had to make a catch while crashing into the center field wall off the bat of Edgar Gonzalez to preserve the no-hitter. Sanchez notched 11 strikeouts while throwing 110 pitches. The no-hitter is the first for the Giants since John Montefusco way back in 1976.

The Giants still trail the Dodgers in the NL West by seven games, who blew open a 6-6 tie tonight with six runs in the 10th inning in Milwaukee, capped by a Matt Kemp grand slam homerun.

New York, New York

After an ugly 13-inning win on Sunday afternoon in San Diego in which the Blue smacked four homeruns, including the game-winner by James Loney in the 13th after Jonathan Broxton blew a 6-2 ninth inning Chad Billingsley lead, the Dodgers headed across the country and annihilated the Mets in winning two of three.

Manny got tossed after tossing his elbow pad after he was called out on strikes to end the top of the 5th inning of an 8-0 win. Replays showed the pitch was about six inches off home plate. Manny was 2 for 4 with a couple of RBI hits. Clayton Kershaw pitched six solid innings for the win.

The Dodgers looked lost last night against Oliver Perez, making his first start since being recalled by the Mets. Perez was erratic during his five-inning stint, walking seven even though he only gave up two runs. With a 5-3 lead in the 9th inning, Manny hit a lead-off, opposite-field homerun off Francisco Rodriguez. The Dodgers added two more base-runners with one out, but Andre Ethier hit into a game-ending double-play. Hiroki Kuroda took the loss for the Blue.

The Blue bounced back nicely tonight, jumping on Mets starter Livan Hernandez early, and pounding out 17 total hits for 11 runs. Raffy Furcal and Matt Kemp each had three hits in the 11-2 win to help give Randy Wolf plenty of run support, who finally earned a decision to improve to 4-3. Before the game, Wolf even changed his jersey number from 21 to 43, in hopes of improving his record to 4-3, which he masterfully did.

With the win tonight, the Dodgers improve their Major League best record to 54-31, and match their season-high of 23 games over .500. They temporarily increase the NL West lead back up to 7½ games, pending the outcome of the Padres-Giants game tonight in San Francisco. The Giants have a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning with Tim Lincecum on the bump.

One other note from tonight's game: Orlando Hudson left the game after being hit by a pitch on his left knee. No immediate word on his condition.

Speaking of Kemp, he finished fourth in the Final Vote for the NL All-Star team. Philly's Shane Victorino teamed up with Detroit's Brandon Inge to form the 'Bran-Torino' alliance and earn the final spots on the All-Star teams. Matt Kemp still has a good chance to make the team as an injury replacement for Carlos Beltran, in light of his 8 for 11 performance in the three games in New York. Kemp now carries a .319 average into the final series before Tuesday's All-Star game.

The Dodgers begin a three game series tomorrow night in Milwaukee. Billingsley takes the hill for the Blue against Braden Looper.

The Return of Mannywood, and All-Star Selections

Manny finally returned from his 50-game PED suspension on Friday night, much to the delight of the mass exodus of Dodger fans who overtook PETCO Park from L.A. He had an uneventful night, drawing just a walk in the first inning, but he ignited a Dodger offense that was lacking runs in the past week to 10 days, and the Blue scored five first inning runs en route to a 6-3 win. Hiroki Kuroda got the win in a solid effort,

Then with Friday's pomp and circumstance all but non-existent, Manny smacked his first homerun since returning in the first inning of yesterday's game, which the Padres eventually won, 7-4. Randy Wolf was solid for six innings, but the bullpen blew a 2-1 lead, and Wolf was tagged with yet another no-decision.

Just named to his first All-Star game, Chad Billingsley will take the bump for the Blue this afternoon against San Diego's Josh Banks.

Along with Billingsley, closer Jonathan Broxton and second baseman Orlando Hudson both made the NL All-Star squad. For Broxton, this is also his first selection while Hudson is making his second appearance. He was an All-Star for the D-backs in 2007.

Not making the team but still with a solid chance is centerfielder Matt Kemp. The NL is taking four first basemen, and only one backup third baseman, and with Carlos Beltran voted in as a starter but currently on the DL and not expected to activated by the Mets until the end of the month, the NL has no backup centerfielders on its roster. So, with both Kemp and Philadelphia's Shane Victorino among the five choices for the Final Vote in the NL, chances are, if one is voted in, the other will be selected as a replacement for Beltran.

They do have some good competition though. Washington shortstop Cristian Guzman, Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds, and Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval are the other choices. But with Washington and Arizona having awful seasons, it'd be hard-pressed to see fans give the nod to Guzman or Reynolds. Sandoval is having the best season among the remaining three players, so if he wins the vote, with Phillies manager Charlie Manuel managing the NL this year, you can bet Shane Victorino will get the nod over Kemp, even though Kemp is having a far superior season than Victorino.

The best case scenario for Kemp is for either him or Victorino to win the Final Vote. So get out and Vote for Matt Kemp, Dodger fans!

Dodgers Magic Number: 50

The Blue are certainly ready for Manny's return. Despite an offensive struggle in recent days, the Dodgers continue to find ways to win games, and yesterday, it took a pinch-hit single from Raffy Furcal in the 8th inning to give the Dodgers a 1-0 win over the Rockies, their 50th of the season in just 79 games. Coupled with a Giants loss in St. Louis, the Dodgers increased their lead in the NL West back up to seven games, and continue to boast the leagues best record at 50-29. The win gave the Dodgers the series against the Rockies, and they now have a 7-2 record this season against Colorado

Back when Manny was suspended, the Dodgers had a 21-8 record and led their division by 6½ games. In the 50 games without Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers went 29-21 and maintained their lead, as well as the league's best record. But most importantly, the team proved they were not a team that consisted of Manny and 24 other players; they showed the baseball world they are indeed, a very good team, with the emphasis on the word team. In Manny's absence, the Dodgers had six walk-off wins, led by Andre Ethier, who has four this season, and Matt Kemp, who picked up his first of his career recently.

And so, Manny's 50 games are up, and he will return to the lineup starting tomorrow night in San Diego. And with his return looming, the Dodgers made several roster moves yesterday.

Eric Stults was activated from the DL, and sent down to Albuquerque. Third-string catcher A.J. Ellis was option back to Albuquerque, as well. And Mitch Jones was designated for assignment, meaning the Dodgers have 10 days to trade him or release him. The Dodgers still have some additional roster moves to iron out, such as clearing a spot on the 40-man roster for Manny, as well as Claudio Vargas, who's expected to be activated and join the Dodgers as early as tomorrow. One such roster move could be moving Hong-Chih Kuo from the 15-day DL to the 60-day to remove him from the 40-man roster.

And lastly, as many expect with Manny's return, Juan Pierre is headed back to the bench as a reserve.