Ugly Start to New Season

That was definitely ugly, and hopefully there won't be many games like today. And it's probably a good thing it was only the first game of 162. Final score: Pirates 11, Dodgers 5.

But after watching today's game, several things became clear to me. One, it's going to be a long season pitching-wise. Vicente Padilla seemed to be pitching from behind all afternoon. He pitched himself into a mess that resulted in a bases-clearing double by Ryan Church off Ramon Ortiz, who replaced Padilla during a five-run Pirate fifth. George Sherrill didn't look very sharp either, as he failed to keep the game within reach and failed to get out of the eighth, giving up three runs in the process.

The offense appears like it's going to be just fine. The lineup is well-balanced. They pounded out 11 hits today as Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp, Casey Blake and Blake DeWitt all had multiple hits today. Both Manny and Kemp each had two RBI today, as well.

They're not going to get the big hit every time but if today was any indication, they won't go down without a fight. They won't go down until the final out is recorded, which has been very indicative of this team for the past two seasons.

And lastly, Blake DeWitt looks like he's still not very comfortable at second base. He didn't commit any errors, but on one pop fly over his head, he appeared to get turned around and looked rather confused in doing so. That tells me he's still not very comfortable out there. I suppose it's a good thing the kid can hit, and the fact there are two pretty solid guys to back him up defensively in Ronnie Belliard and Jamey Carroll.

Day off tomorrow. Right back at it on Wednesday night.

Some Tidbits from the Ravine

The Dodgers have returned to Southern California for three exhibition games in the area before heading out on the road to start the season, with Opening Day Monday in Pittsburgh. After a 6-3 loss last night at the Stadium to the Indians, they head down to Anaheim tonight to face the Angels at Angel Stadium, and then the two teams head back to the Dodger Stadium for an afternoon match-up tomorrow.

The roster is much more clearer today as we approach Monday. First, Joe Torre named Charlie Haeger the Dodgers fifth starter, and Blake DeWitt has been named the starting second baseman. Russell Martin has declared himself ready to go, so barring any last minute changes, it looks like he will be ready for Opening Day from his groin injury. The team also released longtime prospect Jason Repko two days ago.

As of right now, the Dodgers 25-man roster will probably look something like this on Monday:

Starting eight: Martin, James Loney, DeWitt, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Manny, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier.

Bench: Brad Ausmus, Garrett Anderson, Jamey Carroll, Ronnie Belliard, Nick Green, Reed Johnson.

Rotation: Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Vicente Padilla, Haeger.

Bullpen: Jonathan Broxton, George Sherrill, Ramon Troncoso, Jeff Weaver, Carlos Monasterios, Ramon Ortiz.

Hong-Chih Kuo will start the season on the DL and Ronald Belisario is on the "Restricted List" and will likely start the season on extended Spring Training in the minors.

Catching Up in Dodgertown

When we last spoke about a week or so ago, half of the Spring Training roster was halfway around the world playing an exhibition series against a Taiwanese All-Star team, Blake DeWitt was making noise to be named the team's starting second baseman, Garrett Anderson was working out at first base, a beardless Casey Blake was out with a ribcage injury, and Don Mattingly admitted the Dodgers have made "overtures" about him becoming Joe Torre's heir apparent.

Since then, the roster has been cut in size as Opening Day nears, DeWitt still hasn't been officially named the starting second baseman, Anderson is still working out at first base, Blake has returned from his minor ribcage deal, and Mattingly has returned to his current role as hitting coach.

As for the roster cuts, Eric Gagne and Scott Elbert were reassigned to minor league camp. The Dodgers want Gagne to continue to pitch and get some innings under his belt in games, something they can't give him in Major League camp right now. There is still mutual interest from both sides for Gagne to get a shot at the big club again, but Gagne has an out clause in his contract that he can exercise if he's not on the Major League roster by a certain date. It seems at this point that Gagne won't be exercising it.

Cory Wade, who made a plea to get his old job back from 2008 as the club's primary set-up guy, will be out approximately three months after undergoing shoulder surgery. Wade struggled early last year that he was sent back out to Albuquerque, and was eventually sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Meanwhile, Garrett Anderson continues to workout at first base. The back-up job and primary lefty bat off the bench is now down to Anderson and Doug Meintkiewicz as Brian Giles called it a career last week and retired due to his nagging injuries. All indications are the Anderson-Meitnkiewicz battle will go down to the wire.

And don't look now, but Ramon Ortiz - yes, that Ramon Ortiz - is making a case to be the team's fifth starter out of Spring Training. Even if he does make it, there's no guarantees he'll be the long-term solution there as the season goes on. But for now, he's become the leading candidate, or, at the very least, the best option. With both Eric Stults and Charlie Haeger out of options, the Dodgers have some decisions to make as far as the fifth rotation spot is concerned.

No longer a candidate for any roster spot is James McDonald, who was also optioned to the minors. McDonald has struggled immensely this spring, and his 20.25 ERA was enough for the Dodgers to send him down. His demotion came just days after the team said he would be headed to the bullpen.

Rule-5 pick Carlos Monasterios is quickly gaining momentum to be included on the bullpen staff. As of right now, the only guarantees in the pen are Jonathan Broxton, George Sherrill and Ramon Troncoso. But with Hong-Chih Kuo still sidelined with a sore elbow after he was scratched from his start in his native Taiwan, and with Ronald Belisario still having visa issues and not in camp yet, an opportunity has opened up for Monasterios, and he hasn't disappointed. Monasterios has pitched well in eight Spring Training innings, and the Dodgers like the fact he has the ability to strike people out, as his K/9 IP ratio in the minor leagues last season proves. Unless someone else steps up to be the sixth inning guy out of the pen, there's no reason Monasterios won't be given first crack at it.

Though Russell Martin still won't be ready for Opening Day after he pulled his groin earlier in the spring, he's making progress and is ahead of schedule on his rehab, etc. There are still plenty of people blaming the injury on the 25 pounds of added bulk Martin added to his frame in the off-season, but Martin assures us that is far from the case. Either way, Martin is progressing nicely and he should be ready to go by mid-April.

Off the field, Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully is back in the booth today after falling in his home the other day getting out of bed and hitting his head. The 82-year old was taken to the hospital as a precaution for observation, but was released the following day. He's on the air right now doing the Dodgers-Indians game from The Ranch.

And finally, Giles wasn't the only player of note retiring last week. Former Dodger and L.A. native Nomar Garciaparra called it a career, as well. Nomar, who was a free agent after spending last season with Oakland, signed a one-day contract with the Red Sox and then retired because of nagging injuries.

Nomar certainly left Dodger fans with plenty of excitement as he hit the game-winning walk-off homer in the 10th of the "4+1" game. And had it not been for the rash of injuries over the past five or six seasons, Nomar could have finished his career as one of the greatest shortstops who ever lived. He was certainly well on his way to that. He finished his career with a .313/.361/.521 line with 229 home runs, 927 runs scored and two A.L. batting titles with the Red Sox in 1999 and 2000. Nomar was also the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1997.

A Few More Spring Training Tidbits

I'm usually one who tries to stay on top of things when it comes to the Dodgers, especially during the season (Spring Training included). For whatever reason, I've been slacking, and throwing a bunch of posts into one big post, such as this one. In any case, a few notes from the past few days to get caught up.

First, it appears more and more likely that Blake DeWitt will be given the everyday second base gig to start the season. Defensively, he could still use some more seasoning, but his offense is probably what's already getting him the nod over Ronnie Belliard. As for Jamey Carroll, I doubt the team ever considered him a serious candidate for the everyday job, although he'll likely get some starts against lefties periodically. Carroll was brought in to be the super-utility guy anyway. Either way, good news for DeWitt fans. This also probably means Belliard is a longshot to make the team.

Meanwhile, still no word on beardless Casey Blake, who was pulled early from Monday's game because of a strain in the ribcage area. He opted against an MRI, so it appears as if the strain is nothing serious, though he was given the last two games off. My guess is if this had been the regular season, he would probably be back in the lineup by now.

It also appears that the Dodgers are doing whatever they can to keep Garrett Anderson over Brian Giles and Doug Meintkiewicz. Anderson has been working out the past few days at first base, and given that he's probably the healthiest of the three, he probably has the best chance of the three to make the team. On the flip side, Anderson has never played first base in his 16 years in the Majors, so we'll see how this all turns out as we get closer to Opening Day. Anderson still has not appeared in a Spring Training game.

About half of the team is currently en route to Taiwan for a weekend exhibition "goodwill" series with a Taiwanese All-Star team. Among those making the trip are Taiwan-born Hong-Chih Kuo and Chin-Lung Hu, as well as Manny, and manager Joe Torre. As for Kuo, he will get the starting nod in the series finale after Charlie Haeger was scratched from the split-squad to Taiwan due to some sort of hip injury.

Meanwhile, with Torre on his way to Taiwan to manage that split-squad, hitting coach Don Mattingly was left behind to manage the split-squad in Arizona for five games. And there might be more to it than we think.

When Joe Torre was hired to manage the Dodgers before the 2008 season, he brought along a couple of his buddies with him from New York. Mattingly was one of them. It was said in New York that when Torre hired Mattingly to be the hitting coach there, it was done with the idea of grooming Mattingly to eventually be the heir apparent when Torre retired. But Torre never got that chance in New York, and he was eventually not offered a new contract after the 2007 season, thus making him a "free agent." The Yankees eventually hired Joe Girardi as their manager even after interviewing Mattingly.

In all actuality, nothing really changed when Torre was hired by the Dodgers and he brought Mattingly along with him. The same speculation has been made for the past two-plus years with the Dodgers. This past off-season, Mattingly interviewed for the vacant manager's job in Cleveland, but eventually withdrew himself as a candidate and then opted against interviewing for the same vacant job in Washington. And the reasons are pretty obvious.

Today, Mattingly finally confirmed that the Dodgers have made "overtures" to him about being the heir apparent to Torre whenever he steps down as the Dodger manager. Torre has one year left on his contract with the Dodgers but he's stated that he wants to manage beyond this season, and the Dodgers say they want him to manage the team until he decides to retire. So whenever that happens, I think we can expect that Mattingly will in fact be the next Dodger manager.

As for today's game, an interesting rarity involving Andre Ethier took place against the D-backs. Here's what happened, as explained by MLB.com's Doug Miller.

And finally, a sad day yesterday in Dodgertown and the baseball world as former Dodger outfield great Willie Davis passed away. Davis was an integral part of the Dodgers success during the 1960s as he manned centerfield for the Dodgers for 13 seasons beginning in 1961. In 1969, he hit in a Dodger record 31 straight games, and finished his career with a .279 average and 2,561 hits. Davis also had short stays in Montreal, St. Louis, Texas and San Diego before calling it quits after playing for the Angels in 1979. Davis was 69 years old.

Reed Between the Lines: Johnson Signs

He gets a one-year deal to serve as the Blue's fourth outfielder and his signing all but assures three things:

1. Doug Meintkiewicz will make the team as the only left-hander off the bench.
2. Ronnie Belliard will be the team's everyday second baseman.
3. Blake DeWitt will not make the team, and will start the season in Triple-A, again.

All this is made possible by the simple fact the Dodgers generally go with a 12-man pitching staff rather than 11. This means the Dodgers will likely go with five bench players rather than six.

Jamey Carroll is the super-utility guy, and recently re-signed Brad Ausmus is Russell Martin's back-up. Johnson is the fourth outfielder, and either Nick Green, Angel Berroa or Chin-Lung Hu will be the back-up middle infielder. All of these players are right-handed hitters, leaving the team with just one bench spot left and just one guy at this point to be the primary lefty off the bench: Meintkiewicz.

With most pitchers being predominantly right-handers, this leaves the Dodgers with a predicament, unless they plan on going with just 11 pitchers instead. Or, they could perhaps still sign yet another outfielder such as Garret Anderson or Brian Giles, unless they go with Xavier Paul, all left hand hitters. Anderson or Giles could conceivably be brought in as a back-up first baseman, as well, though between them they've only played one career game at the position making this scenario highly unlikely.

Don't get me wrong, I love Meintkiewicz as a player, but he simply has no power in his bat, and that's what the team sorely needs.

Any way you slice it though, the Dodgers have an interesting problem on hand, and only time will tell how they decide to shape out the remainder of the roster.

Busy Blue

A day after Mark Loretta retired from the game of baseball after 15 seasons, his last one with the Dodgers this past season, the Blue were busy filling a hole in the infield and filling out their bench, bringing back two of their own free agents, re-signing infielder Ronnie Belliard and catcher Brad Ausmus.

Both players get one-year deals in the $825K to $850K range. Belliard will likely get the bulk of the playing time at second base, though he can play anywhere on the infield. He can earn an additional $250K in incentives based on plate appearances. Ausmus will back-up starter Russell Martin for the second straight season. His deal includes a $1MM mutual option for 2011 with a $150K buyout.

With the addition of Jamey Carroll earlier in the off-season, as well Angel Berroa, and now Belliard re-signing, the team has some nice infield depth. This doesn't bode too well for Blake DeWitt, though he'll fight hard for a job in Spring Training.

The addition of Ausmus also means A.J. Ellis will be headed back to Triple-A Albuquerque for another season.

The Blue Ink Five to Minors Deals

Since late last week, the Dodgers have inked five players to minor league deals and invited them all to Major League camp in Spring Training. The two most notable of the bunch is local boy and former Giants hurler Russ Ortiz and former Mets and Red Sox backup infielder Nick Green.

Now, before anyone gets their panties all tied up in bunches, it should be noted that there is virtually no chance that Ortiz will be a major factor with the Dodgers this coming season. In fact, his chances of even making the team are so remote, the Dodgers are reportedly efforting to find a way to sign Joel Pineiro despite their supposed payroll limitations brought on in light of the McCourts divorce proceedings. They're supposedly still interested in bringing back Vicente Padilla or Jon Garland.

Green actually has a shot at making the team as a backup to Rafael Furcal, but he will be challenged by recently signed Angel Berroa, and Argenis Reyes, one of the other three signed this weekend.

It should also be noted that the Dodgers still have just one second baseman on the current Major League roster in recently signed free agent Jamey Carroll. Carroll was supposedly brought in to be a utility guy, and I would guess the Dodgers still want him for that purpose to maximize his versatility. That said, you can almost bet they are looking at alternatives to fill the vacancy left behind by the still-unsigned Orlando Hudson and Ronnie Belliard. It doesn't appear the Dodgers are all too comfortable with the idea of Blake DeWitt defensively at second base in any capacity. And if the Dodgers are serious about returning to the post-season and playing further than the NLCS, they will almost certainly have to find a viable replacement for Hudson and Belliard offensively.

Non-Tenders

Update (10:00pm CT): Scratch Navarro off the non-tender candidates list. He signed a deal tonight with the Rays. Also, Wang has officially been non-tendered by the Yankees.

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Earlier, we mentioned that the Dodgers will be tendering contracts to all nine of their arbitration-eligible players before tonights midnight ET deadline. But there could be some players non-tendered by other teams who could be of interest to the Dodgers. And with a little over three and a half hours from said deadline, several teams have already announced they won't be tendering contracts to some of their players.

Of note as far as the Dodgers are concerned, the Braves have non-tendered second baseman Kelly Johnson. Johnson lost his starting job last season when he struggled early on and often and was eventually replaced by Martin Prado. While he hasn't been very consistent, he does possess some power for a second baseman as noted by his 16 and 12 home runs respectively in 2007 and 2008. Could he be a solution for the Dodgers at second base? Perhaps, but how much better are his career numbers compared to Blake DeWitt? Not much. And if the Dodgers do find a need for Johnson, maybe a DeWitt-Johnson platoon is in line.

Chien-Ming Wang has also been non-tendered by the Yankees (unofficially; the Yankees have yet to confirm it), essentially making him a free agent. He had solid 2006 and 2007 season winning 19 games both seasons with an ERA in the upper three's, and was on his way to another stellar season in 2008 before a freak base-running injury ended his season, but he was dreadful in 2009. Wang had major problems finding the strike zone whenever he did pitch in 2009, and when he did, he was hit hard, and scored upon frequently.

Personally I'm not a big fan of Wang, but the Dodgers no doubt need rotation depth. His 1-6 record and 9.64 ERA in 2009 might be a tad mis-leading and maybe a change of scenery could do him some good.

I was just about to mention another pitcher who could be traded or non-tendered before tonight's deadline, but San Diego's Kevin Correia just re-upped with the Padres as I was typing this out. He probably would have been a better fit than Wang, in my opinion, but maybe the Dodgers will take a look at Wang either way.

Yesterday, when MLB Trade Rumors posted a list of non-tender candidates, I saw former Dodger catcher Dioner Navarro on the list as a candidate to be non-tendered by the Rays. Could there be a Dodger reunion in store? There's no telling as the Dodgers seem to be content with Russell Martin as the everyday catcher. And I would think Navarro would prefer to play everyday than sit and back-up the guy who essentially replaced him 2006 after he got hurt, and eventually demoted. Both players struggled offensively last season. Just a thought.

Torre on Game 1 and NLDS Roster Decisions

Jon Weisman over at Dodger Thoughts has all the quotes from Joe Torre regarding his decision to go with Vicente Padilla in Game 3 over Chad Billingsley, starting Ronnie Belliard over Orlando Hudson in Game 1, and perhaps Game 2, says Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness, and also some other roster decisions for the first round, including Ken Gurnick noting Jeff Weaver's inclusion, Blake DeWitt's omission, and the status of Hiroki Kuroda should the Dodgers advance to the NLCS.

Another Disappointing Loss

I'm not sure I'm surprised at all by this team's inability to beat the teams they're supposed to. This team seems to have a knack for playing down to the level of their opponents far to often, and tonight was no different.

They managed just one run against one of the worst teams in the league, and committed two more costly errors that would be difference in the game. The end result: a 3-1 loss and failure to clinch a playoff spot.

Jon Garland was solid again in his quest to clinch a spot in the post-season rotation, but the defense behind him would contribute to his 12th loss of the season. All three runs were unearned on two errors, one by Blake DeWitt, starting in place of Casey Blake who was resting a sore hamstring and had two doubles, and another by the usually sound James Loney. DeWitt and Loney also connected defensively on an infield hit that could have been ruled an error on either one of them.

Meanwhile, the Pirates win snapped a six-game losing streak, and coupled with Atlanta's win, the Dodgers failed to clinch that playoff berth. Their magic number to clinch remains at one, and four to clinch the division. The Rockies and Cards are still playing, and the Phillies already lost. The Dodgers continue to hold on to the best record in the N.L. which would give them home field in the LDS and LCS.

Randy Wolf gets the start tomorrow.

Update on O-Dog

Orlando Hudson is day-to-day after his trip-and-fall last night. With Ronnie Belliard playing well for the Dodgers, Hudson can afford to take a few days off to rest the wrist.

Here's tonight's lineup:

Furcal, 6

Ethier, 9

Manny, 7

Kemp, 8

Loney, 3

Belliard, 4

DeWitt, 5

Martin, 2

Padilla, 1

A win tonight cuts their magic number to clinch a playoff spot down to one. Their magic number for the division is 7.

Dodgers Bounce Back from Loss with Rout of Giants

Well that was nice of James Loney today.

Loney, who had 12 home runs this season heading into today's game against the Giants, waited until home game number 77 to finally hit his first home run of the season at Dodger Stadium as part of a 3 for 4 afternoon.

In all, the Blue smacked four home runs today as part of a 12-1 rout of the Giants. A first inning slam by Ronnie Belliard off former Dodger Brad Penny got the Dodgers off and running.

Matt Kemp preceded Loney's dinger with a solo shot of his own, part of a back-to-back job, and Blake DeWitt also added a solo shot of his own in the seventh inning. Jon Garland pitched eight brilliant innings today, giving the bullpen some much needed rest.

All this occurred after a rough night for the Blue last night. Vicente Padilla was ineffective for the first time as a Dodger, the offense struggled to come up with timely hits after they tied the game twice early after falling behind 1-0 and 4-1, and Chad Billingsley was even less effective in his first relief appearance of the season. All in all, despite home runs by Manny and Raffy Furcal, the 8-4 loss was one they'd just as soon forget, and today, they forgot about it.

Winning today might turn out to be bigger than they think as they have a tough task tomorrow afternoon having to face Tim Lincecum. Randy Wolf takes the hill for the Dodgers

As for Loney, he's been a tale of two hitters all season. While he's been superb on the road with .311/.389/.493 marks to go with his 12 home runs, at home, he's been a putrid .245/.317/.303 before today. Not to say the team need to address this in the off-season, but obviously they would hope for better consistency from him next season both at home and on the road, ot else they should address it.

As for now, they'll take anything they can get out of him, and Dodger fans would, too.

Opening Day Roster Is Set

UPDATE (8:47PM CT): The final cuts have now been made and much to my surprise, Ronald Belisario will make the team and take the final bullpen spot on the roster ahead of Tanyon Sturtze and Josh Lindblom. Lindblom is headed to AA-Chattanooga to work on being a starter. Ramon Troncoso has also made the team, as well.

Also making the team is Blake DeWitt, who the Dodgers apparently feel would act as a capable middle infield back-up. Juan Castro has been sent out to minor league camp and will re-assigned.

Still at issue, though, is the 40-man roster. The Dodgers have just one spot left on the 40-man for three guys (Belisario, Ohman, Meintkiewicz). Obviously this will work itself out over the next 20 hours or so.

And, forgot to mention earlier that James McDonald has officially been named the fifth starter and will start Friday night's game in Arizona.

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At least for the moment, it's set. Here's the official team release with the roster as of now. Keep in mind this will change between now and game time tomorrow.

Both Claudio Vargas and Delwyn Young are on the list, but both are expected to start the season on the DL. This will open up two spots, one for Will Ohman, who was told he won't have to go to Albuquerque to start the season, and another for Doug Meintkiewicz. With Ohman starting the season on the Big Club, Jeff Weaver, who many thought had made the club as the long-relief/spot-starter with a solid spring, will start the season in ABQ. The reason behind this move is the issue of the 40-man roster and making room on it for him, and any other non-roster invitee who should make the team. Also on the roster is Blake DeWitt, who appears to have beat out Juan Castro for the last bench spot.

In any case, Opening Day has all but arrived and the team is gearing up for the season with one last Spring Training hurrah up in San Francisco this afternoon. Four regulars did not make the trip up north inorder to get one last day of rest before the games begin: Manny, Raffy, O-Dog and Martin all stayed back in L.A. They will be in the lineup starting tomorrow.

The O-Dog Is In

UPDATE (2:22PM CT): Here is Gurnick's new story confirming the agreement with O-Dog, with details of the deal included.

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UPDATE (2:16pm CT): Think this isn't done or not happening? Earlier today, it was reported that the Dodgers had begun talks with Orlando Cabrera as possibility at second base. Ken Gurnick's story, which was posted on the Dodger website earlier, has since been removed.

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UPDATE (2:08pm CT): A little bit more here from Tony Jackson of the Daily News. Check out the response from Ned and Kim Ng when PR guy Josh Rawitch asked them about the same XM report I heard...

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Just heard on MLB Home Plate on Sirius XM that the Blue have agreed to a one-year deal with Orlando Hudson. A physical is all that's pending. There's a blurb here on MLBTradeRumors.com. No other info was provided, but I can tell you this:

The Dodgers have just solidified their middle infield defense with this, and have added a nice #2 hitter to their line-up. Re-upping with Manny would make this look even better. Git 'er done, Ned!

The downside to all this? Two things... One, Blake DeWitt could be the odd man out (granted it would be for only one year) if they do re-sign Manny. (Without Manny, the Dodgers could shuffle Casey Blake to the outfield and put DeWitt at third. This scenario obviously still leaves Juan Pierre without a job.) And two, the Dodgers lose their #17 pick in this year's draft to Arizona because Hudson was a Type-A free agent.

Weekly Musings From Dodger Camp

Some of the latest musings and links from around Dodger Spring Training...

• Missed this one last week, but fortunately, Russell Martin is fine after an MRI revealed no serious problems with his ankle. Maybe the Dodgers knew something when they signed Brad Ausmus that they would still need Danny Ardoin. Thank God that MRI was negative!
• Juan Pierre wants to either start, or be traded... again. Mr. Torre says 'no dice!'
  
• Jason Schmidt is aiming to reclaim a spot in the rotation. Good luck!
• Former Dodger Brad Penny traded barbs with third base coach Larry Bowa. Penny took the first shot, with a couple of jabs at the team included, while Bowa responded (check out the Torre quip after Bowa's reaction... great line by Joe Cool!) without ever reading or hearing what Penny said about him, or the Dodgers. I've always loved how Bowa has a way with words!
• Mr. Colletti says the Blue can afford both Orlando Hudson and Manny Ramirez if they want them both; they are indeed talking and remain interested in O-Dog. I'm still not sure why they need him, but Blake DeWitt can not be thrilled about this.
• Just before the team was to go in front of a three-man arbitration panel with Andre Ethier to determine his 2009 contract, the two sides reached an agreement to avoid the process. Apparently, getting all dressed up in suits and ties for nothing, and having a side meeting out in the hallway was all it took to iron out a deal.

There are some minor Manny dabbles out there, as well...

• Manny told one Giant player that he will be a Giant.
• A rumor made its rounds suggesting the Hated Ones to the North and Scott Boras were planning to meet in San Francisco; it was false. Then word was they've only had some conversations. The Giants insist they're simply just monitoring the situation. Right.
• Today we learn there apparently was some sort of counteroffer made by Boras on behalf of Manny to the Dodgers at some point; obviously Team Colletti felt it was too unrealistic for them to consider. We do know they've only made the two offers, and the two sides do continue to chit-chat.
• Read into this one however you want, but the Dodgers have reserved an empty locker in the corner of their Spring Training clubhouse for Manny.

In other words, nothing new to report on the Manny circus...

As The Manny-Saga Turns

Well, that was a fun two days of back and forth barbs from the Dodgers and Scott Boras. And so, as we approach Spring Training (pitchers and catchers report next weekend), as Tony Jackson of the Daily News so mildly put it about two hours ago: there's nothing new to report.

As I was preparing to sit down for dinner on Monday night (which comprised of roasted chicken with shell pasta in a light creamy white sauce for those of you nosey folks who are keeping score), we learned that the Dodgers had made what they called their third offer to lure Manny back to L.A. (Offer one: the two-year, $45MM offer made during the GM Meetings last November while the team still had exclusive negotiation rights with Manny; offer two: offering him arbitration in December, which would have arbitrarily made Manny a Dodger had he accepted it.) The initial reports suggested one-year, $25MM. Now that's a whole lotta cash if you ask me! The idea behind the offer was to give Manny the second highest annual salary in baseball history, and give him the opportunity to re-enter the market next year with a chance to to get the long-term deal he so covets in a potentially more stable economic environment, while he still has some years left in him.

Now, I'm not so sure what exactly Team Ned is trying to accomplish with Manny, but it came as no surprise to me that Manny rejected the deal not more than two hours later, as reports suggested once again. Some feel the Dodgers low-balled Manny. Some feel the offer was fair. I'm still on the fence as to which one it was, but one thing is still very clear to me: the Dodgers need Manny.

I have been reading from several baseball people online since Monday (and even before that from one or two others) that the Dodgers should just forget about Manny altogether, and move on to their Plan B. This apparently constitutes signing three guys instead of one: Adam Dunn, Orlando Hudson and Randy Wolf instead of Manny. Well, let's break this down for a minute here.

The Dodgers were already negotiating with Wolf, anyway, and are so close to inking the veteran southpaw, you can almost smell it in the L.A. smog. Signing Orlando Hudson would have made sense had they not re-signed Casey Blake back in December. But if you sign O-Dog now, where does that leave Blake DeWitt? Not to mention, we heard him campaigning on the new MLB Network on Monday night hoping that one of the two New York teams could make room for him. So does that mean he really has no interest in L.A. at all, even though they're "talking"? And let's get one other thing straight here: Adam Dunn is no Manny Ramirez. Sure, Dunn can hit 40 homeruns a year, and he has an insane knack for getting on base, which is rather shocking considering he's about a .240 hitter. But there's more to hitting than just hitting 40 homeruns. Manny hits roughly 35 homeruns a year, with the same ability to get on base, but he's a .330 hitter. I just don't see how people can be content with the current version of Dave Kingman or Rob Deer instead of Manny Ramirez, or even make the comparisons. Frankly, Plan B, and C, and D, make no sense to me what-so-ever.

The Blue had an abysmal offense last year before Manny showed up. Sure, Raffy Furcal missed most of the season, and if he had been healthy, things might have been different. But they weren't. The Dodger pitching staff kept the team afloat in a very mediocre division until Manny arrived. And now, even if they do add Wolf to the mix, the rotation still isn't good enough to win the division without Manny. They don't have enough offense without Manny to overcome Arizona or San Francisco's pitching. That's just the reality of it. (Heck, even a miracle season by the $47MM man probably couldn't even help!)

Manny single-handedly changed the dynamics of the Dodger offense, the team, the clubhouse, even the city! He reminded the young players on this team that it's okay to have fun while playing, even during the down times. Manny brings so much more to the game than just his bat. He brough an excitement to the team that hasn't been seen really, since the days of Fernando-mania (sans "Game Over." if you want to include it). That's how much the team needs him in their lineup. Because without him, even if you add Dunn, Hudson and Wolf, the Guys are just another average team in an average division.

So back to the circus itself. Colletti & Co. and Manny's reps (and Wolf's) continue to talk, and will continue to chat. All I can say is, just get it done, Ned. Stop screwing around. I realize Manny's age (he'll be 37 next month) is an issue, especially in the senior circuit without the benefit of the extra hitter, and the fact Manny Being Manny comes with the package, so be smart about it, but get it done.

Kuroda Nearly Perfect!

One pitch. That was the difference between a perfect game and a one-hitter. What a pitching performance tonight by Hiroki Kuroda. Atlanta's Mark Teixeira broke up Kuroda's perfect game leading off the 8th inning with a double that would turn out to be the only hit Kuroda would allow. With a little help from Blake DeWitt and Angel Berroa defensively, and Nomar Garciaparra's bat, the Dodgers helped Kuroda come close to the perfecto and earn the win that pulled the Dodgers even in the standings at 44-45 atop the NL West with Arizona.

Kuroda was masterful tonight, striking out six in the one-hit, complete-game shutout for the win. He kept the Atlanta hitters off-balanced all night, mixing his pitches very well, and getting some help by the Braves who were consistently swinging at first pitches all night. Final score: Dodgers 3, Braves 0.

I've seen a lot of great pitching performances in my lifetime but this one ranks up there with Nomo's no-no in Coors Field in 1996 and Fernando's no-no in 1990, even though Kuroda fell short of the perfect game. This is the second time this season Kuroda has taken a no-hitter into at least the seventh inning. The other time ended up in a loss in May against the Astros in a game the Astros would score eight runs over the final three innings against the bullpen to complete a three-game sweep of the Dodgers.

Dodgers Get No-Hit... And Win

No, that's not a typo. It really did happen! The Dodgers were no-hit through eight innings by two Angels pitchers, but came away with a 1-0 win thanks to an unearned run in the fifth inning. Unfortunately, by Major League Baseball rules, because the Dodgers were the home team and didn't bat in the ninth inning, the game does not count as an official no-hitter. Regardless, the Dodgers pulled off a rare feat.

Matt Kemp led off the fifth inning reaching base on a little roller down the first base line that was misplayed by Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver. The play was originally ruled a hit, and then changed to an error. Kemp then stole second base and took third base when Jeff Mathis' throw sailed over second base into center field. Blake DeWitt then hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Kemp, and the Dodgers made it hold up.

And we'll all take it. A win is a win, right? And it was a big win because Arizona won earlier tonight. So with the wins, Arizona (41-40) maintains a 2.5 game lead in the standings over the Dodgers, who improve to 38-42 with their second straight win. And, more importantly, the Dodgers trail by only two games in the loss column.

I dunno about anyone else, but this division, for the moment, reminds me of the division in 2006, when the Padres won the division with 82 wins. But with half a season still left to play, I think the Dodgers are in pretty good shape to start doing some good things here.

They are expected to get Rafael Furcal and Nomar Garciaparra back sometime next weekend, and Andruw Jones is about two weeks away from returning from the disabled list, as well. Hiroki Kuroda and Brad Penny threw in the pen today to test their shoulders, and felt no discomfort. The telling tale will be how they feel in the morning. And Jason Schmidt will be resuming his rehab this week, and he, too, could make his first appearance in over a year after the All-Star Break. So all-in-all, lots of good news for the Dodgers (although personally, I'd prefer if Schmidt never steps foot on a mound again as a Dodger).

In the meantime, they're getting some much needed help from the guys stepping up and filling in for Kuroda and Penny, as Chan Ho Park and Eric Stults have been solid in their absences. The same can't be said for Furcal's replacements. His replacements are hitting below .200 combined, and that's basically Chin-Ling Hu (.159), back in AAA Las Vegas, and Angel Berroa (.185 before tonight's game). Luis Maza (.236) has seen some play at short, but he's hitting a tad better than Hu and Berroa.

So, back to tonight's game. When was the last time a team lost a game after not allowing a hit? How about 1992. Long time ago. That was also the last unofficial no-hitter in Major League Baseball history.

Anyway, Dodgers take the series against the Angels, with one more tomorrow, and can sweep the series, and win the season series with the Angels with a win. John Lackey opposes Derek Lowe at the Ravine.

It's Been A While...

Yeah it sure has! I figured I'd give the team a month to get settled in before I really start to rip into the team or Joe Torre for their early failures and boneheaded moves. And for a while it looked like this was going to get ugly pretty quickly. But then the Pirates showed up in L.A., and after a terrible six-game trip to Cincy and Atlanta, the Rockies showed up, and all was well again!

One of the things I noticed over the first part of April was Joe Torre couldn't settle on one set lineup. And while I think this was part of the reason for the early struggles, I kind of got the feeling that because of odd scheduling and traveling during Spring Training, Torre never really got much of a chance to see where everyone fit into the lineup, and he never really got much of a feel for everyone's strengths and weaknesses. I don't know what it was that finally clicked on in his mind, but eventually he settled on a lineup that looks something like this:

SS - Furcal
LF - Ethier/Pierre
RF - Kemp
2B - Kent
1B - Loney
C - Martin
CF - Jones
3B - Dewitt

And with this lineup, the offense, which had been struggling to score runs (the team was already hitting, just not much with runners on), started to click and gel, and the team was off and running. In just a matter of an 8-game winning streak and winning 10 of 12 games, and 11 out of 15, the Dodgers cut Arizona's lead in the division in half from 6 to 3 games. And for a while there it looked like Arizona was going to run away with the division after their red-hot start. I know Arizona is good, and I knew they were going to be good, I just didn't think it would happen so soon and so quickly.

So for now, the Dodger offense is one of the best in the league as far as runs scored and team hitting, as they rank in the Top 5 in both categories. The pitching has also been spectacular, even after three poor outings by the starters in the just concluded Mets series. And the defense has been brilliant for the most part, as well.

My only concern at this point, really, is Andruw Jones' bat. This guy has all the talent in the world, and yet for whatever reason, he can't seem to get out of this funk he's in. Now, having played baseball growing up through high school, and having been taught how to hit, I can already see what Andruw's problems are. One, his back leg keeps flying out every time he swings at a bad pitch away. And two, his hips keep opening up which is keeping him off-balanced. And because one and two are so constant and consistent with him, it has all gone to head and become a mental thing. I know for a fact, from what I've heard and read, that he's been out at the ballpark early everyday and watching video with hitting coach Mike Easler trying to fix the problems. He sees the problem. He acknowledges it. He KNOWS it's a problem. And during his sessions with Easler, and during batting practice, the guy is a monster in the hitters box. But for whatever reason, he can't seem to translate all that into the games. And thus it has all gone to his head. I know this is so cliche, but he just needs to relax, stop thinking about everything, and just go out there and play. I can't see him hitting .170 with 1 home run the rest of the season, and I'm pretty confident he'll snap out of it. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Having said all that, Rafael Furcal is having a career year. Andre Ethier is quietly having a solid season so far. Matt Kemp has quickly become the team's best hitter. Jeff Kent has been as consistent as always. James Loney has made a name for himself as an elite first baseman. Russell Martin is following up his All-Star season with another stellar start. Blake Dewitt, who wasn't even supposed to be in big league camp during Spring Training, let alone the everyday third baseman through the first month of the season, has done a solid job of holding down the fort at the hot corner until Andy Laroche and/or Nomar are ready. And when they are, how do you send Dewitt down? And then there's Juan Pierre. I'm still not much of a fan of his, especially after his boneheaded play after stealing second base the other night, but he has quietly gone out and done his job as a part-time player and hasn't complained about it once. And he's been fairly decent in left field, too. And the pitching has more or less done what it has had to do to keep the team in most of these games to allow the offense to do their thing.

So, as it turns out, it looks like the Dodgers are in this for the long haul, and as a fan, I couldn't be more thrilled with what has transpired through the first 34 games.

Historical Night Concludes at Coliseum

Well, I wasn't able to personally be at the Coliseum last night for the historical night, but watching from afar on television, I was just as much in awe as I would have been if I had been there. From the wacky television camera angles, to the cooky dimensions, it was certainly a night to remember. Playing before the largest crowd ever in baseball history, the Red Sox upended the Dodgers 7-4 in front of an announced crowd of 115,300. That's in tickets sold! And even more importantly, as the event was part of the kickoff of the Dodgers 50th season in Los Angeles, all the proceeds from the event were going to ThinkCure, the Dodgers charity for cancer research.

The center field camera, usually just to the left or right of the pitcher in straight-away center field, was out in right-center field, almost directly behind the second base umpire much of the night. The dimensions were just as strange: 201 feet down the left field line, 374 to center, and about 300 down the right field line, almost an exact replica of the field as it was at the Coliseum from 1958 to 1961. Also in place was the 62-foot high screen from the left field foul line to left-center field as it was from '58 to '61. (Three home runs were hit over the screen: two by the Red Sox, one by James Loney of the Dodgers.) The bullpens were side-by-side in foul territory beyond the Red Sox third base dugout.

Even stranger was watching the defense in action. The Dodgers apparently did some homework and opted to scratch a left-fielder, allow the shortstop and third baseman to cover left field with the short dimensions and go with five infielders. Center fielder Andruw Jones played directly behind second base much of the night, and even covered second base on at least two occasions on stolen base attempts by the Red Sox. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier were left to cover center and right fields.

The Dodgers were never really in the game, but that didn't appear to dampen anyone's spirits at the game. There was a beach ball sighting or two in the stands. What would a Dodger game be without a beach ball bouncing around amongst the crowd? There was even a wave! (History tidbit: the wave originated at the Coliseum in 1984 during the Summer Olympics, when fans grew bored between the day and night events; the wave was their way of keeping themselves entertained between events.) But, as it is at most Dodger games in L.A., some of the crowd began to head for the exits in the 7th inning. And slowly the game, the night, the event, came to a close as Jonathan Papelbon struggled to get the final three outs of the game.

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Some notes following the game heading into opening day tomorrow afternoon:

* Brad Penny was named the Opening Day starter tomorrow by Joe Torre. This will be Penny's first Opening Day start as a Dodger.

* The fifth spot in the rotation was awarded to Esteban Loaiza, in part because he has a guaranteed contract in place for the season. Loaiza didn't particularly have a good spring. Chan Ho Park did have a brilliant spring, and would have been the better choice of the two, but he doesn't have a guaranteed contract, and it appears he will be sent down to AAA Las Vegas, and not forgotten. Jason Schmidt will start the season on the DL as expected, and Clayton Kershaw, who had a brilliant Spring, will be sent down to the minors.

* Blake Dewitt has emerged as the third baseman for Opening Day with Nomar Garciaparra, Andy Laroche and Tony Abreu all expected to start the season on the DL.

* Jeff Kent made his Spring debut on Friday, played all nine innings last night, and will likely play today to gear up for Opening Day tomorrow. There was concern he might start the season on the DL to give his injured hamstring more time to heal, leaving the Dodgers even thinner in the infield. There was also speculation that Dodgers had been talking to Kansas City for infielder Esteban German, but the Royals were said to be dead set on receiving Chin-Lung Hu in return, something Dodgers were unwilling to do. Instead, Hu will now be one of the two reserve infielders, along with Delwyn Young. Veteran Ramon Martinez has been cut.

* Rudy Seanez and Mike Myers were released earlier in the week after both had poor Springs. Rookie reliever Ramon Troncoso has impressed enough during Spring to earn a spot in the bullpen. Hong-Chih Kuo also makes the club as the team's long-reliever/spot starter.

* Mark Sweeney has made the club, as well, as the primary pinch hitter and backup to James Loney at first base.

* And last but not least, it appears Juan Pierre has played himself out of a starting job after hitting .169 entering today's Spring finale. I had been campaigning since the day he was signed that he shouldn't have been signed, and campaigning even moreso since Jones was signed in December that he shouldn't even be in the starting lineup. With Jones in center field having pushed Pierre to left field temporarily, Ethier and Kemp should be the obvious choices to play everyday over Pierre anyway, as they are better offensively, and both have better arms, and can cover just as much ground as Pierre defensively. They both also earned their jobs by having solid Springs. Jason Repko has also made the club.