Back In It...

Been a couple of weeks since I've had a chance to post anything. Sorry for the long layoff.

Been a good couple of weeks for the Blue. They officially signed David Wells (and dumped Brett Tomko - since picked up by the Padres) who's had two effective starts so far (he is now serving his suspension he received while he was with San Diego and Eric Stults took his spot in the rotation last night). The team also picked up Esteban Loaiza off waivers from Oakland, and he had a very good start on Monday against the Cubs in his first start . Loaiza is signed through next season so this could be a bargain pick-up and he should ultimately help them next year, as well, provided he's healthy.

Minus two rough weekends (one in New York, and one in San Diego) where they lost two out of three, the Dodgers have been rolling and have picked up as much as 4.5 games in the standings in both the division and Wild Card races. They are currently three games back in the Wild Card, tied with Philly (great finish yesterday against Atlanta if you didn't see or hear about it), and four games back of Arizona in the division, three back of San Diego.

Grady still insists, even this time of year when every game is bigger than the one before with less than a month left, on giving certain guys days off and playing certain guys who really shouldn't be playing at all. Still not sure how Gonzo still finds his way into the lineup every other day. And I'm beyond disgusted with Juan Pierre's play in centerfield, even moreso because he doesn't even come close to making it up with his offense. The guy still hits far too many balls in the air. And the bone-headed base-running plays have got to stop. This team runs out of so many innings it's almost laughable. I don't mind the aggressiveness on the bases but I hate guys who don't make fundamental judgments. And because he's only 22 and hitting around .345 over the last few weeks hitting in the three-slot in the lineup, Matt Kemp gets a slight reprieve from all of this even though he's the one making more mistakes on the base paths than anyone else.

Anyway, enough ranting. The team has won 13 of its last 20 and the offense has found its groove again. The pitching has been even better, on most nights. That said, getaway day at the Friendly Confines today as the Dodgers look to take three of four in the series and five of seven overall against the Cubbies. Lineup is posted already on Inside the Dodgers. No Kent (day off) but Gonzo is in there as the clean-up hitter (why?) and Martin's back after a day-off last night and a precautionary MRI on his knee. Enjoy the game Game time is in 90 minutes on FSN Prime Ticket with Vin!

What A Difference...

A week makes. Still no winning streak of more than three games, but only two losses (one being the 14-inning affair last Saturday against the Rockies that saw them erase a 4-1 deficit in the 7th and 8th innings) since last Tuesday's bizarre ending. And despite the Dodgers insistence of still giving Gonzo regular playing time (more on this in a minute) despite his poor second half, and despite Kemp and Ethier's hot hitting of late, the offense has regained its groove. The pitching, minus Brett Tomko's start on Tuesday, has been brilliant in the last week. But could that have been his last start? He is scheduled to go Sunday, but that could change by tomorrow.

A follow-up to a Buster Olney of ESPN.com report I mentioned a week ago, according to the Newark Star-Ledger (via MLBTradeRumors.com and Rotoworld.com), David Wells might be close to signing with the Dodgers for the remainder of the season. If the deal gets done by tomorrow, he could start Sunday's game in NY at Shea against the Mets. At this point, I figure almost anyone might be a better option than Tomko.

Ok, back to Gonzo. For those who know me, I've been very skeptical of the Dodgers signings this past off-season since they happened, especially Gonzo's (mostly because they had already inked Juan Pierre to his ridiculous five-year deal). Now, I like the guy, and he's been a solid ballplayer for many years (and he showed some of this in the first half of the season, silencing me during that time), but there really is no excuse for him getting any regular playing time these days. Rotoworld had this to say abut Gonzo a couple hours ago, and I can't help but agree with it:

Gonzalez is batting just .224 with one homer in 107 at-bats since the All-Star break. He's even stopped walking, with just five base on balls in the second half after he had 41 in 293 at-bats before the break. Especially after factoring in defense, the Dodgers would seem to be quite a bit better off with both Ethier and Kemp playing regularly right now. Blame Grady Little for continuing to sign play Gonzalez, but also blame GM Ned Colletti, who gave the 39-year-old a $7.35 million contract when there was very little upside to the move. Plus, Colletti had to know Little would stick with him far too long if he wasn't any good.

I'll leave it at that for now.

Anyway... nice effort the last two games in Philly. D-Lowe and Billingsley finally each found the win column again, but it was more than just run support. They both pitched solid games last night and today, respectively. They both looked like they finally found their groove again. D-Lowe had been struggling since his hip injury a month ago, and while Billingsley had been pitching solidly even before today, it was good to seem him finally get some run support for a win. The Dodgers touched the dish 20 times (15 last night) in these two games, and hopefully they can carry this combo of timely hitting and solid, effective, consistent pitching into this weekend's showdown at Shea as they continue their push back into a playoff spot.

This Just In...

According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, the Dodgers (and Rockies) are showing interest in starting pitcher David Wells. Wells cleared waivers and became a free agent Thursday. Stay tuned as this story continues to develop...