Busy Baseball Day

And the day ain't over yet!

Three big potential deals are close to be completed, so let's get right to it.

First, on the free agent front, John Lackey reached an agreement with the Red Sox on a five year, $85MM deal. This deal is pending a physical, which Lackey apparently took today.

Lackey should fit in very nicely in the middle of the BoSox's rotation, giving some much needed depth they were lacking (no pun intended) the last two seasons. Could this deal be a precursor to another big deal that could net them a big bat? Maybe Clay Buccholz for a hitter? Adrian Gonzalez? We'll find out soon enough.

While the Angels appeared to have all but lost one player, it looks like they're gaining another. The Halos are nearing a deal with DH Hideki Matsui on what would be a one-year deal for roughly $6.5MM.

But the big deal of the day is a blockbuster three-way trade that involves two Cy Young Award winners. Toronto has agreed in principle to send Roy Halladay to the Phillies, and then send Cliff Lee, whom they acquired in July, to Seattle. What hasn't been confirmed is whom Toronto is getting in all this. But speculation is both Seattle and Philly would send a total of four players, including Phillies prospect Michael Taylor, and at least two Mariners prospects to the Jays.

Halladay has reportedly agreed to an extension with the Phillies.

Whew! Get all that?!

Seems to me the Phillies are giving up quite a bit for Halladay, considering they're also signing him to an extension. It doesn't seem like the Jays are getting much from either team for Halladay. And so, to me, if the deal goes down as reported, the Mariners are the obvious clear-cut winner in this deal, even if they only get Lee for one year.

Halladay is no doubt a beast on the mound, and his numbers should only improve in the N.L. However, does he make the Phillies that much better if they're giving up Lee in the deal? I don't think so. But he still makes them at least the early favorites to repeat in the N.L. The Braves might be their biggest divisional threat heading into the season.

Add Lee in Seattle with Felix Hernandez, and you have arguably the best 1-2 punch in the A.L. And if they add a bat with a little pop to the middle of their lineup, they'll become the clear-cut favorites in the A.L. West. Heck, they might very well be the favorites now, considering the Angels just lost Lackey from their rotation, lost out on Halladay, and lost Chone Figgins to these same Mariners.

And let's not forget, the Rangers got slightly better, as well, trading Kevin Millwood and replacing him with Rich Harden in the rotation. If their young hurlers can improve on 2009, they'll be right there in the mix, as well.

Should be an interesting season in the A.L. in 2010.

Free Agency Filings, and More!

With the World Series officially behind us, the off-season has officially begun, and today was the first day for potential free agents to start filing. Players have 15 days to file and teams have an exclusive window to negotiate with their players before they can begin talking and negotiating with other teams. As far as the Dodgers go, six players have officially filed for free agency today.

• Ronnie Belliard
• Orlando Hudson
• Doug Mientkiewicz
• Jon Garland
• Randy Wolf
• Eric Milton

Also filing today was Angels pitcher John Lackey.

Earlier today, the Angels re-upped outfielder Bobby Abreu for two more years with an option for 2013, and the White Sox inked Mark Kotsay to a one-year deal.

One trade that was reported as done this afternoon is apparently not official yet. The trade would send Mark Teahen from the Royals to the White Sox in exchange for infielders Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Perhaps this gets done tomorrow.

Another trade did get done later this afternoon when the Red Sox acquired outfielder Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins in exchange for two minor league pitchers, Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez. There was a ton of questioning as for the Red Sox motives for acquiring Hermida but Red Sox GM said tonight that he couldn't pass up the deal because they got the promising young outfielder for a very reasonable price.

The Braves and pitcher Tim Hudson are closing in on a three-year extension, pending an MRI.

Former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle was finally named the Rangers new hitting coach this morning.

And finally, tonight's story of the day belongs to the Giants' Tim Lincecum, who was busted for possession of marijuana after a routine traffic stop in Washington state. The possession charge is considered to only be a misdemeanor, and charges are expected to be dropped since it's Lincecum's first offense, and he is cooperating with authorities. He'll likely have to pay a small fine of a couple hundred dollars.

A Sweep and Interleague

Well, that was a nice ending to the Mets series. Dodgers complete a three-game sweep and improved their record to 29-13 (17-3 at home). But then last night happened.

During the Mets series, the Dodger offense started showing signs of living dangerously, and last night it caught up with them. It seems the Dodgers are starting to find it a wee-bit difficult to hit with runners in scoring position, and last night it proved to be costly as the Angels won the first game of their interleague matchup this weekendm handing the Dodgers a rare loss at home.

Clayton Kershaw didn't pitch very well either, but got lucky because the Angel bats had just as much trouble with runners in scoring position as the Dodgers did. The difference? While the Dodgers couldn't do anything against Angels starter Jered Weaver or the Angels pen, the Angels got that big hit when they needed it, and it turned out to be the game winner when Chone Figgins singled in two runs with the bases loaded in the 8th inning off losing pitcher Cory Wade.

The defense was pretty good in this game, as well. Most notably, Angel centerfielder Torii Hunter made two spectacular catches in the game, one of which probably saved an extra base hit off the bat of Casey Blake, and perhaps a run.

And, by the way, what has happened to Andre Ethier? His bat has gone comletely cold, and quiet, since Manny's suspension. I know the kid is a very good hitter, and a solid player, but it's become quite apparent that his offense has suffered immensely without Manny hitting in front of him. It is nice to see, however, Juan Pierre still tearing the cover off the ball in Manny's absence. Obviously Pierre doesn't possess the same power as Manny, but he's certainly proving his worth to this team by getting on base and being the table-setter for the offense. The Dodgers lead the Majors with 44 first inning runs.

Here is tonight's lineup, as the Dodgers send Randy Wolf to face off against Angels ace John Lackey, making just his third start of the season.

Mini Streak is Over

The Blue were on a little mini three-game streak that came to a crashing end tonight with a 6-3 loss in Miami. First time since 2007 the Marlins have beaten the Dodgers at home, which is now called Land Shark Stadium. The field was littered with reflective strands from give-away pom poms that were wind driven onto the field after some of the poms poms were thrown by kids in the general direction of the Dodger pen in the left field corner.

Dodgers actually led in this game but with the score tied 2-2 in the 6th, Jeff Weaver relieved the newest AARP member to join the team in recent weeks, Eric Milton, and gave up a two-out, two-run homerun to Marlins catcher, Scott Baker. The Fish never looked back. Milton was called up from AAA Albuquerque yesterday to replace James McDonald, who was sent down. Weaver was then yanked from the rotation and thrown back out into a pen desperate for arms. The addition of Milton in the rotation gives the Blue four lefties in the rotation (Milton, Kershaw, Wolf and Stults).

The Dodgers impressively won the final two games of their three game series in Philly earlier in the week, then hung on as the Marlins nearly rallied against Jonathan Broxton in ninth inning last night. While Broxton was able to get the last out before the tying runs could score last night, he couldn't get that last out on Thursday, blowing a 3-1 lead with two outs, and costing Chad Billingsley another well deserved win. It was the second time Broxton had blown a possible win for Billingsley. But once again, the offense rallied, and Broxton was awarded the win. Broxton now has four wins and nine saves in 11 tries. Speaking of the offense, both Juan Pierre and Russell Martin have been red-hot of late, especially Pierre since replacing Manny in the lineup.

Kershaw takes the bump for the Blue tomorrow in the road trip finale. A series win would be nice heading back home with the Mets and Angels waiting in the wings on the next homestand. Speaking of the Angels, anyone see John Lackey get tossed today after throwing just two pitches? Pretty comical, if you ask me!

Did Anyone Else Just See That?

The Angels-Rangers game here in Arlington was scheduled for a 3:05 start local time. John Lackey, who just came off the DL today, was to make his first start of the season for the Angels. But rain delayed the start of the game about 80 minutes. The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first before Lackey took the mound. Then the strange happened. Two guys in the lineup have hit Lackey very well in the past, including leadoff hitter Ian Kinsler. (Rangers just tie it up on a sac fly, 1-1.) Lackey's first pitch of his season, to Kinsler, was behind him. No harm done. Maybe he's still a little rusty. Lackey's second pitch was no better. It hit Kinsler. Home plate umpire Bob Davidson quickly tosses Lackey from the game. After two pitches. No warnings were given. I swear, I have never seen anything like this before in my life! Mike Scioscia came out to argue, to no avail. And Lackey was stunned. And rightfully so. I'm not sure there was any intent there to hit him. But it is what it is. Shane Loux has now taken over for Lackey. Strange.

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.