Mr. Pierre Goes to Chicago

To the White Sox, that is.

It was really only a matter of time before a deal would be consummated, as it had been known since last off-season that Juan Pierre wanted out of L.A. so he could play everyday elsewhere. This morning, they finally unloaded him to the White Sox in exchange for two infamous players-to-be-named later, most likely pitchers, and cash.

Whom those players are remains to be seen but we do know this: the Dodgers are off the hook for just a little under half of what's left of his contract. He has two years, $18.5MM left. That means Dodgers will pay roughly $10.5MM of that while the White Sox will be responsible for $3MM in 2010 and $5MM in 2011.

Could this $8MM savings be used to lure a starting pitcher on the free agent market? Only time will tell.

It would be nice to know who the Dodgers will get back in return but I think they did well on this deal just on the simple fact they were able to unload Pierre and managed to get another team to send them cash to help pay for almost half of what's left of his contract. They also did well just on the fact they're also getting two players out of it. And if they ever pan, out, that's just extra gravy on the potatoes. But until we know whom they get in return, and how well Pierre performs in Chicago, it's too early to say who the winner and loser of this deal really is.

On the Dodgers side, the departure of Pierre means that Xavier Paul will become the fourth outfielder. But for the White Sox, this gives Pierre a chance for more playing time again. They have Alex Rios in right and Carlos Quentin in left. They signed Andruw Jones to a contact several weeks ago, but his role is probably undetermined, so you would have to assume Pierre would become the centerfielder in Chicago.

As for Pierre and the Dodgers. I was never a big fan of signing Pierre in the first place because it seemed like it was a desperation move on Ned Colletti's part at the time of the signing. They had missed out on several other key free agent outfielders at the time, most notably Carlos Lee, Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez, and his signing also meant one of the other outfielders, Andre Ethier or Matt Kemp, would be benched or thrown into a platoon role because Luis Gonzalez was was just signed to play left field. And looking ahead to the following season, they knew guys like Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones, whom they eventually signed anyway, would be available. They could have just re-signed Kenny Lofton to another one-year deal as stop-gap until they signed Jones and Gonzalez came off the books. Jones never panned out and they eventually traded for Manny Ramirez during the 2008 season, leaving the Dodgers with an expensive bench player in Pierre. But even before the Jones deal, you had to think, and I did, that he would have been a better option than signing Pierre to that ridiculous five-year, $44MM contract.

You can't really fault Pierre though. He never complained when his role was diminished; he busted his tail off whenever he did play. But as Jon Weisman points out here, Pierre's 2009 season, as good as it was for a fourth outfielder, was a fluke. The numbers he put up as a fourth outfielder were too good to be true. They were far better than anything he'd put up in the last four seasons, three of which he was a regular, and it still didn't come close to the "off" season Manny had in 2009. In other words, Pierre has never had a season as good as Manny's "off" year last season. And, to finish reiterating Weisman's point, in his words, "No amount of hustle or intangibles can make up the difference in quality between Pierre and Ramirez." I couldn't have said it any better myself.

So, the logjam in the outfield that was created when the Dodgers irresponsibly signed Pierre before the 2007 season is finally a distant memory. And any way you want to slice it, the deal is a good one for the Dodgers.

Winter Meetings Hot Stove

I promised myself I would avoid posting every little Dodger rumor that flew across the rumor mill since there's already a site that covers that for us fans. Having said that, there might be a little three-team ditty brewing out there in Indy involving the Blue that caught my attention.

While there are no specifics available, it seems pretty obvious to me that the Dodgers are intent on trying to please Juan Pierre and finding him an everyday job he so desires with another team. That team right now could be Detroit. And in light of yesterday's other three-team barter that will eventually send Curtis Granderson from the Tigers to the Bronx once physicals are passed, it seems that the Motor City Cats could use another veteran outfielder.

But the Dodgers need pitching, and while the Tigers seem to have a couple of "bad" contracts among their starters to exchange for Pierre's similarly "bad" contract (he's still owed roughly $18.5MM over the next two years), Detroit is content with their pitching and would prefer to move 1B/3B/DH extraordinaire Carlos Guillen instead, someone the Dodgers don't need. So Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is searching for a third team to get the Dodgers their starting pitcher they so covet.

And for the record, nothing is imminent. There's no "talk" as far as who that third team is, or could be, if this ever comes to fruition. But since three-team swaps seem to be the way to go these days, it would seem to me that if the Dodgers are ever to move Pierre, this would seem to be the most logical route to get something done.

All Even!

More on the Dodgers dramatic 2-1 win a bit later while I gather some thoughts together, but in the meantime, for your viewing pleasure, a snapshot of TBS on top of things as the ninth inning got underway...

Juan Pierre had just entered the game to take over in left field for Manny...

Some Labor Day Musings

While the Dodgers were powering their way past the D-backs, 7-2, this afternoon, I couldn't help but get a chuckle out of the Dodgers latest reported injury. As if the unpredictable sidelinings of Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda last month weren't enough to hamper the rotation, add Clayton Kershaw to the infirmary list with a bizarre injury.

Yesterday, Kershaw injured his shoulder while shagging flyballs at Dodger Stadium during pregame batting practice when he unexpectedly hit the outfield wall. The result? A sore shoulder and a missed start this weekend in San Francisco.

And add newly acquired disignated hitter Jim Thome to the list of ailings. Thome reinjured a heel problem he's had for several years last night while pinch-hitting and is listed as day-to-day.

As for today's game, the Blue displayed some of the power they've shown in recent weeks. Manny and James Loney hit back-to-back homeruns in the second inning, and Ronnie Belliard belted his second homer since being acquired last week in the fourth inning.

Tempers flared briefly after Belliard's homerun when Arizona starter Max Scherzer plunked Russell Martin in the middle of the back with a fastball. Both teams were warned by the umpires. When the inning ended, both Martin and Scherzer continued to jaw at each other as they ran off the field, but no further incidents occured in the game.

But the talk of the day, really, was Manny. And not because of his homerun. After striking out on three straight pitches to end the third inning, Manny angrily tossed his bat and helmet away, turned to the home plate umpire and said something, and was quickly tossed from the game. What he said, we'll never know, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the two previous pitches (the first one was outside; the second one was inside but borderline). Juan Pierre finished the game in left field for Manny.

Meanwhile, Belliard has been a welcome addition. With Casey Blake nursing a nagging hamstring, all Belliard has done in starting six straight games for the Dodgers since coming over from Washington is go for 10 for 27, with two homeruns and six RBI, including finishing a triple shy of hitting for the cycle today.

Credit Ned Colletti for finding Belliard when they really needed him. He was supposed to be a power source off the bench when he was acquired, but then Thome fell into their hands and Belliard has filled in nicely for Blake, while also spelling Orlando Hudson twice last week at second base.

As for the team itself, I'm beginning to think this team is a better road team now than they are at home. I'm not sure what it is because they were cruising at home when the season started, winning their first 13 games at home, but they seem to be much more relaxed on the road right now. So would it be such a bad thing if the Dodgers didn't have home field advantage in the N.L. playoffs? Only time will tell. They play 15 of their final 24 games on the road.

There were no changes in the standings today as the Rockies and Giants both won, as well. The Dodgers continue to lead the Rockies by 3½ games and the Giants by 5½, with the Rockies still holding a two-game edge in the Wild Card over the Giants. The Cards also won, so they remain even with the Dodgers for the best record in the N.L. with identical 82-57 records.

The Blue send Billingsely to the bump tomorrow night to face Arizona's Billy Buckner.

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.

Interleague Success... Finally! And Manny...

The Blue are not known for having much success over the years since interleague began play in the mid 90s. So when I last blogged here in this space, the Dodgers were about to dive into the bulk of their interleague schedule with five straight series against AL opponents. Most seasons, that would be a cause for concern for Dodger fans. But so far, they've come out of the first three in pretty good shape, having won two of three in each of three series, at Texas, at home against Oakland, and at Anaheim (who took two of three from the Blue at the Ravine back in May).

Last weekend the Dodgers were here in town in Arlington, and I was thrilled to have finally gotten a chance to see them play, although I wished Manny had played. In any case, it was a good weekend for the Dodgers.

On Friday night, the Rangers beat up on the Dodgers, 6-0, with a furious lightning storm just out behind right field throughout much of the game, followed by a fireworks show after the game. There were no fireworks on the field from the Dodgers on that night. Then on Saturday night, a bank of lights never came on, and a one hour, 40 minute delay ensued waiting for the electric company to fix a breaker that malfunctioned, and halted a scoreless pitching duel through five innings. When play resumed, the fans were treated to free tickets for an upcoming July 5th game against Tampa for waiting out the delay, and the Dodgers would cash in on a 3-1 win, just their sixth road interleague win since 2005. The Rangers lone run came on a solo homerun from former Dodger Andruw Jones that tied the game 1-1 in the sixth inning. Matt Kemp untied with a two-run shot in the seventh inning. And on a blistering scorcher on Sunday afternoon, the Dodgers grabbed the series with a 6-3 win behind Chad Billingsley's ninth win of the season.

The Blue then headed back to LA for a three-gamer against Oakland in a rematch of the 1988 World Series. And just like 1988, the Dodgers would win Game One, 5-4, in walk-off fashion on a 10th inning RBI single from Kemp. The A's then had to hold of the Dodgers to win the second game by the same 5-4 score. But the Dodgers got the last laugh in the finale, holding off Oakland for a 3-2 win, marking the 2,195th career managing win for Joe Torre, putting him 5th on the all-time wins list for managers, passing Hall of Famer, Sparky Anderson.

The Dodgers then traveled south about 40 minutes down I-5 to Anaheim, and capped off the week with the Angels. On Friday night, the Blue held a 4-1 lead before the Angels would tie it with three runs in the sixth. Jose Guillen then untied it with a solo homerun in the eighth inning of Guillermo Mota, enough for a 5-4 win. But the Dodgers bounced right back, and Jeff Weaver outdueled his brother Jered for the Angels last night in the Dodgers 6-4 win. And then tonight, behind a stellar performance from Clayton Kershaw, the Blue took the series with an impressive 5-3 win to even up the season series with the Angels at three games apiece.

Several things of note to mention during this nine game stretch. First, the Dodgers have got to do something about Mota. Everytime this guy comes in to pitch, I cringe. And I'm probably exaggerating here when I say this, but everytime Mota pitches, it seems like he's either giving up a lead, or allowing the opponent to get back into the game. There's got to be someone else they can use instead of this guy.

I've also noticed Russell Martin's struggles offensively. Sure, he finally hit his first homerun of the year last night, but I really think there's something going on with him, and my guess is it's all mental. Earlier in the season, I had heard or read somewhere (I wish I could remember where so I could back this up with a source) that because he wasn't hitting for any power, Martin had it in his head that he couldn't hit for power anymore. Hitting coach Don Mattingly has been trying to remind him all season, or least since that point when Martin felt he couldn't hit for power anymore, that Martin still has the tools to be a solid power hitter in the middle of the Dodger lineup. Mattingly says Martin still has no idea how good he really is, and he's been trying to get Martin to realize that he's a far better hitter than what we've seen so far this season.

And as solid as Juan Pierre has been in Manny's absence, I can not wait until he is out of the lineup again. Pierre has been an unexpected, pleasant surprise, but his outs are still very predictable, and very annoying. The guy's outs are still the same: either pop-up or fly outs to left field, or grounders to the right side, usually second base. Fortunately, because of the balance in the lineup with Casey Blake and Orlando Hudson, and the maturity of guys like Kemp, James Loney, and Andre Ethier, Pierre's outs, when he makes them, don't always kill rallies, or put additional pressure on the rest of the lineup.

It's nice to see everyone picking up the slack when someone isn't doing so well at a given time, and it's even nicer to see someone different be the hero every night. This is a total team effort. And they've more than proven that in the 41 games since Manny's suspension began. So, having said all that, Manny is expected to begin a "rehab" assignment Tuesday with Albuquerque for three games, and then finish up with a few games next weekend with the Inland Empire 66ers, before rejoining the team on July 3rd in San Diego.

And while Manny is making his tour with the Dodgers West Coast affiliates for about a week, the Dodgers head off to the Windy City for an interleague series with the White Sox beginning Tuesday night before heading back home to wrap up their interleague schedule with a three-gamer agianst the Mariners. Then the red-hot Rockies arrive in L.A. for three games before the series in San Diego, marking Manny's return.

The Comeback Kids

The Blue pulled off three big comeback wins this week, but the offense continues to struggle after a 7-2 loss tonight at Dodgertown to finish the week 4-3.

The Dodgers looked like they were well on their way to losing a series at home to the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks early in the week, before they pulled off comeback number one.

After losing the opening game to Arizona, 3-2, they had to face Dan Haren in the second game. Haren was staked to a 5-0 lead when Justin Upton smacked a second inning grand slam off Randy Wolf. When Haren would leave the game later in the evening, his team led 5-1 after an Andre Ethier solo home run. Then the D-backs pen took over, and so did the Dodgers. They rallied in the eighth inning for five runs, capped by a bases-clearing double by James Loney, and held on to win 6-5. They won the series with a 1-0 win the following night.

On Thursday, the defending World Champion Phillies arrived, and took the first game of a four-game series, 3-0. Then came the second comeback win. On Friday night, trailing 3-2 in the ninth inning with two out against Philly closer Brad Lidge, the Dodgers put runners at first and second before Pedro Feliz booted a Russell Martin grounder to third to load the bases. Andre Ethier then smacked the first pitch he saw from Lidge for a two-run double into the right field corner to win the game.

Then yesterday, with a 2-1 lead, Brad Lidge was summoned yet again, and this time Rafael Furcal hit a pinch-hit, game-tying home run to right off Lidge, to send the game into extra frames. Andre Ethier then hit a walk-off solo home run in the 12th inning, his second of the game, and the Blue came out victorious again, 3-2, capping off the third comeback win of the week. The Phils would salvage a split with the win tonight.

Despite a pretty decent week that saw them maintain the league's best record at 39-20, and the best home record in the league at 22-8, the Dodger offense has been sputtering of late. With the exception of the 8-0 win last Sunday in Chicago, and the 6-5 win comeback win on Tuesday, the offense has not scored more than four runs in a game since the team left Denver on May 27th. This isn't too much of a concern, as Manny Ramirez is due back in about three weeks from his 50-game suspension, but it is hard to not notice when the team had been averaging roughly 5.5 runs per game up to that point. The pitching, for the most part, has still been fairly consistent.

Andre Ethier appears to ahve finally shaken off his May struggles since Manny's suspension, hitting three home runs this past week. For Ethier, by the way, his two walk-off hits this weekend marked his second and third of the season, and his sixth overall in the past two seasons combined, the most by any one hitter in baseball during that time. Matt Kemp continues to hit the ball well, but the rest of the lineup has struggled a bit the last 10 games, including Juan Pierre and Orlando Hudson at the top of the order.

Hopefully a day off tomorrow will help, as some guys could use the rest. The Dodgers haven't had very many off days in recent weeks, and with a few guys ailing a bit, the off day would be a great help. After the day off tomorrow, the Dodgers have two games at the Ravine against San Diego before another off day Thursday to travel to Texas, where they'll restart their interleague schedule with three games in Arlington against the Rangers, who currently have the best record in the AL.

Dodgers Lose at Wrigley

The Cubs got a little help from the umpires today in the eighth inning, and their bullpen got out of a couple of messes to beat the Dodgers 2-1. They got the tie-breaking run on a bases-loaded sac fly off Billingsley in the seventh inning. In the eighth, after pinch-hitter Rafael Furcal walked, Juan Pierre squared around to bunt on a pitch as Furcal broke for second base. However, the pitch broke towards Pierre's back foot, and hit him as he pulled the bat back. Pierre should have been awarded first base. Instead, the umpires convened to discuss it and ruled that Pierre swung at the pitch for a strike, thus nullifying Pierre being hit, and sending Furcal back to first. A couple of pitches later, Pierre hit into a double-play, even though replays showed Pierre had beaten the throw to first.

The loss snaps the Blue's four-game winning streak, who are now 34-16 overall. Tomorrow's game is a FOX game starting at 3:10 Chicago time. Eric Stults opposes Ryan Dempster.

Dodgers Roll Again

The Blue cruised to yet another win, beating the Rockies 7-1 at Coors Field tonight. Eric Milton got his first win as a Dodger, his first overall in nearly three years, and Casey Blake continued his red-hot hitting with a bases-clearing double in the 5th inning that gave the Dodgers a 4-0 lead they would never relinquish. Juan Pierre added three more hits with a couple of RBI, and the O-dog chipped in with two hits, extending his hitting streak to 16 games. Dodgers improve to 32-15, and coupled with San Diego's loss in Arizona tonight, snapping a 10-game win streak, the Dodger lead in the NL West is now 8½ games.

Clayton Kershaw takes the bump tomorrow, opposing Ubaldo Jimenez in a 12:10 PT matinee.

Meanwhile, the early All-Star Game voting leaders were released today, and O-dog is third among NL second basemen, and amazingly, but not surprisingly, Manny is fourth overall among NL outfielders. Speaking of Manny, he is back in L.A. working out at Chavez Ravine while the team is on their current road trip through Denver and Chicago.

Walk-Off Walk and Rookie Heroics

Winning on walk-off walks seems to be becoming more and more common for the Blue this year. Last night they eeked one out in 10 innings, beating the Halos 5-4 on a bases-loaded walk by Juan Pierre. The Dodgers finally got some timely hitting with runners in scoring position last night in the late innings. The Dodgers strated their rally after trailing 4-1 on a solo homerun from Juan Rivera, and a three-run job by Torii Hunter. Torii also made two great catches in the game, one while crashing into the wall and taking at least a double awayfrom Casey Blake, and maybe saving a run.

Meanwhile, in today's game, Dodger rookie outfielder Jamie Hoffmann, making his first start of his career in place of an injured Andre Ethier, who injured his big toe last night when he fouled a pitch off of it, came up with two on and no outs in the second inning and a run already in and smacked a three-run home run into the left field pavilion for his first home run of his career, giving the Dodgers a 4-0 lead early off Angel starter Matt Palmer. Hoffmann was called up two days ago when Xavier Paul was put on the DL with a staph infection on his knee. For Hoffmann, it was just his third at bat of his career.

Unfortunately, the 4-0 second inning lead has all but evaporated for the Dodgers in the top of the sixth inning today. The Angels have battled all the way back off Chad Billinsgley, and now have a 5-4 lead. Torii Hunter made another spectacular catch in the fifth inning when he crashed into the wall again and took an extra base hit away from Matt Kemp. Torii appeared to be hurt at first, and stayed down for a few minutes before getting back up and remaining in the game. Hunter just scored the go-ahead run for the Angels on a Kendry Morales sac fly.

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!

Lost in Transition?

Suddenly, the Dodgers can't buy a win. Sans Manny, the team dropped to 1-4, but still have a nice record of 22-12 overall. They no longer have the best record in the league, and they're playing like they're the worst team in the league. Case in point:

The Blue started a six-game trip yesterday in Philly, and jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. They led 2-1 when the wheels fell off and Philly took a 4-2 lead of a struggling Clayton Kershaw, who, once again, threw far too many pitches in the early innings. Then, the strange happened. In the seventh inning, with one out, former Dodger Jayson Werth singled and stole second. An out later, Jimmy Rollins was intentionally walked and the two pulled off a double-steal, with Werth taking third. After a quick pitching change, a rare feat occured when, after a Ronald Belisario pitch to Pedro Feliz, as Russell Martin was tossing the ball back to Belisario, Werth broke for home and stole home under the return throw from Belisario and tag by Martin.

The Dodgers would eventually make it interesting in the ninth off Philly closer Brad Lidge, getting three straight hits for a run, and then almost tying it when a Juan Pierre fly ball to deep center almost carried over Shane Victorino's head but was instead caught as Victorino made on acrobatic running catch. But its situations like the one in the seventh inning that are troubling. You just simply can not take a nap as a pitcher, or a catcher, when you have runners on base like that, especially in a close game with a runner as smart as Werth (who already had three stolen bases in the game, let alone the two in the inning) standing at third base.

Obviously, Manny can't help in those situations, and the offense, while its cooled off just a tad, could certainly use Manny's bat in the lineup again. Andre Ethier hasn't done a thing really, since the suspension. Fortuantely, Orlando Hudson has been red-hot, and Juan Pierre has been tearing the cover off the ball as if his job depended on it again, but then again, he's no Manny.

As for Manny, still no sign of him. He was apparently in L.A. last week, but according to a couple of the players who have spoken to him briefly by phone, he's been too distraught to talk right now. The Dodgers are in Florida this weekend, where Manny usually makes his off-season home. Manny is back in Miami now, and it's still very hopeful that Manny will will make an appearance and address his teammates in some way, shape or form.

But there's still two more games to be played in Philly. Randy Wolf goes for the Blue tonight against his former team, and will oppose the old man Jamie Moyer. The Thursday, in an afternoon matinee, the marquee match-up of the series, Chad Billingsley takes on Cole Hamels.

On a couple of other notes, Hiroki Kuroda and Jason Schmidt are both on their road back from injuries, Kuroda much sooner than Schmidt, obviously. But after some bullpen sessions, batting practices, simulated games and rehab starts, all is looking good and promising for both pitchers.

Weekend Game Thoughts, and More on Manny

Jeff Weaver is following up yesterday's gem by Eric Stults with one of his today. Yesterday, the Blue earned their first win post-Manny's suspension with another scoring outburst, beating the Hated Ones To The North 8-0. Stults pitched a complete game, four-hit shutout, the second of his career, and improved his season record to 4-1 one, lowering his ERA a full run to below 4. Today, against Giants' ace Tim Lincecum, the Dodgers have tallied four runs so far through five innings, and have staked Weaver to a two-run lead. As we speak, Weaver is being pulled from the game with five solid innings after giving up a lead-off double to Randy Winn here in the sixth.

Really, though, the story of the game, and in the four games since Manny started serving his 50-gamer, has been Juan Pierre. Originally supposed to be a regular everyday player when he was signed three off-seasons ago, and now getting a chance again with Manny out, all Pierre has done is tear the cover off the ball, coming up with big hits, and scoring key runs. Pierre, with two more hits today, is hitting well over. 400 for the season, albeit, still in limited chances.

(Ramon Troncoso enters the game.)

So far, in the three plus games sans Manny, the Dodgers have scored 24 runs, an average of six runs a game (if the current score holds up) through four games, up from their season average per game. So far, the offense hasn't really lost a beat.

If you were watching the game on TV in the third inning, Vin Scully interviewed Frank McCourt after he and GM Ned spoke by phone yesterday with Manny. McCourt basically echoed his disappointment with Manny, and said he was pleased with the conversation he had with Manny. McCourt said Manny has taken full responsibility for his actions. The key component of the conversation,however, was to make sure Manny knew it was important for him to speak with his teammates, as well as the fans. McCourt expects this to happen soon, and he expects to see Manny back on the field for workouts (and to support his teammates during games from the clubhouse) in very near future, perhaps as early as next weekend when the team travels to Florida to play the Marlins.

Now, I'm not going to get into the logistics of L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke's thought process into the whole Manny debacle, other than to say I completely disagree with him, and I think he's completely lost his mind. The article he wrote showing his displeasure for Manny, and his tirade on ESPNEWS on Wednesday afternoon was pretty comical, and in a nutshell, moronic. To counter this, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts pretty much echoed how I feel about the whole mess, Plaschke, Kurt Streeter, also from the Times, and many other media members, such as some of the goons at the Big Four-Letter Network, Dodger and baseball fans.

(And for another similar, and more comical take on Plaschke's superb professional journalism, check out this bit over at Fire Ned Colletti Now.

It took me some time to get my thoughts together and figure out exactly how I felt about it all, and Weisman pretty much hit the head on the nail with his comments today. And let's not forget, I still don't care that players have been juicing, because the game has never been on a level playing field anyway.

In any case, as a Dodger fan, I still support Manny, and will when he comes back. I too am a bit saddened that it came to this, but it is what it is, and there's nothing we can do about it.

Manny Busted for PEDs; The Streak

UPDATE (12:20 PM CT): Just read some interesting facts, or rumors, take your pick. Apparently, Manny is attributing the positive test result to a prescribed medication that he's been taking, or was. He's been told he can't speak publicly about any of this, so we'll never really know, and will people even believe him anyway? But it's gotten to a point where you almost have to think that the testing has become so rigorous that you can't even take aspirin or ibuprofen for a headache, or Robitussin or Claritin for head colds or allergy issues. There has to be a fine line on what you can and can not take. Does anyone really think after all the trouble people like Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and A-Rod got into, that a player of Manny's stature, with an agent as powerful and knowledgable as Scott Boras, would be dumb enough to take any PEDs to get a competitive edge? Still, as the old say goes, inquiring minds want to know.

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Well, so much for that. The streak is intact. Manny is not. Just heard, read, learned, whatever you wanna call it, that Manny will be suspended by MLB for Performance-enhancing drugs. Here's my next question: When was the test taken, and when did he take whatever it was he took? We'll never know. (But I only ask this because he hasn't been with the Dodgers very long, and I was curious as to whether the test took place before or after the trade, not that it even really matters.) But this puts a huge dent in the Dodger offense, and perhaps even in their clubhouse comaraderie. Manny is a well-liked player in the Dodger clubhouse and among the fans, and I'm sure this will ultimately change how the L.A. fans perceive him. Let's just hope this doesn't affect the rest of the team's play on the field for the next 50 games.

As for the streak, they are still 13-0 home, 21-8 overall, 20-6 against the division and have still won 7 straight. They have Washington in town for one more, with The Hated Ones To The North in town for the weekend. The streak and records and everything else still has some life to it, at least for four more games. Or does it?

Sure, taking Manny out of the equation will change things, but this is a still a very good hitting lineup even without him, and even in this division. Having said that, let's get one thing clear: Manny isn't the only one hitting on this team. If they can just stay consistent for 50 games until Manny returns, which would be July 3, the Dodgers should be fine. And by staying consistent I don't necessarily mean playing at a .700+ mark, but is .550 too much to ask for?

Last night for instance, the Dodgers had a 4-1 lead without Manny's help before he hit a bases-loaded, two-run double as part of that seven-run inning that stretched the lead to 9-1. The key for this team to staying afloat and to keep their current pace, which no one would expect them to do anyway, is their pitching.

As for Manny, this is about as shocking as finding out Alex Rodriguez was, and might still be, using steroids or PEDs. The only difference is the 50-game suspension for Manny comes from current testing, and not from some secretive blanket test to determine if testing is needed. So, now that two of the biggest names in the game have been hit with this in some way, shape or form, who's to say there aren't others out there? Does this mean we can start suspecting a hitter like Albert Pujols, as well? Probably not, but you can bet some people will now.

And one last thing, I have always said I didn't care if players were taking steroids or PEDs, simply because there were, and maybe still are, plenty of players using whatever they can find to get a competitive advantage. The playing field will never be even, and probably never was before all this.

So, back to the game on the field. Randy Wolf takes the bump for the Blue tonight against rookie sensation (well, he's not a sensation yet, but he will be) Jordan Zimmermann (no relation to Ryan, who only has one 'n' at the end of his last name). There's still a winning streak to keep intact. And Xavier Paul will be recalled to take Manny's place on the roster, however, Juan Pierre will likely get the bulk of the playing time in the interim.

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...

Pierre Lands On DL

Well, it's about time! (Just kidding! Hahaha...)

Actually, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm tired of watching him hitting his little pop-ups to left field every other at-bat, and I'm tired of watching below average runners take an extra base on him because they know he can't throw a lick. This could be a blessing in disguise, either way, especially with Raffy Furcal expected back this weekend.

In any case, Pierre hurt his knee running the bases during yesterday's game, and limped off the field in obvious pain. An MRI today revealed a sprained MCL in his left knee. He is expected to mis anywhere from four to six weeks. (This might be the best news of all!)

Jason Repko will take his spot on the roster, probably until Andruw Jones is ready to come off the DL after the All-Star Game next week. In the meantime, Delwyn "Pee Wee" Young will get Pierre's playing time in left field for now, and then when Andruw comes back, the Dodgers can go with what should be their best outfield of Jones, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Unfortunately, that will only last until Pierre comes back.

That Was Quick

As quickly as they ran off eight straight wins and 10 of 11, they've suddenly looked abysmal and lost while losing four straight in ugly fashion. All of a sudden the pitching has stunk, the offense has shut down, and their defense has looked like a bunch of little leaguers just learning how to play the game. And to make matters worse, their best player so far this year, Rafael Furcal was just placed on the DL with a bad back, retroactive to last Wednesday.

I suppose the ugliest of the games, although it wasn't really all that ugly, was yesterday's loss to the Astros at home. They had already won the first two games of the series in convincing fashion when Hiroki Kuroda took the mound to hopefully rebound from his horrific start during the week against the Mets. All he did was take a no-hitter into the seventh inning with two outs. He gave a hit to Hunter Pence, then a run, and then he was done. But the Dodgers still had the lead 2-1, and stretched it out to 3-1 in the bottom of the inning. Then it all unraveled. Jonathan Broxton couldn't get anyone out to save his life, and the Astros blew the game open with a 6-run eighth inning and eventually won 8-5.

I guess it just goes to show you what can happen when you lose one important guy in the lineup. It becomes contagious. No knock on Juan Pierre, who hasn't played all that bad when he's gotten the chance to play. But Pierre just doesn't seem to have that same effect on an offense like Raffy does, and it shows. The offense just hasn't been the same since Raffy went down, and it could be another week or so before he's back. So for now, because the Dodgers don't dare set forth with a lineup without a "true" leadoff hitter, Pierre plays and leads off, and Ethier probably sits while Torre allows Andruw more time to figure his swing out at the bottom of the lineup.

The Blue head to Milwaukee for three, and with perfect timing, I suppose, because they won't get a chance to further damage former Dodger Eric Gagne's season as the Brewers closer since he was pulled from that role over the weekend. But the Brewers are struggling themselves, so now would be an ideal time to get going again. After three in Brew Town, they head back to the Southland to face the Halos down in Anaheim this weekend as interleague gets underway. They've got to put up a good showing and win two of three against the Angels...

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.