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.

Holiday Weekend Musings

Memorial Day is a time where we remember. We remember those brave men and women who have lost their lives fighting for our freedom. Memorial Day weekend is generally referred to as the unofficial start of summer, as well. And when one thinks of the summer here in America, one might think baseball, our national pasttime. That said, let's take a look back at the past week around the league.

Padres ace Jake Peavy was traded to the Chicago White Sox, but was never traded. Peavy, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, exercised that right and vetoed a deal to South Siders after the Padres and White Sox agreed in principle to a deal. Apparently, he saw the White Sox losing 20-1 earlier in the day to the Twins, and said, "No thanks!"

Speaking of the Twinkies, Michael Cuddyer became the second Twins player this year to hit for the cycle when he did it in four at-bats last night. Jason Kubel hit for the cycle back in April, as well.

A trade that did happen had the Brewers sending Tony Gwynn, Jr. to the Padres for Jody Gerut. The Padres are hoping Gwynn can bring back memories of when they were actually good.

David Ortiz finally smacked his first homerun of the season this week. Afterwards, he thanked Jobu for helping him take the fear off his bat. With the season now around the quarter mark, that puts Big Papi on pace for a whopping four homeruns!

Meanwhile, I had Florida's Ricky Nolasco as a runner-up, or at least a candidate, for NL Cy Young this year. All he's done in nine games and starts is go 2-5 with a 9.07 ERA. On Friday, the Marlins sent him down to AAA. I guess he won't be winning the Cy Young award this year.

Last night, Mets pitcher Johan Santana hit Boston's Kevin Youkilis on the elbow in a close game. As Youkilis walked towards first base, he turned and smiled at Santana, who took exception to the look and started jawing with Youkilis. Tempers flared but order was restored. The last time I gave that same look to someone, I didn't get sex for a month.

Interleague got underway for a quick teaser this weekend with some interesting matchups. The National League teams are hoping to get a head start in the head-to-head competition with the American League by pitting one NL team against another in at least one matchup throughout interleague. The hope is those wins will count as interleague wins and help the NL narrow the gap with AL, who have dominated interleague since its inception in the mid-1990s.

And finally, Tampa Bay scratched its plans for a new retractable-roof, waterfront park in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The team instead will attempt to find a location a bit further to the north where the population doubles, and hopes that might attract new businesses and a larger fan base. Somehow, McGriff Cove doesn't have the same ring to it as McCovey Cove does in San Francisco.

Scott Schoeneweis' Wife Found Dead

This just came across the wire. Diamondbacks relief pitcher Scott Schoeneweis' 39-year old wife, Gabrielle, was found unconscious and unresponsive earlier today by their 14-year old daughter on the master bedroom floor of their Arizona home. No other information was made available other than authorities saying they are not treating this as a homicide, however, they haven't ruled anything out. Schoeneweis left the team in Florida where the D-backs were playing the Marlins to fly back to Arizona to be with his family.

Our condolences go out to the Schoeneweis family.

A Near No-No and a Mets Mess

Let's start with last night's game since it was quite a spectacle. In all my years of watching baseball, I've seen some bizarre things, some ugly games, you name it. And last night's game against the Mets was certainly one of those games.

Fast forward to the top of the 11th inning of a 2-2 tie, the Mets had already committed three errors in this game, two by shortstop Ramon Martinez, just called up by the Mets to start at short with Jose Reyes still out for what is being described as an injury, and Alex Cora, Reyes's back-up, who just landed on the DL with a injured finger he wrecked the night before sliding into second base. With Ryan Church at first and Angel Pagan at the dish for the NYers, Pagan sent a ball into the right-center field gap for what appeared to be a run-scoring triple, and a 3-2 lead for the Mets. But as the ball was being relayed back into the infield, Dodger third baseman Mark Loretta was summoning for the ball to be thrown over to him. Once he had the ball, he jogged over to third base, stepped on the bag, and the third base umpire called someone out. Apparently, Ryan Church had missed third base when he was rounding the bag on Pagan's hit. On the television replays, you could see both Loretta and the umpire watching Church and/or the bag as he rounded it to score. The run was nullified, the inning was over, the Mets were stunned, and the Dodgers were still tied 2-2.

Then in the bottom half of the inning, the Mets made two more costly errors that resulted in the winning run for the Dodgers. After Loretta walked to lead off the inning, Xavier Paul hit a fly ball to left-center field. Both Pagan and centerfielder Carlos Beltran called for it. Then at the last second, the ball dropped between them, and the ball rolled to the wall. Beltran was credited with the error. Juan Pierre was then walked intentionally. One out later, with Beltran now acting as a fifth infielder right in front of second base with the infield playing in at the grass, Orlando Hudson sent a little grounder to first base. Jeremy Reed, usually an outfielder, fielded the ball and threw to home plate to get the force out there, but instead threw the ball wide of the catcher, allowing Loretta to score the winning run. Dodgers win 3-2.

This was about as wild a game as I can ever remember. The Mets essentially gave the Dodgers the game in the 11th. And what's got to be more humiliating than anything for the Mets, was the fact they played the game as if they weren't a first place team. Just about every error and mistake the Mets made last night proved to be costly. They deserved to lose. And to make matters worse, they have to face Chad Billingsley tonight, who is 5-1 with an ERA of about 2.20 on the season.

Mets fans can cry all they want about the umpires hosing their team, or cry all they want about the Church call at third base, but when you commit five errors in a game, you have no business winning the game. The Dodgers played a flawless game, made some great defensive plays, and got great pitching from starter Randy Wolf, who went 7 2/3 of an inning while making just 93 pitches, and the bullpen. Tim Redding wasn't so bad himself, but defensive miscues and base-running blunders clearly cost the Mets a game they could have won.

I purposely saved the Clayton Kershaw near no-hitter because I wanted people to realize and understand how good this kid really is. When you have people like Sandy Koufax raving about him, and people like Vin Scully making comparisons to Koufax, you almost know the kid is gonna be something special.

On Sunday afternoon, Kershaw was something special. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and was masterful doing so in a 12-5 win over the Marlins. And don't let the score deceive you. Four of the five runs came in the ninth inning off Guillermo Mota on a Cody Ross grand slam, long after Kershaw left the game. In fact, the score was 12-0 when Kershaw gave up the lone hit he allowed.

That win capped off a 4-2 road trip as the Blue won two series. As it stands now, after last nights "win" over the Mets, the Dodgers continue to carry the best record in baseball at 27-13. They have a 6½ game lead in the standings over the Hated Ones to the North, they have league best 15-3 home record, they've score the most runs in the NL, second most in baseball, given up the fewest, have the best run differential in baseball, have the best team batting average in the NL, third in the league overall, have the best on-base percentage in baseball, have the best team ERA in the NL, second best in baseball, and their starters have the best collective ERA in baseball.

If the teams outside of the NL West, sans the Dodgers, are considered to be the elite teams, then the Dodgers are doing just fine with them. And they're doing just fine, so far, without Manny Ramirez. It's good to be a Dodger fan these days!

Batting Third for the Rays, Pitcher, Andy Sonnanstine

Talk about more bizarreness this weekend. We've seen managers botch double-switches before. But never before since the DH was implemented in the AL in 1974 have I ever seen what I saw Sunday.

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon botched his lineup card and accidently had two third-baseman in his starting lineup. By handing the umpires his lineup card with the error, the Rays subsequently forfeited their DH, and Evan Longoria, who was the intended DH for the Rays. So with the mixup, Rays starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine was officially penciled in as the third hitter in the lineup, and eventually came up with a key double in the Rays 7-5 win over Cleveland.

Sonnanstine became the first pitcher to start an AL-only game since 1976 to appear in a starting lineup as a hitter. He finished the game 1-for-3 at the plate with the aforementioned RBI double.

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.

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.

Bullpen

I think it's safe to agree with Ned Colletti when he said he was still concerned about the pitching. The bullpen again coughed up a lead late in a game vacated by a starting pitcher who left with a lead. And one has to wonder, how much longer can this team rely on guys like Guillermo Mota, who was today's victim. Instead of leaving home with a 6.5 game lead on the Giants, their lead is now 4.5 games. And they head to Philly and Florida and face two very tought teams in their parks. Now, the real test comes. How does this team respond on the road, where they are a .500 team, after losing 3 of 4 at home in spite of Manny's suspension? Still have 46 games to show us what kind of team this really is.

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.

**********
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.

History-Making Weekend

Let's recap what the Blue accomplished this past weekend:

• First four-game sweep ever of the Padres at Dodger Stadium
• Improved to 10-0 at home, a new franchise record to start a season, tying the NL record
  
• Are three home wins away - without a loss - from setting the modern Major League record for home wins to start a season at 13
• Are a Major League-best 33-9 at home since the All-Star Break last season
• Chad Billingsley improved to 5-0 to start the season; his era is 2.21
• Improved to 18-8 overall this season, best record in the Majors, and best team start since 1984
• Have scored an NL-best 141 runs and have the best run differential in the Majors at +41
  

Lost in the mix of yesterday's win was the fact the Dodgers scored seven runs yesterday without Manny, Casey Blake, Russell Martin and Rafael Furcal, who were all given a day off.

Next up: Arizona for two starting tonight at the Ravine, then Washington for two. More history-in-the-making this week? Stay tuned...

Tony Jackson, New Zip Code and Other Blurbs

Well, it's certainly been a weird two weeks to say the least. And I guess the most important thing is the Blue continue to roll despite major issues in the rotation and bullpen. But we'll come back to this in a bit.

I first wanted to say I'm sad to see Tony Jackson let go by the Daily News. His up-to-the-minute blog was one of the first - and best - places I went to for any real-time Dodger information and in-game updates. Obviously, in this modern day and age where information is more readily available online in real-time, and with the blog boom that allows freelancers and regular people to get information out to the general public, it's made life a little more challenging for those hard-working paid beat writers who do that for a living. Still, getting information directly from the press box was always a bonus for us regular readers of blogs from beat writers such as Tony. I certainly hope Tony resurfaces in some way, shape or form. He's certainly one of the best, and one of my favorites, as well. Good luck, Tony.

Dodgertown, CA 90090. No, that's not a typo. That's a real zip code for Dodger Stadium and the surrounding property it sits on. The L.A. city council recently designated the stadium and property with its own city name, "Dodgertown," and submitted a request with the U.S. Postal Service for "Dodgertown" to be granted its very own zip code. Well, the USPS granted it the zip code 90090.

My guess on the reasoning behind it all is to pay tribute to the original "Dodgertown" in Vero Beach, which was such an intrigal part of the Dodgers for about 60 years. This all becomes official on June 6. Pretty cool.

As for on the field stuff, nice to see the Dodgers cake-walking through the division already, as they've already built a nice 3.5 game lead on the Giants. The team is perfect at home (8-0) but break even on the road (8-8). This could come back to haunt them later on, especially if the bullpen and rotation issues aren't resolved soon. Outside of Broxton, who has been lights out so far, the bullpen has been inconsistent, and outside of Billingsley in the rotation, the same can be said there, as well.

Jeff Weaver is back in Blue after starting the season at Albuquerque, and he could be thrown into the rotation any day now, to bump the struggling James McDonald. Hong-Chih Kuo looks like he's all but headed to the DL. He looked awful last night while warming up in the pen. One of his warm-up pitches sailed so far over the BP catcher the BP gate, that the ball wound up near home plate! Meanwhile, Cory Wade has been reactivated from the DL, much to the delight of Joe Torre, I hope. There's no telling how much longer Ronald Belisario will be relied upon in any close game. I think between the rotation and BP issues, Ned Colletti should be on the phone as we speak trying to find any reliable arm. I assume Eric Milton will get a chance at some point, as well.

Other than that, too early in the season to get too excited, but its nice to see much of the offense, sans Russell Martin, off to a good start. Four Dodger starters are off to such great starts that they should be mentioned in early All-Star vote conversation: the three outfielders and Orlando Hudson. This could obviously change between now and early July when the voting ends. Both Broxton and Billngsley will obviously get some consideration, as well, if they keep up their early performances, as well.

That should cover things for now. Happy Saturday.

O-Dog's Cycle and other Early Season Thoughts

If you've been living under a rock for the past week or so, you missed some fun baseball courtesy of the Blue. We fast forward to Opening Day at the Ravine this past Monday, leaving behind the 4-3 opening road trip.

Home openers are always a lot of fun. Spring is usually in the air, and the atmosphere at the Stadium has a playoff vibe and feeling to it. So it came as no surprise that we saw two dominating performances by the Dodgers against the Hated Ones to the North that afternoon.

So where do we start? Chad Billingsley thoroughly dominated the Giants, pitching seven strong innings while striking out 11 hitters. Andre Ethier slugged two home runs and drove in four runs. And then there was the O-Dog. All Orlando Hudson did was do something no other Dodger had ever done at Dodger Stadium, and he did what no L.A. Dodger had done in 39 years. The O-Dog hit for the cycle. And it couldn't have been done by a more likeable guy.

Only one other L.A. Dodger had ever accomplished that feat. Wes Parker did it way back in 1970. But he did it on the road. Only one other player had ever done it Dodger Stadium, and that was Jim Fregosi for the Angels in 1964 when they shared the Stadium with the Dodgers while waiting for Anaheim Stadium to be built. And then the bew Dodger, Orlando Hudson, does it in his very first game as a Dodger at Dodger Stadium.

Oh, and the Dodgers won the game 11-1.

Two nights later, another Dodger pitcher pitched a masterpiece, again, against the Hated Ones to the North. Clayton Kershaw dominated the Giants for seven innings on Wednesday, giving up just one earned run on one hit while striking out 13 hitters. The bullpen would blow the 2-1 lead, and ultimtely cost Kershaw a win, but the offense rallied against the Giants pen and won on a basesloaded walk in the ninth inning.

When all was said an done after last night, the Dodgers had swept the Giants, and are now on a nice five game winning streak going back to two solid wins in Arizona over the weekend.

The offense has really done what was expected so far. Even with Manny slow to get out of the gate, primarily because he's been walked so often (Dodgers lead the league in walks so far), the offense is finding ways to score runs. They've only hit nine home runs as a team through the first 10 games, but they enter play today as third highest scoring team in the National League. And O-Dog, Matt Kemp and James Loney are tearing the cover off the ball.

What's even more impressive is even with Hiroki Kuroda on the DL, and James McDonald having been hammered in his first major league start last week in Arizona, and the pen having a couple of bad games, sans Jonathan Broxton, who's been perfect so far, the team is surprisingly leading the league in ERA. And a lot of that can be attributed to Billingsley and Kershaw's two starts, and getting two solid starts from Eric Stults, as well. Randy Wolf had a good start in Arizona last weekend, as well, after looking dreadful in San Diego last week.

Obviously, it's still too early to tell if the rotation is good enough to keep this up, and if the pen can get a little more consistency, but it's always a good sign when you get off to a good start like this. We know the offense will continue to put runs on the board, especially once Manny gets going, and he will, but the key to this team's success will be the pitching, and so far it hasn't disappointed.

And one last thing... What a great effort last night by Doug Meintkiewicz. With the game still close, and two runners on, Dougie M laced a double into the right field corner for two runs. At the end of the play at second base, Meintky slid head first into second base awkwardly, and appeared to hurt his left shoulder in the process. He rolled over and writhed in pain, but wound up staying in the game for one more hitter. He was then pulled for a pinch runner.

Today we learned he will be out three months as he will require surgery to repair what we learned was a dislocated shoulder.

All I can say is it's guys like him that help you win championships, and he will be a very important part of this team when he gets back in about three months. Get well soon, Dougie!

The Josh Beckett-Bobby Abreu Incident

Let me start by saying that I'm no "fan" of either player who was involved in the incident. To add to that, I'm not an Angels fan, and I'm also not a Red Sox fan. I personally don't like Josh Beckett either; I think he's a moron, a hot-head, and has the personality of a sheep. Having said that, before anyone gets their panties tied up in bunches after reading this, my comments below are merely my objective opinion as an outside observer on what I saw this past Sunday afternoon.

So, what do you do as a pitcher when you're playing a cat-and-mouse game with a runner on second base, and the hitter gets tired of waiting for a pitch to be made and suddenly asks for timeout at the last minute just as the pitcher begins his delivery? Here's a lesson for those of you who have never pitched in a baseball game: you continue your delivery and follow through, and hope the ball ends up in the catcher's glove. Don't stop.

That is something you are taught as a pitcher before you get to high school. Why? Because stopping in the middle of your delivery is dangerous and can cause serious injury to the pitcher. But here's where it gets tricky. As a pitcher, the element of surprise when you look up and see the umpire holding his arms out to indicate 'timeout' when he grants it to the hitter after you've already started your delivery can do funny things to the baseball. You really don't know where the ball is going to end up. No really, you don't, and that's from the element of surprise.

I can't begin to think how many times I've seen balls pitched in those situations where the ball never even gets to the catcher. I've seen balls thrown to the backstop. I've seen balls end up being thrown straight into the ground and bounce to the catcher. Heck, I've even seen a pitcher hurt himself because he did what he was taught not to do: he stopped, and tore his achilles tendon when his cleat got caught on the mound in his attempted to stop his follow-through.

So then why was Josh Beckett suspended for six games when he did exactly what he was supposed to do as a pitcher, but his thrown pitch almost decapitates Bobby Abreu, who didn't really have a lot of time to react, but was still standing in the batter's box when the pitch almost hit him? There were other things besides Abreu almost getting beaned in the head that transpired after the incident that warranted punishment, but that's not what this is about.

As a hitter, you're also taught before you ever get to high school, that if the home plate umpire grants you the timeout you've requested, to get out of the box. Umpires are taught to get out, as well. And I don't mean just back out or side-step one or two steps, I'm talking about completely clearing the home plate area, and quickly. The last thing you want to do as a pitcher in that situation is to accidently hit someone, and as a hitter and an umpire, you don't want to get hurt either. And unfortunately, that's exactly what almost happened.

I saw the play just after it happened, and watched it over, and over, and over again. There was no reason to think Beckett intentionally threw at Abreu's head. Really, does anyone think that had timeout not been called or had Abreu not asked for it, that Beckett was out there head-hunting at that moment? It was the first inning. There was no score. There was no incident prior to that in the game to suggest Beckett was even thinking about it, or that it was even warranted.

But for whatever reason, the Angels took exception to Beckett's pitch, and Major League Baseball bought into the Angels argument that Beckett was throwing at Abreu intentionally. Now Beckett has been suspended for six games because the umpire granted Abreu a late timeout. And it's obvious to me based on some of the things I've read on the internet that I'm in the minority who think the suspension is complete and utter garbage.

And what's funny about the whole thing, and I looked this up after reading Beckett's comments after learning of the suspension today, which he is rightfully appealing, is Beckett, who has hit quite a few hitters in his career, has actually never hit any hitter in the head before. In fact, there was nothing to prove that he has ever thrown at anyone's head either.

What's even funnier about this is two of the umpires are on record saying they think Beckett did the right thing by continuing his delivery and following through with it. And somehow Major League Baseball sees it otherwise.

The whole thing is a complete joke. To punish a guy for doing what he was supposed to do to avoid hurting himself, and then think he was throwing at the hitter intentionally is pure comedy.

More Baseball Sadness, and the Mets Home Opener

Just days after Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in an auto accident, baseball lost two more memorable figures.

Yesterday, longtime legendary Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas collapsed in the broadcast booth while preparing for the Phillies game in Washington, and died of heart disease. He was 73.

Kalas, who was known for his signature "Outta here!" home run call, had been the Phillies play-by-play man since 1971. He also did voice-overs for NFL Films and also called NFL games on Westwood One Radio. Kalas, however, will forever be remembered for his home run calls, specifically his calls on Mike Schmidt home runs, where he would call out Schmidt's full name - Michael Jack Schmidt.

Kalas was inducted into the Broadcaster's Wing of Baseball's Hall of Fame in 2002. He is survived by his wife and three children, including Todd, who is a broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Later in the day, former All-Star pitcher Mark Fidrych, who gained notoriety for his antics on the pitching mound during his five years in the majors in the late 1970s, all with Detroit, was found dead on his farm in Massachusetts in an apparent accident while he was working on his truck. He was 54.

Fidrych, known as "The Bird" because of his resemblence to Sesame Street's Big Bird, was the AL's 1976 Rookie of the Year. Some of Fidrych's more popular antics was talking to the baseball, and himself, while on the mound, and grooming the mound between pitches.

Meanwhile, the Mets officially opened their new ballpark, Citi Field, on Monday night, to much criticism by Met fans, as heard on WFAN all afternoon, not to mention history being made to start the game, and losing the game in unusual fashion.

While the park looks fantastic from the outside, resembling old Ebbets Field, there were a ton of complaints about the park on the inside, such as sight line issues, including people unable to see parts of the field from their seats because the seats are at an odd angle, and some complaining they couldn't see any of the scoreboards in the park. Another popular complaint included people saying they couldn't see the ball on fly balls from their seats.

From watching the game on TV, the park, particularly the field, looks big from overhead, much in the same way PETCO Park in San Diego looks. It looks like a cross between PETCO and San Francisco's A&T Park, maybe with a hint of Citizens Bank Park in Philly or Great American Ballpark in Cincy, with large field dimensions. The park was already gaining some comparisons to being just another big concrete park, which doesn't bode well for the Mets as they just moved out of a noisy dump that was basically a big concrete cookie-cutter cylander block.

Maybe the Mets owners should have let architects design the park instead of trying to do it themselves. Way to go, Mets! You've got yourself an $800MM mess after just one game!

As for the game itself, the Padres' Jody Gerut christened the new park by hitting a lead-off homerun, the first time a lead-off hitter as ever opened a new park with a homerun. But the strangeness came when the Padres got what would prove to be the game-winning run on a balk by Mets reliever, Pedro Feliciano, in the sixth inning.

This is already starting to resemble 2007 and 2008 for the Mets, which bodes even worse for them and their fans than the early complaints about Citi Field. OKay, maybe not, but it's fun to make fun of stuff like this, isn't it?!

Angels Rookie Killed

Who would have guessed that just hours after pitching six scoreless innings in his season debut, just his fourth overall start in the Majors, that 22-year old rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart would be killed in a hit-and-run auto accident? Sadly, that's exactly what happened early this morning.

Adenhart was riding in a silver Mitsubishi with three others when a red a minivan apparently ran a red light at a Fullerton intersection at around 12:20am PT, and broadsided the Mitsubishi, sending it into a light pole, killing two in the car instantly, and sending two others to UC Irvine Medical Center, including Adenhart, where he would later die during surgery. A third vehicle waiting at the red light also suffered minor damage. The driver of that vehicle was not seriously injured.

The other hospitalized victim was last listed in critical condition at UC Irvine Medical Center. Jon Wilhite, who is expected to survive, played baseball at Cal State Fullerton from 2004 to 2008. The driver of the Mitsubishi was a female friend of Adenhart's who was a current student at Cal State Fullerton and was a cheerleader there in 2007 and 2008. Her mother said her daughter, 20-year old Courtney Stewart, and Adenhart had met about a year ago and were just friends.

Meanwhile, the driver of the minivan, Andrew Thomas Gallo. ran on foot but was captured a short time later and booked on three counts of murder, three counts of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, and a felony DUI. Gallo's blood-alcohol level was well above the legal limit, according to authorities, and he was driving with a suspended license stemming from a previous felony drunk driving conviction.

Adenhart had just completed a strong start for the Angels in just their third game of the young season, scattering seven hits over six innings against the Oakland Athletics. The A's would eventually come from behind against the Angel bullpen and win the game, 6-4. After the game, Adenhart went about his business.

"I battled early and it felt good to get out of some jams," Adenhart said.

Adenhart's father, Jim, a retired Secret Service agent, had flown in from Maryland to attend the game at his son's wishes. Adenhart's agent, Scott Boras, spoke with both the pitcher and his father after the game about an hour before the crash would take place. Boras said that his client "was so elated... he felt like a major leaguer."

Adenhart's mother, Janet, arrived in Southern California from Maryland on this afternoon. Adenthart's parents were divorced.

News of Adenhart's death hit the Angels family very hard. Angels outfielder Torii Hunter was one of the first to hear of the tragedy.

"I'm in shock right now," he said. "He just pitched last night. It doesn't seem like this is happening. This is real life. This isn't about baseball. This is whole life, he had his whole life ahead of him. He was a great kid, he was funny, he was very popular in the clubhouse and off the field. People loved him."

The news also hit Boras especially hard. At a Thursday press conference, Boras broke down in tears as he talked about his client.

"To, I think, focus on his loss is not what we need to do here today, we need to focus on who Nick Adenhart was and his achievement. His parents really want to communicate to everyone that it's a very difficult moment, but it's also a very special moment because Nick was most accomplished and his life's goal was to be a major league baseball player and he certainly achieved that standard."

But it wasn't easy getting there. Adenhart was project a Top Five pick out of high school in 2004, but an elbow injury derailed him and he slipped to the fourteenth round, where the Angels selcted him in that year's draft. He would eventually undergo Tommy John surgery and would spend the bulk of his first four years as a pro in the Angels minor league system.

This is the second tragedy this week for the Angels. On Opening Day on Monday, two fans got into a fight in one of the stadium's stairwells, and a third fan came in from behind and struck one of the two fighting in the head. That fan fell to the ground and hit his head on the concrete and later died at a nearby hospital.

**********
One of the things that stands out to me throughout this entire ordeal is Boras' emotions at the news conference yesterday. We don't usually get to see the "human" side of Scott Boras, and it was refreshing to see someone who gets so much flak around the league for his antics as an agent, and the way he goes about his business, just abe a genuine human being.

We tend to forget two things: one, he's just doing his job, and he happens to be the best at it, and two, that he's human just like the rest of us. What he showed yesterday was a reminder of how close of a relationship the players have to their agents, and vice versa, and that agents are not just there to negotiate contracts for their clients, but they're also advisors in all aspects of a player's well-being including their personal lives, and they build a relationship on a personal level, as well.

Tom Cruise's portrayal as Jerry Maguire in the movie of the same name comes to mind.

And one last comment... to the sick SOB who decided to get bamboozled that night and then get behind the wheel, with a suspended license at that... I hope they throw the book at you and you spend the rest of your life getting ass-raped by Scott Peterson-types in prison until they put enough electricity through your pathetic soul to light up the entire country for at least an hour!

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.

**********
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.

Season Preview... Sort Of

With the season to officially get underway in just five days, I've been trying to brainstorm what the team might look like once the official 25-man rosters are due in to league offices after Saturday night's pre-season game at the Ravine against Milwaukee.

The line-up and defensive alignment are all but set. The bench is starting to take some shape, but a couple of guys are going to make Torre and his staff's decisions virtually impossible to leave them off the roster. The rotation is all but set, barring an official announcement on the fifth spot from Torre. And the pen, for the most part has taken some shape, as well. Having said all that, here's what we know so far:

The Line-up.

• Furcal, SS
• Hudson, 2B
• Manny, LF
• Ethier, RF
• Kemp, CF
• Loney, 1B
• Martin, C
• Blake, 3B

You can bet this line-up will produce a lot of runs, and some are saying that the addition of Manny makes this one of the deepest line-ups in the NL, with virtually no easy out from top to bottom. Are 900 runs too much to ask for from this bunch?

The Bench.

Only three guys are more-or-less shoe-ins to be bench players: Juan Pierre as the fourth outfielder, Mark Loretta as one of the infield utility guys, and Brad Ausmus as Martin's back-up.

The last two (or three?) spots are still up-for-grabs. Doug Mientkiewicz has made it virtually impossible for the team to leave him off the roster, although I think his roster spot would be better suited elsewhere with Loretta already set to be on the team. Juan Castro is another guy who is probably making the team as the back-up middle infielder, primarily because of his experience. But Chin-Lung Hu and Blake DeWitt, both likely headed back to Albuquerque so they can play everyday and not sit most of the time, have both had fantastic springs, making Torre's decision very difficult. My guess is Mientkiewicz and Castro make the roster of this bunch.

This means Jason Repko, unless they go six deep on the bench, and Xavier Paul, who had a solid spring, will be headed back to Albuquerque, as well. Delwyn Young is headed or the DL, again. Danny Ardoin, last year's back-up to Martin who didn't play much at all, has accepted his assignment to AAA and is headed to Albuquerque.

The Rotation.

The first four guys are set-in-stone locks.

• Billingsley
• Kuroda
• Kershaw
• Wolf

The fifth spot is still open for business. However, based on some of Torre's comments recently, it's all but certain James McDonald will get that nod, at least on Opening Day. But you get the feeling that the team wants to add another starting pitcher before Monday. There are options out there, however, aside from Pedro Martinez, who's asking price is too steep for the Dodgers, nothing stands out as anything the team would be really comfortable with or ready to jump on.

And what happens when Jason Schmidt is ready to come off the DL after his extended spring/rehab? All that will depend on both his and McDonald's performances, and whether or not the team adds another arm. My guess is unless Schmidt can prove he's willing to "let it all out" or "let it loose" with his fastball, he's staying in Albuquerque, or wherever he's sent until he can prove he's ready to come back.

What this all means, as well, is Eric Milton and Eric Stults won't be in the rotation, and neither will Claudio Vargas. Stults is headed back to Albuquerque.

The Bullpen.

• Broxton
• Wade
• Kuo
• Mota

Those four guys are the definites. After that, it becomes tricky.

Vargas is slated to start the season on the DL, meaning, Jeff Weaver, who has essentially pitched himself onto the team and into the bullpen, will be the long-reliever/spot-starter, taking Chan Ho Park's spot from last season. Just signed Will Ohman will start the season in Albuquerque on extended Spring Training, and then will join the team before April 14th, taking Joe Beimel's spot as the situational lefty. Ramon Troncoso is probably headed back to Albuquerque, leaving Eric Milton and Josh Lindblom.

Milton is likely the odd man out of all this, and what the Dodgers do with him is anyone's guess. Lindblom, a kid no one had really known much about until he was called up to Major League camp recently from Minor League camp, has pitched extremely well and has impressed the coaching staff enough that he'll likely make the team out of camp. Meanwhile, Shawn Estes has already accepted his reassignment and is headed to Albuquerque, as well.

The Bottom Line.

The offense will be the bread and butter of this team. With Manny anchoring the line-up, the offense will carry the load over the pitching, something not seen from a Dodger team since the early days of Gary Sheffield and Shawn Green. The rotation could use another arm, and the hope is that Martinez's asking price will come down enough for the Dodgers to jump on him. The bullpen is basically getting a complete make-over despite the fact the back three of the pen were with the team last season. Many, myself included, have the Dodgers winning the division, and if the pitching holds, and the rotation gets solid contributions from the middle guys, the Dodgers could do some serious damage in the post-season.

Oh-man, Lefty!

You're probably wondering what the heck the title of this post means. Very simple. The Blue have finally inked a legit lefty reliever specialist for the pen, and his name is Will Ohman. For all of the fun links and detals, chek out the MLBTR thread on the signing. An official press release from the team is also available for your pure reading enjoyment.

Broxton Gets Roughed Up

Last night I stumbled across the Dodgers Spring Training game against Seattle on my satellite dish. I found the game on the Mariners feed on FSN Northwest and figured I'd tune in for a bit. The Dodgers were ahead 3-2 in the 6th when I tuned in, and were up 6-4 when I decided it was late and turned the game off in the 8th inning. Little did I know what would transpire in the following inning would cause such a big stir among Dodger fans today.

Broxton came in and promptly gave up four runs and ultimately the game, and looked horrid at doing so. The uproar over one bad outing in a Spring Training game was pretty laughable. Already Dodger fans are expecting the worse from Broxton every time he pitches this year. Next thing you know, Dodger fans will be calling for his head for blowing a game in April!

Let's get one thing clear here: this was just one bad game. The guy hadn't pitched in a week because while on Team USA in the WBC, that idiot USA manager Davey Johnson didn't bother using one of his best relievers when he had opportunities to use him, and so Broxton just sat out there in the pen and became rusty. And I'm not the only one who saw it that way. Joe Torre is giving Broxton a pass because he hadn't pitched in a week. And the good folks over at Sons of Steve Garvey feel the same way, as well.

Obviously, many Dodger fans have one vision of Broxton: giving up the go-ahead three-run homerun to Matt Stairs in the 8th inning of Game 4 of the NLCS last season against Philly on a 3-1 fastball Stairs was looking for that pretty much turned the series around. And, as SoSG suggest, because we as Dodger fans have been spoiled the last six season by the likes of Eric Gagne and Takashi Saito closing out games, anything less than what they did will automatically be dubbed as a complete failure in the eyes of many Dodger fans when it comes to Broxton.

If you read between the lines of Ken Gunick's column on the Dodger pen woes this spring (link above), all hell is breaking lose in the pen, and this could be a concern come the regular season. And because of moronic articles such as that one, and because it is what the fans read and see, aside from maybe the Big Four-Letter Network or The Times, they believe what they read or is said in the media and go with it as their own opinion.

Having said that all that, as much as I do become a little nervous when I see Broxton warming up in the pen to come in and close out a game no matter what the lead or situation is, I'd still take him as my closer any day of the week over most of the other closers around the league. And as I've said in this very space in the past, giving him the closer's job outright will only be a confidence booster for the kid.

Let's lighten up a little on Broxton, folks! Last night was just one game... in Spring Training!

It's Been A While...

And for good reason. I'm not one who likes to keep tabs on what's really going on around Spring Training until it gets closer to the season, and so, for that reason, I've avoided posting too much on Spring Training stuff.

Having said all that, I think it's time to throw out some blurbs from the past few weeks...

Manny returned to the lineup today as a DH against the Angels (he went 0 for 3), his first game action in a week since coming up with tightness in his groin about 10 days ago. No word yet on when he'll be back in left field. He says he's running at about 60 to 70% right now. As long as you're at 100% by opening day, big guy...

Chad Billingsley and Mark Loretta both left today's game with minor groin injuries, as well. Both said they'd have stayed in the game had it been the regular season. Neither is expected to miss much action, if any at all. However, Billingsley will have some muscle tests done just to be sure.

Speaking of Billingsley, a funny story today from Tony Jackson... something you'd only see during Spring Training.

Shawn Estes was cut yesterday, given a choice, became angered, came to his senses, and was then re-assigned to minor league camp. He apparently still has a chance to make the team, perhaps as that left-handed situational reliever they've been looking for.

And, for whatever it's worth, James McDonald has emerged, again, as a strong candidate for the fifth spot in the Dodgers rotation. Until his exceptional performance last Friday, he hasn't really looked all that good this spring, prompting the Dodgers to scramble for a feasible option for that elusive fifth spot. But after getting opinions from several coaches, McDonald decided to relax while pitching, instead of putting too much pressure on himself to do well, and the results were fantastic! Other candidates still include Claudio Vargas, Eric Milton, Eric Stults and... Josh Lindblom? He's a minor league kid who was promoted from minor league camp to the big league camp after razzling and dazzling coaches, teammates and opponents all spring. Remember Blake DeWitt last year?

Notice Jason Schmidt off the candidate's list? Yeah, I thought you would. He's not expected to be ready for the start of the season... again... and will probably start the season on the DL... again. However, that doesn't mean he won't pitch at all for the Dodgers this season, but we can only hope.

Also not on the list is Pedro Martinez. The Dodgers do have some interest in him, but only if his contract demands come way down. Petey is apparently looking for a contract similar to the one John Smoltz got from the Red Sox this winter (something in the neighborhood of one year, $5MM guaranteed with another $5MM in incentives). The asking price is too steep for the Dodgers, considering Pedro's recent history of injuries and his age.

The Blue have released Yhency Brazoban and his medical staff and supplies.

A random rumor has hit the world wide web in recent days that could send disgruntled (sound familiar?) outfielder Juan Pierre to the White Sox. The Chisox are in need of a lead-off hitting centerfielder, but the Dodgers would probably have to eat a chunk of what's left on his contract. However, there really was no reliable source for this rumor, and Pierre remains a Dodger, for now. Apparently an Andruw Jones-type deferral is not in the works for Pierre either. Darn.

And finally, the team has finally hired a play-by-play guy to do the 38 TV games that Vin Scully won't be doing. (In case you forgot, the Dodgers moved some people around in the broadcast booth and started looking for a new TV play-by-play guy after last season.) Eric Collins joins the staff, and will be doing the 38 road games against the Central and East division teams with Steve Lyons as the color guy. Charley Steiner and Rick Monday will be relegated to radio exclusively. Vin will do all home games and road games against West teams, and will be simulcast, as usual, for the first three innings on both radio and TV. Then Charley and Rick will take over the radio duties while Vin finishes up the TV broadcast. When Vin isn't around, Charley and Rick will do all of the radio games, while Collins and Lyons handle the TV side. Confused yet?

I think that's plenty for now. The roster is slowly starting to take some kind of shape, so in the next couple of days, once a few more guys are reassigned or designated, we'll try to break it all down.

Pre-Season Awards Picks

It's time to roll out some pre-season awards predictions. So, without further ado, the envelopes, please.

And the winner is...

NL MVP: Manny Ramirez, Dodgers. With a full season in Blue, Mannywood will wrap up his first MVP with astonishing numbers.
(Runner-up: Hanley Ramirez, Marlins.)

AL MVP: Evan Longoria, Rays. Because even with less than one full season under his belt, he is just that good, adn he will be a big reason the Rays will repeat last year's success.
(Runner-up: Matt Holliday, A's.)

NL Cy Young: Johan Santana, Mets. This time around, Santana gets the wins with a much improved pen behind him.
(Runner-up: Ricky Nolasco, Marlins.)

AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Blue Jays. Who else is there in the AL? Not to mention he's the second best pitcher in the game anyway.
(Runner-up: CC Sabathia, Yankees.)

NL Rookie: Colby Rasmus, Cardinals. Cameron Maybin appears to be the popular pick, but Rasmus is a step ahead of him in his readiness for the Bigs.
(Runner-up: Maybin, Marlins.)

AL Rookie: Matt Wieters, Orioles. Right now, there is nothing stopping Wieters from becoming the stud hitting catcher he's expected to be.
(Runner-up: David Price, Rays.)

NL Manager: Fredi Gonzalez, Marlins. Especially if the Fish stun baseball and win their division.
(Runner-up: Dusty Baker, Reds. Same reason.)

AL Manager: Trey Hillman, Royals. Same deal as above.
(Runner-up: Bob Geren, A's. Same reason again.)

2009 Season Preview

Now that all of the key free agents have signed, its time to roll out the division projections and winners for the 2009 season. Last season, I detailed each of the 30 teams and broke them down by division. This year, I'm bunching them all into one post, but with less detail. Lets take a look...

NL WEST

1. DODGERS - With no easy outs in a much-improved lineup, the Blue will lean heavily on the offense to carry the load over a rotation that boasts two young superstars-in-the-making.

2. D'BACKS - A solid one-two punch in the rotation will help, but the back end of the rotation is iffy, the bullpen has no clear-cut finisher, and there's still not a lot of consistency from the kids in the lineup... yet.

3. GIANTS - If they can stay afloat early, and get a middle-of-the-lineup power bat at the trade deadline, the Giants could sneak up on the Snakes, and maybe even the Dodgers, thanks in large part to their pitching.

4. ROCKIES - Trading away their top slugger/run producer, and losing their 'ace' for the season to injury leaves the Rox in a lot of uncertainty. Still, they have a pretty decent offense.

5. PADRES - The Friars lost 99 games last season, and 2009 figures to be no better. Even in a mediocre division, they have no chance, even after their failed attempt to trade their ace.

NL CENTRAL

1. CUBS - Losing a "gamer" hurts, but adding another helps. Only injuries will derail the Cubs.

2. CARDS - The offense will score runs, but the rotation is still iffy, and the bullpen wasn't improved with any clear-cut closer.

3. BREWERS - The Brew Crew's offense is as good as any, but losing two aces in one winter without replacing even just one of them will prove to be too much.

4. REDS - The rotation is as good as any if Harang rebounds from last year's mess, and the offense boasts some solid young players. The Reds are finally headed in the right direction.

5. ASTROS - With little change to an aging team with a depleted roation, the team is clearly headed in the wrong direction.

6. PIRATES - Signing two 19-year old pitchers from India who have never played competitively at any level doesn't bode well for a franchise already in utter disarray.

NL EAST

1. PHILLIES - Even with their star second baseman possibly shelved for two months, the World Champs are in still great shape to repeat.

2. METS - After two late-season collapses in as many seasons, they finally addressed its bullpen issues by signing a top-flight closer and trading for a reliable set-up guy; the middle-to-back of the rotation is still iffy, though.

3. MARLINS - The Fish boast one of the most underrated rotations in the league, and if all the pieces fall into place, this team could surprise and steal the division from the Phils or Mets.

4. BRAVES - They replaced an aging future Hall of Fame starting pitcher with two reliable and durable veteran starters, but with their superstar third baseman another year older, how much longer will he hold up and carry the offensive load?

5. NATIONALS - The offense is capable of scoring plenty of runs with its young core and off-season additions, but where's the pitching? It's no wonder the organization is in complete disarray; they still can't get things right.

AL WEST

1. ANGELS - Even with an impatient offense that's aging, and a bullpen that lost its premier closer and has been over-worked in recent years, the starting pitching should be enough to hold off Oakland. They won't win 100, but 92-94 is certainly possible.

2. A'S - If the young core in the rotation can improve on last year, the Athletics could push the Angels with its much-improved offense. Staying healthy would be nice, too.

3. RANGERS - It's the same old story deep in the heart of Texas, plenty of offense, but not enough pitching, although there are some solid young arms on the way.

4. MARINERS - Even with new faces in the front office and field management, the M's still have a lot of old issues in the lineup, the pen, and in the rotation.

AL CENTRAL

1. TWINS - Who needs a superstar 'ace' and an all-star center fielder when you have a bunch of consistent, reliable no-namers in the rotation, and a couple of kids, one with a funny name, in the outfield?

2. INDIANS - If their two big boppers can rebound, and their new closer can stay healthy, the Tribe have a chance.

3. ROYALS - KC showed signs of being ready to contend last year, and this is the year they finally step up. With a solid core of youngsters, they added a couple of quality veterans to the offense that should help.

4. WHITE SOX - Even after shedding some of its aging veterans, this team still looks old and slow. Their young kids will have to step up big if they want any chance of repeating.

5. TIGERS - The Motowners look even older and slower, and will need to avoid another bad start and crippling injuries to have any shot at matching last season's World Series expectations.

AL EAST

1. YANKEES - On paper, this is the best team in the league, with the best rotation, and the best offense. But with higher expectations after another off-season spending spree, they'll need their third baseman to get healthy, a quick start from their new first baseman, and their new ace to live up to the hype.

2. RED SOX - They didn't do much to couner the Yankees' off-season moves, but then again, they really didn't have to. If everyone stays healthy, a trip back to the ALCS is inevitable.

3. RAYS - They return just about everyone from their World Series team, added a veteran slugger to the lineup, and will add their ALCS hero full-time to a very solid and deep young rotation. If the pen stays healthy, they'll push the Yanks and Sox again.

4. BLUE JAYS - After losing one starter to a rival, and with two others out until mid-season and until 2010, respectively, and their offense in shambles, the Jays will have to rely on its ace, and that's not a good thing.

5. ORIOLES - These Birds are heading in the right direction as they continue to bring in more young prospects for the future. The offense is capable of scoring runs, but there's still a lot of work to be done with the pitching.

Manny Signs... Finally!

UPDATE (7:15 PM CT): Deal is now official. Manny has passed his physical and signed the contract. Here's the official press release from the Dodgers. Also, here are a few more Manny links for today, via MLBTR again, mostly just writer reactions, etc.

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The deal is basically the same one he was offered by the Dodgers last week: two years, $45MM ($25MM the first year in deferred compensation over 5 years with a player opt-out option after the first year).

I haven't had a chance to gather my thoughts on the deal today, but let's just say I'm glad it's over, and now we can focus on baseball... on the field.

Having said that, for a list of all the links from this morning regarding the deal, check out MLBTR and also the Dodgers official website, including this timeline of the negotiation process.

As for on the field stuff, Orlando Hudson woke up this morning with some soreness in his wrist, the same one he had surgery on last year, and was scratched from today's Cactus league game.. It doesn't appear to be serious, and he is expected to play tomorrow, or the next time Furcal plays, whenever that might be.

That's about it.

Manny, Dodgers Near Agreement

UPDATE (10:58 PM CT): Ok, I wanted to let the smoke clear before I rolled in with the updates, because when this story originally broke about three hours ago, it was a done deal, and the updates started flying in at record pace disputing the story. So this is what we know so far.

At about 7:30 PM CT, Yahoo's Tim Brown reported that the two sides had not spoken in three days, and that the Giants might find an opening to get involved. Then, about 30 minutes later, Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reported that the Dodgers and Manny Ramirez had reach an agreement on a two-year, $45MM deal. ESPNEWS jumped in on this and was attempting to confirm the deal shortly after when Yahoo's Senior Editor Steve Henson emailed MLBTR that Brown had just spoken with both the Dodgers and Boras, and that no deal was in place.

Follwing so far?

ESPN.com then did some house-cleaning and back-tracking after posting on its website that a deal was in fact done. ESPN's Jayson Stark, as well as MLB.com's Ken Gurnick and Barry Bloom with a quote from Boras himself, chimed in with their reports. ESPNEWS then reported that Rojas' report was false, and that the two sides were only close to an agreement. ESPN.com then changed it's headline to note a deal is close (and not done) and removed Rojas as the story's author. Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal added his two cents, followed by Dylan Hernandez of the Times with another quote from Boras.

And what might be the most in-depth detailed report about where things stand now, Tony Jackson breaks it all down for us in his blog and confirms that Manny is headed to L.A. tonight as Rojas originally reported (Stark later confirmed on ESPNEWS that Manny did get on a plane) and will meet with Dodger officials first thing in the morning before possibly taking a physical and finalizing the deal. The Dodgers simply want to make sure Manny has his head on straight and is in a good frame of mind, so-to-speak, in light of what happened in Boston last year, and in light of how these negotiations transpired. They basically want a commitment to the Dodgers from Manny.

And for what it's worth, T.J. Simers of the Times spoke with Manny today before tonight's circus of events took place and Manny had this to say:

"I'm happy in L.A. I like my teammates and had a great time," said Ramirez. "The fans were so good to me; they treated me the best anywhere in my career. And now I think we're close [to a deal]. ... Tell everyone Mannywood is coming."

Bottom line? Manny should be signed, sealed and delivered sometime tomorrow. And the parameters are what has been reported: two-years, $45MM ($25MM in the first year guaranteed - not sure on whether or not there is any deferred compensation - with a player option opt-out after the first year).

Is this over yet???

What a circus this has been. Maybe after tomorrow we can concentrate on some baseball, and look forward to "Mannywood" in L.A.

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According to ESPNEWS and Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, the deal would be two years, $45MM. No details yet.

My guess is the second year might be an opt-out option, and there's probably some deferred compensation involved as well. More as it becomes available......

Just To Clear Something Up

On Sunday night it was reported by Jon Heyman that the two sides may be just $1.5MM apart in negotiations between the Dodgers and Manny. However, this was actually before McCourt pulled the plug on the negotiations and basically said they would be starting from scratch with Scott Boras and Manny.

Yesterday, Heyman reported that there was growing speculation that in the process of restarting negotiations, the Dodgers next offer could be less than any of the previous three offers they had out for Manny, and this could in turn give the Giants (or another team?) an opportunity to sneak in and steal Manny away from the Dodgers.

I basically just wanted to clear up any confusion in the timeline of the most recent rumors/stories/reports regarding the Manny situation with the Dodgers.

In any case, you get the impression the Dodgers have really grown wary of Boras and his negotiation tactics and whatnot. At the same time, lowballing Manny now could be a dangerous move for the Blue. If I were both sides, 'compromise' is the best and easiest solution at this point.

All Quiet With Manny... Again...

And this time... literally... nothing to tell you! So with that, some other news...

Dodger prospect Ivan DeJesus, Jr suffered a broken left tibia this morning in a "B" game (I'm still not sure what a "B" game is) against Milwaukee and could miss the entire season. (Check out the video here.) Ouch! And to think this kid was on the Puerto Rican preliminary roster for the WBC (he didn't make the final cut) and could have been there this morning preparing to represent his native Puerto Rico instead of playing in the "B" game this morning. Obviously, the signing of Furcal becomes even bigger now.

That's about the gist of the news today. There was no actual Cactus League game today. Perhaps things will get back to "ab"normal tomorrow!

Back To Square One? Or Closer Than We Think?

A couple of new updates on the Manny front... one from Diamond Leung of the PE in the IE, and another from SI's Jon Heyman. (Both reports are basically one in the same - just two different sources.) In a nutshell though, Manny is asking Boras to 'compromise' with the Dodgers and to include "some deferred compensation." At this point, the two sides are roughly $1.5MM apart in negotiations with coming up with a compromise.

As I said earlier, you almost had to think Manny would have to become more vocal in the negotiations. Sounds like he wants this done and overwith as much as everyone else. Manny also made a statement through Boras, basically refuting the notion that Boras had been withholding the Dodger offers from him. So that settles that.

Hang tight. Maybe this is the end of the road...?

All's Quiet On The Manny Front

And in the words of Frank McCourt, negotiations will eventually resume "with a fresh start." In other words, there is no offer on the table from the Dodgers. And for the record, the Dodgers will not consider Scott Boras' counter-offer of two years, $45MM with no deferred payments.

Still, a lot of questions linger about how the negotiation process has transpired. For one, the Dodgers made each offer public. Each time an offer was made, the first thing the Dodgers did was take it to the media to get the information out there in public. But did they do it to keep the public informed, or was it something else?

According to one report, the Dodgers wanted to make sure Manny was fully aware of their offers. There is some suggestion, and suspicions, that based on the team's dealings with Boras in the past, he may not be notifying Manny of all the offers being made to him by the Dodgers. There is growing suspicion that Boras isn't necessarily negotiating on Manny's behalf, but rather for his own interests. McCourt didn't elaborate when he was asked about it, and Boras has not been heard from since yesterday. Obviously, we'll never know, so we can only make assumptions, which I am not at liberty to do.

Having said all that, there really is nothing new on the Manny front, but there is plenty of criticism and finger-pointing going around. And even once a deal is consumated, you can bet there will be plenty more to go around. But for the love of God, can we cut out the childish and immature shots at each other through the media, sit down like mature adults, and get this done and overwith, or simply move on from it? And, how about we get the player involved in the negotiations? You can bet that would speed things up and avoid any of the aforementioned suspicions.

In the meantime, all we can do is sit back and wait, and enjoy some Spring Training baseball. 'The Ranch' is officially open for business!