Let me start by saying that I like the trade for Scott Posednik. The Dodgers needed depth in the outfield with a guy who could be a catalyst, and Scott fills that role. I tend not to focus as much on who is given away, as much as who is coming. I agree not to give up your top minor league talent, but too many times minor leaguers don’t develop into major league studs, so going with established major leaguers is a good policy. Picking up Scott Posednik is a classic Ned Colletti move as he is an established veteran who has previously won the World Series.

All right – now let’s get to the point. The Dodgers are now really missing Juan Pierre. I respect that Ned Colletti made a promise to Juan to try to trade him and John Ely has been a decent pickup. Having said that, everyone wondered this off-season who would come off the bench if Manny got injured. No we know the answer. No one.

Just for kicks, here is a comparison of Juan and Scott’s stats this year, Juan with the White Sox, and Scott with the Royals.

YEAR	TEAM	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
2010	Pierre –  White Sox	.257	100	393	57	101	11	0	23	.330	.290
2010	Posednik –  Royals	.310	95	390	46	121	8	5	44	.353	.400

If you look at Games, At Bats and runs, they are really similar.  Thankfully though, it looks like Ned Colletti went for an upgrade in the other categories.  I definitely like the average, RBI’s.  I also like that he can occasionally hit a home run….something Juan Pierre really couldn’t do.

bottom line though…the Dodgers needed help and now had to give up two minor leaguers, plus pay Juan’s salary, rather than just keep paying Juan his salary….Such is modern baseball.

I had a friend who is a Royal’s fan thank me for taking Scott off their hands at his highest value and helping fill their farm system.  He also feels that there is no chance the Dodgers will re-sign him at the end of the season.  (Many thanks for rubbing it in Ryan…by the way, how does it feel to be 21.5 games out every year?)

I do have to give Ned Colletti credit as he is a great fans general manager.  He is always active at this time of year and you know the Dodgers are trying.  Not all his trades work, but he’s got a pretty good average at this point, and he definitely keeps the fans interested.  They didn’t get Oswalt (Phillies win again…and may in the NLCS again), but I like that he is obviously trying to improve the team.

Stay tuned for my next post, a pre-view to the Dodgers/Giants this weekend.  By the way, I’m betting Ted Lilly is a Dodger by the end of the day.

Tags: Chicago White Sox, Juan Pierre, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, Ned Colletti, Phillies, Roy Oswalt, San Francisco Giants, Scott Posednik, Ted Lilly

Well, my hope came true. The Dodgers silenced the Giants last night and proved that Tuesday night’s game was just something random.

I like what I saw from the Dodger pitchers of late. Padilla, Kershaw and Billingsley strung together some good outings. My boy Casey Blake couldn’t get it done on Monday, but he sure did it last night. He just does his job quietly, but he was a huge lift to the Dodgers last night.

It was funny today because the talk of Giant fans was still the umpire call from Tuesday night. I didn’t realize it, but there was even some debate in major league baseball as to what should happen. It really seems like Jonathan Broxton should have at least gotten to finish the one batter.  Either that, or Don Mattingly should have been tossed.  Either way, I’m confident that Don Mattingly won’t ever make that mistake again.

The Dodgers now face New York before coming back up here next weekend.  If you’re going to the game on Aug 1, drop me a line at scott@sfdodgerfan.com.  I”ll be there with a whole troop from my company.  They changed the game to 5:05pm so ESPN could pick up the game.  The Dodgers will dominate the weekend as they are on Fox on Saturday and ESPN on Sunday.  They need to come out strong from here as the Padres and Rookies don’t seem to be losing much.

Go Blue.

Tags: Casey Blake, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Don Mattingly, Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Vicente Padilla

Nothing like shame, defeat and embarrassment coming from your most hated enemy. Last night is one I hope the Dodgers just chalk up as a weird loss and move on.

I hope this happens because the Giants fans were sure pumped up this morning. I didn’t get a lot of comments at work (I was expecting them), but the talk shows this morning were all about how this was Bruce Bochy’s best game and how this win may change the rest of the season. Wishful thinking can be a horrible thing…

Not sure where to start on this one. My predictions still ring true that the Giants would win the first two…but I wasn’t very accurate on how it came about.

Timmy Lincecum got beat up. Andre Ethier is hot and everything seemed fine. Then, there were some beanings and suddenly Clayton Kershaw and Joe Torre are heading home early.  The talk shows thought Joe Torre was stupid to have Clayton Kershaw bean him, rather than some reliever who wouldn’t matter being tossed.  Could be true, but it does say something that Kershaw stood up for the team.

Then the 9th.  Welcome to management Don Mattingly.  A lot of managers start 0-1, so hopefully you can rebound from this one.  If you didn’t see it Mattingly accidentally stepped on the mound twice while out between the lines, and therefore Jonathan Broxton had to leave.

He had to leave for George Sherrill.  That was Mattingly’s second mistake.  I just wrote yesterday that hopefully it wouldn’t come down to Mr. Sherrill.  He just doesn’t have it right now and definitely shouldn’t be the guy with the game on the line, no matter if the batter is right or left handed.

Sherrill gives up the hit and the Giants walk away with a come from behind victory that they can build on. 

This is one game, but the Dodgers better snap out of this.  Regardless of tonight, they aren’t looking good.  The bullpen is weak and they can’t beat the teams they need to.  I hate to say it, but I don’t see this team (the way they are currently playing right now) making the playoffs.  They may beat out the Giants, but the Padres and Rockies should claim the top two spots.  I”m sure Mad Colletti is working on stuff because he knows the train needs some maintenance.

Tonight Billingsley.  Time to show that last night can be quickly forgotten.  Here’s hoping.

Tags: Andre Ethier, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, George Sherrill, Joe Torre, Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers, Ned Colletti, San Francisco Giants, Tim Lincecum

If you read my last post, you know I predicted that the Dodgers would lose last night. Madison Bumgarner just seemed better and proved it last night. The Dodgers had two chances to change it near the end, but they couldn’t come through.

I was hoping Mr. Clutch Andre Ethier would hit a grand slam…but alas, I guess that only works in the bottom of the ninth for him.

Also, again in the ninth, I knew that unless Andre Ethier hit a homerun to tie it, that Casey Blake probably wasn’t going to get it done. I like Casey a lot, but he is way streaky and he definitely isn’t in a streak right now.  Andre Ethier walked, Casey Blake struck out and the game was over.

The one bright spot I noticed last night was Matt Kemp. I have a hunch he is going to turn things around and the fact that he had 3 singles really said something. Similarly on the Giants side, Pablo Sandoval finally seems to have found his swing back. Both of those players should be fun to watch for the next 2 games.

Tonight Tim Lincecum versus Clayton Kershaw.  I’m not holding my breath for the Dodgers, but it should be a good pitchers match up.  It will most likely come down to the bullpen, so here’s hoping it doesn’t come down to George Sherrill.  I found it ironic for him that he battled at the end and got the out, but he still gave up an early walk that came around to score.  If he does pull this season out, give full credit to Joe Torre to sticking with him.  He definitely has been a different guy than last year.

Anybody seen Manny lately?  Yeah, me neither.  I wondered if he would put something together this summer since this is a contract year for him…but injuries just keep getting him.  The Dodgers definitely have lost money on him at this point.

Go Blue.

Tags: Andre Ethier, Casey Blake, Clayton Kershaw, Madison Bumgarner, Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp, Pablo Sandoval, Tim Lincecum

Thank the Lord for the Giants. I’m hoping this series works out like the last ones because that St. Louis series was ugly. Don’t get me started on how the Dodgers will do in the post season if they can’t win one game on the road against the Cardinals. The bullpen is really hurting right now.

Here are my picks for the next three games. It could be really good or really bad for both teams as both have been on the skids of late.

James McDonald vs Madison Bumgarner

I give this one to the new Giants rookie.  McDonald is fresh out of the shoots and I don’t know if he will have it yet.

Clayton Kershaw vs. Tim Lincecum

I have to give this one to Lincecum.  He’s too hot again.  Kershaw should bounce back fine, but I don’t know that he can get the win.

Chad Billingsley vs. Barry Zito

I give this one to Billingsley.  He’s due for a win here and I’m not as confident in Zito any more.

I give these predictions, but especially in the first two games, it could come down to the bullpen.  Broxton has been shaky of late as a middle reliever, so he could go back to the old Broxton of not being able to beat the Giants.  If he can only work 3 batters, he may be all right.

Tonight’s game is on the network channels, so it should be a good time.  Go Dodgers.

Tags: Barry Zito, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, James McDonald, Jonathan Broxton, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum