This weekend the Dodgers announced that Don Mattingly will take over the reigns next year. Rumors were swirling that Tim Wallach would be the next in line, but it seems that the Dodgers have been planning this all year….so much that they already gave Don Mattingly an extension before the season began.

If you read my last post, this wasn’t a big surprise to me.  It’s obvious that the Dodgers are holding to their core players, and Joe Torre didn’t want the job anymore.

Personally, I think it’s a good switch, but we’ll see if it works out. The Dodgers did need change. They counted on the kids and this year the kids went backwards. They either needed new kids, or someone who could better motivate the kids. As much as Larry Bowa and Joe Torre gave old school tough love, it just didn’t seem to be working.  The Dodgers have good talent, but it is obvious now how far down you can go on what you “should” be able to do, rather than what you actually do do.

To be frank, the last two weeks have just stunk up here in the Bay Area.  The Giants and Dodgers have switched roles this year.  The Giants are fighting to get into the playoffs, and the Dodgers are out.  The problem this year is that the Dodgers are so far out, they aren’t even trying to play spoilers.  They honestly look like they have just rolled over and died.  The starting pitching is a gem, but the offense is just pathetic.  That’s my only concern with Don Mattingly.  His job of making sure the offense works, hasn’t worked very well of late.  Hopefully that isn’t a direct translation to managing…which he hasn’t officially done before.

I do give the Giants credit.  When you are heading to the playoffs, you should be able to roll over the weaker teams.  The Giants rolled over the Dodgers in the last two series.  Clayton Kershaw was a one man team last week, but it’s just too bad he can’t pitch everyday.

I saw the Giants play the Brewers on Sunday, and they look good right now.  They picked up good veterans in Jose Guillen and Pat Burrell, and Buster Posey is a stud.  I hope he can play for a long time because he is fun to watch.  He has a sweet swing, and it just seems far to easy for him to drive it to the gaps.  If he can stay healthy, he will help the Giants for a long time.

The Giants look like a team ready for the playoffs.  They have strong pitching, offense and relief pitching, and may very well hold off the Padres.

It’s a funny thing living out of town when your own team stinks.  I have always been a baseball fan, more than even a Dodgers fan, so it is fun to hear about the struggles of the Giants and see them put together a good team.  I’m still not going to root for them, but good baseball is fun to watch, and right now their playing good baseball.  Ironically, hopefully the Dodgers can get back to this level next year.

On a personal note, the title of this post had a deeper meaning.  For now, this is going to be my last post.  I’ll leave the site up for now , but I have some new pursuits to go after, largely music.  I’ve enjoyed writing about the Dodgers, but it’s time for change.  If anyone is interested in taking over the site, please e-mail me at scott@sfdodgerfan.com.  The site will need a new banner though.  I love the picture of Manny at AT&T park, but alas his ship has sailed away. 

Many thanks to all of you who subscribed over the last 2 years.  I don’t know all of you personally, but I definitely appreciated your support. 

Happy Trails All – Go Blue.

Manny Ramirez - Tim Defrisco - SI

Well, if you haven’t heard the news…this could be Manny’s last weekend in Dodger Blue. If you haven’t heard, I’m assuming that you have been out of the country, because once again he is the talk of baseball.

The rumor right now is that the Dodgers and White Sox already have a deal in place and are just hoping no other team can claim him.

I have to admit, I’m a little mixed on his leaving. He was fun for a time, and he gave me a great picture at the top of this page, but his leaving is no surprise…and honestly it’s just time.

Manny has been on the DL three times this year.  He has not produced as expected and definitely has not earned his 20 million dollar paycheck.  They have already taken the “Mannywood” signs down in Dodger stadium making it obvious that the front office is also ready to move on.  Manny leaving saves the Dodgers some money in the next few years and honestly does get rid of a major distraction to the team.  The team is on a little tear since he got back, but it’s not like he has done that much.  He sat out yesterday after a night game the day before.  That in itself is still ironic with him.  Manny can’t play a day game right after a night game.  There is too much risk of injury.  Think about that for a minute.  The thought of keeping someone for that price who is so fragile just makes me shake my head.

To me though, I think Manny has been ready to go for a long time.  Manny is at his best when he is cracking jokes and making a scene.  This year after the suspension last year, he has been no where to be seen.  He won’t talk lest he say something wrong or right.  He went into a shell and thus hasn’t been the presence or force he once was.  I think he’s still embarrassed by his suspension and just doesn’t feel comfortable in L.A. any more.

The rumor right now is that he will waive his no trade clause if the next teams gives him an extension for 1 year.  That in itself is funny to me.  It makes sense that he wants something guaranteed, but he hasn’t really played this year.  He just wants to lock up the potential of him playing next year. 

There’s no way the Dodgers would give him an extension for next year, so it is funny that through this trade and his agent that he can lock a team into paying him next year.  Once again Manny can play the game and come out ahead.  There’s no guarantee that he will produce or even be healthy, but there is that potential and therefore he will get paid. 

Really, Manny has to go because he needs to end his career as a DH.  He may be able to pull out a few more years and actually contribute again.  If he stays with the Dodgers, and especially if he goes on the DL, he’ll be in for a major pay cut next year. 

It was a fun ride…at times, but it’s time for the Dodgers to move on.  Get a good solid player who can play everyday, and couple that with good pitching early and late. 

This could be the start of some major changes with the Dodgers.  It will depend on the divorce outcome, but I really wonder if this year will be the end of Joe Torre too.  If they can lock up Ted Lilly they will actually have the solid pitching staff they have wanted for years.  This could keep Joe, but I do believe he’s frustrated with the divorce limitations.

Well, so long Manny.  Everyone knew going in that signing you could be a mixed bag.  That it was.  Thanks for the memories, but buyer beware.

Lesson learned from the Dodgers/Giants game yesterday.

No matter how much Giants fans can’t stand seeing you in Dodger blue, if they feel you have cute kids in Dodger Blue…they won’t rip on you near as much.  I had my boy in Dodger blue and my girl in Dodger pink and the Giants fans just melted.  I do love Dodger Stadium, but I now love that AT&T has an area for young kids…it bought me at least one more inning at the game.

Well – as one of my friends put it…if you can’t score, you can’t win.  The Dodgers pitched great (really liked seeing Dotel hold the score), but they couldn’t score.  The Dodgers look really different with three lead off guys in a row.  If those three can start hitting, the Dodgers could get really fast.

The missing link yesterday in my opinion was Matt Kemp.  He just doesn’t have it.  He’s not hitting well and he didn’t play centerfield very well yesterday either.  I was behind him in the bleachers and more than once he lost the ball in the sun.  I realize it is the sun, but he just seemed to get late breaks as well. 

You should have heard the fans booing him.  Among the comments I heard…

“Hey Kemp, how’s Rihanna?” and “Hey Kemp, Chris Brown hits harder than you do…”  Not a nice one, but they were definitely going for blood with him.

If Ethier can come back hitting and Manny can hit again, the Dodgers can make a good run as they have a solid team now.  Ned Colletti did his job and now they just need the offense to hit.  I read to day that Joe Torre said that he wasn’t worried, that they will hit.  I think that is true.  They picked a bummer time to slump, but I still think they will be in it at the end.  Will they win the division?  Not sure yet….but if they start hitting, they could go far in the playoffs.  I’m calling it now though – the Dodgers and Giants are going to have a dog fight at the end.  Should be fun.

To close, found a great article in the L.A. Times today (click here) on Casey Blake and Ted Lilly.  It seems that all is washed away when you become teammates.  Casey Blake called out Ted Lilly earlier in the year when he was on the Cubs for “cheating” on the mound by not properly stepping on it and getting a little closer to home plate.  Below is the excerpt when asked about his new teammate.

Among the new teammates Lilly met Sunday was Casey Blake, who accused him of cheating when the Dodgers faced the Cubs in May. Blake said Lilly was pitching from in front of the rubber.

“I’ll tell him to keep doing it,” he said.

So long until next time…Frankly I’m glad to see the Dodgers get out of town.

Let’s just start by saying that it should be a “fun” day at the ballpark with my kids after the Giants have humiliated the Dodgers for two games. I’m hoping my cute son and daughter in Dodger gear will help dispel the wrath of Giants fans with me in my Dodger jersey. I’m also hoping I don’t scar them for life so that they never want to go back.

The first game, the Dodgers just couldn’t hit. Casey Blake had a chance and once again just can’t seem to be the clutch game winner.

Last night, Casey Blake came through…but then Jonathan Broxton didn’t. My apologizes to all of you fans as I have definitely gotten lax with Broxton. He seems to have shed his old ways…even against the Giants, so that I stopped telling Joe Torre to not play him in SF. Well, I’ve learned my lesson. He is overworked and the Giants have momentum right now.

Joe Torre – even if it is a 1 run game, DON’T use Broxton. Hopefully Dotel will arrive today. Let him finish it just until you can leave SF. The Giants have his number and yesterday was just embarrassing. It’s one thing to lose, another to give the Giants a highlight that they will replay over and over and over AND over again.

We’ll see how today goes. The Dodgers should win, but they just don’t look sharp. I like all the new signings. They definitely needed the pitching help.

It’s funny to me, that for the first time in a long time, I really miss Manny. I thought he was done, but we need him to come back and stay healthy and help this team. Kemp and Ethier miss him the most.

Well, wish me luck. My wife is a Giants fan so I’m sure she’ll be trying to unbrainwash my kids as we go. I’m worked very hard this week to remind them that “who do we want to win?” THE DODGERS!

Go Blue.

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.

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.