2nd place (tie) in the NL West
57-45, 4 games behind the D’Backs
PITCHING PROBABLES
7/26
Daal
at
SF
Ortiz
7/27
Nomo
at
SF
Hernandez
7/28
Ashby
at
SF
Schmidt
7/29
7/30
Ishii
at
Cin
Haynes
7/31
Nomo
at
Cin
Fernandez
8/1
Perez
at
Cin
Reitsma
LATEST TEAM INFO:
The Dodgers face a huge weekend series at Pac Bell Park against the Giants who enter the series tied with the Dodgers for the wild card lead. Barry Bonds is still out with an injured right hamstring, so they don’t have to worry about his threat in the lineup. The Giants have won 6 of 9 from the Dodgers so far this season.
In 14 games, the Dodgers have turned a 2.5 game lead into a 4 game deficit in the NL West. They’ve dropped 11 of 14 games and have looked lifeless in the process. The exclamation point came in an 8-0 shutout at the hands of the Padres where the Dodgers managed only 5 hits and didn’t advance a runner to second base. In the first half, everything seemed to go right for this team; but in the second half, nothing seems to be going right. The offense has been the biggest culprit as it only scoring 2.6 runs per game since the break. This looks like the offensive crew that started the season and was shutout 8 times in the first month and a half. They have managed 2 or fewer runs in 9 of their last 14 games. While Shawn Green was just unstoppable in the May and June slugging over .700, he hasn’t had an extra-base hit in 12 games. Opposing pitchers have finally come to their senses and have pitched around him with the rest of the lineup producing nothing. Even the bullpen has been struggling. While Gagne continues to dominate, the rest of the pen looks like it is trying to match Montreal for worst pen after the break. They’ve allowed 11 runs in 11.2 innings of the last four games. Guillermo Mota, who earned a more prominent set-up role, has been torched since the break. In his last 6 games, Mota has pitched 5.2 innings allowing 10 runs, 11 hits, 3 homers, 4 walks and striking out 3. Because of this, GM Dan Evans is searching for another arm out of the pen (scroll down to trade rumors for more info).
Alex Cora has started 7 games at shortstop and second base since the break. He's started 5 of the last 6 games at shortstop. He will continue to get starts as long as he continues to hit as Cesar Izturis has been terrible against righties (.201 avg) all season long. Cora has three multi-hit games in his last four starts.
Dave Roberts has Jim Tracy considering eliminating the platoon in centerfield. Roberts has been one of the great stories for the Dodgers this season. Roberts, 30, finally was given a starting job this spring after being a bench player in Cleveland. Roberts has really been solid all year with a .293 avg, .368 OBP and 28 steals in 34 chances. If you need steals, Roberts is definitely a good option.
LOCAL PERSPECTIVE:
Dodger fans are very disappointed with the Dodgers after such a brilliant first half. With the Angels playing well down the freeway, it’s even harder to swallow the quick deterioration of this Dodger club. Fans can only hope that GM Evans will make some moves to shore up the team before the deadline. In the past week, he’s made three deals.
The biggest trade was the acquisition of 3B Tyler Houston from the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league pitchers Ben Diggins (1st round pick in 2000) and Shane Nance (24th round pick in 1999). Houston is a left-handed hitter that will hopefully put pressure on Adrian Beltre to start living up to his potential. In 76 games, Houston is batting .302 with 7 homers and 33 RBI. A couple of problems are that Houston has been as cold as the Dodger offense in July; in 16 games, he’s batting .169 with no homers and one RBI. Houston’s move out of Miller Park to Dodger Stadium won’t help his numbers either. His home OPS for the year is .902; while his away OPS is .700. Interestingly before Evans pulled the trigger on this deal, he placed one more call into the availability of Scott Rolen. Phillies GM Ed Wade was apparently asking for Beltre, a major league pitcher and a minor league pitcher. Beltre has actually been one of the few producers since the break hitting 4 homers and 9 RBI.
The two other deals were minor. The Dodgers acquired utility man Jolbert Cabrera from the Indians for minor league pitcher Lance Carraccioli. Colbrera was assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The Dodgers also traded OF Hiram Bocachica (and his great name) to the Detroit Tigers for minor league pitcher Tom Farmer and a player to be named later (hopefully as good a name as Bocachica). Farmer was 6-8 with a 4.92 ERA in 16 starts for Double-A Erie.
RUMOR MILL:
GM Evans is apparently much more content about the weak hitting Dodger offense than I am. While I considered it a miracle that the Dodgers scored so many runs in the first half, Evans seems to believe that that is their normal level of production which to me seems absurd when they get almost no production from 2B, 3B and SS (and currently getting no production from every position).
Evans is more concerned about getting help for the bullpen, which will hopefully have some kind of lead to protect. I can pretty much guarantee that he’ll pick up another arm for before the deadline. He’s inquired about Cleveland right-hander Paul Shuey, Florida right-hander Braden Looper and Milwaukee righty Luis Vizcaino. He's also talked about Toronto's Kelvim Escobar, Colorado’s Todd Jones, Pittsburgh's Scott Sauerbeck, Cleveland's Ricardo Rincon and Tampa Bay's Esteban Yan.
INJURIES: Kevin Brown (P) - Status: DL
Brown has now thrown a couple of bullpen sessions with no ill effects of his sore elbow or his back surgery. He threw all of his pitches aggressively and will likely face hitters in either batting practice or simulated innings next week. It looks like Brown will return in late August at the earliest.
Darren Dreifort (P) – Status: DL
Dreifort, who is recovering from his second “Tommy John” surgery, was diagnosed with bursitis. He received a cortisone shot in his knee and will resume throwing lightly in the bullpen. Dreifort may return in September but in a very limited role.
Jeff Reboulet (IF) – Status: 15-day DL, back
Reboulet went on the DL with a stiff back. If you have Jeff on your squad, you have serious issues. Please call 555-IDIOT and I’ll help you immediately. IF/OF Mike Kinkade was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Eric Karros (1B) – Status: In lineup
Karros was hit in the face by a 97mph Felix Rodriguez fastball in the seventh inning on July 20th against the Giants. He had stitches and “minor plastic surgery.” He’s missed one game but is back in the lineup. JD Drew should learn some toughness from Karros.
Odalis Perez (P) – Status: Given leave
Perez was excused from the team to travel to the Dominican Republic for personal reasons. Perez was going to be given a few days off to rest his arm anyways. He’ll pitch again August 1st against the Reds. Perez is 1-4 in his last 5 starts. In 28.1 innings, he’s allowed 23 runs on 41 hits, 6 walks and 22 strikeouts.
LINEUP (last 7 days)
1. Dave Roberts (CF): 7-19 (.368), 1R, 3RBI, 5SB, .846 OPS
2. Alex Cora (SS): 7-19 (.368), 4R, 1RBI, .789 OPS
3. Shawn Green (RF): 4-24 (.120), 2R, 1RBI, 5BB, .476 OPS
4. Paul Lo Duca (C): 3-25 (.120), 2R, 1HR, 3RBI, .400 OPS
5. Eric Karros (1B): 6-18 (.333), 1R, 3RBI, .880 OPS
6. Brian Jordan (LF): 6-20 (.300), 4R, 1RBI, 1SB, .683 OPS
7. Adrian Beltre (3B): 5-19 (.263), 2R, 1HR, 2RBI, .721 OPS
8. Mark Grudzielanek (2B): 7-19 (.368), 2R, 2RBI, .768 OPS
