Not Everybody Has Quit In ‘Em
First Either makes a great grab in right field yesterday and today, he gets tossed arguing balls and strikes, so I guess Ethier thinks we still have a chance so I’m wit it! Kemp has shown a lot too, hitting the ball solidly, playing aggressively in the outfield and on the bases and with Rafael Furcal coming back, with us on a 3 game streak and only 5 and a half back , maybe, just maybe!
So, the Los Angeles Dodgers win today, 7-1, all thanks to our bullpen Carlos Monasterios battled through 4 and a third innings striking out 3, giving up 2 hits a walk and his only earned run was a homerun by Prince Fielder. After that, Joe Torre worked his masterpiece, bringing in Ronald Belisario and George Sherrill to end the 5th inning. Jansen goes two scoreless innings and has a bit of excitement when he got his first time to hit in the majors, drew a walk and proceeded to score on a single to center by Ryan “The Riot” Theriot.
Can this team make the playoffs? As a Dodger fan I hope so. Do we need Manny Ramirez for that? Or even Hiroki Kuroda? I have no idea but both are now on waivers, Manny is sure to be claimed by the White Sox but it doesn’t necessarily mean he will be traded because he’s asking for a one year extension with whatever club decides to pick him up, and he wants it in place before the waiver trade is done, so there’s a very good chance he will remain in Dodger blue. Kuroda on the other hand, could garner a lot of interest but I’d like to keep him if we’re serious about a run, we’re playing very well and just one 3 straight on the road, sweeping the Brewers. Last time the Dodgers swept a team was back in June, the 28th through 30th, when they swept the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco.
The next series is against the Rockies, the team that is directly ahead of us not only in the National League West but also in the Wild Card race, so this is a supremely huge series that the Dodgers must take at least 2 of 3 but would be a lot better if they sweep. If they do that, they will be ahead of the Rockies, if they only win 2 they’ll be tied. I’m going to rest a lot of my faith in this team on this next series, I want to see how much fight they’ve got left. Torre has already shown that he won’t quit, Colletti is still making calls trying to see what he can get to help the team and Ethier has definitely shown us that he won’t quit.
Waiver Updates
So, Manny has finally hit the waiver wire but will Kuroda join him there? Courtesy of ESPN LA
It makes sense, Kuroda is in the last year of his contract, has always been highly consistent and could help bolster a team’s rotation fighting for the playoffs, I just wonder what the Dodgers will be asking for, the last young player we got back in a trade was John Ely other than that, Colletti’s usually been giving up young talent, so I guess we have to wait and see.
Both him and Manny showcased their stuff today against the Brewers, Manny went 2 for 2 with 2 walks and an RBI, while Kuroda went 7 innings, surrendered 4 runs, and struck out 6, more than enough to get a win with most of this years playoffs teams.
Also, the White Sox have said for sure that they will pick up Manny on waivers, it’s too bad really, we have just won three straight and it could be that Manny has ignited this offense, and now we’re going to trade him off? I dunno, we’ll see. I still don’t want to give up hope but if we can get us some good young talent to help us out for the future, I’m all for it.
Kemp Homers for the 3rd Straight Game and Dodgers win.
As my favorite Los Angeles Dodger player, I’m happy to see that Matt Kemp has started to regain his swing. After not hitting a home-run since August 2nd and hovering around the Mendoza Line for the month of August, Kemp has 4 hits in his last 14 at-bats, good enough for a .285 batting average. Even better than that he’s hit 3 home-runs in three straight games with two of those games resulting in wins.
I find it no coincidence that in two of those games Manny Ramirez has been in the line up, and even though he’s 0 for 8 in those 2 games, his very presence just makes the line up better, even new comer Rod Bajaras, who’s been in a horrible slump since June started, hitting .183 for June, .146 for July and only playing in one game in August, went 3 for 4 with a home-run and 3 RBI’s.
Even after the stellar hitting performances of both Kemp and Barjas, interim closer Hong-Chih Kuo almost blew it in the ninth inning. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Kuo was brought in to save the game. He easily recorded the first out but on a bunt by light hitting center fielder Carlos Gomez, Kuo rushed the throw and Loney at first couldn’t field the ball cleanly and Gomez reached. The next batter, rookie catcher Jonathan Lucroy, hit the ball right back to Kuo, who had an easy double play but again rushed the throw and the ball went into center-field, luckily Kemp was there to back up the ball and Gomez stayed at 2nd, now runners on 1st and 2nd 1 out instead of game over.
After a quick talk, Kuo calmed down and buckled in with All Star right fielder Corey Hart pinch hitting for the pitcher spot. Kuo bared in and got him to pop up to short-stop, then up to bat is 2nd baseman Rickie Weeks, who quickly went 1-2 and surrendered the game on an inside fastball by Kuo, earning Kuo’s 5th save of the season.
I really have mixed feelings about Dodger wins right now. On one hand, I just want them to give up and try to get something out of the players that we can give away to playoffs contenders but on the other hand, like Colletti I don’t just like to give up and it’s not completely hopeless so, we’ll see.
Manny Updates
The White Sox have expressed interest in Manny Ramirez if he goes on waivers and have stated that they’d put him at DH, which is where Manny would want to play if he does go on waivers. He’s said that if he goes to another team, that he wants to go to an AL club so that he can prolong his career at the DH position, which tells me that there’s a good chance he’d decline anything to an NL club unless he really likes the team.
Dodger Blues to Red Sox?
He’s Baaaaack?
Could this be Manny Ramirez in under a week? It’s quite possible because the Los Angeles Dodgers are planning on placing Manny Ramirez on waivers this week. Johnny Damon has also been placed on waivers by the Detroit Tigers but he has a selective no trade clause in his contract and one of the teams on his list is the Boston Red Sox.
Both players left without much fanfare, in fact Boston Red Sox fans were happy to be rid of both Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez both causing headaches with management and coaches but the Red Sox haven’t been the same since and with the Red Sox trying to catch up with both the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, adding a bat the caliber of Ramirez could help propel them into the playoffs.
Now let’s look at the other teams that could vie for Manny’s services.
The Top Three.
#1. Tampa Bay Rays: They could use him the most. Their current Designated is another ex LA Dodger, Willie Aybar and his slash line of .240/.313/.361 doesn’t exactly cause an opposing pitcher pause. Because of their record, they’re above the Yankees in waivers but behind the Red Sox, so if the Red Sox end up passing on Manny, the Rays are my #1 destination for his services.
#2 New York Yankees: It’s obvious, they’re the Yankees, every big name that comes up in the trade market we put the #1 destination as New York. Now while Austin Kearns and Marcus Thames are hitting well this season they’re not Manny Ramirez but where would he bat? You may see the Yankees nab Manny just to keep him away from the Rays and Red Sox.
#3 Boston Red Sox: David Ortiz currently occupies the DH spot and hits right handers really well but is a horrible .218/.276/.331 versus left handers with 44 strikeouts in only 133 at bats, that’s one strikeout every 3 at-bats versus left handers, so if Manny does go to Boston he will more than likely be platooned with Ortiz and with Manny having a full no trade clause, I just don’t see him wanting to do that, Im sure he wants to play to make sure that he gets the best pay day he can in 2011.
After that we have the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers who it has been rumored he could go.
The White Sox are currently 4.5 back of the Twins and 9.5 back in the Wild Card and with Manny’s no trade clause I can’t see him going there.
The Twins have Jim Thome currently in the DH spot and may want to give him a rest versus lefties but its the same situation as with the Red Sox, Manny’s going to want to showcase his talents and he can’t do it platooning.
The Rangers currently have Vladimir Guerrero and he was the DH for the American League All Stars and is a right hander, I just can’t see Manny getting any playing time there, so that is also out of the question.
So it seems Ned Colletti either read what I had to say this morning about the Dodgers not having a chance this year at the playoffs or he feels like putting Podsednik on the bench will be a waste and he could save a little money by getting rid of Manny.
I just don’t get the guy, in two days time he shows signs of not giving up then the next day we hear about him waiving Manny, which by the way, he said not too long ago was key to the Dodgers playoff run. With Furcal coming back soon, the Dodgers would have had their opening day line up for the first time since June 26th when the Dodgers beat the Yankees 9-4.
Here’s to hoping the Dodgers are now finally sellers and not buyers and we can get something before this season ends that can give us Dodger fans some hope for the future.
