$15? $15! Now I see why no one goes to the game. I could’ve sworn last year it was about $8 or $9 right? I can’t believe they charge you more for parking than they do for some of the seats in Dodger Stadium, I almost went and turned around when I saw how much I’d have to pay to park my car.

Next I got to experience the Right Field Pavilion and if you haven’t been, you’re missing out. When I first walked underneath the Pavilion I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t see where the food was (mainly because of the huge line in front of it) because I was expecting a normal type line and when I figured out that it was in a buffet style I smiled, grabbed my tray and piled up. First some peanut, then some popcorn, nacho’s and about 4 hot dogs, 2 for me, 1 for the kid and 1 for my lady.

Next we just sat down before we even got to our seats and ate happily, concluding that even if the Dodgers got destroyed 20-0 that the price we paid was already worth it. Dodger dogs are the best and anyone who’s had one just can’t deny that fact and they’re so good that you don’t even need to put any topping on them and they’re good but I did anyway, getting a wrapper, putting ketchup and mustard on it and dipping my dog in nacho cheese, it was the best.

After the game started (with me still under the pavilion stuffing my face) it was near immediate that Ted Lily, the pitcher who threw the last time I went to a Dodger game, tested the words that I said earlier giving up three quick runs and inciting some anger from the crowd, including me. Nearly immediately the Dodgers decided to try and come back, and tease us by loading the bases for Matt Kemp with 0 outs. Of course in beautiful Dodger fashion they somehow had the bases loaded and only got out of the inning with 1 run, frustrating me to no end and feeling like this game was going to have one of those slow deaths.  

In the bottom of the inning the beer part of my title came into play as a wonderful fan (I say that in all irony) decided he wanted to heckle Jason Werth “Hey Werth!” he said “You should still be a Dodger you jerk!” He turned away looked at fans in right field with a big smile on his face, clearly pleased with himself. Obviously this fan didn’t realize it was the Dodgers who let him go and not Werth who left but that didn’t stop him from constantly berating Werth all game, even to the point where Werth after one particularly crazy rant waved him off, that got a good laugh from the crowd.

I also found out firsthand how strict they are about their seating policy as a whole family got uprooted for people who wanted their seats, next I got moved because I found the wrong seat, mainly because someone else was sitting in my seat so I got a little confused and when I got moved into 302 6-8 the seats were better than before as I was sitting right next to the visiting bullpen and that enabled me to be nearly front n center for part 2 of “beer.”

I really only saw the results, but that was enough of an entertainment value for me to include here. It was around the middle of the game after the Nationals took a 6-2 lead and it looked like Lily would be short for the game and the Dodgers weren’t doing much when I saw the first of many Dodger fans get thrown out. A group of people came in together and started to bother the Nationals players in the bullpen, I guess someone complained and eventually one guy got thrown out, then a couple innings later one more guy got thrown out, that’s about when I lost interest in the game for a few minutes and watched as the head of security issued a warning to the group, now this is my interpretation of what I think he said by the results later “If I hear anything else from the group, you’re all gone.” An inning or two later, nearly 10-15 people were escorted out, to the joy of the group who felt that it was awesome to get all that attention, or they were so displeased by the game they just didn’t want to stay but they really missed a good one.

It was about the 6^th inning when I spoke my most prophetic words “this is going to be a crazy one and will be decided in the bottom of the 9^th.” I couldn’t be more right as in the 7^th inning the Dodgers tied it up 6-6 after training 6-5 since the 3^rd inning with great pitching from Lilly after the 3^rd and great bullpen work from 3 different relievers and then the bottom of the 9^th came, the Dodgers got runners on base and Furcal was coming up with his second chance to be a hero after driving a ball to deep center with runners on base.

He didn’t disappoint us again as the ball went to deep left and after the runner on 2^nd base scored Furcal was mobbed by his Dodger teammates in the middle of the field and to see that in person is much more insane than on television. Watching as nearly 40,000 fans stand up clapping and yelling (I threw my voice out btw) as the Dodger dugout clears out and runs on the field to tackle their short stop is an image I will never lose, it was the best game I had ever been to.

I want to personally thank Rafael Furcal for that with his great defensive play at shortstop and his bat helping to score a run and deliver the game winner. He’s always been one of my favorite Dodgers and it always saddened me when he got hurt because I knew this team wouldn’t be the same without him. More than any other injury this year, Furcal’s hurt the most because a table setting like Furcal just doesn’t exist in the majors. He hits well, drives in runs, steals bases, has great range, an awesome arm, and is a leader in the club house and on the field. If the Dodgers make a run this year it will be because Furcal stayed healthy, Rafael Furcal’s don’t come around very often and I’m proud he’s a Dodger.

Q. The Dodgers have won 5 straight games, should we get excited?

A. Conventional wisdom would say yes as the Dodgers have had winning streaks before but they were only three games and always consisted of offense and Matt Kemp carrying them. This time it’s been pitching (Kershaw has 2 of the 5 wins), and Kemp only broke out on the 15th but in the previous 4 games the rest of them team helped to carry the Dodgers to victory.

So I would say that yes, you can get a little excited. They’re only 9 games below .500 and 11.5 back of San Francisco so there’s a possibility with a strong 2nd half that they can compete for the playoffs. I feel that the Dodgers bullpen is finally starting to solidify itself after a hectic first half, the position players and the line up is finally starting to gel, Mattingly is coming into his own as a manager and the players are starting to understand how he is as a manger.

Q. How long will this Frank McCourt thing last?

A. That’s the scary part, no one really knows. It could end next week when the judge rules that Major League Baseball’s loan is better for the Dodgers financial future than the one Frank McCourt took out and baseball fully takes the Dodgers over because of Article VIII, Section 4(l) of the Major League Baseball Constitution

Sec. 4. Involuntary Termination. The rights, privileges and other property rights of a Major League Club hereunder and under any other Baseball-related agreement may be terminated (i) in the event of contraction, pursuant to Article
Section 2 (b) (1), or (ii) involuntarily, with the approval of three-fourths of all Major League Clubs, if the Club in question shall do or suffer any of the following:

(l) Make an assignment for the benefit of its creditors or file a voluntary petition in bankruptcy, or if a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy is appointed for the properties and assets of the Club, or if reorganization proceedings in bankruptcy are instituted by or against the Club.

Or it could take longer if McCourt finds a way to just make things take longer. Either way Frank is done and hopefully either Mark Cuban or the group led by Hershiser and Garvey takes over.

Q. Where will Matt Kemp’s season rank among All Time Dodger players?

A. The season’s not over man! He could easily tank and only hit 30 home runs, doubtful as it may be, but if he continues on his current pace and gets .300, 40 HR’s, 110 RbI’s and 40 SB, I will have to come out and say that it was the best all around season by any Dodger ever and will definitely rank among the best seasons of any player.

Q. Will Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Clayton Kershaw still be Dodgers if somehow Frank McCourt keeps the team?

That’s a hard one and one I know a lot of fans are worried about, especially with the years that they are having or have had. Kemp and Kershaw could easily fetch $20 mil on the open market and Ethier $10+ and with McCourt already struggling to make payroll this year, if he somehow doesn’t get an infusion of cash from somewhere, how would he be able to afford these players? So I have to say there’s a good chance at least one or two of them wouldn’t still be Dodgers by 2013 either by trade or free agency.

Q. Last question, will the Dodgers be a contender anytime soon?

A. Definitely, heck I think they could be contenders this year! The season isn’t over yet, it’s only been 93 games and there are 69 left. The Dodgers have 42 wins and 51 losses, and they could turn it around and at least compete and get some momentum going into next year. They may not make the playoffs, especially since the San Francisco Giants are playing at the same pace last year when they won 92 and in order for the Dodgers to do that, they’d have to win as many games in 69 as they last in 93 (50) even though it’s possible, I don’t think it’s probable.

Now, 2012 is another story, depending on what Colletti does in the off-season, the Dodgers can definitely be players. I’m not sure what they’ll do with James Loney but since it seems that he’s found his pre-2010 bat, it might be hard to let him go. If the Dodgers could eat least find a LF and a 3B with power, leaving James Loney at 1B wouldn’t be that much of an issue, especially since he’s one of the better defensive 1B in the league. Sure he’s not spectacular and his sabermetrics at 1B aren’t great but how many times have you said “crap, Loney screwed up” over “great play Loney!” I rest my case.

If you or anyone else has any questions you’d like answered next week, e-mail me at DodgersCentral@live.com and you may just be featured in the next Blue Genie article!

After 5 straight losses, which ironically started with Clayton Kershaw, ended with Kershaw as he went 8 innings striking out 9 and giving up only 5 hits and no runs as he pitched another near shut out but manager Don Mattingly didn’t allow him to come back out for the 9th after he threw 118 pitches.

Clayton Kershaw has been amazing. While his ERA is only 3.03, which is great but compared to the sub 3.00 he’s had the previous two years (2.79 and 2.91) he’s striking out batters at an alarming rate, going farther in games and walking less. Kershaw is now on pace for 268 strikeouts in 237 innings with only 64 walks which is incredible considering he had 81 walks in 204 innings last season and 91 in 171 innings in 2009.

It was a fun game, after the Dodgers flailed at baseballs and had trouble driving in runners through 6, getting 1 run on a sacrifice fly in the 2nd, the Dodgers had outs and Matt Kemp got it started with a double to left field scoring two then scoring 3 more runs in the innings, which was as many runs as the Dodgers had scored in the 1st three games versus the Mets.

As bad the Dodgers have been this year, Kemp and Kershaw have been the brightest lights on the team, giving Dodger fans something to come out to the park for when the ownership troubles and other issues have rarely given them a reason to care.

On the surface this game doesn’t look that huge. The Los Angeles Dodgers win 6-2 so now they’re 29-33, kinda meh right? Dig deeper and you see that not only did they beat Roy Oswalt, who didn’t even give up a run to the Dodgers last year, or that Dee Gordon who is known for his mental lapses and strikeouts whiffed only once, or that Rubby De La Rosa pitched 5 good innings and gave up 1 run.

No, even after all that, the biggest thing is that the Dodgers beat the team with the best record in the Major Leagues (at the time) and beat them handily and did it on the road, that’s huge and is evidence that the Dodgers may just be on the heels of a turnaround.

Rookie shortstop Dee Gordon did a great job, collecting 3 hits in his first 3 at-bats against Roy Oswalt and scoring a run. This guy is electrifying and can turn a simple play into something huge and if Furcal can’t get his stuff together, we may see him not even make it in the line up if Gordon performs well.

The inserting of De La Rosa to start tonight was a shock to me. I knew that he came up as a starter but I’d heard that Dodger scouts felt he’d be best as a reliever in the majors but I’m glad that he did well, only giving up a single run despite 5 walks in 5 innings. The good thing about the walks is that they may not be evidence of control problems but just jitters as all 5 of his walks came in the first two innings then after that he got 3 of his 4 strikeouts and two 1-2-3 innings.

Matt Kemp is on an insane tear, but he does this so while it’s awesome it’s not all too surprising. He’s now 4 home-runs in the last 4 games and now has 17 home-runs and 50 RBI’s tying him for the National League lead in home-runs and RBI’s. If he doesn’t start the All Star game, it’s a travesty.

So maybe the Dodgers really can catch up to the top of the NL West, they could very well be legit contenders.

So who is Shawn Tolleson? Just probably the best closer in all of minor league history. It’s hard to explain just how good he is but just look at these numbers.

2010 – Rookie League -  0.63 ERA, 39 SO,  5 BB, 28.2 IP,  26 games 17 saves

2011 – A Ball – 0.00 ERA, 33 SO, 4 BB, 15 IP, 14 games, 10

yes thats right, he didn’t give up a single earned run (gave up a single unearned run, probably via error) and struck out at least 2 batters per inning.

2011 – A+ Ball – 0.93 ERA, 17 SO,  3 BB, 9 IP,, 5 games, 3

That’s a total of a 0.53 ERA with 89 strike outs, 12 walks in 53.1 innings pitched (30 total saves)

That’s just ridiculous, he’s absolutely dominating the competition and he was a 30th round draft pick. Before the season I would’ve thought he’d make the majors by the end of the year but with Javy Guerra, Scott Elbert, Rubby De La Rosa and now Josh Lindbolm there I just don’t see him making it unless one of them falters.

Now, I do think we will see him during September call ups just to gave him a taste but this kid will be in the majors soon enough if he keeps this pace up, this may also signal Broxton’s eventual departure, there’s just too many good young players in the Dodgers minor league system that can take his spot. I’m very excited with this youth movement that we’re having Logan White has really shown his worth in picking gems.

I wonder if the Stow family were Dodger fans if they’d go thru with the suit, but since it was a Giant family visiting the game, my guess is they could care less if the Dodgers are broke now or what, just another chance to screw us over right? I don’t think there’s much of a case here and if it does go to court, the Dodgers can’t be held liable even if it was done in their parking lot. I think in the end it will be settled out of court for an unknown sum of money just to make them go away.

Dodger phenom Rubby De La Rosa has been called up from AA and pitched a scoreless 8th to help the Dodgers win last night. Lance Cormier has been designated for assignment, my guess is he’ll end up being released and no one will pick him up. With all the relievers being injured (MacDougal, Broxton, Kuo and Padilla) De La Rosa will be coming out of the bullpen and maybe get a start or 2 if a certain #5 reliever proves to continue to be ineffective.

It’s interesting, before the season the big story was their starting pitching depth and now their relief depth is really showing, something we either didn’t have last year or former manager Joe Torre didn’t elect to use.

Speaking of youth, they showed up last night. Jerry Sands hit a grand slam in the 3rd to give the Dodgers a 5-1 lead, this is 3 days after he hit his first home run on May 21st and also collected his first 4 hit game the day after, it seems he’s really starting to settle in and show why he was given such a long leash.

De La Rosa as I said pitched the 8th, no hits, 2 strikeouts and Javy Guerra got the save on only 8 pitches, all for strikes, who said the Dodgers minor league system was weak? They look pretty good to me.

So, who’s next? I don’t know, I didn’t even expect to see any of these guys here, especially this early. There are now 3 Dodger rookies in the bullpen and one in the outfield, 1B/3B Russ Mitchelll is on the bench. The only way I see another rookie make the team is if one of the back up outfielders go down, or Loney gets hurt (which he never does) which means we’ll probably see Jamie Hoffmann who is hitting .305 with 9 home runs in AAA or maybe even Trent Oeltjen, but other than that, no one. With the Dodgers struggling, this is the perfect time to show case that youth, hopefully we get to see Dee Gordon sometime in September, despite how badly he played in spring training. This team has a bright future in their minor league system, let’s just hope Ned Colletti doesn’t trade any of them away for rentals trying to win a lost season. 

Andre Ethier needs to be signed to a 3-5 year extension now! I swear, if we lose this guy to the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, or even worse (shudders) to the San Francisco Giants, I will go into the Dodgers front office myself and toss General Manager Ned Colletti and Dodgers owner Frank McCourt out the office and do a Donald Trump on ‘em “You’re fired“

As a kid I used to put together all star teams from my baseball card collection, get a pin and a piece of foil, make a defacto diamond on the bedroom floor and play imagination games for hours. So I thought it’d be fun if I made an all time Dodger team just because. It will be made up like a normal baseball team, so it’s not just a team of the best at those positions but will be put into a line up as well.

Here are my rules:

• Have to have started for at least 5 years
• Brooklyn and LA Dodgers are included.
• No players added before live-ball era.
• Relievers had to have pitched at least 40 games to qualify.
• Team will be put together like most major league teams, 13 position players, 12 pitchers.
• There will be 8 starters, back up catcher, 2 backup infielders and 2 backup outfielders.
• For pitchers, 5 starters, 2 long relievers, which can be starters, 3 middle relievers, 1 set up and 1 closer.

Position Players

Infielders

Catcher – Roy Campenella this was simple, one of the best catchers of all time.

First Base – Gil Hodges, another easy one, played nearly his whole career with the Dodgers and a fan favorite.

Second Base – Yeah, this one was hard /endsarcasm. Jackie Robinson. Although you could argue that he’d be better off the bench because he played multiple positions, I feel in a line up he’s more valuable than Davey Lopes, Jackie just does more.

Third Base – At first I wanted Adrian Beltre but I decided to go with fielding, longevity and consistency over one great year. So Ron Cey.

Shortstop – This one was tough, it was between Maury Wills and Pee Wee Reese but eventually I had to go with Wills because he’s just a beast on the base paths

Outfielders

Left Field – This one was tough as the Dodgers have had a lot of turnovers in left field but I eventually went with Dusty Baker. He wasn’t an original Dodger but he still spent a lot of time with the team in the late 70′s and early 80′s.

Center Field – Simple enough, Duke Snider, one of the best Dodgers of all time.

Right Field – I know this one will be a shocker but believe it or not, Raul Mondesi leads all Dodgers right fielders in games, home runs and other categories. He was a personal favorite of mine and was my favorite all time Dodger until Matt Kemp came along, who just missed being on the team because he’s only started the season as a Dodger in four seasons.

Bench

Catcher – Mike Piazza, he barely makes it starting 5 years flat with the Dodgers before being traded, but how could I leave his bat off?

Infielder #1 – Pee Wee Reese, I just had to have him on the team, nuff said. Can play both middle positions.

Infielder #2 – Steve Garvey, I feel a guy like him off the bench would do well. Good solid bat and can even play a little third.

Outfiedler #1 – Willie Davis, the current leader in consecutive games with a hit, has good speed, good glove and can play all 3 positions.

Outfielder #2 – Andre Ethier, more on the bench for his bat than anything else, just made the team by starting in RF in 2011.

Lineup

#1 – SS Pee Wee Reese
#2 – 2B Jackie Robinson
#3 – CF Duke Snider
#4 – 1B Gil Hodges
#5 – C Roy Campenella
#6 – RF Raul Mondesi
#7 – 3B Ron Cey
#8 – LF Dusty Baker

Pitchers

Starting Rotation

Starter #1 – Sandy Koufax, you had to see that one coming. Koufax was incredible in his time and could’ve set tons of records if it wasn’t for his arm.

Starter #2 – Don Drysdale, him and Koufax were two of the best Dodger pitches of all time and for several years were in the same rotation, couldn’t imagine knowing I was going to encounter them in a 3 game series, must’ve been frightening.

Starter #3 - Orel Hershiser, not only one of my favorite Dodger players of all time but favorite people of all time. Class act and was an incredible player.

Starter #4 – Don Sutton, longevity, consistency and was a great pitcher would have sure ace status in today’s major leagues. One of thee Dodger hall of fame pitchers.

Starter #5 – Fernando Valenzuela, final spot was between him and the guy who will be the top long reliever, Fernando was just too good while he was with the Dodgers to not have as a starter.

Bullpen

Long Reliever #1 – Don Newcombe, too popular to leave off personally.

Long Reliever #2 – Bob Welch, couldn’t leave Welch off, it was between him and Ramon Martinez

Middle Reliever #1 – Jim Brewer, left handed and has the most finished games in Dodger history. Darn good pitcher.

Middle Reliever #2 – Ron Perranoski, know him more for him as a coach for the Dodgers during my time but he was quite a good pitcher in his time and is another left hander, can’t have too many of those.

Middle Reliever #3 – Jonathan Broxton, as bad as he’s been in the second half of 2010 and this season, you can’t deny before then he was one of the most feared relievers in baseball pumping fastballs up there at 98-100 mph, no way I could leave a guy like that off.

Set Up – Jay Howell,was too efficient not to put in a set up position and is a perfect set up man for…

Closer - Eric Gagne, I know there are issues with reports he took performance enhancing drugs but nothing was ever truly proven, but you can’t disprove how dominating he was and the excitement he brought. Funny thing is, he really only makes it because he was a starter for two seasons before he became a closer for 4-5 seasons.

So that’s it, what do you think, any objections? Who would you take off and replace.

With the take over of the Los Angeles Dodgers by Major League Baseball and the appointment of Tim Schieffer, a lot of the media and fans started wondering if this would enable the team to make a move much like the Texas Rangers did last year acquiring Cliff Lee after baseball took over.

There’s a fundamental difference. First, the Rangers were able to make payroll without the issues the Dodgers have, so adding payroll by trading for a big time player just doesn’t seem smart and if Bud Selig has to take money from the other teams in order to fix things, you can be sure they really won’t want to sign off on it if the Dodgers acquire somebody raising what they’d have to put in.

There’s also the issue of talent, it took Justin Smoak, the 13th ranked prospect in 2010, along with 3 minor leaguers, starting pitcher Blake Beavan, second baseman Matthew Lawson and reliever Josh Lueke in order for the Seattle Mariners to give up Cliff Lee. Reliever Mark Lowe was also traded to the Rangers but, he was more of a throw in and only pitched in 3 games for Texas.

That’s quite a bit of talent and Ned Colletti in the past has shown a reluctance to trade multiple players for another. Even when the Dodgers acquired Manny Ramirez all the Dodgers had to give up were Bryan Morris and Andy LaRoche. So I just don’t see Colletti making a move anytime soon for a player because of these two circumstances but if he were to make a move, these are the areas I’d love to see addressed.

First Base – This is simple, James Loney is hitting horribly and doesn’t seem to be making too many strides in improving nor has he shown the type of power he said he’d improve on in the off season, I even wrote an article putting my support behind him.

Of course the #1 person here is Prince Fielder. Last season I wasn’t really excited about the thought of trading for him but seeing the ineptness of this offense this year, I’ll take his average defense at first and slow footedness on the base paths for his bat. Main issue here is that he makes $15.5 mil this year and is in a contract year and more than likely will want an increase on that from $18-20 mil easily since his agent is Scott Boras, which also complicates this because Dodgers GM Ned Colletti doesn’t like Scott Boras. So don’t expect anything there.

Outfield - I love Jerry Sands, don’t get me wrong but he’s not an outfielder, he doesn’t have the range and will more than likely end up at 1B next season, which is another reason you won’t see Loney be moved, he’ll probably be non-tendered and Sands will move in full time next season, so here’s my suggestion. Move Sands back down to AAA and trade for Carlos Beltran. He’s a switch hitter, the Mets want to move him and would be willing to take on part of his $18.5 mil owned this season in order to move him. He’s a great fielder in center field, which will enable Andre Ethier to move to left field which I feel is his more natural position, and Matt Kemp can move to right field, which is his more natural position as well. Also since this is more of a one year type of thing, this leave CF open for Trayvon Robinson next season who I feel despite his high strike out rate can be a good lead off hitter.

Third Base – The Mets have also been fielding offers for David Wright, but they aren’t in a hurry to move him or move him at all but I’m sure if the Dodgers could blow them away they’d definitely look at it. Great thing is he’s signed through 2013 with a $16 mil team option in 2013 but I don’t know what the Dodgers could possibly give them

Lastly, just an interesting thought but something I’d like to put out there, another Met.

Shortstop - Jose Reyes. Why not? The San Francisco Giants are looking hard at him, and wouldn’t it be sweet to take him from under their paws? He’s 28 and I really don’t think Dee Gordon will that great of a major leaguer, his strikeout rate for such little, or no power is just too high, he makes too many errors at SS and gets caught stealing a lot. I just don’t feel that Rafael Furcal can play like his old self or stay healthy and with Reyes you get someone who gets on base, is very fast and is a pretty good fielder while you can replace the money you save on Furcal leaving in the off season ($12 mil) on keeping Reyes. Also like I mentioned earlier, the Giants really want him and what better joy is there than screwing the Giants!

In the end, I just don’t see anything happening unless it’s a small deal or something money saving and the Dodgers will mire in mediocrity for the entire season, fighting just to stay at .500 unless Sands starts to hit like he did in the minors, and Furcal and Blake can stay healthy for at least 100 games and I don’t see the latter two happening but Sands may turn it on at some point. I feel sorry for this team, I feel we have the talent to compete but there are just so many distractions and injuries but you never know, who thought the Giants would even make the playoffs last season?

Lots of great things to take from this game, but here are a few things I just wanted to point out.

• Andre Ethier‘s hit streak is extended to 28 games.

Everyone’s calling it “half way to 56″ I think that’s just undue pressure on Ethier, although he can definitely handle it. I just want to call it what it is, a great dang distraction in the midst of the turmoil surrounding Bud Selig and Frank McCourt.

• Juan Uribe continues his hot hitting.

He may be hitting .247 but since Major League Baseball announced that they’d be putting someone in charge of the day to day operations of the Dodgers, he’s been hitting .379 with 3 HR’s with 12 RBI’s in 9 games helping to carry this team along with Andre Ethier. It seems the off-season investment was more than just taking him away from the Giants, he’s been huge.

• Bullpen threw 19 pitches in 2 innings.

First Vicente Padilla came in, threw 11 pitches and 10 for strikes without giving up a hit then Jonathan Broxton of all people came in, threw 8 pitches 7 for strikes and struck out one.

Now, this isn’t that big of a deal for Padilla, he’s always worked quick and thrown strikes but for the Ox Broxton that’s huge.

So, how significant is this? In his last five games he’s thrown, 20, 27, 19, 28 and 25 pitches and has either given up a hit or a walk in each of those, which has been one of his biggest issues. The last game he came in and didn’t give up either a hit or walk he threw 9 pitches and this was way back on April 1st versus the San Francisco Giants.

Broxton is at his best when he throws less than 20 pitches. Last season before he threw 48 pitches against the Yankees, he only threw 20 or more pitches in an outing 7 times and 10 times after that game, and this year he’s already done that 5 times.

So hopefully this is the beginning of a turn around for Broxton because I’d love to see him succeed, when he’s on, he’s one of the best in the league.