Nathan Eovaldi gave up a bloop single followed by a pop fly opposite field home run to Chavez Ravine number one most wanted Ryan Braun, and the Brewers made it stand up for all nine innings.

Other than the home run to Braun, Eovaldi was brilliant for seven innings, throwing strike after strike(90 pitches, 63 strikes). Hardly a ball was struck hard the rest of the game but it was not enough as Michael Fiers out-dueled him. It was Fiers first major league start and he made it a winning one.

Matt Kemp returned to the lineup and almost made a difference. He struck out in the first but launched a long fly ball to almost the exact same spot that Braun hit his home run except his ball died on the warning track. If only he had juiced it just a tad more. In his last ab, facing John Axford he ripped a double to start the 9th, Andre Ethier was plunked putting the Dodgers on 1st and 2nd with no outs.

At this point Don Mattingly had two simple choices. Let one of his hottest hitters swing away to try to score the tying run or have him bunt to put runners on second and third with one out. He choose to have Hairston bunt and it might have been the right call if Hairston had been able to lay down a successful bunt. But he didn't, so with two strikes he swung away and hit a tailor made double play ball up the middle. That left James Loney and that was the ball game as he hit a feeble ground ball to the SS for the final out giving the Brewers their second one run victory in a row and four out of five.

Andre Ethier continued his double trouble with another double driving in DeJesus who had doubled earlier. It was the only run/rally the Dodgers would mount against the rookie.

Dodger Notes:

Ivan DeJesus has had a hit in all three of his starts. Combined he and Elian Herrera have gotten on base just about every single game they have started since Mark Ellis was hospitalized.

Andre had two more hits, one more RBI, and another double. He's now hitting .400 over his last nine games, including four doubles, seven runs batted in, and one home run.

Martin Maldonado the starting catcher for the Brewers got his first major league hit a bloop into right field

All five games between the Brewers and Dodgers have been decided by one run, unfortunately the Dodgers have come out on the wrong side of the ledger four of those five games.

Time 2:30

Attendance 51,137

Game Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: Prime Ticket

MLB GameDay

Some pregame info from manager Don Mattingly:

On the numerous questions regarding possible batting lineups and positions when Juan and Juan come back.

I'm paraphrasing - "Things have a way of working themselves out".

Juan Rivera was taking batting practice. Juan Uribe was fielding ground balls but not throwing.

Jerry Hairston with the perfect 1.000 fielding percentage turns 36 today

BobbleInfield tonight for Garvey/Lopes/Russel/Cey

Andre Ethier is 1/2 way toward his sixth season of 30 doubles. Only four Dodgers have accomplished this feat. Can you name them? Three Brooklyn, One Los Angeles

Andre is already sixth on the Los Angeles Dodger Double leaderboard with 210

Earlier today Andre visited the Union Rescue Mission for the fifth consecutive year

Matt Kemp looked 110 percent in the batting cage

One final note. Remember the Barajas/Gordon rocking gif? In the clubhouse after Dee spent time working on his bunting, Elian tried to pick him up and show SVS how it is done. Needless to say it did not work out as well as the original. SVS must have said something because Dee then spent a few minutes trying to lift SVS off the ground with a bear hug. Didn't happen.

Couple of big stories today as the Dodgers seek to even the series at one game a piece. Dodger center fielder Matt Kemp will try not to hold down the Dodger offense when he returns today, and Nathan Eovaldi will be making his 2012 major league debut in place of the injured Ted Lilly. Eric will have more on both of those activations in a few hours.

Eovaldi will not be the only pitcher making his debut, as the Brewers recalled Michael Fiers to take the rubber for them. Fiers got his feet wet in 2011, but tonight will be his first 2012 appearance. Here is the BaseballHQ scouting report on Fiers:

Michael Fiers (RHP, MIL)
His numbers in the minors have been stellar—2.80 ERA, 2.4 Ctl, 9.6 Dom—but he doesn’t have overpowering or dominant stuff that projects well in the majors. Fiers thrives with a very deceptive delivery that keeps hitters off guard. His fastball only sits in the 88-92 mph range, but he locates it with precision down in the strike zone. He rounds out his deep arsenal with a fringy curveball, slider, and solid-average change-up. Fiers possesses well above average control and consistently gets ahead in the count.
STATS: Nashville (AAA) – 10 gs, 1-3 4.42 ERA, 55 IP, 2.7 Cmd, 2.9 Ctl, 8.0 Dom, 6 HR, .243 oppBA
CURRENT ROLE: Starter
POTENTIAL: #4 starter

Besides the injuries one of the reasons for the Brewers struggling can be found at second base. Richie Weeks has had slumps before but I doubt if he's ever had a slump of this magnitude. If you have been listening to Vin Scully you know that Weeks has been having trouble making contact (62 K's) but did you know just how bad it has been for Weeks?

                                                        
Player             OPS+  PA HR BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS
Emmanuel Burriss     45 116  0  9 18 .212 .278 .221 .499
Rickie Weeks         59 200  5 29 62 .156 .290 .293 .583
Marco Scutaro        62 198  1 13 13 .247 .305 .324 .629
Orlando Hudson       63 131  1  8 27 .211 .260 .317 .577
Freddy Galvis        73 173  3  6 25 .236 .263 .382 .645
Danny Espinosa       78 194  5 19 59 .213 .302 .349 .651
Neil Walker          85 185  2 14 34 .263 .315 .347 .663
Darwin Barney        90 175  2 10 20 .259 .306 .389 .695
Daniel Descalso      93 101  2 10 24 .227 .320 .386 .706
Brandon Phillips     99 173  5 13 23 .272 .326 .418 .743
Aaron Hill          102 191  5 18 29 .263 .340 .415 .756
Daniel Murphy       102 202  0 16 25 .297 .351 .368 .719
Mark Ellis          106 154  2 18 18 .273 .373 .364 .736
Tyler Greene        108 113  4 10 29 .235 .310 .461 .771
Jose Altuve         120 206  3 13 26 .302 .351 .455 .806
Dan Uggla           121 215  7 32 56 .260 .372 .436 .809
Omar Infante        133 165  6  7 19 .321 .352 .532 .884

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/29/2012.

Three second baseman lead the National League in strikeouts. Weeks (62), Espinosa(59), and Uggla(56). Yet those three have combined for only 17 home runs. You'd think you'd get more bang for your buck when you whiff amuck.

Dodger Notes:

RBI MACHINE: Andre Ethier went 2-for-4 and gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the first inning with his two-out RBI double, driving in his National League-leading 42^nd run of the season. Ethier has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, batting .375 (12-for-32) with three runs scored, three doubles, a home run and six RBI since May 29.

FUN BOBBY: Bobby Abreu went 2-for-4 with run scored and a stolen base, raising his average to .339 (20-for-59) in 22 games with Los Angeles. Abreu has also drawn 12 walks as a Dodger and has posted a .451 on-base percentage with the club.

MAKE IT 11: Javy Guerra relieved Aaron Harang in the sixth and retired all three batters he faced for his 11^th consecutive scoreless appearance (11.0 IP).

Also be sure to check out this recap of the incredible Angel game last night. You might have heard of the writer.

Back on April 20th we visited the Astros for the first time back when we were only 10 - 3 and Matt Kemp was superman. The Astros were expected to be the last patsy before we hit Atlanta and Washington. We won the first two games behind Lilly / Kershaw putting us at a giddy 12 - 3 but Billingsley got shelled in game three and Wandy shut us out 12 - 0.

Going into the year most analysts expected the Astros to battle the Padres for the worst team in the NL but the Astros have done decent work, coming into this series with a 21 - 23 record, which is good enough for 3rd place in the NL Central.

They went 9 - 14 in April but are now 12 - 9 in May after sweeping the Cubs, so they come into our series with a three game winning streak. As we look at the numbers on May 24th, the Astros might have the best overall hitting infield in the league. Lee, Altuve, Lowrie, and Johnson each have an OPS+ over 100. The outfield has been terrible which is why they are middle of the pack in scoring runs.

Position Breakdown:

1st Base-Carlos Lee is hitting again, his TSL of .306 / .366 / .433 is good enough for an OPS+ of 121 which ranks 6th among qualified 1st baseman(100 at bats).

2nd Base- Jose Altuve left April as the best offensive 2nd baseman in the National League (.951 OPS) but May has not been as kind (.676 OPS). His 126 OPS+ is still good for 2nd in the NL (100 at bats) and his bat is showing signs of life again this week. At 22 he might be the best young 2nd baseman in the NL.

Shortstop-Jed Lowrie is getting full time play and he's making the most of it. The long time Red Sox futility player has managed to stay healthy enough to play 37 games and put up the second best OPS+(130) for a shortstop in the NL.

3rd Base-Chris Johnson is making like 2010 all over again. He struggled a tad in April but found his home run swing in May with five bombs. He'll never be an on base guy but he is giving the Astros the power they so desperately need.

Catcher- Jason Castro is the full time catcher with Chris Snyder serving as his backup. Neither do much with the bat.

Left Field -Yikes - I wrote this about JD Martinez in the last report :

Martinez is probably the Astros best hitter and might be developing into one of the better hitting left fielders in the NL. The 24 year old is relatively unknown but that should not last long. JD was called up last year after the Pence / Bourn deals and held his own with a solid .742 OPS. His minor league numbers suggested he could do even better and so far in 2012 he is living upto that expectation with a robust 1.002 OPS. Martinez might be the steal of the 2009 draft, as the Astros got him in the 20th round.

Oops - On April 20th when I wrote that he had a 1.002 OPS. Today it sits at .698 because his TSL (.186 / .306 / .233) since that day is so awful I'm surprised he's still getting at bats.

Right Field- Brian Bogusevic so far is exactly what I said in the last report:

is a place holder. He would be no different then Trent Oeltjen starting in RF. He can run a little, has a little pop, but is really suited to be a bench player not a starting right fielder.

Center Field-Jordan Schafer has 13 stolen bases but is not doing much else. He's been hurt a few times this season but will probably play this weekend.

Bench: Left over Marwin Gonzales (SS), Travis Buck (OF), Matt Downs (Infielder), and Justin Maxwell (OF)

Starting Pitching for our Series:

Lucas Harrell

Bud Norris

J A Happ

Read GScott's preview on the Houston starters here.

Bullpen: Brett Myers was moved from the rotation to the bullpen. Many suspect it was to build up his value. Honestly even I have no idea who the rest of t his group is. Left hander Wesley Wright is still here many years after being plucked from the Dodgers in the Rule Five draft. After that we have Wilton Lopez, Rhiner Cruz, Fernando Rodriguez, David Carpenter, and lefty Fernando Abad. Oh, can't forget Brandon Lyon. I suspect by the end of this series we will be well acquainted with all of them except Brett Myers :)

Series Preview:

We miss Wandy who shut us out during the last game of the last series but we see Norris who we missed the first time. I'm not going to handicap our team, it is too crazy. I simply expect Kershaw to win and have no idea after that.

The Cardinals are the best team in the NL when everyone is healthy. The catch is that at no time this year will that probably happen.

Chris Carpenter went down during spring training and may never come back.

Allen Craig had surgery in the off season and just came back two weeks ago. He then scorched for two weeks, and promptly got hurt again. He's expected to be placed on the DL before our series.

Lance Berkman played two weeks then got hurt. He's back now, but will surely hit the DL again.

Carlos Beltran has managed to stay off the DL while doing his best HOF Albert Pujols imitation but he's got some nagging injuries, and has not started one game this week. Since he pinch hit last night it is doubtful a DL stint is in store for him so expect to see him hobble around in the outfield.

Those are big pieces, two more big pieces have managed to stay healthy so far, David Freese and Rafael Furcal. If history is any guide, it is just a matter of time before one or both go down the injury path

Yet, they are in first place because this is the deepest team in baseball. Lose Pujols to free agency, move Berkman to 1st base, sign Beltran for RF and they got better. Lose Carpenter to neck nerve injury, toss Lance Lynn into the rotation and they got better. When Berkman got hurt, Craig came off the DL and they got better.

The Cardinals are doing all this maneuvering without touching their top four prospects who will all be playing major league baseball a year from now. If Brandon was doing the Cardinal minor league report, TBLA members would be frothing over the exploits of 21 year old AAA pitcher Shelby Miller, 19 year old AA sensation Oscar Taveras, and 21 year old AA second baseman Kolten Wong. Zach Cox is currently struggling in AAA but that will probably change before to long. Future 1st baseman Matt Adams is biding his time as he puts a .896 OPS in AAA.

Am I being to optimistic about this team? Fangraphs says they have the best offense in all of baseball

Fangraphs says they have the 3rd best xFIP in the NL, and the 4th best fWAR in the NL

1st Base - Future HOTVG Lance Berkman can still hit when he's able to play which has not been much in 2012. He used 2011 to prove to everyone he was still an offensive force, but he's used 2012 to remind everyone just how brittle he is. He's only been in 11 of 38 games so far. He should play every game against us.

2nd Base - Three headed group with Tyler Green and Daniel Descalso getting the majority of starts, with old standby Skip Schumaker still getting an occasional start. This is the only weak link in the lineup.

Shortstop - Rafael Furcal is well known to Dodger fans but we only got to see this version one time, and that was way back in April/May of 2008. That season's success ended with an injury in May, and most Dodger fans only remember 2008 Rafy as the guy who came back from an injury just in time to make the crucial error in the 2008 NLCS. This Cardinal Rafy is currently the best offensive shortstop in all of baseball.

3rd Base - 2011 World Series MVP David Freese started out 2012 like he was Albert Pujols but has since slowed down. In April he had a .935 OPS, in May he's around .786. He has never had more then 333 plate appearances in a single season. He is on pace to smash that.

Catcher - With all due respect to AJ Ellis...........No I won't go there. As of this moment AJ Ellis is the second best offensive catcher in baseball, and using fangraphs fWAR he's the best. The Best after six weeks of baseball. Still you'd have to be a hard core Dodger fan to not recognize that Yadier Molina is the best catcher in the National League. He's done it for more then six weeks. Still..............I"ve got to think that AJ Ellis just had the best six week stretch of any Dodger catcher since Mike Piazza. Wowza

Right Field - Carlos Beltran may or may not play. Whatever, I'm going to write about my favorite outfielder. If you thought 2011 was a comeback year you should see what he's doing for an encore. We all think Matt Kemp has been playing like a man among boys with his .475 wOBA and he has been. Yet, Carlos Beltran is checking in at .450wOBA. Carlos Beltran is 35 years old and has already had a great career. He's never had a season like this.

Center FIeld - Jon Jay was supposed to be the weak link on this team. Somehow LaRussa choose Jay over Colby Rasmus and to everyone's surprise it was a brilliant decision. He has slowed down from his .985 April OPS but his overall numbers still peg him as the third best offensive CF in the NL.

Left FIeld - Matt Holliday is holding back the Cardinal offense. Can you believe that? His OPS+ ranks only a head of the second base group. And he's still got an OPS+ of 117. That is how good this offense has been.

Hell, I have to talk about Allen Craig. He came off the DL on May 1st, and has not played since May 16th. In those sixteen days, he played 13 games, drove in 19 runs, hit five double, five home runs, and put up an OPS of 1.188 good for an OPS+ of TWO HUNDRED TWENTY ONE. I love this guy and wish he was our 1st baseman. On the Cardinals when everyone is healthy he does not even have a full time job.

Oh, did I forget to mention Matt Carpenter. I openly mocked him playing first base when Berkman got hurt. Sometimes I'm an ignorant slut. Another player who could probably start for us at either 1st / 3rd / LF. What did he do to earn such praise. How about 13 XBH in 100 plate appearances.

Gary Scott will do the starting pitching honors.

Lance Lynn:

What to Watch For: What's interesting is his curveball usage. He throws the same curveball regardless of which side of the plate the hitter stands on, which results in a backdoor curveball to lefties and a frontdoor curveball to righties. What this means is he'll start his curveball off the plate away and work it back in against lefties, but start it at the right handed hitter and run it towards the middle of the plate for a strike. Also interesting is his changeup usage. He completely abandons the changeup, his third best pitch, against right handed hitters.

Jake Westbrook:

What to Watch For: Jake Westbrook simply is not this good. He has a 2.35 ERA on the year, and a 4.28 ERA for his career. He hasn't changed anything in his repertoire, but he's stranding 10% more runners than normal. The key is going to be making Westbrook elevate his sinker and not fish at the sinkers in the dirt. If they can do that, we could put his ERA more at his career averages after a nice 4 inning start. The question will be if we have the offense to make it matter.

Kyle Lohse:

What to Watch For: Like Westbrook, the Dodgers will have to force Lohse to elevate his fastball. The only real thing to watch for is that he ignores his slider against lefties, relying on his fastball and changeup. Against our current lefty-heavy lineup, without a breaking ball, Lohse could fall into some trouble.

Bullpen:

They lose Kyle McClellan to the DL, but they have lots and lots of good hard throwing arms. Jason Motte is the closer and does a fine job. Mitchell Boggs and Fernando Salas are the two big right handed setup men. Marc Rzepczynski is their tough left handed man. This is a good group, they were recently joined by Eduardo Sanchez another hard throwing right handed pitcher who had great success in 2011.

I suspect you are tired of the fawning by now. Truth is, I admire the Cardinal franchise more than any other. When a Dodger fan asks where can we possibly find a replacement for James Loney they only have to look at the Cardinals. They give their mid 20's AAA hitters a chance (Freese, Craig, Carpenter, Jay) and it seems to pay off. They signed the right free agents to reasonable deals at a reasonable price. They use their own hard throwing minor league pitchers in the bullpen. Every single one of the right handed Cardinal bullpen arms came up via the farm system. No money is wasted in the bullpen. The bench is easily the best in baseball and almost all populated by home grown Cardinals from age 25 - 32.

That said they are vulnerable to injury and they are hobbling a wee bit as they hit the ravine. Dodgers taking two out of three is not out of the realm of possibility given we are missing their two best starters, we have Kershaw going in one game, Craig is out, Beltran and Berkman are less then 100%, and we are home. I think for the second time this year the Dodgers will prevail over another first place division rival.

The Giants come into Chavez Ravine with a 14 - 14 record but have lost one of their main cogs for six weeks as Pablo Sandoval broke his hamate bone last week. Tim Lincecum scuffled badly early on but has righted the ship and at least is now a decent starting option but still a far cry from double Cy Young Tim. The Giants still have a formidable rotation, an offensive force in Posey, a potential offensive force in Belt, but the current middle infield woes are holding them back from being anymore than a .500 team.

The World Championship was only 19 months ago and yet the offensive team we see on Monday will bear little relation to that team as injuries, trades, and turnover have left Buster Posey as the only starting position player left from the team that started game the final game of 2010.

1st baseman Aubrey Huff battled personal anxiety issues that started on opening day 2011 and peaked several weeks ago when he hit the DL. Huff should be back this week but his one time lock on the 1st base gig was finally opened by Brandon Belt. Huff might find playing time in LF. Might. Belt so far in his major league career is mostly hype but since being given regular at bats starting on April 24th, he's put up a .817 OPS.

2nd baseman Freddy Sanchez continues to be bedeviled by injury after injury and has been replaced by the combo of Ryan Theriot / Emmanuel Burriss. So far they have both been terrible.

SS Edgar Renteria as been replaced by Brandon Crawford. So far he's been terrible with future expectation of terrible.

Hard to believe that Pablo Sandoval had been benched for most of the 2010 postseason so Juan Uribe was the starting 3rd baseman from that final game. Pablo Sandoval didn't do much for the 2010 team but bounced back big in 2011 and was one of the top hitters in 2012 when he went down last week with a broken hamate bone, and will be out a minimum of six weeks. HIs replacement is expected to be 2008 1st round pick (37th pick) Conor Gillaspie who had been tearing up the PCL with a .939 OPS. Brett Pill might see some time here.

The World Series outfield consisted of Andres Torres, Cody Ross, Pat Burrel, and Aaron Rowand. Burrell getting the DH call in AL games and Aaron Rowand manning CF. They are all gone. The 2012 outfield is all over the place except for one constant and that is Angel Pagan who will be in CF. Left field should be Melky Cabrera but Huff might get some time there which means Melkey could end up in right field. Burner Gregor Blanco has gotten some burn in right field so you might see an outfield of

Blanco/Pagan/Cabera or Cabrera/Pagan/Huff or Schierholtz/Pagan/Cabrera who the hell knows, Brett Pill may get some time as well.

World Series hero Right Fielder Cody Ross is now in Boston but unlike the other positional changes, Melky Cabrera has been a huge upgrade, building on his great year in KC, Melky is doing it again in 2012. TSL of .318 / .377 / .455.

Center field surprise of 2010 Andres Torres was swapped to the Mets for their Center fielder Angel Pagan. He's doing okay but not close to what 2010 Torres gave em.

Left Fielder Pat Burrel has thankfully retired and Aaron Rowand is unemployed.

The one position the Giants needed to be the same was catcher and Buster Posey is back and doing even better than his breakout 2010 season.

Before Sandoval went down the Giants were doing better on offense then anyone expected producing middle of the pack offense. How much a full time Belt will help offset the loss of Sandoval is something we get to find out this week

Barry Zito, Ryan Vogelsong, and Tim Lincecum will try to knock the Dodgers from their lofty perch. Zito has a 1.76 ERA but don't be fooled he's still Barry Zito as his 5.21 xFIP will attest. Still Barry has had success against the Dodgers so don't get cocky.

Ryan Vogelsong is doing solid work so far in 2012. Voglesong has made four starts and has given up 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 earned runs. Hopefully game five will be five earned runs and not zero.

Tim Lincecum is not doing as bad as his ERA suggests but I think we can safely say he's still not the Tim Lincecum of double Cy Young fame and might be the third best pitcher in the rotation behind Cain and Bumgarner.

The bullpen lost the most famous beard since ZZ Top when Brian Wilson went down but the Giants have plenty of solid setup options to take his role. So far that has been Santiago Casilla. Sergio Romo was always the guy who I thought had the best stuff in the bullpen. Affeldt is also hurt so one good left handed arm the Dodgers don't have to worry about seeing. Other bullpen arms you might have heard of are Clay Hensley, Mota, and Javier Lopez. Names I've never heard of include Dan Otero, Travis Blakley, and Steve Edlefsen

The Dodgers are going to miss the two best Giant pitchers, while the Giants will get our top of the line trio.

Manager - Old Mr. Tracy (10 - 11)

Outlook: Rockies are one game under .500 after their first twenty one games, and the main culprit is exactly what you would have expected, the starting pitching. When 49 year old Jamie Moyer is doing the best work on the staff you are having problems. They are the only team in the NL whose starting rotation FIP is above 5.00 (5.02). So the Dodgers will go from facing the best 2012 rotation in baseball to the worst. I can't even imagine what a hot Matt Kemp in Coors is going to do this during this three game series against this rotation. Drew Pomeranz is going to wish he was still with the Indians unless he walks Kemp four times.

Disabled List: Jorge De La Rosa

Jeremy Guthrie is due back May 7th. Guthrie had a K rate before his injury of less than two. In fact he had 10 walks in five k's in 24 innings. How many starters have twice as many walks as strikeouts and get to take the mound? He was their number one starter going into the season.

Positions:

1st Base: Todd Helton still gets the majority of starts and he's hitting like an all - star with a TSL of .270 / .352 / .587. Todd has not had a full season slug % above .500 since 2005.

2nd Base: Marco Scutaro came over from the Red Sox in a cost cutting move for the Red Sox. Marco is a solid second baseman who started out slow hitting .200 on April 20th. Since then he's hit in seven of eight games to get his TSL for the season a bit more respectable .247 / .307 /.309. He still has a ways to go to get back to his normal production but I'm sure he will get there.

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki is doing okay when compared to other shortstops but far shy of what one expects from Troy. His .801 OPS would bedazzle the Dodgers but does nothing for the Rockies who need him to be superman to compete in the NL West.

3rd Base: Oops. Traded Ian Stewart. Signed Casey Blake. Released Casey Blake. Gave job to 3rd string catcher Jordan Pacheco who only made only error in his brief stint but made every ground ball an adventure. Chris Nelson is now the starting 3rd baseman. Chris Nelson was the 9th pick of the 2004 draft. At one time he was expected to be a stud SS. Then a stud 2nd baseman. Now he's merely a placeholder and not a very good one as Rockie fans await their next "phenom" Nolan Arenado who is toiling for the Tulsa Drillers biding his time before the Rockies call him up.

More on Jordan Pacheco, the former catcher is playing 3rd base everyday in the PCL and could find his way back at the hot corner sooner than later given the offensive struggles of Nelson. Pacheco is a line drive machine in the PCL right now with a .438 average and 1.085 OPS.

Catcher: Traded Ianneta to the Angels and signed Ramon Hernandez to fill in while future catcher Wilin Rosario gets acclimated to the major league game. That may take all year. Ramon has zero walks in 54 at bats. Rosario has a .599 OPS.

Right Fielder: Mike Cuddyer was signed to replace the platoon of Smith/Whoever of the past few years and Cuddyer is enjoying Coors so far. He has a .945 OPS at home, .710 on the road. Shocking.

Center Fielder: Rockie fans have been waiting for Dexter Fowler to spread his wings and show off all his skills for a few years now and maybe 2012 is the year he puts it all together. The multi talented Fowler started off the season going 1 for 13 but has an OPS over .900 since then.

Left Fielder: Carlos Gonzlaez may not be the stud muffin of 2010 but he might be the best overall left fielder in the game.

Bench: Jason Giambi for some reason is still in the NL, former number one pick of the Cubs Tyler Colvin is here, Eric Young Junior always looking for a place to play, and Jonathan Herrera fill out the solid bench.

Starting Pitching:

Gary Scott breaks down the Rockie pitching for this series:

Juan Nicasio:

He's a pitcher who makes it known he will throw sinking fastballs in the heart of the strike zone and relies on his velocity and defense for his success. Expect fast (not hard) sinkers to both right and left-handed hitters, with the slider being the primary out pitch to righties, but a total unwillingness to throw it to lefties.

Editor Note: Gary and I differ on Nicasio's stuff. When I've seen him pitch I've seen electric stuff.

Jhoulys Chacin (R)

Not a hard-thrower, he'll throw a four-seam fastball (90mph), two-seam fastball (89) and cut fastball (89) a combined 49% of the time. That's an incredibly low percentage of fastballs. His other pitches are an 81mph slider (17%), 85mph changeup (21%) and 78mph curveball (13%).

Drew Pomeranz (L)

Pomeranz has a three pitch mix. He throws his fastball 70% of the time like the book says, his curveball 24%, and his changeup 7%.His curveball's velocity is 11mph slower than his fastball, and his changeup has solid depth and slide. The problem is, his fastball is only 89-90mph, so he's not able to get hitters to back off his offspeed stuff. His fastball tends to get a lot of the plate, which could be the cause of his problems.

Bullpen:

Closer: Rafael Betancourt at age 37 has finally been given the closers job with no strings attached. To bad he's now 37 and might be showing some cracks in what has been a superlative skill set for years and years. The K rate has dropped several points. the walk rate is the highest since he joined the Rockies. The ERA says 1.00, FIP says 3.50 and xFIP says 3.86. Don't lose faith if we are down by a run.

Setup: Rex Brothers setup man is what you get with your 1st pick in the 2009. The hard throwing lefty can strike out anyone but has also given up 12 hits + 4 walks in 8 2/3 innings. He needs to do better than that if he's going to be the heir to the closer role. Josh Roenicke has pitched the most so far in the pen and hopefully will pitch a few times this series. Matt Belisle has been very effective for the Rockies since being acquired from the Reds back in 2009. He's getting four million to be a setup guy so he better be good.

Series Overview:

I don't want to fall back on the old it's Coors so runs are going to be scored but when you consider who is pitching, RUNS ARE GOING TO BE SCORED. If the Dodgers can beat Nicasio who I consider the pitcher with the best stuff on the staff we might want to have the brooms at the ready.

Many things happened in 2006 but only six things are worth noting related to the 2012 team.

1. Twenty Two year old James Loney replaced the injured Nomar and made his major league debut about one year ahead of schedule starting on opening day April 4th. He would hold down the starting job until April 21st when he was sent to AAA. James would tear up AAA (.380 / .426 / .546) and return to the Dodgers on July 29th. He would have a memorable Sept including his infamous nine RBI game on Sept 28th.

2. Twenty Four year old Andre Ethier was called up on May 2nd and would never see the minor leagues again other than rehab work. For most of the year Andre hit above .330 and did not slow down until Sept showed up.

3. Twenty one year old Matt Kemp would make his major league debut one / two years ahead of schedule, and strike out three times on May 28th. Over his next fourteen games he would hit seven home runs in forty one at bats putting up a triple stat line that eventually would become all so familiar .390 / .435 / .967. Reality would set in and after flailing at sliders in the dirt Matt would get sent to AAA on Jul 13th. Matt would return on Sept 2nd but was never able to find his groove as he finished Sept in a horrible slump.

4. On June 6th the Dodgers would draft Texas high school phenom Clayton Kershaw with the 7th overall pick. He would turn out to be the Dodgers greatest first round pick in history.

5. One week later, Twenty One year old Chad Billingsley would make his debut on June 15th, and stay in the rotation the rest of the year.

6. Eighteen year old Kenley Jansen would go to the Gulf League as a catcher and catch the eyes of the coaches with his arm not his bat.

While James Loney struggled in his debut, Matt Kemp and Andre went off. We have already noted what Matt Kemp did in his first forty abats. Andre Ethier on Aug 31st had folk wondering if he could get enough at bats would he be able to win the batting title. On Aug 31st Andre was hitting .335 with a high of .350 on Aug 7th.

So in 2006, we had cold Loney early, while Kemp and Andre got hot. Then Loney was in the minors, Kemp got cold, and only Andre was hot. Loney came back in Aug to join Andre and they were both hot while Kemp continued to slump. In Sept it was only James.

Sept 2006 Numbers

The 2006 season is a microcosm of the inability of our three core position players to hit in synch. Most of this is James Loney's fault since he is the one who has rarely been hot. Part three looks at the different streaks these three hitters have had since 2006 and sadly I expect to note that at no time have all three been hot at the same time. A pattern that started in 2006 and continues to this day.

2011 Post

2011 Results

2010 Post

2009 Post

These are not the best Dodgers, these are your favorite five Dodgers.

Matt Kemp - how often is the best player on the team the coolest player on the team? We all got to watch Kemp show up in 2006 and turn from an inconsistent five tool player into the best player on the planet. Luck does not even begin to describe how fortunate Dodger fans are.

Clayton Kershaw - how often is the best pitcher in baseball the most humble player on the team? We all got to watch Clayton from the time he was drafted in 2006 actually meet and exceed every expectation we put on his young shoulders. Luck does not even begin to describe how fortunate Dodger fans are.

Dee Gordon - one year ago I would never have guessed he would make my list. Seeing is believing. He still has lots to prove but from his speed to his defense I look forward to watching Dee.

Kenley Jansen - yeah, when he does not strike out someone I'm disappointed.

AJ Ellis - might be very short lived on my list, but right now I'm astounded with his success.

You can either just list your five or elaborate on why.

In spring of 2006 the future seemed extremely bright as the members of the greatest collection of Dodger minor league talent since 1968 was about to ascent toward the Dodgers. When 2005 quickly became a forgetful season, those who followed the team started to pay attention to a collection of names that they hoped would integrate with the current team and push the 2005 season out of their minds.

Names like:

Dioner Navarro- 21 year old switch hitting catcher would be the starting catcher after getting his feet wet in 2005. On base, defense, some power.Would make the memory of Jason Philips disappear quicker then a fastball to Hee Sop Choi.

Willy Aybar - 22 year old switch hitting 2nd/3rd baseman who had put up an OPS of .901 in Sept 2005

Delwyn Young - 23 year old switch hitting 2nd/Outfielder who sat poised at AAA, after slugging his way up every step of the minor league ladder.

Tony Abreu - 20 year old switch hitting infielder who had hit .357 for the Vero Beach Dodgers before getting promoted to the hallowed Jacksonville franchise.

Joel Guzman -20 year old right handed slugging SS who had posted a slug% of .522 in 2004 as a 19 year old in AA.

James Loney - Didn't wow in 2005 like everyone else, many were already saying he did not have the power for a 1st baseman. Still he was only 21 in AA, maybe the power would come?

Russell Martin - 22 year old Catcher who had come faster than anyone expected after being converted from a 3rd baseman. Many felt he was already better then Navarro.

Andy LaRoche - 21 year old 3rd baseman hit 30 home runs between Vero Beach and the Suns. You wanted power from a corner infielder, he looked like the real deal.

Matt Kemp - The 20 year old center fielder hit 27 home runs for the Vero Beach Dodgers but among all the other prospects he was getting lost until the fall of 2005. The AFL team the Dodgers put together had Kemp, LaRoche, Loney, Abreu, Oaklands Andre Ethier, and Tampa Bays James Shields. Kemp was younger than all of them . He was also better then all of them.

Chin-Lung Hu - the 21 year old shortstop was already starting to draw rave reviews for his glove work.

Guess we should not forget the pitching:

Chad Billingsley - was possibly the best pitcher in the Southern League. He was going to be in the rotation in 2006 the only question was when and how good would he be.

Big Jon Broxton - was doing just fine as a starter in 2005 when they put him in the bullpen and made him a monster. He progressed so fast in the bullpen he got a late season call to the Show and struck out the best hitter in baseball for his first major league strikeout.

I'm not even going to mention the tandem of Edwin Jackson / Greg Miller. I can only afford so many tears.

Not included in this mix was Andre Ethier, not home grown but acquired over the winter from the A's. He would slot in nicely as a fourth outfielder if he made the team.

With hopes like this the Dodgers entered the 2006 season.

Not much has changed for the Braves from 2011to 2012. The kids got a year older Freeman/Heyward, the HOF got a year older, and they replaced their shortstop. Otherwise this is pretty much the same Brave team that was 89 - 73 last year.

In 2012 the Braves started the season getting swept by Mets, and followed that by losing the first game against the Astro's putting them at 0 - 4 to start the season. They have since won ten out of twelve, making them one of the hottest teams in the NL. Their five game winning streak was snapped by the Diamondbacks on Sunday but not after the Braves beat up on the injured Diamondbacks the first three games of the series.

1st Base - 22 year old Freddie Freeman is building on his solid debut season from 2011. With so many elite first baseman moving over to the NL the question was being raised, who could be the NL All-Star? You might be looking at him. TSL .283/.318/.533 looks promising. Little light on the plate discipline and K's a lot (19/64) but plenty of power.

2nd Base - Dan Uggla took off the first half of last year and while he's not at that putrid level he has yet to get going so far. Uggla has hit the most home runs for a second baseman in the 21st century. Not bad for a rule five pick.

                                                                       
Player              HR From   To   Age   PA   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS     Pos
Dan Uggla          192 2006 2012 26-32 4113 .258 .342 .480 .822    *4/D
Chase Utley        188 2003 2011 24-32 4778 .290 .377 .505 .882   *4/3D
Jeff Kent          183 2001 2008 33-40 4682 .296 .363 .507 .870   *4/3D
Robinson Cano      145 2005 2012 22-29 4483 .307 .347 .494 .841    *4/D
Brandon Phillips   131 2002 2012 21-31 4406 .271 .321 .433 .754   *4/6D
Craig Biggio       131 2001 2007 35-41 4602 .265 .333 .432 .765 *48/7D2
Ian Kinsler        128 2006 2012 24-30 3524 .275 .356 .471 .827    *4/D
Bret Boone         127 2001 2005 32-36 3088 .281 .342 .483 .825    *4/D
Ray Durham         115 2001 2008 29-36 4430 .276 .353 .450 .803   *4/D8
Rickie Weeks       111 2003 2012 20-29 3409 .254 .354 .434 .787    *4/D
Aaron Hill         101 2005 2012 23-30 3847 .266 .321 .417 .738  *4/6D5

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/23/2012.

SS - 22 year old rookie Tyler Pasternicky replaces Alex Gonzalez at SS. Tyler did not hit in the spring and has not hit so far in 2012, however the Braves usually know what they are doing, so I suspect Tyler will prove adequate for the job. Tyler was the part I ignored when I panned the Alex Gonazlez / Yunel Escobar trade of 2010. Already starting in 2012 it looks like the Braves may have the last laugh on that deal.

3rd - Future HOF Chipper Larry Jones is here for his swan song. One of the greatest hitters of his era, the sweet switch hitting 3rd baseman will be missed. Uber power hitting left handed Juan Francisco was acquired from the Reds to play 3rd base when Chipper is nursing any of a myriad of injuries that will keep him on the bench more times than not. I think the Braves stole him, but time will tell if the K's and defense drag him down.

Catcher- Brian McCann is the best offensive catcher in the NL. You knew that.

Right Field - Jason Heyward must be healthy because he's hitting like many expected of him in 2011. The offense is being led by the two twenty two year olds. Heyward currently has a TSL of .309/.377/.527.

Center Field - Michael Bourn is running, walking, playing great defense, and doing exactly what the Braves envisioned when they traded from him last year.

Left Field - Martin Prado somehow became a LF.. It is bewildering to me but here he sits. A good hitting infielder,Prado seems miscast as a LF. Maybe I'm just jealous that the Braves have so many good hitting infielders they can just toss one into the outfield.

Bench - Eric Hinske leads a solid bench also includes traffic avoider Matt Diaz. David Ross is still here as the backup catcher. Jack Wilson is SS insurance.

Pitching Matchup - Gary Scott has the excellent rundown on what to expect from Jair Jurrjens, Mike Minor, and Brandon Beachy.

Game One - Jair Jurrens:

The main thing to watch for is the effectiveness of his changeup. His fastball has lost 4mph but his changeup has maintained its velocity. This has left his fastball only 6mph faster than his changeup on average, and both pitches have become susceptible to hard contact. He's going to have to be careful with his location if he expects to have success, and Dodgers will have to counter that by being patient and forcing him to throw pitches they can drive to the gaps.

Game Two - Mike Minor:

What to Watch For: Incredibly similar to Jurrjens stuff-wise, Minor has been effective due to the deception in his left-handed delivery as well as the added natural sink on his fastball. He'll still run into the same velocity-related problems as Jurrjens, but he should be able to control our lineup a little better.

Game Three - Brandon Beachy:

What to Watch For: Last year, Beachy threw his fastball and cutter away from both right- and left-handed hitters. This year, he's begun throwing his cutter in on the hands of left-handed hitters. If he can master that pitch, he'll be a dominant pitcher for years if he can stay healthy. Parts of his mechanics suggest long-term health may not be the case, but for now he hasn't had any issues. Watch to see if Beachy attacks lefties Dee Gordon, James Loney and Andre Ethier inside with the cut fastball. If he locates it, it'll be a long day for each of them. He he leaves one over the plate, however, it could mean fireworks.

Bullen - Best one two punch on the East Coast Craig Kimbrel and Jonny Venters put the fear into any team who is behind after seven innings. Kris Medlen came back from TJ to give the bullpen another strong arm. Livan Hernandez was signed to mentor and help out if any of the starts get blown out early. Christhian Martinez, Chad Durbin, and Eric O'Flaherty fill out the bullpen.

Series Preview:

This is the second team the Dodgers have faced in 2012 that has a legitimate shot at the post season. The Braves are solid up and down the lineup, with a killer bullpen, and a decent rotation. Without Clayton/Chad going for the Dodgers, they will be hard pressed to take two out of three. The Capang duo along with Lilly have their work cut out for them. Excellent test in this young season.

Can't do a Brave Preview without mentioning a player who came to my attention this spring. Old man Evan Gattis has quite a story and I'll be rooting for him to make up for lost time. He's currently crushing in the California League so a promotion to AA is probably going to happen fairly soon. I'll be watching.

Continue reading this post »

                                                                    
Player             OPS+   G From   To   Age   PA   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS
Chase Utley         125 374 2009 2011 30-32 1652 .273 .380 .465 .845
Rickie Weeks        122 315 2009 2011 26-28 1431 .269 .357 .472 .829
Dan Uggla           117 478 2009 2011 29-31 2014 .254 .345 .473 .818
Brandon Phillips    108 458 2009 2011 28-30 2006 .284 .338 .445 .782
Neil Walker         108 286 2009 2011 23-25 1171 .280 .338 .423 .761
Kelly Johnson       104 374 2009 2011 27-29 1498 .246 .328 .444 .772
Orlando Hudson      102 268 2009 2011 31-33 1085 .268 .345 .390 .735
Freddy Sanchez      100 282 2009 2011 31-33 1229 .292 .333 .405 .738
Omar Infante         99 352 2009 2011 27-29 1375 .298 .339 .396 .735

Continue reading this post »

A sad King Eric was frustrated with his abject poverty as he contemplated how to tribute the new Knight Kershaw who was going to be honored at the Chavez Ravine Temple for his grand deeds the previous summer. He had no trinkets to lay forth, his kingdom of True Blue was awash in useless knowledge but had little in the way of intrinsic value.

With a big sigh he knew what he had to do but was reluctant to use his powers, as his followers were a bitter bickering fickle flock who had other kingdoms they could change alliances to if he used his powers poorly. Still something had to be done, so the tweet was sent.

Put the mod's in action

ModCraig quickly tweeted that he was available, and that he had ModDavid in tow. With consternation King Eric noticed ModMeerkat also had said he would do what he could. King Eric was aghast, he had not counted on the ModMeerKat to be a follower. Nothing could be done other than to pray to Saint Scully and hope for the best.

The wet rain that had blanketed the blue basin ran out of steam around noon and gave way to a glorious spring day, the kind of day that poems are inspired by, love, and babies. It would be a good night to honor the newest Blue Knight.

The mods converged on the Chavez Ravine Temple from all corners of the blue basin. They did not have a star to guide them but their GPS did the trick. ModDavid who hails from the NorthWest, came from the South and refused to pay duty to the evil King Frank, and parked on Academy. ModMeerKat came from the West, and also refused to pay tribute, not because he had any problems with King Frank but because he simply was a cheap bastard, not by choice but because the North American Meerkat is born that way. ModCraig was simply lazy and paid the tribute so his task of surmounting the vaunting flights of concrete steps would be lessened.

In this way the BlueMods made their way into the Temple. ModKat was the first to arrive but since ModDavid and ModCraig did not really want to sit with him they refused to tell him where they were sitting. Yet he knew from previous sojourns the whereabouts so he placed himself in the general area. Eventually ModDavid showed up, saw ModMeerKat from afar but kept silent as he wanted no one around to notice he was eating four bluedogs. Luckily for him the ModMeerkat was oblivious to him until he had finished his feast. ModMeerkat ever weary of the tricks cast his eyes about and finally noticed ModDavid. With a skip to his step he quickly ran over to join his good friend. LIke a good friend ModDavid pretended to be happy that he had company and they settled into for the brief wait before ModCraig joined them.

ModCraig meant well but the seats he provided were in the high heavens. As the Blue Knight Kershaw was honored they did their best to honor him by beating their collective breasts but the thumping of flabby breasts was drowned out by the distance. The Blue Knight was gone and the three mod's were left to wonder if they had done enough to make the decent King Eric happy. Deep down they knew they had failed, again. It silently gnawed at them as none of them had the nerve to talk about it.

Each of them had noticed a strange feeling starting around the third mark of the contest. A sense of urgency was building, a tingling sensation they had felt before but couldn't remember when. Finally ModDavid voiced what they had all been thinking. We must get closer he said, we must leave the heavens, the ninety nine percent and join with the one percent. In unison they agreed and got up to take on the task of leaving the comfort zone for the ball zone. ModCraig was pleased as punch when he pulled out his new gold membership cards that allowed him to move freely from level to level. He gave one to ModDavid and they proceeded with the plan expecting ModKat to be left behind. Yet the Modkat had skills of his own and pinched a ticket from an unwary patron which would allow him to follow his fellow Mod's on their quest.

As the three blue Mod's started down the harrowing steps, an aura developed around them discernible to only the true believers. They were a motley crue who were short of statue, short of wisdom, with little life left. Why King Eric had chosen them for this task was as confusing as to why James Loney was allowed to hit against a Loogy when he had been benched in the first place because he could not hit left handers. In a word it was befuddling.

Yet this crew did have something. Combined they knew everything about the history of the Chavez Ravine Temple and the power of the temple sensed something within this trio and fed them with the energy to complete the task. As they entered the ball zone, a row of seats opened up for them and beckoned for them to take them. So they did. One by one they plopped into their seats and as they do so a power surge shifted from the seats through the asses to the tips of their fingers. They looked at each other in awe.

The other patrons felt something had changed and looked around and saw the three mod's. Some simply saw three short fans who looked like any other fans, but others saw more. They could see the blue aura hovering around them, they saw a glow, they saw knowledge. They felt hope.

In the eighth frame the young Gordon came to the plate and got on the base. With that action the trio realized why they were there. The old stadium infused them with the knowledge of what they needed to do. But who would lead them? ModDavid of course, he cupped his hand, and with all the training his karaoke had provided belted out the first cue. GO

ModKat quickly followed GO

ModCraig finished the crescendo with the final GO.

Quickly they realized this was a chant and in unison

GO GO GO

GO GO GO

Nothing happened

But everything happened.

Old men who had not heard the chant for 50 years woke up in their seats. Young girls who could scream anything realized they could scream something that meant something for the first time in their lives. Young boys who just wanted to make noise realized what a joy it was to yell that simple word.

Again

GO GO GO

again nothing happened, but with each chant more patrons felt moved to join the trio of Mod's.

King Eric noticed from atop his throne and stood up. The tyrant Simers bellowed for him to sit down but King Eric knew this was his time. He put out his hands and broke the law of the land.

GO GO GO he bellowed

GO GO GO his disciples screamed

GO GO GO his mod's chanted

and this time something did happen.

It wasn't Magic, it was Dodger Baseball

Be there

The Pirates have to feel good about themselves beating the Phillies two out of three in a hotly contested three game series. They are trying to be a winning team for the first time since 1992. It is probably not going to happen in 2012 but they have some pieces. Hopefully the excitement of McCutchen's walk off on Sunday will be tempered by a healthy Kershaw, a resurgent Billingsley, and the bats of MattDre.

The Dodgers open their season at Petco Park in San Diego against the Padres for a four-game series.

Season Series: Dodgers can thank the Padres for that winning record last year. They beat the Padres 13 times, four more than any other team. Final tally 13 -5.

Manager: Buddy Black (388-423) , 2011 (71 - 91)

Marc Normandin of Baseball Nation took a look at the Padres on Tuesday, and liked the direction they were headed.

These three players aren't enough to win on their own, but they are part of a young core that's now in place for a large window of opportunity in the NL West. With loads of prospects coming in, money to spend for the first time in awhile thanks to a new television contract, and this core, the Padres are likely to make everyone forget about their brush with poverty very soon.

Offseason Moves:

The Padres orchestrated a trade you don't see very often when they traded a young cost controlled stud pitcher for two highly touted prospects, a fire balling bullpen piece, and a one time all-star major league pitcher . The deal of the winter sent 24 year old Mat Latos to the Reds for 1st baseman Yonder Alonzo, future catcher Yazmani Grandal, opening day starter Edinson Volquez, and reliever Brad Boxberger. It was quite a haul and quite a gamble. Latos is known commodity, while each of the players coming to the Padres have either yet to make their mark or have stumbled after making their mark.

Heath Bell had been part of the normally stingy Padre bullpen since 2007 accumulating 134 saves during that span but he left via free agency. The new closer for the Padres is expected to be old Rockie nemesis Huston Street who was acquired for former number one pick Nick Schmidt.

The Anthony Rizzo era was short lived. The ex Boston prospect acquired in the Adrian Gonzalez deal was supposed to provide the power for the next few years but after failing miserably in limited at bats in 2011 he was sent packing to the Cubs for fireballing Andrew Cashner.

In an effort to provide some power to the lineup they acquired Carlos Quentin from the White Sox for Pedro Hernandez and Simon Castro. When healthy Quentin should hit some homes runs but they felt the same thing about Ryan Ludwick and that never materialized.

The final deal of the winter that will effect the opening day roster was sending starting pitcher Wade LeBlanc to the Marlins for backup catcher John Baker. I guess the Padres are so loaded with pitching they can simply give away arms for back up catchers.

One other deal that might have a notable impact in 2012 and beyond occurred at the deadline last year when the Padres moved setup man extraordinaire Mike Adams to the Texas Rangers, and received not one but two premium pitching prospects. Twenty one year old left hander Robert Erlin who Baseball HQ has rated as their top pitching prospect. and 2 year old Joe Weiland. I expect to see both get some action at some point in 2012 for the Padres.

The Padres current rotation is no great shakes but they are accumulating arms. Erlin, Casey Kelly, Keyvius Sampson, Joe Weiland, and Andrew Cashner are a few of the names to keep an eye on.

Key Additions: Yonder Alonzo, Andrew Cashner, John Baker, Edinson Volquez, Carlos Quentin, Mark Kotsay

Key Subtractions: Mat Latos, Aaron Harang, Wade LeBlanc, Heath Bell, Mike Adams, Ryan Ludwick, Brad Hawpe, Anthony Rizzo, Chad Qualls

Position Breakdown:

1st Base-Yonder Alonso might be manning this spot for the next five years. The line drive hitting prospect should be able to make good use of spacious Petco field. Last year in limited at bats (88) with the Reds he posted a .943 OPS. In 2011 the Padres got good work from Giant castoff Jesus Guzman (139 OPS+) so they will be hard pressed to better that in 2012. Jesus Guzman is now a great man off the bench giving them some pop and average who can play 1st or left field.

2nd Base-Orlando Hudson is the starter but may not be healthy enough for opening day. No one is shocked. Even when healthy Hudson is just a shell of himself these days. Padres picked the wrong time to finally give Orlando Hudson a long term deal when they inked him to a three year deal in 2010. If Hudson is not playing, then one time starting shortstop Everth Cabrerra or utility man Andy Parrino should get the call.

Shortstop-Jason Bartlett is back for his second season with the Padres. Bartlett now has five season under his belt as a starting shortstop. One of those years was not like the others as he posted a 132 OPS+ in 2009. The other four years look like 89, 83, 89, and 76. He's not much of an offensive player, provides some speed, little average, zero power, little on base.

3rd Base- Chase Headley has not quite lived upto his pedigree but at least he has not been the bust that so many 3rd base prospects in the 21st century have turned into. Plus he's actually able to play 3rd base. On the surface his stats don't impress, four home runs, only 33 extra base hits and a slug % of .389 don't scream above average. Yet his OBP of .374 coupled with the park effects of Petco turned those stats into a 120 OPS+, good enough for the second tier of 3rd baseman in the NL.

Catcher- Nick Hundley was given the full time gig in 2011 but battled some injuries. When he played he hit at a high level putting up the highest wOBA for NL catchers at .354. Most teams would be happy to have Nick Hundley as their everyday catcher, the Padres however traded for top catching prospect Yasmani Grandal.

Left Field - Belongs to Carlos Quentin but shock of all shocks he's already hurt. So it looks like two ex first baseman Kyle Blanks and Jesus Guzman will share time until Carlos is ready. Blanks and Guzman have hit a combined 196 minor league home runs. They might be a perfect offensive platoon but Maybin better be ready to cover some ground. Mark Kotsay might wriggle in some at bats as he always does but for now Kotsay is on the DL giving one time stud prospect Jeremy Hermida one more chance .

Right Field- Looks like Will Venable and Chris Denorfia are in a platoon here at the start of the year. Venable had a down year in 2011 after showing some promise in 2010. He has speed ala Tony Gywnn Junior as his 55 thefts with only 10 caught stealing attests. Venable also has some pop with 34 home runs over the last three years. Denorfia has been one of the better fourth outfielders for the past few years. Bit of a Reed Johnson type. Not good enough at anything to start but is usually the best player on the bench.

Center Field- Cameron Maybin is going to have a hard time putting up gaudy stats in Petco but he has skills and at only 25 may be reaching the point where he takes those skills and starts to put his mark on the game. Cameron pilfered 40 steals last year getting caught only eight times. He's a ground ball machine which plays into his speed but limits his power potential.

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Once again James Loney tricked us. For most of 2011 James Loney was a terrible hitter following a trend he started in 2008. For most of his career since 2008 he has been less then adequate as an offensive 1st baseman but when Aug 5th rolled around he was literally the worst hitting first baseman in America. His triple stat line of .251/ .295 / .319 was so bad even bad hitting shortstops wanted no part of it.

He was clearly on his way out and about to join the Casey Kotchman career path of having to fight for a job until an unlikely event changed everything.

On August 12th Justin Sellers joined the team giving James a close look at what a bad hitting shortstop really looks like, so he decided to do something about his inability to hit a baseball hard.

James didn't just change a little, he went bat shit crazy.

From Aug 12th until the end of the year he put up the infamous triple stat line of .389 / .443 / .640 in 169 plate appearances. It was a beautiful run of line drive after line drive. He pulled balls, he pounded balls, he crushed balls. For the first time in a long long time he was a hitter.

Char Moriyama took a look at James Loney and felt he had made real strides. It is not the first time James Loney has had hot streaks. Going into the 2008 season James Loney had posted back to back OPS seasons of over .900 in 486 plate appearances. That is about a full season of work. Problem is, that was four years ago.

MSTI looked at James over a month ago when he took a long look at the sad options at 1st base in the NL.

Taking all that into consideration, it’s not all that hard to think that the OPS production by NL first basemen in 2011 (and I shouldn’t have to note that I know OPS isn’t the best metric, but for a high-level look like this, it’s fine) is going to sink south of .800, a number that it barely topped last year with Pujols and Fielder.

Now, it seems, the bar might not be quite so high to be a decent first baseman in the National League, without even considering that Loney owns one of the better gloves in the circuit. If he repeats his 2011 exactly, his total package could make him average or just-below as far as NL first basemen go. If he’s anything like he was over the last two months of 2011, he’s one of the three best in the league. (And of course, if he’s anything like he was in April and May, he’s on the street by June.)

Many of you found out last night or this morning that the torch has been passed from Frank McCourt to the Magic Johnson fronted group. The Dodger ownership is in new hands. The best hands. Magical hands.

Many are focusing on the price paid for the franchise. Some are focusing on the fact Frank McCourt is still hanging around. Some are focusing on the fact Magic is simply a front man and not the main money man. Some are rubbing their hands in glee as they anticipate being in the bidding for every great player who becomes available.

All I know is that out of the blue the news hit me last night and turned me back into a giddy 20 year old. Many of you simply know Magic as the ball-headed, fairly overweight icon whose parents or uncles talk too much about. Yet at one time this new owner was everything to everybody.

I'd like to describe the joy he put into the hearts of sports fans in1979, starting with his NCAA run, and culminating a mere 14 months later with a Laker World Championship. For this fan it was literally the greatest 14 months of his lifetime.

It all started with Magic leading his Michigan State team to the NCAA title, the 19 year old phenom with the electric smile. You could root for Larry Bird's underdog Indiana State team, but you had to be a heartless soul not to appreciate the skills and joy Magic brought to the tournament. Nothing like it has ever been seen again.

Somehow the Lakers had manipulated themselves into the first pick of the draft. You expected Magic to get picked but somehow folk started whispering that Sidney Moncrief would be the smarter pick. Magic didn't have a shot, was the main focus, he wasn't fast enough, he was too tall to run the point in the NBA. The naysayers were everywhere. It was not until the draft started and Magic was chosen with those famous words

With the number one pick in the NBA 1979 draft, the Los Angeles Lakers selects Earvin "Magic" Johnson from Michigan State, 6'8", 200 pounds.

that I let out a sigh of relief.

Pre-season finally rolled into a season for the ages. In the first game, Kareem made a sky hook that I thought was from 30 feet to win the game at the buzzer against the San Diego Clippers. The shot was incredible, but what followed was even more so. Magic bear hugged Kareem and would not let go. Based on how Kareem acted it might have been the first time he was ever hugged. His eyes bugged out with disbelief that the kid was getting this excited about one game. It is a memory that will never leave me.

Yet it is how the season ended that defined Magic more than anything else. The Lakers were ahead of the 76ers three games to two, but Kareem was hurt and would not play again. I drove for a living back then and I spent the whole day listening to sports talk about how Magic was going to play center. I was literally pissing my pants in anticipation of this game. So many times anticipated sports moments do not live up to the billings. Oh, but this one did, in every possible way. Magic did jump center, he did everything. He was a 20 year old dominating a game against a team of legendary performers. He scored 42 points, made all 14 free throws. Magic had plenty of help that game but it all started and ended with him.

He was Magical.

It is unbelievable to me that the one sports figure who gave me more joy than everyone else combined is now the front man for my favorite sports franchise.

Don't pinch me, I don't want to wake up from this dream.

I suspect I'm speaking for everyone in our community as I/we congratulate Eric Stephen on becoming credentialed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Since Eric started writing for TBLA in Dec of 2008 we have been blessed with one of the hardest working bloggers on the SB Nation site. Eric was not only hard working but extremely good at his gig, and it is always good for the human spirit when talented hard work is rewarded.

With his very first column he threw out a challenge to the Dodgers, and to us. He expected the Dodgers to excel, and he expected his new readers to become engaged as he took us on his Dodger journey. Under Eric's guidance TBLA became a force. He brought in Michael, David, Brandon, and Chad. Eventually even Craig saw fit to say yes. The site has grown from several hundred members to over four thousand.

Over the last three years Eric had already shown us he could be clever, accurate, and fair. Eric was already delivering us the latest Dodger information as well as could be expected from someone juggling three jobs. Yet, as good as he had been, things got even better when he moved to Arizona and covered the Dodgers full time these past few weeks.

I'm not a party to the goings on between Eric and the other beat writers but I suspect they are happy to have him just as we are. He's a funny man not hung up on himself who would be a welcome addition to any group.

This is not a lovefest. Eric is not without flaws. His payroll worksheet is a testament that he has serious mental issues that should eventually be addressed. He's not a fan of bears and does not use his power to change how management should run the team. He barely acknowledged the divorce which was cool because thanks to the Dodger blogging community, others were only focused on the subject. He may not think he's a homer but if he ever looked back as his optimistic player projections year after year he might have to reconsider that thought. He has tended to deal in absolutes knowing full well nothing is absolute in baseball.

His biggest flaw however is his ridiculous work ethic. Lucky for us.

Before Ivan broke his leg during spring training almost three years to the day, Ivan looked to be on pace to be part of the Dodger infield by 2010. We are now headed for 2012 with DeJesus a dark horse to make the team. This was DeJesus's skill set after 2008:

• Solid defensive skills for a SS
• Plus patience (.419 OB as a 21 year old in AA, 13.6 BB Rate)
  
• Played AA as a 21 year old
• Rated the 2nd best Dodger prospect by Baseball Prospectus

Three years later

• Moved from SS to 2B, range and ability to turn the deuce are in question
• Little power for having played in one of the best offensive home stadiums
• Played AAA as a 24 year old
• Baseball prospectus didn't even rank DeJesus among their top 20 Dodger Prospects

Losing that whole season not only set back his timetable but the injury was severe enough that he is no longer a shortstop but a second baseman with questionable defense. It has been three years since he badly broke his leg, so he should be as good as he is ever going to be athletically.

I used to think DeJesus could be our second baseman, his 21-year old AA season had plenty of things to like, but as we enter the spring of 2012 that was a long time ago. His 2011 season certainly had some moments that if you squinted hard enough you could see some signs of the 21 year old who was once our best position prospect.

Using MinorLeagueCentral we can see that De Jesus improved each month staring in April with a .616 OPS and finishing with a flourish in Aug with a .922 OPS. He had more at bats in the Aug/Sept time frame then any other month. He flashed his old OBP skills with a sparkling .422 mark. The down side is that his stats are heavily home favored.

Once the AAA 2011 season was over, DeJesus was not called up for a September look for the second season in a row even though he was the hottest infielder on the Isotopes. Many feel that was a sign he has no future with the Dodgers. Character concerns have been rumored to be a problem.

Contract Status

Using Eric Stephen's Payroll Worksheet:

2011: DeJesus will earn $414,000 per Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.

DeJesus was optioned to Triple A after the game on Tuesday, April 5, but he was recalled on April 12 to replace the injured Rafael Furcal. DeJesus gets full major league service time as if he never left on April 5.

DeJesus was optioned on May 13, meaning he accrued 44 days of service time.
$414,000 x 44/183 = $99,541

DeJesus was recalled on June 4, and was optioned to Triple A on June 6, so he was with the big club for two days.

$414,000 x 2/183 = $4,568

Stats

Trivia

His Dad was involved in two very significant trades. The first one:

January 11, 1977: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Jeff Albert (minors) and Bill Buckner to theChicago Cubs for Mike Garman and Rick Monday.

Brought the Dodgers Rick Monday who would go onto have a solid Dodger career including hitting one of the most important home runs ever hit in Post Season play.

The Second One:

January 27, 1982: Traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies for Larry Bowa and Ryne Sandberg.

Gave the Cubs their HOF second baseman, the 22 year old Ryne Sandberg would be a MVP just two years later. Maybe one of the worst trades in all the 80's.

The Cubs were so thankful to DeJesus that they made him a 1st base coach forever.

2011 Outlook

No one seems to like Ivan De Jesus as anything more then a utility infielder, and the Dodgers pick up of Adam Kennedy spoke volumes about what they think of him. De Jesus made the opening day roster last year due to a rash of spring injuries. It would take the same turn of events for him to make the team this year. He should be the starting 2nd baseman for the Isotopes for the 3rd year in a row and battle Sellers for the call up when Adam Kennedy or Mark Ellis get hurt.

Wilfredo Ledezma comes to camp in spring training as one of many relievers vying for that final bullpen spot. If Don Mattingly and Ned Colletti decide on having a second left-hander in the bullpen in addition to Scott Elbert, Ledezma is one of six candidates along with fellow non-roster invitees Alberto Castillo, Matt Chico, Grabow, and Scott Rice; along with Michael Antonini, who is on the 40-man roster but more likely to be starting, in the minors.

Like many of the NRI's who populate major league baseball during March, at one time Wil Ledesma was a solid prospect who had flirted with major league success early in his career but now just hopes to get one more chance for a major league buffet to supplant his 240 pound frame.

The Tigers did Ledezma a disservice when they drafted him from the Red Sox in the 2002 Rule Five draft and were forced to keep him on the major league roster all year. At the time Wilfredo had not one iota of time above A ball and the next thing he knew he was trying to throw fastballs past the likes of Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez.

After struggling all year on the big club in 2003, Wilfredo was sent back to the minors in 2004 and had an excellent year getting promoted on July 15th. While showing some promise things never clicked for Wilfredo and he eventually found himself on the major league merry go round pitching for six different teams since 2007.

No longer a starter he hopes to be the Dodgers second left hand pitcher. He has skills, throwing three pitches including a 93 MPH fastball, 82MPH slider, and a changeup.

He only pitched six innings in 2011 with the BlueJays, but in 2010 he pitched 19 innings in 27 games as he was used strictly as a Loogy with the Pirates. The K/9 rate in this role climbed to 10.07.

Trivia

Per Wiki

One of the most bizarre moments of the 2006 season occurred when Ledezma started on September 8. After giving up five earned runs in 4.1 innings, an obviously distressed Ledezma returned to the dugout and proceeded to dismantle and, literally, eat his hat.^[1]

He also was the winning pitcher of the clinching game four in the ALCS of 2006 when Magglio Orodonez hit a three run home run in the bottom of the 9th against Huston Street. It was Magglio's 2nd home run of the game. Wilfredo earned that win by getting four outs including coming in with the bases loaded in the top of 8th after Jason Grilli had walked the bases loaded. Ledezma proceeded to induce Marco Scutaro to pop setting up Magglio's dramatics the following inning.

Contract Status

Ledesma signed a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

Stats

2012 Outlook

Ever since his days with Detroit I've have a soft spot for Ledezma, mainly for the performance in the 2006 ALCS. Don't count him out, Zips likes him a teeny bit. Should spend some time in New Mexico, would not shock me if he eventually see's time with the Dodgers.

What is your prediction? Be sure to guess Ledezma's ERA, number of innings pitched, plus anything else you would like to predict.

Silverio was born May 6th, 1987, and signed on 11/13/03 out of the Dominican Republic at the tender age of 16. He would not show up in the United States until 2007, three years after signing his first contract. Once in the United States Silverio did not waste any time putting his bat on the prospect map by hitting .373 with a .950 OPS in the Gulf Coast Rookie League. That BA was good enough to lead the league while his OPS was 7th best (Andrew Lambo was number five at age 18 with a .960).

What followed after 2007 until 2011 was some solid hitting but nothing that got anyone's attention. By the time 2010 had ended very few people were considering Silverio much of a prospect. Except one.

Last year at this time many were mocking Kevin Goldstein the Prospect maven for Baseball Prospectus for making Silverio the Dodgers number 20 prospect leaving off teen-ager Jonathan Garcia. After all Silverio had just finished a season in the offensive Cal League and had not done much damage for an experienced 23 year old. Yet Goldstein defended his choice, and the 2011 season that Silverio put up, seems to have justified Goldstein's confidence.

You couldn't have done any more then Alfredo did in 2011.

Was the Dodger representative in the Futures game and slugged a home run

Using 300 at bats as the criteria for Southern League Leaderboard:

You want batting average? how about .306 good for 7th

You want slugging percentage? how about fourth at .542

You want speed? how about 18 triples to lead the league

You want extra base hits? how about 76 Extra Base Hits (42 doubles, 18 Triples, 16 home runs)

You want defense? How about the fact he did all of this damage as a CF

The rest of the numbers are courtesy of Minor League Central

You want a guy who can simply hit? How about 283 total bases, second best in all of AA

You want a guy who swings at every pitch and makes contact? How about a 5% walk rate with 92 line drives

You want a guy who crushes left handed pitching? How about a .899 OPS (from a center fielder)

The only thing holding back Alfredo Silverio is his plate discipline and year by year he's made improvement.

Brandon Lennox made him his 12th top prospect Dodger prospect,

.Why #12: Silverio definitely put himself on the Dodgers’ radar with a big season in 2011, but I’m not sold on him being a top 10 prospect for Los Angeles. While he does show some potential for all 5 tools, he doesn’t seem to have any skill that stands out. He has the ceiling of a starting big league outfielder and seems likely to make it to the majors as soon as this season, but I personally don’t think he’ll be more than a .260 hitter with 10 to 15 homer potential.

Baseball HQ on the other hand thinks he is our 2nd best offensive prospect behind only Joc Pederson.

Comments: Strong, powerful, athletic OF has all the tools to star and had a breakout season at Double-A and played in the Futures game. Has plus bat speed, drives the ball with authority, and is a bit of a late bloomer. Moderate plate discipline and good pitch recognition should enable him to hit for average.

Baseball America went even further and picked Silverio as the Dodgers fourth best overall prospect and number one offensive prospect.

Finally Kevin Goldstein also moved up Silverio to number seven on his list, one bump a head of Joc Pederson.

The Good: Silverio has always impressed with his tools. He has plenty of bat speed and enough strength for average power. He runs well and plays a solid outfield with a plus arm.
The Bad: Silverio's aggressive approach often gets the best of him, as he often falls behind in the count by chasing breaking balls. He's an above-average runner but is better in right field than center, which puts more pressure on the bat. He's never been a good baserunner and has stolen just 35 bases over the last few years at a middling 57 percent success rate.

Trivia

Per Basebal Prospectus:

Silverio's season of 42 doubles, 18 triples, and 16 home runs has been matched just nine times in the majors, the last by George Brett, who had 42 doubles, 20 triples, and 23 home runs in 1979.

Contract Status

On 40 Man roster

Stats

2012 Outlook

Destined for New Mexico where he should destroy the league leaving many to pine for him if Juan Rivera struggles.

Mark Ellis was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 9th round of the 1999 draft at the age of 21. He had a minor league career that included a couple of all-star games. He is another player who has carved out quite a major league career who never sniffed the Baseball America top 100 prospect list. He was involved in the biggest trade of 2001:

Per baseball reference:

January 8, 2001: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Kansas City Royals with Johnny Damon to the Oakland Athletics. The Oakland Athletics sent Ben Grieve to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Oakland Athletics sent Angel Berroa and A.J. Hinch to the Kansas City Royals. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays sent Cory Lidle to the Oakland Athletics. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays sent Roberto Hernandez to the Kansas City Royals.

In the beginning the Royals thought they had made out by getting ROY Angel Berroa but the joke was on them as Berroa was a one year wonder, while Mark Ellis can make a claim for being one of the best overall 2nd baseman in baseball from 2005 - 2009. Ellis has the metrics to support his reputation as being one of the best defensive second baseman of his generation. In 2007, Ellis went 70 games without an error breaking the A's record as a 2nd baseman.

Once upon a time Mark Ellis was a someone I coveted. That time was 2008 when Mark Ellis was one of the top 10 2nd baseman in baseball. It is now 2012 and Mark Ellis is no longer close to that player. In 2011 Mark Ellis was the worst offensive everyday 2nd baseman in major league baseball. Even with the help of being traded to the Rockies at mid-season he could not escape the fact his bat was silent in 2011.

Mark Ellis needs to bounce back from a downward spike in his career in 2011. At 35 not many second baseman have ever made this leap. Second baseman do not age well and the Dodgers are not only on the hook for his age 35 year but his age 36 year. This does not bode well. The Rockies badly needed a second baseman for 2012 but they passed on the player they traded for. Don't be fooled by the numbers with the Rockies in the second half. At first glance they look solid .274 / .319 / .392 but Mark Ellis did most of his Rockie damage the first two weeks he was with the team when he exploded for an OPS of .978 in his first 12 games. After those 12 games - he played 58 games and put up a .647 OPS. Playing for the Rockies. In Coors.

Trivia

Mark Ellis was played by actor Brent Dohling in the movie Moneyball.

Mark Ellis hit for the cycle on June 4th, 2007

Contract Status

Per the TBLA Payroll Worksheet

Ellis signed a two-year deal worth $8.75 million on November 15, 2011, which includes a club option for 2014. Here is the payout schedule, per Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times:

2012: $2.5 million
2013: $5.25 million
2014: $5.75 million club option ($1 million buyout)

Previous Dodgers Player Profiles

None

Stats

2012 Outlook

Starting 2nd baseman, might be adequate offensively, if reports are to be believed he might be the best defensive 2nd baseman we have had since Alex Cora. At 35 I'm a skeptic he still has those chops but looking forward to seeing the Dee and E defensive show.

I think the projections are about right a .640 - 680 OPS. The important question is will that come with above average defense from a 35 year old second baseman who like most second baseman has battled injuries much of his career.

FedEx was acquired last summer when Ned Colletti was asked to facilitate a trade between the Mariners and Boston. Seattle wanted something Boston did not have so Boston got Ned involved and by the end of the day the Red Sox had Eric Bedard, the Mariners had our Trayvon Robinson, and we had Fed Ex(Tim Federowicz), ScrapMetal (Juan Rodriguez) , and a Fife.

FedEx was originally a 7th round draft pick in 2008 by the Red Sox. His game is defense, and if the scouts are to be believed he might be the best defensive catcher Dodger fans have seen since Steve Yeager. Which basically means most of you have never seen a defensive catcher as good as FedEx play for the Dodgers. Time will tell if the scouts are right. Baseball HQ had this to say:

Solid offensive contributor, with a quick bat, moderate power, and decent plate discipline. Defensively has good footwork and a strong throwing arm. Nailed 37% of baserunners in '11 and made his mlb debut. Will compete for the starting job in LA in 2012.

The question is, will his bat be enough to be a major league starter
on a competitive team? He has many doubters, he may be the one prospect with the most varied expectations. Ned doesn't trade prospects for prospects, so his scouting department clearly saw something they wanted and went and got it when the opportunity arrived. There was a lot of howling when the trade went down, but given the initial struggles of Trayvon Robinson, he might have traded high. While I was once a huge critic of the deal I've become a believer, hopefully he won't make a monkey out of me or I'll be taking the last train to Clarksville.

Coming into 2012 FedEx is not a top prospect and this does not bother me at all. Baseball America ranked him our 10 best prospect. Baseball HQ ranked him number 14. TBLA voters ranked him 9th. He will probably be somewhere between 10 - 20 on Brandon's list. So while not a top prospect he is the Dodgers top catching prospect.

For fun I took a look at catchers who had posted a career OPS+ > 100 since 2000 who had caught at least 200 games. Eighteen catchers made the cut.

Eleven of the Eighteen were ranked by BA (top 100 prospect list) before they became full time major league catchers (Mauer, Martinez, McCann, Piazza, Javier Lopez, Soto, Montero, Pudge, Varitek, Leiberthal, and Weiters).

Mauer and Weiters were both ranked number one. Of those Mauer and Weiters were number one picks so they basically were in the top 100 from the time they were drafted.

That means seven of the eighteen were never ranked in the top 100. These players include Mike Napoli, Jorge Posada, Alex Avila, Greg Myers, Ryan Doumit, Nick Hundley, and our own Russell Martin.

Pudge skews the age since he started catching in the major leagues at the age of 19 but for most of these catchers full time work came in the age 23 - 25 seasons. Jason Varitek did not become a full time catcher until age 26.

Anyway the point is not to worry to much about FedEx not being ranked in the BA top 100. His calling card is his handling of pitchers and shutting down the running game. Plenty of catchers have done as little damage as he has in the minor leagues and gone on to have solid major league careers. I think his glove will get him the opportunity that others never get, his bat will be secondary, and like Yeager it will be enough to ensure he has a long career but maybe never a 400 at bat per season career.

Trivia

Got nothing on FedEx but my favorite comp for him is Steve Yeager. By 1981 Steve was basically done and had only 86 at bats in our Championship season. Okay that was a strike season but still Mike Scioscia had almost four times as many at bats. During the 81 season Yeager hit three home runs and had on OPS of .598. In the postseason he hit two home runs and had slugging percentages of .600 / .500 / 1.052 in the three postseason series. He played in all six games in the World Series and ended sharing the World Series MVP with Cey and Pedro. Impressive post season work for a washed up backup catcher.

Contract Status

Under Dodger control for a long long long time

Previous Dodgers Player Profiles

None

Stats

2012 Outlook

FedEx is only an injury away from being the Dodger starting catcher. FedEx is only a bad start by AJ Ellis from being the Dodger starting catcher. At some point FedEx is going to become the Dodger starting catcher. Or AJ Ellis is going to be one of the few players who became starters at the age of 31 and held on to it all season.

At some point this spring, the talk will be about how pitchers love throwing to FedEx. Many will say this is unimportant, ex-pitchers will nod quietly to themselves, remembering the difference between throwing to a great receiver and throwing to MIckey Tettleton.

were the hits of the TBLA team. The team was 1 - 0 against a team full of blogging members and 0 - 2 against teams of family and friends who had nothing to do with the Blogging site they represented so I consider it a successful day.

Basic Lineup was:

Matthew 1st base, Delias 2nd base, Bknapp SS, G Scott 3rd-P, Brandon LF, HJ LC, David Young RC, Maddz RF/ RC, Josh RF/ LF, Josie C, Mintcore, 2nd/ C, Naeem C, Russell P

Our first game was against Dodger Bobble Heads, and while the main writer was there, I think he had mostly friends and family playing. They were good. Very good.

Yet we got off to a great start. They loaded the bases in the 1st inning but were unable to score. In the bottom of the 1st, our first three hitters got on base and then Gary brought them all in with a booming shot. Matthew bought in Gary and there we were winning 4 - 0, no outs, bottom of the first. We never scored again. Now I don't want to lay blame, but here was the situation. Bottom of the second, David and I had singled back to back. Josie is up and bangs a shot up the middle, the SS gets to it but I've gotten a good jump so he can't force me at 2nd, so SS double clutches then throws to 1st, I round second and take a look at first and all I see is a cloud of dust, hair, and more hair. Josie had face planted and never got to first base. It shook everyone up as we were extremely worried for Josie's safety. So much so I couldn't even take the field the rest of the tournament. Even with that handicap we had a 4 - 1 lead headed into the fourth when our defense decided to take the inning off. By the time the fourth was over we were down 6 - 4, but still in the game. However they came back with five more runs in the fifth putting the game away 11 - 4.

With an hour break we decided to catch Dodger Thoughts in action, particularly Xeifrank and Jon Weisman. They had a ringer on the mound. A five foot dynamo of a pitcher who kept the other hitters off balance the whole game. Xeifrank was butter scotch smooth at the plate and as a SS. I gave the ringer a chance to clear her name when she said she was an avid Dodger Thoughts reader by asking her what was the infamous rule one

Thank You For Not ...using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity

She could not fucking do it.

But I tell you what, I'm totally recruiting her for the next 40 and over / young fucks softball match.

Game Two was against the Bastards of Steve Garvey. Josie had recovered her pride and she emotionally demanded to play the field, so as any smart manager does, when the star demands to play, she plays. So I sat down. The bastards were a fun team to play, mainly cause we kicked bastard butt, 22 - 5. The game was played at the Fenway field and Great Scott got to enjoy the feeling of nailing one off the wall. Everyone hit, everyone got to play and as we headed for game three we knew one thing. We were not going to be win-less. Success.

Game three brought us against one of the Vin Scully Home boy teams. Our pitcher for the first two games had taken a spill in the second game and could not continue. Russell did a great job for us in games one and two but it was time to go from a humble veteran to a young kid making his softball pitching debut. Better yet, it got G Scott off of 3rd base which may have kept him from having to face manslaughter charges. In game two, he came within inches of splitting open a young innocent as she made the mistake of hitting the ball to Gary. Little did she know her life was in danger as she took off for first base. Luckily for her when Gary unleashed his throw, the ball missed her head, missed the base coaches head, and then rolled away never to be seen again.

WIth Gary hitting like Matt Kemp we put some runs on the board but this home boy team had two secret weapons. They had recruited two female fastball players to play for them. Until game time neither of these girls had ever met anyone on the team. One pitched, and one played left center. I don't want to say I was focused on this girl but.......

she was wearing a white skirt right out of League of their Own, sweet white legs that had a few battle marks from her previous games. She started our game with a scrape on her knee and a sweet raspberry just below right butt cheek, that moved from back to side. That would be nothing compared to what she ended up with after our game. She wasn't really relevant...........

other then hitting a rocket to right center her first at bat and scoring from 1st on another hit, with her bosomy breasts threatening a black eye with each step, she managed to run without falling down. The rest of her game was pretty much routine until the last fateful inning. We were a head 13 - 12 (i'll get to that in a minute) when the leadoff hitter got on. Bountiful Buffy then slammed a shot up the middle but the Great Scott made a dynamite stab, turned to throw to second and ...............

threw the ball into CF. Somehow they score the tying run. Honestly I don't even remember the next play other then the fact Bountiful Buffy is the winning run and we have a play at the plate. Big Bobby had nailed a runner in the previous inning and it looked like he would do it again but this raging hormonal Amazonian is not going to go lightly into this good afternoon, so she goes head first into home, putting her head between Bobby's feet while nailing home plate with her hands, her face, and then her breasts. It was magnificent. If I wasn't old, married, bald, short, not very bright, I'd have proposed right then and there.

I will never be part of a cooler loss in my life.

But enough of Bountiful Buffy. How did we get there?

Let me tell you. The score was 12 - 5 and three of those runs came when Great Scott or Sharpie as he will be called here from here on out crushed a triple. Matthew found his hitting grove and had a single, double. Josie was busting line drives up the middle. Down 12 - 5 we had one last chance for redemption and it went down like this:

Matthew - Triple down the 3rd base line

Delias - single (12 - 6)

David - Walk

Josh - Walk

Maddz - Out

Josie - single Walk (12 - 7), scores Delias, tells manager to fuck off when told to take a runner.

HJ - Walk Single (12- 8), scores David

Brandon - Forces HJ at 2nd but HJ takes out SS so no DP, Josh scores (12-9)

Brenton - Single, Josie scores (12 - 10)

Great Scott (Sharpie) - crushes his SECOND triple of the game driving in Brandon and Brenton (12-12)

Bobby - 0 - 3 so far in the game, then nails a single scoring Great Scott and giving us the lead 13 -12

An inning no one will ever forget. The lead was short lived, but speaking for myself that inning made the whole day worthwhile. Thanks to everyone for participating on True Blue LA's behalf.

Update:

These are the players who responded to my email:

These are the players who did not:

Mike, Albert, Naeem chime in here if you plan on going. You paid but you did not respond to the email I sent out. So either you gave a bogus email, I typed it in wrong, the email went directly to your spam filter, or you simply did not reply.

We want to carpool as much as possible to not only save gas but for camaraderie sakes since spending eight hours together is not enough, might as well add a few hours of car time. Going to the game we can talk about how stupid the manager is going to be, and on the way home we can talk about how stupid the manager was.

People who have volunteered to carpool are:

Joe - seats 4 - Hollywood

David - seats 4 - NorthWest San Fernando Valley

Phil - seats 4 West San Fernando Valley

From what I understand Josh (Deliasman) is picking up Josie so they are covered.

Josh Schoenwald lives on the Westside and would like to carpool. I'd suggest he contact HJ who is in Hollywood. Matthew also resides on the Westside. So that looks like a good match.

I'd suggest Bobby drive with me.

I'd suggest David pickup Maddz and Gary unless they want to drive themselves.

AJ lives in SB and would be welcome to carpool with me but I think he's leaving later and I'll be leaving at a time that will get me to the park by 07:30AM or sooner.

This is the extent of my suggestions. Use the comments to make arrangements.

Below is the information I provided in the Email.

We are using ASA bat rules, USSSA Rules

http://www.usssa.com/usssa/usssa-general/2011SPRuleBook.pdf

I'd suggest you hardball players check out the rulebook, many things you do in hardball will not play in softball.

It looks like we are using a 3, -1 Home run rule. Which means that only 3 home runs per team per game will be allowed, and only one home run more then the other team. Any other home runs would be considered outs. I don't anticipate that being a problem for us.

Key Rules:

• Limited arc
• Cannot leave the base until the ball is struck by the batter or hits the ground.
• Max of 12 hitters per lineup
  
• Our first game is at 08:00, gates open at 07:00AM. Yeah that is early.

Contact Info:

Big League Dreams - West Covina, California

2100 S. Azusa Ave.

West Covina, CA 91792

(626) 839-1100

info@bigleaguedreams.com

http://westcovina.bigleaguedreams.com/

They have four batting cages for practice before the game or during the breaks.

Policies:

http://westcovina.bigleaguedreams.com/park-policies

Entrance Fees

• Patrons 13 years and older pay $3.00 upon entry and will receive a token worth $1.00.
• Children 12 and under participating in a sport pay $1.00 upon entry and will receive a token worth $1.00
• The token is redeemable at the park stadium club restaurant or concession stand

Guidelines

• If you leave the park, and plan to return the same day, please get a hand stamp for re-entry.
• NO FOOD, BEVERAGES, or ICE CHESTS/COOLERS may be brought into the park.
• NO Overnight Recreation Vehicle parking is allowed at any Big League Dreams Facility.
• Spectators 12 and under are admitted FREE!
• Alcoholic beverages are NOT permitted to be consumed in the parking lot area at any time.

Hopefully it will be a full days worth of five or six games and not the three game minimum.

Any questions leave them in the comments.

According to Bill Shaikin, Frank McCourt has eliminated several prospective owners including Dennis Gilbert and Mark Cuban.

Mark Cuban was eliminated from the Dodgers' ownership sweepstakes Friday, along with baseball executive and former agent Dennis Gilbert, according to two people familiar with the process but not authorized to discuss it.

The remaining bidders will now be vetted by MLB. Interestingly enough McCourt just saved GIlbert, Cuban, and whoever else did not make the final cut, $25,000 since they no longer need to pay MLB the investigation cost of a bid.

No word on if the darkest horse Josh Macciello is still in the running.

Not a surprise that Cuban is out given that Frank expects to sell the team for 1.5 Billion. Cuban may be flamboyant but at heart he's a self made businessman who knows value and it is doubtful the Dodgers at 1.5 Billion is value. As Cuban said back in November

"I don't think the Dodgers franchise is worth twice what the Rangers are worth," Cuban told The Times in November.

With the sale price supposed to reach at least 1.5 Billion that would make the Dodgers worth almost three times the value of Rangers who sold for $593 million.

We break into your normal programming to bring you this breaking news:

Hard working TrueBlueLA and SBNation Los Angeles Editor Eric Stephen is going to Arizona this spring and he could use new clothes to rep TrueBlueLa in style.

We are over 5,000 members strong and before you spend that tax rebate money on clothes for your kids, food for your family, or food banks, we need you to consider spending some money on yourself. And by yourself I mean Eric. It has been a dry winter, but you all remember how Eric does the pregame show, in - game moderation, post game shows. How he leaves his home every weekend to cover the Dodgers and get the best quotes and in house information. You all remember that, but this year we need to get him to Camelback to cover the team like it has never been covered before.

This is not your normal telethon, we have some of the greatest TBLA characters on the phones right now to take your donations.

So call 1-888-TRUEBLA and make a donation after talking to the commentator of your choice:

The Midnight to Eight AM Shift has some of our best talent:

Gary - as Gary has humbly told us he can tell if someone is a prospect or not simply by watching how they wash their hands. He'll be heading to Camelback himself this spring, ask him which prospect you want him to keep an eye on in the restroom and for the right price, he'll report back to you personally. He has other talents, if you want Gary to put a fastball into someones earhole he's also the man for that. Also can help in the marketing world. Don't ask him about him doing dishes after a layover.

BHSportsGuy - you need a recipe, he's your man. Be prepared have your tomato paste on hand.

Hollywood Joe - the most interesting man on TrueBlueLA can give you an adventure no matter the subject. Surfing, Woman, Food, Wine, Outsourcing. He's your man

Humma - You want him to make fun of himself or give you a clever limerick? He's multi faceted and and will deliver the goods while drinking gin in one hand and handling/manipulating the speaker phone with the other hand. And by speaker phone I don't mean speaker phone.

NoLander - has an opinion about everything, even sports he does not like or pay attention too. He can help with any gadget questions provided it was not created by Apple.

Silverwidow - you want an overhyped prospect in any sport that will become yesterdays news before yesterday comes. He's your man.

Michael White - will answer any Clipper or basketball question, or for the whack jobs, he will answer questions about the WAC

Brandon - you'd think he'd answer any prospect questions but he asked if we could set it up so he does not have to answer any questions. After ranking 200 players he is soooooooo tired of Dodger prospects, so instead ask about exciting audit stuff, you know the stuff gives auditors the woody's they are world renowned for.

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