The Alberto "Collapso" Experiment Is Mercifully Over

Alberto Collaspo ("Collapso", as we called him) has been DFA'd, to make room for some Phillies guy who once was good:

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Saying "it's time," veteran second baseman Chase Utley prepared to leave Philadelphia, after the Phillies traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday in exchange for two minor leaguers.

The Phillies also will send $4 million to Los Angeles to offset the $6 million remaining on Utley's $15 million salary. The Dodgers will send utility player Darnell Sweeney and right-handed pitcher John Richy to Philadelphia.

The Dodgers designated third baseman Alberto Callaspo for assignment to clear room on the roster for Utley.

The trade came a day after Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Utley was likely to stay in Philadelphia for the remainder of the season.

"Three weeks ago or so, I had a conversation with Ruben," Utley said during a news conference in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, according to MLB.com. "We put our heads together and decided it might be best for us to part ways. I gave them a list of a handful of teams that I would consider playing for, and then it was Ruben's job to find the best deal he could for the organization. And ultimately it came down to the Dodgers, a team I grew up watching."

Utley, batting .217 this season with a OPS+ of a career-low 71, joins a parade of washed-up Phillies who have joined the Dodgers, including Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Joe Blanton. None have worked out. Rumor has it Andrew Friedman is also targeting Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, and Greg Luzinski.

Post-Game 64 Thread: Adrian Gonzalez Should Not Be A DH

RANGERS 4, DODGERS 1

Not sure what the hell Don Mattingly was thinking here, but putting in Adrian Gonzalez as a DH (in order to wedge Alberto Callaspo into the lineup, for some bizarre reason) was absolutely not the right move.

Gonzalez is a career .293/.365/.501 batter. He's .295/.369/.506 as a 1B, where he has played in roughly 95% of his plate appearances. As a DH, Gonzalez is a woeful .248/.285/.418--all numbers which stand to further degrade after today's 0-for-4, 4 LOB, 1 GIDP play. Why Mattingly thought this was a good idea for Gonzalez at DH is beyond me.

But wait, a NL team uses the DH to sneak in another potent bat, right? So into the lineup went Callaspo--batting ninth with his .224 average, no less. Callaspo went 0-for-1 with 2 walks and a K, but had the almost-TOOTBLAN moment of failing to tag up from second and advance to third, on a long fly ball over Shin-Soo Choo's head (which Choo misplayed but finally caught). The Dodgers went from no outs to one out in the top of the sixth in a still scoreless game; Gonzalez did his aforementioned GIDP, and then the Rangers came out in the bottom of the sixth and bloodied Carlos Frias and Adam Liberatore for their four runs.

Why wasn't Alex Guerrero playing? Guerrero's OWAR is +0.9. Callaspo's OWAR is -0.3, which is the absolute worst on the whole Dodger team (i.e., below Mike Bolsinger's -0.2--and he's a pitcher).

Criminy.

The Dodgers got one back in the top of the eighth on a leadoff Yasmani Grandal HR.

Andre Ethier grounded into two double plays, which is only three fewer than the Giants had all game yesterday.

Post-Game 63 Thread: A-Gon's Back, But Joc Is Incredible

A-Gon's back.

DODGERS 4, PADRES 2 (12)

All the talk is about Joc Pederson's amazing catch in center field in the bottom of the ninth inning, saving the game for the Dodgers and allowing the extra inning frames to even happen. And rightfully so; the catch was INCREDIBLE (and you need to see it; if all goes well it is embedded below, along with Charley Steiner, Orel Hershiser, and even Rick Monday calling the play.).

But let's skip past the early-inning foreplay (including an Andre Ethier solo HR in the seventh, and a Adrian Gonzalez RBI double (Gonzalez took third on the throw) in the eighth), and move right on from that Pederson highlight to extra innings. Firstly, Josh Ravin, ladies and gentlemen: two innings of pretty good work, the first of which was extended when the Padres whined about Enrique Hernandez not really touching second on a 3-6-3 double play. Ravin went ahead and struck out Derek Norris and Cory Spangenberg to close the inning with Matt Kemp in scoring position. Ravin goes to 2-0 after today's game.

In the top of the 12th, Alberto Callapso had a one-out double to right over the head of Matt Kemp; Hernandez and Pederson walked; and the stage was set for Alex Guerrero, whom Don Mattingly just said was better as a pinch-hitter than starting 3B (relative to Justin Turner). Guerrero...lined to Kemp in right, and because it was a short line out, Callaspo could not score from third (Callaspo was nabbed by Kemp in the third inning with a putout at the plate).

Up came Gonzalez, who has been has been slumping since his torrid April. Gonzalez singled to center, scoring Callaspo and Hernandez. 4-2 Dodgers, and Kenley Jansen earned his ninth save in the 12th.

Coupled with the Giants' 4-0 loss and sweepage by the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers open up a 3.5 game lead in the West. Get set for a Texas Two-Step (two @ Arlington, followed by two @ home), starting tomorrow!

Post-Game 52 Thread: No Retreat, No Surrender

DODGERS 9, ROCKIES 8

The Dodgers dug deep in Game 2 of the doubleheader, and came away with one of the most amazing victories of the year. After dropping Game 1 and watching their NL West lead shrink to one game, the Dodgers saw a 4-0 lead evaporate and clawed back to tie the game at 5 in the seventh off a Joc Pederson triple (Pederson had also homered earlier in the game, as had Enrique Hernandez and Adrian Gonzalez). The 5-5 tie quickly turned sour, however, when Yimi Garcia allowed Troy Tulowitzki a two-run HR to make it 7-5 Colorado. The Rockies tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth.

The stage was set for dramatics in the ninth inning, however. Alberto Callaspo, Jimmy Rollins, and Chris Heisey led off the inning with singles. Rockies pitcher Rafael Betancourt got Justin Turner to strike out, and Pederson to fly out to left. But with two out and down by three runs, Alex Guerrero launched a grand slam to center field, hurling the Dodgers back in front with a 9-8 lead. Amazing! The Dodgers went on to load the bases again in that frame, before Callaspo lined out for the final out. Kenley Jansen came in for the bottom of the ninth, and allowed a one-out double but stranded the runner at third by striking out Ben Paulsen, to win the game.

Right after that, the Giants saw a 2-0 lead disappear and ended up losing 7-4 at home, so the NL West lead is back to two games. The Giants game is also significant because it signals they will lose the belt to Pittsburgh. If Pittsburgh goes on to lose to Atlanta June 5-7, and then the Braves proceed to lose to the Padres June 8-11 (a four-game series, which makes it tough), then it could be all set up for the Dodgers to reclaim the belt in the Padres series June 12-14. The plot thickens!

However, the groin stretches. One more, just for QuadSevens:

Post-Game 49 Thread: Dodgers Lose, But Giants Bigger Losers

Yasmani Grandal tags Matt Carpenter out at the plate in the eighth inning.

CARDINALS 3, DODGERS 1

The Dodgers dropped the rubber match of the series by mustering only two hits, one of which was an eighth-inning Joc Pederson HR to close the gap to 2-1. Brett Anderson only allowed a Jhonny Peralta two-run HR in the first inning, and then proceeded to keep the Cardinals quiet through six full frames. Peralta got a bloop single in the bottom of the eighth to add a third run for the Cards. The Dodgers had a two-out threat in the ninth when Andre Ethier and Yasmani Grandal took two-out walks, but Justin Turner Kd to end the game.

The Dodgers' bats were absolutely pathetic this roadtrip, and the finger pointing has to start with Jimmy Rollins, whose drop to the eight hole didn't do anything to lift his Mendoza-like average (Rollins went 0-for-3 with a K). Alberto Callaspo started at 3B in Rollins' (now vacated) second spot in the lineup, but also went 0-for-3, with 2Ks. Adrain Gonzalez went 0-for-4. The only other hit of the game was a single by Ethier in the second inning.

But the real story of the day was Santiago Casilla's third blown save of the year for the Giants, who lost 7-5 to the Braves. Casilla came in for the ninth and ceded a solo HR to Freddie Freeman, before loading the bases and then Jace Pederson tripled home three runs to put the Braves up 7-5 (the Giants entered the ninth with a 5-3 lead). Awesome stuff up there in Birdshit Park! (Oh, and Juan Uribe had a two-run HR for the Braves in the seventh inning, which helped chase Ashley Madison from the game.)

Dodgers stay in first place. Giants remain in second place, though they have the belt.

photo: Chris Lee, St. Louis Post-Dispatch