Post-Game 128 Thread: Red Sox Roll Over

DODGERS 2, RED SOX 0

Ricky Nolasco had his best game as a Dodger, winning the game and holding the Red Sox to jack shit. The difference was a two-run home run by Hanley Ramirez to deepest darkest center field in the fourth inning. Dodgers take the first game of the three-game series in commanding style before a 50,000+ energized crowd. Crown Vic made the final out, igniting the SoSG Victorino haters.

This one was over in two hours and seven minutes. Definitely time to get the fireworks in at Chavez Ravine tonight. Oh, and the Dbags lost, meaning Dodgers move to 10.5 games out in the NL West. We make party! Gooooooood night everybody!

ps- If you're heading to the Yard tomorrow, drop a line so we can share a beer and some gloating.

Dodgers' Winter Moves Add Up To +1.7 WAR Impact

Old news from last week, but I love the WSJ's take on how each MLB team's off-season moves improved the team, statistically.

Here's the methodology:

The calculations were based on each player's projected wins above replacement (WAR), a statistic used to compare a player's value to the average Triple-A fill-in. The forecasts were made by Dan Szymborski, a sabermetric analyst whose projection system, Zips, is considered among the most reliable. It uses weighted averages of four years of data and adjusts for age based on aging trends of similar players. The rankings don't include contract extensions or promotions within organizations.

The Blue Jays were the big winner, with a +10.7 WAR improvement (driven off of Jose Reyes (+4.3) and R.A. Dickey (+4.0). Down at #12 are the Dodgers:

12. DODGERS (+1.7). Key acquisitions: SP Zack Greinke (4.3), RP Hyun-Jin Ryu (1.8). Key loss: OF Shane Victorino (2.9). Outlook: The highest payroll in baseball means high expectations for the Dodgers, who narrowly missed the playoffs last year.

If Victorino is the main loss, then if anything our WAR impact is understated, right?

The NL West is bunched tightly: the Diamondbacks are ninth with +3.1; the Padres are tenth with +2.3; the Rockies are 11th with +2.1. The Giants are way down there at 16th with +0.3.

Going into the 2011 season, the Dodgers were also smack dab in the middle, as the fourteenth-best-improved team with a WAR impact of +0.1. And they went from 80-82 in 2010 to 82-79 in 2011. Last year, the Dodgers had a WAR improvement of +0.8, and they improved to 86-76.

We're still positioned in the middle of the pack this year, but the projected WAR impact magnitude is noticably higher. Can we expect 2013 returns to be a multiplier-effect higher, in kind?

Catching Up With Former Dodger Shane Victorino

Wonder whatever happened to that .245 BA, .667 OPS (OPS+ 85) player we rented for 50ish games last season? You remember? The Mortifyin' Hawaiian?

Oh, this must be it (from the Feb 18 2013 issue of ESPN the Mag).

Nice job, Shane!

(But not as good as this, by any means:

Now We Can All Get Back to Hating Victorino

According to MLB.com:

The Winter Meetings continue to be a productive exercise for the Red Sox. A day after they got the slugger they coveted in Mike Napoli, Boston has agreed to a three-year deal for outfielder Shane Victorino, a source confirmed to MLB.com.

The Red Sox have not confirmed the deal, which is pending a physical, and reportedly worth $39 million.

"I can confirm that we're trying to add an outfielder and that we're optimistic we're making some progress," said Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington.

While the 32-year-old Victorino has been a center fielder for most of his career, he would likely shift to right field for the Red Sox, at least for 2013.

Post-Game 161 Thread: Game Over

GIANTS 4, DODGERS 3

It was a valiant effort, but the Dodgers came up short. Or rather, we didn't come up short, but we made sure to still come up short.

In the pivotal, gut-wrenching seventh inning, A.J. Ellis' nine-pitch at bat against Giant steroid user (sorry, that was redundant) Guillermo Mota ended with a deep HR to dead center, plating two and making it 4-3. But even though those two runs came with none out, the Dodgers' momentum came to a screeching halt: Nick Punto struck out, Mark Ellis inexplicably tried to stretch a double and was nailed at third by about four hundred miles, and then Shane Victorino tripled to right (which would have tied the game had Ellis not been an idiot)...only to watch Matt Kemp strike out for the third time, stranding Victorino at third.

Kemp hurled the bat. Dodger fans just hurled.

Mark Ellis, he of the one triple all year, ran us out of the 2012 season.

And that was as close as we came. Eighth inning, nothing. Ninth inning, Andre Ethier led off with a single to center. But with two out in the ninth, PR Dee Gordon barely stole second during an at bat of--you guessed it--Mark Ellis. Who flied out to center for the final out.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have Evelyn Taft to ogle.

I mean, seriously. How can you not smile:

Post-Game 160 Thread: Scoot' Slips, Sink Chumps

DODGERS 3, GIANTS 2

The Dodgers stay alive tonight with a ninth-inning victory over an overmatched team. Andre Ethier took Matt Cain deep in the fourth for a 2-1 lead, and though the Giants tied it in the eighth when Shane Victorino forgot how to both field AND throw on the same play, Elian Herrera capped a ninth inning with a one-out, bases-loaded rocket that was too hot for the Giants' Marco Scutaro to handle on the fly. Hanley Ramirez, who led the ninth off with a single up the middle, was the winning run.

The Cardinals won, to cut their magic number to one. But you can't hate on the Dodgers when we walk off with the victory! So let's keep this winning streak (six, tied for our longest of the year) going.

PLAYOFFS!

Post-Game 157 Thread: We Already Eight, Thanks

DODGERS 8, ROCKIES 0

For the third night in a row the Dodgers defeated a division rival by scoring eight runs. The charge tonight was led by #8 Shane Victorino, who hit a three-run home run in the second inning. Unfortunately, the Cards thumped the Nats, so the Dodgers remain three back in the second wild card race. We do it all again tomorrow!

Oh, and make sure you catch the defensive play of the game. Clayton Kershaw, prepare for your second Gold Glove:

Drought On The Farm Due To Colletti?

LA Observed's Phil Wallace isn't impressed with Dodgers GM Ned Colletti's moves, not one bit:

The Dodgers meanwhile have been in contention for most of the year. Their ambitious new owners pulled the trigger on expensive trades for big name players like Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford. Yet, it seems like the Dodgers have gotten worse after each deal, and now it will take a miracle for them to win the second wild card.

How could this happen? Don't the teams that spend the most money win all the time? In short, the answer is "no". Any baseball analyst who tells you that payroll equals wins is a complete idiot.

This year, the teams with the second, third, and fourth highest payrolls (Phillies, Red Sox, Angels) all are likely to miss the playoffs. Of the teams that began 2012 with the ten highest payrolls, only four are likely to make the playoffs (Yankees, Rangers, Giants, Cardinals). Teams that are already in the playoffs include the Washington Nationals (No. 20 payroll), the Cincinnati Reds (No. 17 payroll), and the Atlanta Braves (No. 16 payroll). Low payroll teams like the Oakland A's (No. 29) and the Baltimore Orioles (No. 19) would both be in the postseason if it started today.

This not an anomaly unique to 2012. Virtually every year on LAObserved I point to 4-5 mid and low-level teams that make playoffs, and multiple high payroll teams that miss it. This is a trend that's been going on for much of the past decade. If payroll did equal wins, then the Yankees would have 10 World Series titles in the past 10 years. Instead, they have one.

So why can't teams buy wins? Because typically with a high payroll, you're paying for past performance, not future performance.

Sure, Albert Pujols has had 10 terrific years in pro baseball. But will he have 10 more great years? Well, the Angels are paying him $254 million for those years, whether they're good or not. In the meantime, baseball's unique salary structure - which allows teams to pay whatever they want for a player's first three years and then still own him for three more - means the Angels are paying a bargain price many of Mike Trout's best years. The fact is, nearly half of all $100+ million MLB contracts are considered busts by the time they're over.

That doesn't mean spending money is bad. I'm thrilled that the Dodgers have new owners who are aggressive and willing to go after good players. It means that they have a greater margin for error and it gives them an avenue towards improvement that they didn't have under Frank McCourt. But if the Dodgers are going to be successful, then they need to run a smarter organization that does a better job of developing its own players. Baseball history shows that building from within provides a much better opportunity for sustainable success than by bringing players from the outside.

Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten should know this as well as anyone. When he was president of the Atlanta Braves, the organization was the gold standard for player development and won a record 14 consecutive division titles. When he was President of the Nationals, the organization built much of the foundation that has put them in the playoffs this year.

But the Dodgers do have a ways to go in order to build a successful farm system. I outlined much of what they can do earlier this year.

Yet, I'm disappointed when I read a line from a Dylan Hernandez "news" story that says:

Though the Dodgers' farm system has produced several major league players in recent seasons, it is currently short on top-tier talent because spending on amateur players was curbed during Frank McCourt's ownership. That statement is treated as fact, but it could just as easily say: "The Dodgers farm system is currently short on top-tier talent because they have done a poor job of developing players since DeJon Watson took over as head of player development."

Or it could have said: "The Dodgers farm system is currently short on top-tier talent because the team has had several disappointing drafts under scouting director Logan White."

It's easy to blame Frank McCourt for everything that's gone wrong, and I'm no fan of him either. But the Dodgers were not in an impossible scouting and player development situation under him. They still have plenty of bad misses in the draft and it's easy to question the quality of instruction their prospects are receiving.

Either way, the new MLB collective bargaining agreement restricts every team's ability to spend in the draft, forcing teams to do a better job of scouting and player development. At some point, Ned Colletti and his staff to be held accountable for the organization's sub-par farm system. Despite the fact that Colletti has proven unable to build a quality minor league system on a budget, he was rewarded with a long-term contract earlier this month.

If the Dodgers do want to spend more money on player development, then here's a great idea. Earlier this year, Matt Kemp had to do a rehab assignment with the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. As is tradition for MLBers on rehab stints, Kemp had to pick up the check for dinner in the clubhouse. While there, he said:

"It's tough being in the minor leagues with the money they get. I was eating Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken every day (in the minors), so I'm going to feed them well," Kemp said. "I like to eat, so I'm going to eat good too. I don't want to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at night."

Here's a question... why are the Dodgers minor leaguers eating KFC and Taco Bell? Why wouldn't the Dodgers want to hire a chef in Rancho Cucamonga to give their prospects proper nutrition? If I owned a MLB team, then I would want all of my prospects at all levels eating right, especially considering everything we now know about the link between nutrition and performance.

Spending $100 million on Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford is great. But just as important, if not more so, is spending money on the best scouts, the best minor league instructors, and the most advanced computer systems that can analyze a player's swing or a pitcher's delivery so a prospect can become a legitimate major leaguer. Investing in minor leaguers is investing in the future of an organization. You wouldn't want to feed your children garbage fast food, and you wouldn't want your top prospects eating fast food either.

If I were to characterize Ned Colletti's style as a general manger in one sentence, then I would say he's a man who tenaciously pursues every recognizable name available. With a seemingly unlimited payroll this year, Colletti has done just that, acquiring plenty of recognizable names. But recognizable players don't win championships. Good players do. Recognizable names cost money. Good players don't necessarily.

Colletti went out of his way to acquire Shane Victorino, a recognizable name whose best days are obviously behind him. Colletti gave up a useful relief pitcher in Josh Lindblom and a former first round draft pick in Ethan Martin. He also agreed to pay the remaining millions left on Victorino's contract. It's the rare combination where a team both gives up prospects and takes on money. Normally it's one or the other, but in trades for Victorino, Hanely Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez and others, it's been both prospects and money.

Recognizable name Victorino has rewarded the Dodgers by hitting .227 with a pitiful .302 OBP and a .304 slugging percentage while wearing Dodger Blue. In the meantime, the Oakland A's may very well be playoff bound despite receiving over 80 starts from rookie pitchers. That's from unrecognizable names like Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, and A.J. Griffin.

There's a whole lot of pent-up frustration there. In that sense, I think Wallace speaks for all Dodger fans.

Post-Game 154 Thread: Shane Victorino Hates The Dodgers

Shane Victorino, stayin' alive. Dodgers, not so much.

PADRES 2, DODGERS 1

Shane Victorino was nailed at home in the second inning, failing to score from second on a single to left fielder Chris Denorfia. Oh sure, Victorino yipped at Everth Cabrera after the seventh inning when Cabrera played dirty trying to break up an inning-ending double play at second. But yipping at an opponent is not going to redeem his sorry .225 BA as a Dodger. Nor will Victorino's two-out, two-on fly ball to right in the eighth, ending that inning's threat.

Matt Kemp rounded third too far in the sixth inning, and when Chase Headley barehanded the dribbler to third too late to nail Hanley Ramirez at first, Headley wisely spun to Cabrera (SS covering third), who nailed Kemp, stuck somewhere in the last 90 feet. Clearly, Kemp doesn't read Deadspin, or he might of seen one of these articles. But one run wouldn't make a difference, right?

And so the Dodgers somnambulated, until the ninth inning when A.J. Ellis doubled in Luis Cruz (who led off with a single to left). AJellis was replaced by Dee Gordon, Nick Punto (who?) sacrificed Gordon to third with one out, and MEllis walked. But Andre Ethier whiffed meekly on a pitch down and away, and Kemp followed by chasing a high pitch and flying out to right.

Dodgers' tragic number reduced to four. My god, we are horrible.

Very Late Post-Game 150 Thread: Caption Contest

Kemp: I'm surrounded by idiots. Idiots who are batting .225.

NATIONALS 4, DODGERS 1

Noffense Explained (Part 2 of 2)

Sure, let's do another leadoff bunt. Those have worked really well. (cries)

While Matt Kemp has contributed to the Dodgers' noffense mainly because of the lofty expectations, there are other contributors who have had limited expectations, and still aren't delivering. Shane Victorino, from this fan's perspective, seems to the biggest culprit in the latter category.

After all of those years killing us as a Phillie, I expected Victorino to provide some sort of spark at the top of the order, at least gutting balls out or driving them to the gaps and hustling around the bases. Instead, he's been an automatic out. On Sunday's game (which I attended), with the exception of a nice catch in left field against the wall, he was a worthy target of derision.

But at least I can take some solace in the fact that he's not happy about his performance, either, at least according to Mark Saxon of ESPN:

LOS ANGELES -- A few days after the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for Shane Victorino, first-base coach Davey Lopes -- who made a living for 15 years disrupting another team's flow -- was asked how much Victorino could help spark a team struggling to create action.

"He can help a lot ... if he does his thing," Lopes said. "First, he has to do his thing."

You didn't have to be an expert interpreter of body language Sunday evening to see that Victorino hasn't exactly been doing his thing. After the Dodgers' 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in 12 innings, Victorino -- who went 0-for-6 and may have had the game-turning at-bat -- sat staring into his locker for a good 10 minutes.

When I asked him if he had a moment to talk afterward, he tossed something in his bag, snapped "Nope," and walked toward the showers.

That's kind of what it's been like for the new guys around the Dodgers these days. Victorino has batted .233 since the Dodgers got him from the Philadelphia Phillies and he has struck out more (26 times) than he has scored (20 times).

Adrian Gonzalez is batting .233 with one home run since coming west. Hanley Ramirez has hit some long balls, but he's batting a mediocre .264 in Dodger blue and has, frankly, played awful defense at shortstop. Josh Beckett has been better than many people expected (3.38 ERA) but the Dodgers have gone 1-3 in his four starts.

Manager Don Mattingly said he happened to talk to Victorino on Sunday about the difficulty of coming to a new team in midseason.

"He hasn't really gotten rolling, put it that way," Mattingly said.

His problem Sunday happened to involve rolling, actually. With Mark Ellis 90 feet away from winning a crucial game for the Dodgers -- at third with one out -- Victorino couldn't get the ball over a drawn-in infield. He slapped the ball to Daniel Descalso at second base and the Cardinals got Ellis in a rundown that defused their 10th-inning rally. St. Louis broke it open in the 12th off young reliever John Ely.

Victorino and Gonzalez combined to go 0-for-11 Sunday. They hit only one ball out of the infield between them.

I may be letting AGon off the hook, perhaps because I believe AGon will turn it around, and I'm less confident Shane has a clue out there. Perhaps it's my rationalization since I know we're stuck with AGon for a while, but Shaney is gone at season's end.

All I know is, these are not the droids I'd been looking for. But Victorino seems to be as fried as that R5-D4 model that couldn't even make it off the lot.

photo: Harry How/Getty Images North America (9/3/12)

Post-Game 144 Thread: There's Your Frickin' Changed Lineup, Dammit

CARDINALS 2, DODGERS 1

Don Mattingly finally did what everyone had been clamoring for since the blockbuster deal: he shook up the lineup. Streaky Andre Ethier switched places with Sucky Shane Victorino, Ethier batting second and Victorino batting sixth. Sure, not much, but a departure from the norm nonetheless.

And things looked promising in the first, when Mark Ellis singled, Ethier walked, and Adrian Gonzalez cashed in one run with a RBI double.

But that was it. The Dodgers' offense went back to its somnambulating state and didn't muster a threat since then. We couldn't even get a RISP after that fateful first inning (save a meaningless two-out Hanley Ramirez 2B-not-HR in the ninth, which Shane Victorino quickly rendered moot with a weak fly out to left). In the seventh, Luis Cruz reached on a one-out error (excitement!), only to have PR Dee Gordon get nailed at second CS (expected!).

Hanley Ramirez went 1-for-4 with 2 Ks, and no Dodger got more than one hit (the Dodgers had six total hits all game). And so we fall two back in the wild card "race." Which isn't much of a race, if we decide not to bat in eight of the nine innings.

The baseball gods remain aligned against us. Even a move that Mattingly had resisted with all of his strength, but finally conceded, proved fruitless. We look at second base lustily like it's the holy grail, but even if we were to make it to there, I don't know if we know what to do next. We may as well fire Tim Wallach and use that money to go grab a prospect or maybe a new batting cage. There is no hope.

Game 140 Thread: Sept. 8 @ Giants, 1p

SoSG Fest III: as if we needed another reason to drink.

Chris Capuano (11-10, 3.63) vs. Matt Cain (13-5, 2.98).

How frustrating was last night's loss? I haven't felt so aggravated by the Dodgers since...Wednesday.

Anyhoo, here's how it's going for our Boys in Blue:

• Shane Victorino, acquired to be our leadoff hitter, has a .315 OBP since joining the team and is now batting second.
  
• Adrian Gonzalez, batting third, has 10 RBIs in 61 PAs as a Dodger.
  
• Despite his claims to the contrary, Matt Kemp is playing hurt.
  
• Our second-best starter and our closer are on the DL.
  
• The rest of our pitching staff is getting minimal run support.
  

It's becoming increasingly apparent the wild card is our ticket into the playoffs. So we'll drink to that — because there's so little to toast, yet so much to drink about.

Dodgers Make Party in Air, Water

Coupla walk-offs this long weekend means there was a lot of celebrating at Dodger Stadium:

Sunday: Mark Ellis levitates for joy as Shane Victorino scores the winning run.

And the post-game shower.

Monday: Who was the first to reach walk-off hero A.J. Ellis? His "Between Two Ferns" co-star Clayton Kershaw.

Splashdown.

At-Game Recap: An Apology to SoSG Sax

If SoSG Sax woke up this morning with concussion-like symptoms, or merely a bruised vertebra or two, it's totally my fault. If this cut above my lip gets any worse, I have only myself to blame.

Sax was kind enough to invite me to yesterday's game. Although it was blazes hot, we cooled off with a few beers, moved to some shady seats and had a great time catching up.

But the Dodgers were back to their old tricks. Although Matt Kemp started the game off with a much-needed home run, the Diamondbacks' 4-2 lead in the seventh inning felt insurmountable.

While A.J. Ellis' pinch-hit double and Shane Victorino's RBI-single put the Dodgers within striking distance, I was still feeling, um, snakebit, even when the Dodgers put two on with one out in the ninth.

The Dodgers had won the day before, and there was a relatively small crowd at Dodger Stadium yesterday. But an extra sense of desperation was in the air, as if everyone knew falling 5.5 games behind the Giants would be too much to bear.

So when Victorino scored the winning run on Adrian Gonzalez's walk-off double, a lot of pent-up emotion came loose. People jumped up and down, people cheered, people screamed.

And I, uh, tackled Sax.

Totally didn't mean to. He turned to me for a high five and I gave him a bear hug instead. Unprepared for this idiocy, Sax absorbed the blow; we lost our collective balance and tumbled across the aisle (did I mention we had had a few beers?) into another (thankfully empty) row of seats.

Like Miguel Montero after being hit by Victorino the other day, Sax popped right back up and was gracious enough to laugh it off.

So, Sax...sorry about that. And you probably don't want to be sitting next to me if the Dodgers make the playoffs.

Post-Game 131 Thread: Whoa, That Was Close

DODGERS 10, ROCKIES 8

The Dodgers had a six-run third inning, punctuated by a Hanley Ramirez two-run shot to deep center, allowing Joe Blanton to coast to his first win as a Dodger. A.J. Ellis came out in the top of the eighth and hit his first career grand slam, so with a 10-1 lead, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, this is Coors Field, where the last-place Rockies have made their home a house of horrors for our Dodgers (with the win today we won three of nine @ Coors). Blanton went 7.1 IP, scattering 10 H and 3 ER with 1 BB and 5 Ks, leaving the game with men at the corners. But then Shawn Tolleson (recently called up from single-A ball) came in an saw four batters, retiring none of them; Randy Choate relieved Tolleson and hit his only batter; and Ronald Belisario came in and barely escaped the inning (worsened a tad by Shane Victorino's inexplicable barehanding of a single to center which squirted away from him, allowing a seventh Rockies run to score in that frame).

Belisario came back out in the ninth and got a GIDP to end the game and preserve Blanton's effort, and the Dodgers narrow the Giants' lead back to three games (pending the Giants' game at Houston tonight: 10-8 Barry Zito vs. 1-6 Dallas Keuchel). Go ahead and use this as a Scoreboard Watching thread, unless I get more inspired in the next hour.

Whoa, that was close. But hey, we can't end on that sour note, going into a four-game series at home against the Diamondbacks. We need something more...soothing and uplifting...a better note! With unkempt hair.

Post-Game 127 Thread: The A-Gon-y and the Ecstasy

DODGERS 8, MARLINS 2

So, make way. A roll of drums and a blare of bugles. Coming up with runners at first and third, and a standing welcome-to-Dodger-Stadium ovation for Adrian Gonzalez.

—Vin Scully

Adrian Gonzalez justified the fanfare, smacking a frozen-rope home run just inside the right-field foul pole on Josh Johnson's second pitch to him. Before the Marlins had recorded an out, the Dodgers were leading 4-1.

Although Gonzalez went hitless for the rest of the night, going 1 for 5, the rest of the Dodgers followed his lead. They collected 16 hits, and Andre Ethier went 4 for 4 with a double and a homer, setting the L.A. Dodger record with ten straight hits in the process.

Mark Ellis, leading off in place of a sore-backed Shane Victorino, went 3 for 4 with a homer of his own. Cochito Cruz went for 2 for 5 with two RBIs, one of them scoring another new guy, Nick Punto.

Oh, and did we mention Clayton Kershaw pitched tonight, and was brilliant? He struck out eight over eight innings, allowing two earned on only three hits.

The Giants lost to the Barves this afternoon, putting the Dodgers two back. Welcome to the Adrian Gonzalez Era!

photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Dodgers Finally Getting Something from Boston That Doesn't Suck

"D'ya miss us?"

• Red Sox, Dodgers Nearing Blockbuster (MLBTR)

If you're worried the Dodgers are becoming the Yankees West, let me remind you:

Six years of Fox ownership.
Eight years of McCourt ownership.

It's karmic payback time, Dodger fans.

Steve Dilbeck of the LA Times called it: The Dodgers are trading two of their best young arms and three iffy position players for a stud first baseman, an injured outfielder and a disgruntled starter, all on the wrong side of 30. Oh, and $260 million of contracts.

So...what are the positives?

1. Adrian Freakin' Gonzalez. Welcome back to the NL West, Adrian! The addition of Gonzalez gives Mattingly two lefty power bats and two righty power bats to mix and match in the lineup — for at least the next two years. And for those who'll miss James Loney's defense, Gonzalez has also won three Gold Gloves.

2. Were you hoping for Josh Hamilton instead? Gonzalez is 30. Hamilton, with his well-documented liabilities, is actually a year older. Vernon Wells, whose contract some are comparing to Gonzalez's, will be 34 at the start of next season.

3. The Red Sox still have to follow through. Boston is collecting a lot of praise for creating financial flexibility, but how many holes did they just create? What's their next move in an weak upcoming free-agent market headed by Hamilton? As SoSG Stubbs puts it, "I can't think of anyone less suited to cope with Boston than Hamilton."

4. Bye bye Blanton? Pending an announcement regarding Billingsley's tender elbow, how does Kershaw/Bills/Capuano/Beckett/Harang sound? I can't find any recent statistical evidence to support this, but I'm a believer in the pitchers-switching-from-AL-to-NL bump. Make it from the AL East to the NL West and it's not unreasonable to expect an improvement in Beckett's performance.

5. Whither Yasiel? Carl Crawford just had Tommy John surgery. Like, two days ago. No, really. So it's unlikely he'll be ready for the beginning of next season. Shane Victorino wants a multi-year deal, so he'll be gone. Does this put Yasiel Puig on schedule for a 2013 debut in Dodger Blue?

I'm not sure why taking on over a quarter-billion of salary still requires the Dodgers to surrender De La Rosa and Allen Webster to get the deal done. ("As one rival executive asked Friday night: Why didn’t the Dodgers just do Gonzalez for Webster and De La Rosa?" writes Ken Rosenthal.) Losing Rubby and Webster sucks, but as they say, you gotta give to get.

Maybe we just added a few albatrosses to the aviary. Here's hoping they're worth the risk.

photo by Juan Ocampo/Dodgers

Post-Game 123 Thread: Bumrushed

"Y U NO HIT?"

GIANTS 2, DODGERS 1

Remember yesterday, when the heart of the order went 0 for 13 and we still won? Turns out that doesn't work against the Giants. Ashley Madison Bumsteadgarner dominated the Dodgers, with Kemp, Hanley and Ethier combining to go 1 for 12. That "1" was a solo Hanley homer in the ninth, but it was too little, too late.

So who did show up tonight? Exactly two Dodgers: Luis Cruz (2 for 3) and Clayton Kershaw. Once again, Kershaw deserved better, going eight strong with 10 Ks and making a spectacular but scary diving catch in the third inning:

Back to second place. We do it again tomorrow as Blanton takes on Lincecum. Melky who?

photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Post-Game 122 Thread: Sunday Bloody Sun-Day

A glimpse into Jason Heyward's nightmares tonight.

DODGERS 5, BRAVES 0

Today's game had the earmarks of a Dodgers performance you'd like to forget: Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier combined to go 0 for 13, and the Dodgers stranded eight men, leaving the bases loaded in the third and eighth innings.

But! The Dodgers got contributions from other parts of the lineup:

• Chad Billingsley continued to go all BEARD MODE, pitching seven innings of three-hit, scoreless ball. He's won a career-high six straight and is acting like that dependable Number Two everyone's been expecting him to be.
  
• The bottom third of the order killed it, going 7 for 10, led by a clutch solo homer in the fifth by Luis Cruz, who's now homered in consecutive games. As for his leg: "Cruz had a cramp and expects to play Monday," tweets Ken Gurnick.
  
• In the eighth, interim manager Trey Hillman (2-0) called a ballsy hit-and-run play with Juan Uribe (!) at first and Shane Victorino at the plate. Uribe eventually scored, thanks to Jason Heyward (see below).
  
• After wasting earlier opportunities, Mark Ellis finally broke the game open with a bases-clearing double in the ninth.
  
• Heyward lost not one, but two high fly balls in the sun, both times eventually leading to Dodgers runs.

Can you imagine what would happen if everybody showed up on the same day? Hopefully we'll find out what that's like during the upcoming stretch run. Dodgers complete a successful 7-3 road trip (their third this season) and return to Dodger Stadium tomorrow locked and loaded to take on the Giants!