Bad Ohman!

Frustrating loss, though the Blue made a game of it. They didn't have the fight that they did last night. Carlos Zambrano's slider had the break one usually sees only in video games. Looks like the real Carlos Zambrano stood up and took the mound for the first time this season. Martin looked completely over-matched, but did manage a walk. Chad Billingsley pitching well in relief combined with another so-so Hendrickson performance has me thinking Chad may have won a rotation spot. Betemit hit a bomb that served as a whimper of protest and at least prevents the indignity of a shutout. They built up a little momentum which was killed with Kent's strikeout to Ohman. You can certainly question Little's move by pinch-hitting Kent for a guy that has a 4-6 record against the cubs' reliever. I did. But Kent is, as Vin would say, 'the butter and egg man'. He is the "clutch" guy, if you believe in that kind of stuff. Also, 6 at-bats is a small sample size, even for pitcher vs. hitter scenarios. So I'm not going to bemoan Little rolling the dice with taking a shot with the biggest gun in his holster, because that's what Kent was sitting on the bench at that particular time. It was entertaining to see Andy LaRoche log his first big league inning in left field. I imagined him pleading to himself for no balls to be hit his way. Better luck next time, Dodgers.

According to the Press Enterprise, Wilson Valdez cleared waivers and was sent outright to Vegas.

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Cubs Bullpen Bails Dodgers Out

What a game! Frustrating yet entertaining. The Blue Crew did have that 3 game losing streak, but besides that bad stretch they somehow seem to pull runs out of thin air to get the job done. Was entertaining to see Tony Abreu get his first big league hit. He had one great play with the off-balance barehanded pickup, but he balanced it out with a throwing error on a low bouncing throw to Nomar to extend the cubs big inning.
The bullpen got really rocked tonight. Glad to see the offense picking them up though. This team's emotional mojo reminds me of how I felt watching the 1988 season. You just kind of knew somehow the Dodgers would win. Great to see Little encourage Broxton and get him to crack a smile as he was giving him the hook. Hopefully the relievers put this bad night out of their heads and move along.
You'd think the cubs would have a heck of a lot better record considering the offense they've put together. With Lee, Soriano, and A-Ram, they've got a lot of power and with Mark DeRosa they've got a guy that seems to be playing over his head, but somehow it's not translating into a lot of wins. Baseball's like the Forrest Gump box of chocolates...never know what you're gonna get.
Still nothing on the fate of Wilson Valdez. I wants to know, my preciooousss! Perhaps it will be announced tomorrow afternoon. That's it for tonight. I'm out. Be sure to revel in the crazy win by the Blue and the beginning of a new weekend.

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Bobbleheaded Dodgers

Since yesterday was an off day and I blog a day behind and I don't want to bore myself with another post kissing Russell Martin's behind, I figured I'd make some content by dragging bobble-heads from their closeted boxes, laying them on a free Dodgers blanket and having at them with a digital camera. Why is Greg Maddux wearing a strange red uniform? The answer is he is dressed up in his high school uniform. You can't see the seat section colors in this picture but they are the old primary colors instead of the current pastel. No Unocal logo either, sorry. I really should e-bay these things because I never look at them.

In other news, I didn't read too much on the Blue this morning but by my calculation today is judgment day for soon-to-be old friend, Wilson Valdez. Hopefully, the Dodgers cut a deal (only because I like the excitement of a trade no matter how insignificant) instead of him being claimed on waivers and riding off into the not-as-blue sunset.

Tonight's game should be a win. The Dodgers have a good record against sub .500 teams. In addition, the Dodgers have that nice home record. But, anything can happen in baseball. D-Lowe will be doing the pitching and hopefully Inside the Dodgers will post the lineup soon and maybe spell out the fate of Valdez a little early. Hopefully Juan Pierre sticks it to his old team tonight. I think he will.

As for all the Pierre loathing that goes on at I'm guessing a ton of blogs, it's just not my bag. Some things in life are just too easy to do and pointing out what is lacking in Pierre's game is one of them. I'm not going to use keystrokes belaboring the obvious. It's like arriving at home and making sure you let your significant other know you know she's gained 20 lbs and that she no longer looks attractive. It's not classy if you truly love the person (team). Even if done in the most supportive way possible, if you still point it out every day it's going to get counterproductive very quickly.

Even if you don't believe a word of what I said in the last paragraph believe this: If Pierre is miserable here because of all the negative press or as I guess he would put it a 'lack of appreciation' for his game, he will request out. The Dodgers most likely will oblige him as they don't want anyone that doesn't want to be a Dodger. Wherever he goes, Willis will sign. The year or 2 of Pierre will truly be for naught if that's the way things go down. If you don't like Pierre, then you don't like Dontrelle Willis.

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An Alternative Is Here!

I started this blog because I didn't feel I fit in at any of the other blogs around. I'm sure some other dodger fans probably feel the same out there. I'll be following the headlines and try to provide an unfiltered take on what is going on in Dodgerdom.

Lovelace a.k.a. Ned Colletti

This will last until I realize nobody cares but me, I can't keep up with it, the Dodgers frustrate me to the point that blogging about them is

loathsome, or I die. Whichever comes first.

With that out of the way let's talk what's new in Dodgerdom:

Tony, Toni, Etanislao?

Tony Abreu was called up yesterday by the Dodgers from Las Vegas because Grady Little thinks he's, "hot". Watch out, Tony! Don't give 'Ole Grady a cold shoulder. Anyways, he got his jitters out of the way by flubbing his first fielding chance and went on to play solidly on defense the rest of the way. Didn't get a hit, but I'm sure they'll come since he's 'hot' and all.


In all honesty, here's to a long and 'hot' career to the youngster. May we all (especially Vin) eventually forget that he spells his name in the D.R. with an 'I'. I'm rooting for you.

Second order of business is where are the chips going to fall for our friend, Wilson Valdez. Hopefully Lovelace can get something that pans out for him. I'm not pessimistic about it, but I'm also not holding my breath. We are talking about Wilson Valdez here.

So, take the Tony call up, sprinkle in a little Wilson Valdez waiver deadline, mix in a bunch of Andy LaRoche sitting on the bench last night, some already brewing newspaper rumors (which I'm not going to link to) about obtaining a third baseman with power, add just a touch of Tomko and Hendrickson finally turning back into pumpkins, and we may have ourselves some interesting roster moves-a-brewing.

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