CHANGES?...

It's loud, and clear. The Dodgers need pitching help. The Irony is that coming into the season, that was the strength of the ballclub. But, with injuries to Jason Schmidt, Hong-Chih Kuo, Yhency Brazoban, Randy Wolf, and Chin-Hui Tsao, the Dodgers have been forced to trot out guys like Eric Hull, D.J. Houlton, Eric Stultz, and Ramon Hernandez. You don't win Championships when your relying on these type of players. Not to mention the fact that Bret Tomko, and Mark Hendrickson are back in the starting rotation, and Brad Penny, and Derek Lowe have had an injury scare recently. It's obvious that they need help, but it's not obvious on where they are going to get it. Right now, we hear that the Dodgers are in the running for Octavio Dotel, Scott Proctor, and I even heard that they are looking at bringing in Troy Percival. All of these names don't do anything for me. I guess they might help solidify the bullpen, but they still need help. They need a starting pitcher. The guys out there are either going to cost the farm, or are just awful. I read a rumor that Ned Colletti is talking to the Oakland A's about bringing Joe Blanton to Los Angeles. I like the idea, but Billy Beane is asking for Andy LaRoche, Tony Abreu, Chin-Lung Hu, and John Meloan. This is outrageous. If this move winds up being made, I'm turning in my Dodger fan badge. We will have to wait and see what happens. I'm just hoping Wilson Betemit gets traded.


BELIEVE IN BLUE!

SO FAR, SO GOOD...

We have reached the half way mark in the 2007 season. At this point, I'm semi pleased with the play of the team. The Dodgers sit at second place behind the San Diego Padres by one game. There have been many positives to talk about this Dodger team. One huge positive has been Brad Penny. Penny has gone 10-1, and has kept his ERA in the low 2's all season long. Although I'm still not sold on Penny, he is showing that this is a different Brad Penny. One who is relying more on his defense, rather than trying to strike every batter out. Hopefully the old Penny does not show up. If he continues, I see no reason why he can't win the Cy Young Award.

You can't talk Dodger positives without mentioning Russell Martin. The "speed limit" has simply been amazing. He has been the driving force behind the Dodgers offense. I am concerned with the amount of games played that Grady Little has ran him out there. I really don't want Russell to wear out like Captain Red Ass himself (Paul Lo Duca) used to every second half.

As for disappointments, how about Jason Schmidt. The supposed Ace on the staff only made it out to the mound five times. Nice investment. I wont dwell on Schmidt too much, I don't want to go into a heavy depression. Other disappointments include Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent, and the black hole at third base. If Nomar, and Kent could only step up their game, this team will take off. But, at this point that's a big if.

Lets pick it up in the second half. We open up at San Francisco on Friday. Hopefully the boys are ready to play.


BELIEVE IN BLUE!