http://www.yardbarker.com/content/team/15 Recent articles about the Los Angeles Dodgers en-us Despite the fact that Juan Pierre has had ample time as a Dodger (1026 Plate Appearances) to prove how worthless he is to the team, Joe Torre seems hell-bent on having him leadoff anyway. "'He doesn't give us the power that Kemp gives us, but he knows how to lead off,' Torre said of Pierre." Well that's just dandy then isn't it? If that... Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:01:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294783 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294783 **This is a special feature written by site contributor Alex Ubeda*** After the first half of the season last year, J.D. Drew was commonly known by Boston Red Sox fans as "Nancy Drew." He earned the nickname once Boston fans witnessed for themselves what the Cardinals, Braves, and Dodgers fans already knew — Drew is [...] Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:32:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294773 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294773 Fifty in-depth feature stories with huge photos and many with video of the hottest top prospects in baseball. Not your usual boring ranking system. Some very unconventional takes, but it has been more right on than the BA list because they take all of the factors of the player's movement, including depth chart, emotional and personal adjustment, etc. into account. A must read! Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:10:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294705 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294705 Swirling trade winds underlie the Texas Rangers' latest blowout defeat at the hands of the first-place Chicago White Sox. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:59:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294669 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294669 Overview-Coming into 2007, Elbert was looking to further establish himself as one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball. Unfortunately, he made only 3 starts at AA before he needed surgery on his labrum. The 2004 first rounder is now back pitching at AA, but... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:19:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294617 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294617 FoxSports senior baseball writer Ken Rosenthal is reporting that in addition to Colorado's Matt Holliday, the Phillies have inquired about right-handed hitting outfielders Xavier Nady and Matt Kemp. Beerleaguer: These are two of the National League's top five leaders in batting average on balls in play (BABIP), which measures the number of batted balls that fall safely for a hit, not including home runs. That's normally a red flag suggesting luck is involved, but the fact, is either one of... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:36:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294414 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294414 It seems as if no one in the NL West wants first place. It is truly sad when the Rangers would be in 1st place if after the All Star break if they were in the NL and they're only 4 games over .500. No NL West team is above .500 as of July 21, 2008. So what seems to be the problem? Could it be that most teams in both leagues are having difficulty winning on the road, a 2008 phenomenon? It's not that these teams lack talent, they're just not performing. The San Diego Padres have good pitching with Jake Peavy, Chris Young (before the injury), Greg Maddux and Randy Wolfe, but 40 year old Trevor Hoffman might just be showing his age despite having only 3 blown saves thus far. Their infield is OK with Adrian Gonzalez (1B) having another great year in a non-hitter friendly park, Khalil Greene at SS and Kevin Kouzmanoff is solid at 3B. Where they need help is at catcher (due to injury) and the OF. They're not even playing .500 baseball at home, let alone only having 15 road wins so far and their runs scored/against difference is a - 99. Geoff Young, author of the Padres blog "Ducksnorts", if you're reading this, what is your take on the situation that has plagued them so far this year? The San Francisco Giants started out well, but now find themselves close to the bottom of the division which is where most people expected them to be this year. Sorry Giant fans, but it's true. Now don't get too depressed, look on the bright side. You have two great young pitchers in Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum and if Barry Zito can learn to breathe out of his eyelids once again, he might round out one of the best starting three rotation in the major leagues. Your outfield is also in decent shape with Aaron Rowand in center, Randy Winn in right and the young speedster Fred Lewis in left. But your infield is a mess especially after Ray Durham was traded. Now you only have Rich Aurilia (1B/SS/3B) when he's healthy, but he's not the player he once was. As for your catcher, Benjie Molina, his better days are behind him although he is having a decent year. He still shouldn't be a cleanup hitter. That right there should tell you something! J It has recently been mentioned that manager Bruce Bochy has informed SS Omar Vizquel that his playing time will be reduced in the second half so that they can see what they have for young talent at the position. His glove work is still one of the best in the game, even in his 40's, but he's below the Mendoza line offensively. Can someone over at Bay City Ball or The Giants Baseball Blog shed some light on the direction their team is going towards. The Colorado Rockies have a potent line up when healthy, especially at Coors Field, but find themselves 7 games out of first place and smack dab in the middle of this division. What I see as a number one problem is the last of good solid pitching. They lost a few arms from the starting rotation and the bullpen from their trip to the World Series last year. They do still have their ace in Aaron Cook and their young gunslinger in Ubaldo Jimenez, but he is too inconsistent to be a number two starter in nasty Coors Field. In Coors park, you need a good pitching staff to survive, even with the Humidor. Young SS Troy Tulowitzki has been either slumping or hurt for most of the year so far (2 stints on the DL) and things have gotten so bad that there are rumors of trading set up man/closer Brian Fuentes and/or LF Matt Holliday who was once again an All Star and is even signed through 2009. They still have the speedy Willy Taveras in CF and Brad Hawpe, but even he is struggling as he always does against lefties. Then there's 3B Garrett Adtkins who is currently playing 1B for the injured Todd Helton (back woes). Their runs scored, by no surprise is the best in the division, but it is dwarfed by their division high runs allowed which leaves them with a negative split (-75) that is worse than the SF Giants. This might be a stretch, but I think this stat tells a lot. Maybe someone over at Purple Row can elaborate more on the state of the Rockies for us. We're all eyes and ears! The Los Angeles Dodgers have a new manager this year and with him comes a wealth of knowledge about how to win at this game. As you all know, it's the well respected Joe Torre, formally the manager of the NY Yankees for the previous 12 seasons. They host the lowest runs against total in the division at 405 and that's with # 1 starter Brad Penny, RP Scott Proctor, SP Jason Schmidt and closer Takashi Saito on the DL for the better parts of this year. Starters Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and especially their rookie from Japan, Hiroki Kuroda have held the fort so far this year. They have gone to the youth movement for most of the year, a smart move if you ask me, with James Loney at 1B, Blake DeWitt at 3B with Matt Kemp and Andre Either in the OF to go along with fellow outfielders Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones, who currently just came off the DL and has been disappointing when healthy. SS Rafael Furcal started off hot as a firecracker, but landed on the DL not too long into the season and is now out for the year with a back injury. Nomar Garciaparra is now back at SS at least until they find a replacement. Nomar just isn't the same player he was in Boston. His fielding and power have both gone south due to various injuries. Both Jeff Kent (2B) and Russell Martin (C) are having typical years for the Dodgers. In Martin's case, that means an All Star performance yet again while also filling in at 3B (the position he was drafted in) for a few games due to injuries to DeWitt and Nomar. Typical set up man Jonathan Broxton has also been his typical good self even when called upon to close when Saito's been hurt or on the DL. What insight can Dodger Thoughts, from the baseball toaster add to this discussion? The Arizona Diamondbacks are also going young and were lights out to start the year, but soon fizzled out come May and have continued to do so thus far into July, too. As an example, the injury to Eric Brynes not only slowed him down and kept him from stealing bases, but he is now lost for most, if not all of the season. This has forced them to switch 1B Conor Jackson to LF duties and now rookie RF Justin Upton is also on the DL (oblique) as of the 19th. Upton's injury has placed utility man Chris Burke into a starting role in RF. The pitching has been very good most of the time with starters Brandon Webb, newly acquired during the off season Dan Haren, Doug Davis (even after his short cancer scare), Micah Owings and 45 year old Randy Johnson. Owings started off red hot, but has recently cooled off considerably in the past month or so due to control issues and the like. Their relief pitchers are highlighted by Set up man Tony Pena (who might close some day), Chad Qualls, Doug Slaten and current closer Brandon Lyon. The remaining infielders aren't too shabby either with Orlando Hudson at 2B, Stephen Drew (J.D.'s little brother) at SS and Mark Reynolds at 3B with Chad Tracy back from injury playing 1B, but will now be platooning with recently re-aquired 1B Tony Clark and Chris Snyder behind the plate. Anything to add from the desert on behalf of their team from either AZ Snakepit or MVN's Out in the Desert? This is really a two team race right now unless something drastic happens between the two teams who are currently tied for first, but are both still under .500; the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks. Joe Torre is an advantage for the Dodgers, but I still like the talent on the Diamondbacks to take this division. NL WEST W L PCT GB HOME PCT ROAD PCT RS RA DIFF Arizona 49 50 .495 - 29-21 .580 20-29 .408 437 432 5 LA Dodgers 49 50 .495 - 25-24 .510 24-26 .480 422 405 17 Colorado 43 58 .426 7 29-22 .569 14-36 .280 457 532 -75 San Francisco 40 58 .408 8.5 17-31 .354 23-27 .460 392 464 -72 San Diego 38 62 .380 11.5 23-30 .434 15-32 .319 376 475 -99 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:59:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294281 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294281 Screaming Sports' Andrew Thibodeau breaks out the MLB Waiver Wire and runs downs a list of five potential fantasy studs. If you're looking for that extra edge this week and beyond, then this gem is for you. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:26:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294229 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294229 As the start of the second half of the Major League Baseball season is only five days old, several teams have pulled close to their division rivals. But as history tells us, most teams will fade as the season ends...which team will that be? As we start in the American League, two of the three division races are tighter than Joan River's face and damn near as frightening. www.rawsportsblog.com Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:46:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293970 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293970 The All-Star break was last week, but several players are finally getting back to work. Troy Percival and J.J. Putz came off the disabled list over the weekend while other closers are having their own injury issues. And what does the presence of Ray Durham in Milwaukee mean for Rickie Weeks? Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:56:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293920 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293920 The Roster Doctor goes back to his buy-low, sell-high article that used Defensive Efficiency Ratio (DER) to try and identify some buy-low and sell-high pitchers. The DER measures how many balls hit into play that were turned into outs, and like BABIP, can be a useful tool to identify unlucky pitchers. But it is only one of many tools, as the Roster Doctor painfully discovers. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:24:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293902 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293902 Everyone please stand up. OK. Now - put your hands together and start clapping. Why are you clapping? Because Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has finally arrived for the 2008 season. Last night - Tulo went 5-for-5 at the plate........ Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:49:16 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293726 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293726 And so the momentum died less than 1/2 inning into Monday's divisional battle with the Dodgers. Cause of Death: Kip Wells Double Wild Pitch Double Single Single Single Strikeout (Andruw Jones, duh) Walk Single Error Double I don't think anyone visualized Wells as a savior or stablizing force in the starting rotation, but Jiminy Christmas, Kip — what the hell was that? Clint Hurdle diagnoses the situation. I would say [...] Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:06:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293711 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293711 Yeah, it was probably just a lucky guess, but Kershaw is getting called up as I predicted earlier. "Clayton Kershaw will be promoted to start Tuesday night's game against the Rockies, part of what could be a busy 10 days of Dodgers roster moves leading up to the Trade Deadline. This time, said Torre, he expects Kershaw to stay in the starting rotation, perhaps for a decade or so if expert predications are accurate. When at full strength, the current rotation also would include Hiroki Kuroda, Chad Billingsley, Derek Lowe and Brad Penny, who might be ready to come off the disabled list in early August." Nobody knows for sure who is going to be sent down to make room for Kershaw, but there are rumors that... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:48:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293661 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293661 The most talked about man in Cleveland sports these days spells his name incorrectly. But he is swinging a hot bat, and many Tribe fans are having second thoughts about their earlier call for a trade of shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Should the Tribe trade their hottest hitter and the A.L. home run leader among shortstops? Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:43:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293551 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293551