Responding to D4P's one Series win every 30 years is good.

But, one playoff win in 19 years is quite bad. Only three teams that have existed for that long have done worse, and the Dodgers are tied with Texas and Colorado in that level of futility.

For those who are into the HP series this article by Rany of BP is classic
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=453

If you can't read it here is one blurb that Dodger fans and HP fans will surely enjoy.

"Odalis Perez = Peter Pettigrew
Pettigrew convinced everyone he was dead, then ingratiated himself into the Weasley household as an ordinary pet rat before his true colors as a Death Eater were exposed. Perez convinced everyone in LA his career was dead, then ingratiated himself into the Royals rotation as an ordinary veteran innings sponge. As his ERA approaches six, it is becoming harder and harder for him to escape detection as someone working for the Dark Lord."

The Dodgers' next three off-days are 7/30, 8/6 and 8/20. The schedule is not providing much relief either in the near future.

But, one playoff win in 19 years is quite bad

Agreed. The Dodgers's post-season performance since 1988 has been pathetic.

"Reading on, you'll see a chart that shows that Dodger relievers have averaged 66.4 pitchers per day since the All-Star break."

I know that's a typo, but it sure does seem like we have used 66 pitchERs per game since the All-Star break.

Dodgers notebook: Kemp presses for full-time job

>>> Matt Kemp's torrid second-half start could mean the 22-year-old becomes more of a mainstay in Manager Grady Little's lineup. <<<

### Little said he resisted the temptation of using Lowe longer Sunday because "we need him much more for six or seven innings on Wednesday." ###

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/articles/8655337.html

If Saito does end up DLed, having last pitched on the 18th, he misses the Houston (42-56) / Colorado (49-49) road trip and the Giants (41-55) series. If he has to rest the arm, that might not be the worst stretch of games for it.

If Saito goes on the DL, Meloan has to come up, right? What else could the team do? They wouldn't place Eric Hull into any high leverage situations, would they?

I'm finally back in front of a computer since Dodger Thoughts day, but I just wanted to say thanks to Jon and everyone that was there, I had a blast. BryanF and I actually went to high school together, so it was very odd walking up to the meeting point and seeing him there. Small world.

I am the one who asked about the statue, and I have to say when McCourt said he thought it should be of the fans, I started laughing until I realized he wasn't joking. I was a little embarrassed about that.

Overall a great time and the pictures look great!

5 - LOL. I'll fix, thanks.

8 - Betemit or Abreu for Dotel?

@ thebiggrabowski

dude, I heard you laughing at McCourt. I thought he was kidding to though, funny!

oh and thanks for getting me hooked on the dugout.... funny.

8-Yes, Meloan will almost certainly get the call. It's cool that he might make his debut in his hometown, too.

I just wish he hadn't given up a solo HR yesterday.

11 I'm trying to block out that possibility.

12 I couldn't help it. It just came out, and then I realized no one else was laughing. Awk-ward.

Oh the dugout is amazing, along with Dodger Thoughts, I check it everyday.

14 - I'd probably do Abreu for Dotel, possibly Hu for Dotel (how long is Saito out for?), but not Betemit for Dotel.

I'd be content to get Dotel, while keeping the future LaRoche-Hu-Betemit-Loney infield intact.

If Betemit can play a good 2nd base I'd do an Abreu for Dotel + someone else.

17 - I bet KC would give you Angel Berroa, but only if you promised to give him a good home and walk him every day.

Since Dotel would possibly leave via Free Agency after this season what type of draft pick compensation does he look like?

12,15 Yeah, statues of the fans is a terrible idea.

It turns out I've seen the dugout before (http://tinyurl.com/3y4xc6) but now I will check it every day. :)

If there is to be a statue of a fan, I'd nominate Alyssa Milano. ;)

Statues must be approached with caution. Done wrongly, they can curse entire franchises:

http://blogging.la/archives/2004/03/wayne_gretzky_must_die.phtml

Kemp-for-Ian Snell rumors have begun to surface.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6485

What we don't need to do: trade anybody for Octavio Dotel. If ever there were somebody who is not the answer to the Dodgers' problems, it would seem to be Dotel (or maybe Roberto Hernandez?). We have answers within the organization and we need to call up Meloan now to make sure that we don't need to make a move. However, if we are going to make a move, I'd rather get a mediocre starter/"innings eater" than a reliever. See previous comment about most relievers being inconsistent and unreliable".

22
Ian Snell? He's from Delaware.

Delino Deshields was from Delware.

I would trade Ethier for Snell. I'm a big fan. Pittsburgh could use a few things we have. If they are willing to deal Snell I think we could match up.

21 So, there's a sort of limitation of statues? {duck}

19 That's a really good question - was just wondering that myself. If the Dodgers could also get a high draft pick out of it, I could see added benefit. Otherwise, the prospect of having nothing to show for a trade doesn't appeal to me. I know Dotel doesn't appeal to A's or Yankees fans, either, but he's been good otherwise, especially if he's not asked to be a closer.

I am a faithful Dodger fan, not really into technicalities and terms of baseball, I love the sport and even more the team, after seeing Loney drop that ball off his glove, I ask, can Dodger management please make it a requirement for all outfielders to wear sunglasses during day games? I'm in the Marine Corps, outfielders without shades is like our commanders sending us on a night mission without NVG's (night vision goggles).

We really need to get Meloan and/or Hull up as soon as possible to get their feet wet, and see what they can do over the course of a few games - as opposed to a one-game trial - before we do anything rash at the deadline. It's imperative.

(But I agree with Bryan above, I'd rather the Dodgers just give guys like Hull and Meloan a chance - they're cheap, they're ours, and they wouldn't cost us anybody in a trade.)

I like Ian Snell, too. I don't like the idea of trading Ethier though, because after this year who else do we have to man the outfield besides Kemp and Pierre? I guess they could resign Gonzo for one more year but... I'd rather have Ethier. Can't we trade them like Hu or Abreu and some scrappy veteran instead?

BHSportsguy (Los Angeles): Hi Kevin: Are you hearing anything about Kyle Blair, have not heard anything since the draft, second question, has Hu emerged as the biggest surprise this year for the Dodger's farm system?

Kevin Goldstein: Hu has been a big surprise, but I might call James McDonald the biggest surprise. Totally off the radar going into the year, but great numbers and equeally impressive scouting report. Blair is going to need somewhere around a million dollars to sign, and with the down signing bonuses this year, will the Dodgers try to go for it?

My followup would be, if teams knew that Blair wanted 1st round money to sign, why wouldn't they pick him there.

Logan White did it once with LaRoche, a million would be a lot over slot but given that you can never have enough pithcers, if they can sign him, would you pay it?

28 - If Saito is out for any significant length, I think that makes LA a lot more desperate for Dotel. LA could add Meloan to go along with Seanez, Broxton, and Saito. But if Saito is going to have to sit out for a few weeks, you may have to go outside the organization.

But you're right, first things first, get Meloan up here right now!

Relief pitchers with lousy peripherals are inconsistent and unreliable. Relief pitchers with solid peripherals aren't nearly so shakey. The idea is the same, get someone with a solid skill set not someone skating by because of lucky strand rates.

26 FWIW, I liked Dotel when he was in Oakland. His struggles were mostly just before he needed to go under the knife.

32
I've been trying to figure out whether Dotel's peripherals are good or bad.

The good/decent:

11.14 K/9
2.60 BB/K
1.42 G/F
1 HR/10.5 innings

The not so good:

1.48 WHIP

OT, but if you haven't read it, it's a good read: http://tinyurl.com/3ymjdx (linked to from FJM)

27 Rick Monday, is that you?

22 Wow, that's actually a somewhat reasonable rumor. Don't know if I'd do it given the lack of power in the organization, but it seems like a pretty reasonable offer.

32 Add in injury history though, and I'd rather not see Dotel in [Dodger] blue. I always liked him, but I just don't think it's a good trade for us right now.

34
They are good. The WHIP is inflated because of the high h% which is at 36% for 2007. He should be around 30% but he's not someone I'm interested in unless the price is cheaper then what's been bandied about. If it is D Young then I might consider the deal only because of the questions about Saito. He will do a fine job but I think Meloan can do the same thing, I'm just not sure I'd base my season on it so I can understand Ned looking for help given Saito's current health.
If Ned had confidence in Meloan he'd already be here so maybe with Saito's problems he will be forced to give him a shot and hopefully he'll prove that he is the guy and Ned can turn off his phone with the Royals unless Grienke's name comes up.

38 - I'm guessing from your post you'd rather trade D Young than Abreu?

I can't believe the Pirates are making Ian Snell available.

According to Cot's Baseball Contracts:
Ian Snell p
1 year/$0.408M (2007)
re-signed 3/07
1 year/$0.33M (2006), re-signed 3/06
drafted 2000 (26- )
ML service: 1.088

Snell is 25 years old and has improved every year. If I understand that service time part correctly, I think he won't even be arbitration-eligible this off season. I can't imagine the small-market Pirates trading this guy except for a very high price (talent and contract control), which I think Kemp is.

I like Snell, but only if Ned can swindle Dave Littlefield - not outside the realm of possibility I suppose.

i would LOVE to have greinke. i saw him pitch in oakland once. he has a 95MPH fastball and a 65MPH curveball. he made some hitters look absolutely silly. incredible talent.

26 "So, there's a sort of limitation of statues?"

I doff my cap to you, sir. Well played!

27 That was Kemp who dropped the ball to let in the tying run, not Loney

I wish wasn't so attached to our young players because Ian Snell is legit and would be awesome.

45
http://www.delawarebaseball.com/

Did you know that Scott Boras has his own set of coaches to train his clients? And this the teams that employ his clients don't like this?

I didn't know this. http://tinyurl.com/2crc8t

45 Plaschke would probably run him out of town, sadly. Between his "Snell doesn't do that" attitude towards the media and his recent death threat incident, he'd get eaten alive in LA.

45 - I can't trade Kemp for Snell. With Kemp's power and ability at age 22, I'm sorry, but that is just too rare for the Dodgers to give up. We have to find a different way to improve our starting pitching.

I feel like trading Kemp for Snell would be like trading a 22-year-old Vladimir Guerrero for someone who isn't Pedro Martinez ... know what I mean?

45 - You, of all people, posting this link? I suppose you think this is something out of the Universal Baseball Association.

49 I feel the same way. This could be a rare talent we're glimpsing, so I just cringe every time I see his name associated with a trade.

Not even Loney gives me the same response, although seeing his swing every day makes you realize why he's so highly regarded.

I cannot imagine Loney or Kemp being involved in any trade talks unless we get somebody very good in return who will be with us for a very long time. Yeah, I know, Josh already said as much but I like the answer so much I'm adopting it as my own.

What, you think I read this site for original ideas? I count on Jon, Bob, Greg, Icaros, Vishal... etc. to grant me the wisdom that impresses other friends and colleagues. I thought that was what the web was for.

Following the Dodgers is a funny thing. A year ago this time, we were all (or at least most of us) urging Neddy to throw in the towel at the trading deadline, with the team a good chunk of games out of playoff position. This year, the team is in the driver's seat, but doesn't look like they can close the deal as presently constituted. That is to say, without a miraculous recovery for at least three of Wolf, Kuo, Tsao, and Saito, I don't think this group will make the playoffs.

Now, having been chastened by last year's experience, I'm not going to say that Ned should chuck this hand, and work for the future. Even if last year had never happened, you've got to double down on a team in first place, don't you? I mean 1 or 2 decent, as opposed to world beating, pitchers ought to be enough.

The only thing the same, from last year to this, is that if the price for winning now is any of our top youngsters (and who's on that list is open to debate), I'm ready with the torches and pitchforks.

49 - Yeah that has a real Delino4Pedro feel to it. Kemp as the awesome prospect, but perhaps with a "fatal flaw" (Kemp's shaky OF play or plate discipline; Pedro's physical stature) that makes management doubt the breathtaking talent. Snell is the more established yet still young player that you can almost convince yourself will help your team more than the player going out the door.

So who is Jody Reed in this scenario?

I finally saw the Sheffield interview for RealSports.

Holy cow!

53 - Not that I need to explain this to you, but this is about when I break out my annual speech about "you're always trying to improve yourself, no matter what." Throwing in the towel had an unnecessary negative connotation. People need to understand that recognizing what your franchise building blocks are is not throwing in the towel.

55 The Sheffield / Andrea Kraemer back-and-forth about whether or not Sheffield took steroids almost made my head explode.

Jim tracey would love to get Olmedo, and he'd probably swoon to get Nomar who could probably hit cleanup for him. There's our offer.

54 Eric Gagne is Jody Reed, although the parallels kind of break down when you realize he took more money in Texas, plus he got the closer title.

54 I think everyone is forgetting all the great diving/sliding catches Kemp has made in the past three weeks and only remembering his recent gaffes. The gaffes are mental issues and the great plays are all sheer athleticism. One is here to stay, the other cant be permanent. At least I hope not.

47 - Not unbelievable, but quite remarkable. If the Dodgers never sign another Boras player, I would not complain. On the one hand it makes sense that an agent, with quite a bit invested in his stable, would want to ensure that his players were performing at the highest level. On the other hand, each team ought to be able to establish a specific team culture. What this does is create a team that exists outside of the context of what we all understand as Major League Baseball. Team Boras simply leases out its players to the different teams, dictating pitch counts and batting styles. Where does this end? I envision contracts wherein managers are told that such-and-such a player must bat either 4th or 5th in the lineup or throw only these three types of pitches. Unsettling.

54 The difference is that Delino was a player with several obvious flaws that would have been revealed if we had the data we have now 14 years ago.

Snell is a much better player than Delino ever was.

MLB.com has more on trade winds blowing:
http://tinyurl.com/2afcjx

Never mind what it says about the Dodgers, which isn't anything new to anyone here, but the part about the Giants had me scratching my head a bit:
"The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Giants could be interested in the White Sox' Mark Buehrle, who recently signed to a four-year extension. The Chronicle also mentioned Buehrle's teammate Jose Contreras, the Royals' Odalis Perez and Florida's Dontrelle Willis, assuming the Marlins decide to make Willis available. As far as hitte[r]s, Mark Teixeira's name continues to surface and he could be enough enticement for the Giants to give up left-hander Noah Lowry."

Huh. Are the Giants under some weird impression that they are still a contender this year? Shouldn't they be selling veterans, not acquiring them? Seems odd.

47 Amazing. Wow. Would anyone deal with a young player represented by Boras after reading this?

56 Let me put it this way, I did not, under last year's circumstances, like the idea of renting Greg Maddux, setting aside what we gave up. I was wrong about that.

60 - I can't say I've been impressed with Matt Kemp's OF play. He takes circuitous routes to balls, and has that one-handed grab. He obviously has tremendous speed and athleticism, but he gets bad jumps. And I've felt this way about him long before he dropped that ball yesterday, and I also don't feel that he shouldn't be allowed to play centerfield. But, the fact is, at this point in his career, he's a pretty poor outfielder. I just hope management doesn't make any knee-jerk decisions based on that. Focus on what he can do, not what he can't.

Three pitchers that Baseball Analysts (as of 7/18) say could make sense for the Dodgers (salaries in parentheses):

Roy Oswalt ($13 mil.)

Jose Contreras ($9 million)

Dontrelle Willis ($6.45 million)

Who do you give up? Do you give up anybody?

63 If I wanted to give Sabean the benefit of the doubt, I'd say he's bidding up the cost for players that his NL West competition actually needs. Not unlike is genius move is saddling us with 5 years of Juan Pierre. But yeah, otherwise I'd say those moves are implausible.

I would imagine we would have to give Texas their native sons back and then some. Meloan, Loney, Billingsley/Kershaw and maybe even someone else for Oswalt. There's no way they part with him unless they get a deal like that.

67 Why would the Astros trade Oswalt after signing him to a way below market extension? If he actually was available, I'd probably move anyone but Kemp or Bills.

I wouldn't give up anything of value for Contreras or the Train.

If we could get Ian Snell for Andre Ethier, I would have learn how to do cartwheels.

34. Dotel has an extremely high BABIP rate.
vr, Xei

69 Sounds about right - especially if you're a certain Dallas newspaper sports columnist. ;-) Oswalt won't be going anywhere.

I'd prefer taking a chance on Scott Olsen, but I don't think LA has the right pieces for a deal with the Marlins.

67 Jose Contreras is in decline for a reason; he's 35 - at least. Also his contract runs through '09. No, thank you.

Roy Oswalt: see 69 and 70. 'nuff said.

Dontrelle Willis: just how thorough is a pre-trade physical?

I'd approve a Kemp for Snell deal.

#1. Dodgers arent going to let Kemp play CF apparently---so his value as a corner OF'er is much lower.

#2. Snell's a young ace, no arm problems--. Snell's essentially IS, what we all hope Billingsley becomes.

Value wise--I think the Dodgers come out ahead in a Snell for Kemp deal. The team can find corner OF offense relatively easily in free agency. Young ace pitching---not so much.

69 Hah maybe I've been thoroughly brainwashed by that guy that I forgot the Astros have a 1B in Berkman. Switch Loney out with LaRoche.

ROSTER MOVE:

Stults down, Hull up

http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/baseball/dodgers/

"Jul. 21 : Snell likely will be fined by Major League Baseball for comments he made after Thursday's game toward a Colorado batter that he thought was stealing signs, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune Review."

Hey, he already fits in!

77

laroche went to CC in Texas so he's sort of a Native Son.

78 -

"Good job out there kid, go tell you're minor league buddies all about it."

78--Interesting, since Stults cant pitch for a few days they option him--meaning they cant bring him back for at least 10 days.

Just bring MeLoan up and be done with it.

66 I can't say I've been impressed with Matt Kemp's OF play. He takes circuitous routes to balls, and has that one-handed grab.

Is catching flies with one hand really that unusual? I'm probably wrong as always, but it seems to me it's the 2-handed catch that's rare.

I agree, though, that his routes need improvement. I think experience will go a long way on that.

83 I always thought catching the ball with two hands was a bad idea.

2 Fun read, thanks for the tip. In the unlikelihood that the D's wind up with Dotel, he shall henceforth be known as Cedric in my mind.

I'm probably the last person who was a DT Day to post this, but heartfelt thanks to Jon and BHSportsguy for organizing an outstanding event. Can we put in our requests for next year's session of "Meet the High-Profile Dodger Personality while the motion detector keeps going off?"

84 I know I've heard outfielders say the same thing, and I've seen at least a few drops on 2-handed catch attempts.

Greg Miller is listed as tonight's starter in Jacksonville. Happy Birthday Nomar!!

Vinny blames it all on Rico Carty. Not that I have the experience Vinny has but seems to me I've seen plenty of old clips where the outfielders caught the ball with one hand.

[52] i'm flattered to be included in such esteemed company.

i think unless we get an oswalt or something out of it, we should hold tight to our key building blocks.

Short of Meloan, I think bringing up Hull is the next best move they could make (or, possibly the best move at this moment). Hull's been very consistent at Vegas all year, numbers are particularly impressive given the PCL, and he deserves a chance. Next move should be to DFA Hernandez for Meloan, but we'll cross one bridge at a time.

74 Olsen could certainly be had fairly cheaply right now. They'd just have to give him a - no, not a physical - a mental before they brought him in. ;-)

Welcome back Mr. Hull.

Kemp may not turn out to be a glod glove outfielder, but considering his age and relative lack of experience he should be given some slack for the OJT or be sent to the minors for it. I vote to play him here.

53 That is to say, without a miraculous recovery for at least three of Wolf, Kuo, Tsao, and Saito, I don't think this group will make the playoffs.

I'm honestly just not convinced that San Diego will keep the pace. They have already seen corrections on the early successes of Gonzalez, Meredith and little Giles, among others. And can Young really continue to be THIS good?

Hmmm,