I'm talking about Chad Billingsley, Edwin Jackson, and Duaner Sanchez. And if Ketchner gets back maybe give him a few spot starts in September after we have clinched the west.

Our pitching staff is decent but if we can find a gem in one of them then we at least know who will fill our SP void when Weaver undoubtedly gets let go after the year and insurance in case Penny decides to find greener pastures. I would rather NOT sign a big name SP especially considering that no one really sticks out on next year's FA list.

Does anyone know why Saenz wasn't playing 3B yesterday because he normally plays 3B with Penny on the mound since he's a flyball pitcher. I can't wait til we see Saenz the DH, he's one of our best hitters right now and can't afford to not have him in the line-up.

I would suggest waiting until the end of July and see how we are faring... after sub-500 May and June last year we went 21-7 in July. I good July acquisition would help.

Unfortunately, I'm not getting to see or hear the Freeway Series at all and have had no time to follow the boxscores, but I agree with Brian Y: let's kick the Erickson habit and try some of the youngsters. I would argue, however, that our starting pitching has not been decent as evidence by being 13th in the NL in pitching with an ERA of 4.79.

Fortunately, 14th and 16th place are held by SF and CO respectively.

May 22, 1956

Coming off their first ever World Series championship, the Brooklyn Dodgers started out the 1956 season shakily. They fell into fourth place in the National League with a 16-12 record after dropping a 7-3 game to the Milwaukee Braves at Ebbets Field. The Braves got home runs from Henry Aaron, Eddie Matthews, and Johnny Logan to give Bob Buhl his third win of the season.

Carl Erskine took the loss for the Dodgers. Three relievers finished the game for the Dodgers after Erskine left in the 6th. Clem Labine, Ed Roebuck and Sandy Koufax finished up. Starting pitcher Don Newcombe pinch hit for Roebuck and drew a walk and manager Walter Alston sent rookie pitcher Don Drysdale in to run for him.

Sandy Amoros homered for the Dodgers in the 8th, but the game had long gotten away from the Dodgers. In the third inning, the Braves threw out two Dodger runners at the plate trying to score.

The 1956 Dodgers had a successful, yet tumultuous season. The Dodgers played part of their home schedule at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City amid rumors that the team might move. Milwaukee and Brooklyn battled for first place all season. The Dodgers won their last three games of the year against Pittsburgh while the Braves lost 2 of 3 to fourth place St. Louis. But in the World Series, the Yankees, thanks in part to one Don Larsen, prevailed in seven games to avenge their defeat from the year before.

The Dodgers received another big year from center fielder Duke Snider who led the NL in home runs (43), walks (99), OBP (.399) and SLG (.598). Newcombe went 27-7 with a 3.06 ERA. Former Brooklyn nemesis Sal Maglie was picked up by the Dodgers in May and he went 13-5 with a 2.87 ERA. The ill-fated Ralph Branca came back to pitch one game for the Dodgers on September 7 to end his career.

Aging problems were starting to show in the Dodgers despite the championship. Roy Campanella (34) batted .219. Jackie Robinson (37) played in only 117 games and Alston kept moving him throughout the lineup and on the playing field. Pee Wee Reese (38) batted .257.

Thanks to the New York Times, BaseballReference.com and Retrosheet

I know this virus eventually dies down, and we'll start winning again. I like the Dodgers' situation better than the Giants'.

One way I've seen the Dodgers and other teams break out of slumps is when a pitcher, perhaps unexpectedly, peels off some great wins. Sometimes it's a rookie--Bob Welch in '78, Fernando in '80. Sometimes it's a veteran--Alvarez in '03 comes to mind. If I were DePodesta right now, I would try this: Release Erickson, and tell Tracy to give one of the young pitchers mentioned above a start. They couldn't do worse, and they might rise to the occasion. Position it as a vote of confidence in the organization. If it works, the funk could end.

SS Cesar Izturis
2B Antonio Perez
1B Hee Seop Choi
CF Milton Bradley
RF J.D. Drew
3B Olmedo Saenz
LF Ricky Ledee
C Jason Phillips

Also, like Bri-Y, I'm having the same eye-brow elevation issues over Tracy's moves. In the past, Tracy's incompetence was saved by the roster. He had a rotation of 7-inning starters, which led to no-brainer bullpen decisions. He had a solid defensive team with a weak bench, which left little room for second guessing on pinch hitting. In short, he rarely had to make a tough call. This year's team however, requires much more finesse. At least so far, Tracy has shown that, in this regard, he lacks the necessities.

Does anyone know if there's a statisical comparison of mid-season callups vs rookie years? Any trends, or the such?

I think there are many more who start in mid-season, especially if you count players who start as September callups.

But what should we use to describe the other side when someone has stepped his game up to a new level of prominence?

I offer "mastered his domain," a nod to the classic Seinfeld self-satisfaction episode, to describe that point when someone/thing arrives.

With this in mind, I've been pondering this the past few days: Has Cesar Izturis "mastered his domain?" I believe that he has. I also believe that Bradley has as well (although he is always one outburst away from riding his Harley over the shark tank).

I am interesting in hearing other Dodgerthoughts devotees' critiques on both "mastered his domain" as an expression and the players I believe have done so.

And my point,which I did not make so clear, was that instead of trading closers, I think DePo will trade set up men. And instead of saying overrated, I should have said overvalued.

"It's so wrong to laugh at that topic, but I couldn't help it!"

For me I would apply "Master of one's domain" to baseball if a player has overcome a habit that is bad (I'm trying to be oblique here, so we don't turn this into a non-family rated discussion.)

Last year, Adrian Beltre was master of his domain because he stopped swinging at curve balls in the dirt and went the other way. This year, after about two weeks in Seattle, he walked in Mike Hargrove's office, took $100 out, slapped it on the manager's desk and said "I'm out!"

I think Bradley is "Master of his Domain" in that his bad habit was his temper. I'm just very impressed with the way he handles himself. I don't think this is necessarily some sort of psychological miracle. There are several hockey players who have gone from being a goon with a lot of penalty minutes to being a valuable scorer (like Stan Mikita). I think it's possible that an athlete needs to mature a little and realize just what he can do if he doesn't get angry all the time.

I also wanted to keep it PG, which is why I decided not to go with my original expression: "played chess with his unit," which for me at least was the episode were Seinfeld "arrived."

My original intent was more to describe the point where a player has established himself, but I like your usage of it.

Hopefully Beltre got his C note back after the bomb he hit yesterday.

I think she might have drawn the line on that one.

Strangely, my mother found the Swedish film "My Life as a Dog" morally repulsive.

Albert Pujols has singled in 2 to cut the deficit.

Perhaps Scioscia just wrote out the pitcher's full name in the 8 and 9 slot.

Drew bats 2nd and Choi bats 3rd today. Perez gets another start and bats 8th.
All the other usual suspects in the same place with Ledee being the LF du jour.

So, would it be too much of a shock to everybody's system if, like, we actually won a game today? You know, for old times sake?

The key take away for me from reading the comments is that I am now sold on re-thinking the use of the "closer." I'm all for making them fireman again, extinguishing dangerous hot spots at the most crucial point, even if it is not at the end of the gam. For me, the 7th inning on should be fair game. I agree that Gagne should have been used to douse yesterday's 8th inning flame.

Don't you think if the next manager came to him and said, "Gagne I am going to change the way I use you. I want you in the game at the most crucial late inning situation. It may come in the 7th, perhaps in the 8th, but not always in the 9th. In short, I want you on the mound when the threat to the team is the greatest. So, if in the 8th inning, the opponent's 3-4-5 batters are coming up, I might use you there instead of in the 9th. Or, I might throw you with a couple of runnings on base in the 7th with Kleslo and Nevin coming up. Either way, I want you to know that you are my most valuable reliever."

I would like to believe that Gagne would be ok with this. I would like to think that he is not obsessed with saves, and that he would be willing to do what's best for the team, even with Scott Boras as his agent.

Feel free to tell me how naive I am.

At 5:00am in Tokyo, the sun was doing what it is famous for in the land of the rising sun, and my ability to stay awake had just about jumped the shark, especially after hearing Charlie Steiner tell me that the Dodgers have won just 10 of the last 28 games and that their starting* 3rd basemen have 1 homerun.

Then, Vin wished me, "A pleasant Sunday to you, wherever you may be" and I can't bring myself to shut down my computer.

*One of Valentin's long flies came as a PH.

Woo hoo!

JiT: You're naive. Not because of your pitching ideas, but because you attributed "jump the shark" to the Sports Guy, Bill Simmons. Actually, probably not naive. Probably just young. No offense intended.

This is a reference to a "Happy Days" episode in which the gang goes to LA, and Fonzie water-skis and literally jumps a shark on a dare. This became a metaphor for when a series goes south, having run out of plot ideas. Ironically, "Happy Days," which certainly did suck by that point, went on to another 100+ episodes after that one, which says more about the state of TV in those days than anything else.

So Alvarez will take Perez's next start? OK for now.

The Dodgers have to be able to score more than 1 run today. It's Paul Byrd out there!

Paul Byrd!

Paul Byrd!

If it wasn't for Mike Scioscia, we could have just forfeited these games. What a buffoon.

"It's Paul Byrd out there!

Paul Byrd!

Paul Byrd!"

But it was against the Astros, so I don't think that counts for as much.

The positive and negative Olneys cancel each other out.

Nick - I think the hope is just that shaking things up will somehow lead to different results. But studies have shown that batting order doesn't matter much if at all. Now, if you move a guy from leadoff to 8th, then he'll get 3-4 fewer PAs per week, which might matter a little.

So far, the Drew-Choi swap seems to have hurt Choi (and Izzy!) as much as it's helped Drew.

Please hold all future Derrick Turnbow career-turnaround articles for someone who really deserves them.

Sincerely,

The Management

I'll admit I just hopped on and found it more fun to figure out what's happened in the game by reading these comments than by checking gamecast.

The Dodgers got a lot of hits in 1962.

Then Carlos Delgado came up with Lo Duca on...

I figure Kent will turn it around against SF starting Tuesday.

118 -- I don't grade on a curve.

I am not sure that walking Borders once merits a GP. But doing twice does.

Hey guys. Don't get in a hurry or anything. Still plenty of baseball left. Let's see if we can make this at least a six pitch inning.

That was the inning that the starters have not been able to get out of for the past month...

Knock on wood

But the Angels will have the "heart of the order" up in the 8th: Kennedy, Erstad and Anderson.

Well, some part has to be the heart.

Still just 3 singles off of Sele for San Diego.

Arizona-Detroit 0-0 going to the bottom of the 7th.

coach: what's going on? that was oscar freaking robles!
gregg: oh THAT was robles? i thought that was antonio perez!
coach: perez just flied out!
gregg: oh wow! i got perez to fly out!

Woods is the only lefty in the Angels pen. I think Choi will get to hit off of him regardless of the situation.

he'll come through here though.

Hopefully, that was just poetic license. Expecting any team to score 7-8 runs per game, especially one playing in Dodger Stadium, is a bit much. But the general point is right. This team should be higher in league tables on offense than on defense/pitching. And guess what? They are. Lead the NL in OBP.

Nice AB Hee Seop. Too bad it didn't work out.

And they finished in second place.

The really good offensive teams the last few years (Red Sox and Yankees mainly) have been putting up R/G close to 6, but not over 6.

1. Choi hits against a LHP with RISP.
2. Drew and Choi are swapped in the lineup.
3. Tracy doesn't leave his starter in too long.
4. Perez seems to be the everyday 3bman.
5. Brazoban is first guy out of pen.

There might be some hope for Tracy after all.

You're gonna pinch hit for Brazoban IF his turn comes up whether he's in the 8 or 9 hole. Weird.

And in other news, 2 RBI for Drew, on cheap hits. His luck might be turning....

He wants Perez to leave the game in a position to succeed.

If they score 10, then it's Houlton Time!

Of course, that's what we do here :)

"DT: Reading too much into it."

Might as well see how he does.

Brazoban and Perez/Valentin
or a trade (Brazoban and a 3B prospect) that gives us
Sanchez/Carrara as the 8th inning guy and a "name" 3B?

The best third baseman in Southern California is Sean Burroughs.

Pretty much by default.

He was ahead of it for the first six games!

I just checked my cat.

She is not sleeping with a dog.

The offense works better when (1) Drew gets a couple RBIs and (2) they get 2 HR and 6-7 hits from the 6-7-8 spots. Duh.

I'm looking forward to a Penny-Reuter matchup Thursday.

Quick game - less than 2:30, I think.

How is that... possible?

I really like Antonio Perez...looks like a real good ballplayer, and for the first time this season, I feel comfortable with our 3rd baseman...if he is for real, it will help alot this season

and the Pads seem to be coming back to earth..losing 2 in a row to the Mariners...maybe all isn't lost yet, after all...

Ha! Maybe Jim Tracy's comments can be turned into a book of poetry, like Rumsfeld's were. ("Pieces of Intelligence : The Existential Poetry of Donald H. Rumsfeld")

As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

The pitching is still the problem and with Perez going on the DL, for what and how long i am not sure and Weaver complaining it strikes me that a fresh arm is needed and Pat Mahomes wouldn't be terrible. Unfortuantely I begining to think that Jackson is about shot he gave up at least 5 earned runs last night and was also ejected. While not knowing what he is throwing, any confidence he once had seems to be lost. I sure would like to see him get a shot again.

This points out the unfairness of the interleague schedule. We get home and home against the Angels, which, though injured, are probably the second or third strongest LA team, while the Giants get to make merry with the A's, who can't seem to catch or the ball.

Jon, Depo and Billy Beane got together for lunch in your old stomping grounds in Palo Alto to watch college baseball and then to hang out. Beane was interviewed on KNBR. My question is was more discussed. Zito is sorta struggling and the A's are also in need of another lefty in the bullpen. If the A's continue to go south, is he the answer. You have been absolutely correct that the real culprit in the current Dodger slide is not been the hitting it has been consistant pitching. I do not know if Zito can be the answer and wonder how much we would have to give up. I just think that if we wait too long given the rotation turmoil, it maybe too difficult.