www.Dodgers.com - 2 New Articles, Chad Billingsley Accepts New Contract

Great WS Preview, Lago!

WORLD SERIES REPORT

MINNESOTA TWINS VS LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The run finally came to an end for the Dodgers, with the Twins winning the World Series 4-3.

The Dodgers opened up the series in superb fashion, Brad Penny and Derek Lowe notching good wins at home going 2-0 heading to Minnesota, but it was all down hill from there, the Dodgers lost all 3 games at the Twins and were on the verge of defeat however a strong dominating performance by Derek Lowe kept the dream alive, as the Dodgers won 2-0 in game 6.

Game 7 was put in the hands of Clayton Kershaw, nobody could understand what was going through this kid's head, the pressure would of been huge.

He pitched a strong performance however an early error and a poor performance from the batting, let the Twins take it all with a 3-0 victory.

Despite losing it all in the very last game the Dodgers come away from 2007 with an ambition.

With the youth the Dodgers put on the field, it shows just how dominant these players will become in the next few years.

Congratulations to the Minnesota Twins on the victory.

During the off-season we will keep you informed on everything!

So keep checking.

See you all in 2008!

[color=white][b]OFF SEASON REPORT

Kent Leaves, Proctor Accepts.

Jeff Kent has packed his bags and left LAD.

the 39 year old 2B vetern wasnt offered a new contract by the Dodgers and will heading into the free agency market.

Kent had to share his starting job with youngster Tony Abreu, Kent wasnt happy with the plan and when contract re-signing came they were unable to come to an agreement.

Ramon Martinez was also released and he announced his retirement

Scott Proctor rejected a Dodger offer early in the season but due to the post season success the Dodgers had they had, he changed his mind and agreed to the Arbitration deal put forward by the Dodgers.

Jonathan Broxton accepted the Dodgers proposal and the young stud is expected to be worth a large contract come next season.

The Dodgers announced in a press conference today that based on the list of free agents that the Dodgers will be making no offical offer to any of the avaliable players, and will be sticking to the current players.

The Dodgers were going to make offers to Andruw Jones and Kevin Correia but both players were re-signed by their respective clubs.

Also there was a confirmation to a rumour today that Rafael Furcal will now be sharing his starting SS position with youngster Chin-Lung Hu. Based on last years system of this with Nomar Garciaparra/Andy LaRoche and Jeff Kent/Tony Abreu, Furcal is on his last legs.

Brad Penny was announced as the 2007 NL Cy Young award winner. also Russell Martin was awarded the NL Gold Glove Award at catcher.

With the Dodgers announcing no Off Season contracts, it makes it easy to predict a starting lineup for the Dodgers. However there is a problem for the OF, 5 players are in contention for starting jobs. Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Delwyn Young and Jason Repko, it is almost certain Repko will be warming the bench, but if the path of youth continues for the Dodgers, Juan Pierre is in serious danger of losing his spot.

Predicted OF Battles and winners.

CF - Pierre/Kemp - Kemp
LF - Ethier/Young - Young
RF - Ethier/Kemp/Repko - Ethier

the rotation wont be making much of change, the only change expected is Clayton Kershaw to be moved up to the number 4 spot in the rotation in front of Hong-Chih Kuo.

The IF is a certain with LaRoche and Abreu confirmed to be taking over full time positions at 2B and 3B with Loney holding 1B and Martin at C

The bench is expected to contain Juan Pierre or Delwyn Young, Rafael Furcal/Chin-Lung Hu, Nomar Garciaparra, Mike Lieberthal, Jason Repko, and possibly young 3B Josh Bell from AAA.

The bullpen should be only making 1 or 2 changes. Rudy Seanez is expected to lose his MRP to Jonathan Meloan, and Mark Hendrickson's position as long relief is in question but is expected to hold that spot.

so the 2008 Opening Day Roster we believe will be -

Lineup

Furcal-SS (RHP) / Hu (LHP)
Kemp-CF
Martin-C
Loney-1B
LaRoche-3B
Abreu-2B
Ethier-RF
Young-LF
Pitcher / Furcal-DH (LHP) / Pierre (RHP)

Bench

Furcal / Hu-SS
Pierre-CF
Bell-3B
Garciaparra-1B
Repko-RF
Lieberthal-C

Rotation

Penny
Lowe
Billingsley
Kershaw
Kuo

Bullpen

SR - Tsao, Proctor
MR- Meloan
LR - Hendrickson
SU - Broxton
CL - Saito

If this turns out to be the roster then the starting lineup will contain 1 player 30+ years old (Furcal) the rest are in their early 20's.

with this the Dodgers and their soon to be 20 million dollar medical staff should have limited injuries throughout the year.

With the young 2007 team taking the Dodgers to the World Series for the first time since 1988. The next couple of seasons are expected to be some magical seasons if they continue where they are headed right now.

More updated through out the offseason so stay tuned

Loved the article!

keep'em comming

OFF SEASON SURPRISE

After annoucing that the Dodgers would not be making offers in this year's free agency, within the last 24 hours the Dodgers made a surprise 8 offers to players.

Why the Dodgers made this surprise attack is yet to be confirmed, however the Dodgers got all players they made offers to.

The Dodgers focused on OF and pitching, and came away with the following players

Ryan Ludwick LF/RF
Jon Zeringue CF
Julio De Paula RP
Will Venable LF
Michael Restovich RF
Tony Watson RP
Ryan Ketchner SP
Jared Wells SP

These players were out of the spotlight in this years free agency, but were selected by the Dodgers cause of the young age and improvement over the years.

However, with a big year in contracts coming up, with James Loney and Russell Martin expected to ask for 15 million + each! The new players have been warned, its a 1 year trial, slip in performance and you could possibly get the cut.

Most of the players signed will be minor league ballers for a few years (excluding injury), however Ryan Ludwick LF/RF is expected to start on the bench in the Dodger lineup with Juan Pierre.

Ludwick is a solid hitter and can make the homerun when its needed however he is not a solid starter anymore, he is certainally capable of it, but its dropping.

In other news, the Dodgers inquired to the fellow Los Angeles Angels for starting pitcher Ervin Santana however upon reply on what the Angels were interested in, the Dodgers chose not to persue the trade anymore. This was confirmed that it was in response to the large trades made by Arizona.

With the new players the lineup is unlikely to change however there could be some minor league shuffling and possibly 1 or 2 players that were aquired starting on the bench, but the clock is ticking for them.

OFF SEASON SURPRISE

After annoucing that the Dodgers would not be making offers in this year's free agency, within the last 24 hours the Dodgers made a surprise 8 offers to players.

Why the Dodgers made this surprise attack is yet to be confirmed, however the Dodgers got all players they made offers to.

The Dodgers focused on OF and pitching, and came away with the following players

Ryan Ludwick LF/RF
Jon Zeringue CF
Julio De Paula RP
Will Venable LF
Michael Restovich RF
Tony Watson RP
Ryan Ketchner SP
Jared Wells SP

These players were out of the spotlight in this years free agency, but were selected by the Dodgers cause of the young age and improvement over the years.

However, with a big year in contracts coming up, with James Loney and Russell Martin expected to ask for 15 million + each! The new players have been warned, its a 1 year trial, slip in performance and you could possibly get the cut.

Most of the players signed will be minor league ballers for a few years (excluding injury), however Ryan Ludwick LF/RF is expected to start on the bench in the Dodger lineup with Juan Pierre.

Ludwick is a solid hitter and can make the homerun when its needed however he is not a solid starter anymore, he is certainally capable of it, but its dropping.

In other news, the Dodgers inquired to the fellow Los Angeles Angels for starting pitcher Ervin Santana however upon reply on what the Angels were interested in, the Dodgers chose not to persue the trade anymore. This was confirmed that it was in response to the large trades made by Arizona.

With the new players the lineup is unlikely to change however there could be some minor league shuffling and possibly 1 or 2 players that were aquired starting on the bench, but the clock is ticking for them.

2008 PREVIEW

The Dodgers get ready to kick start 2008 and celebrate 50 years in the great city of Los Angeles.

The Dodgers are looking like a strong team in 2008, with only a small number of changes made to the team that won the NL in 2007.

Some of the main changes to the 2007 winning team include:
Rudy Seanez dropped being replaced by upcoming star Jonathan Meloan.
Jeff Kent left the Dodgers in 2007, his 2B spot will now be given to youngster Tony Abreu.

The Dodgers announced a strong youth lineup for their opening day roster, with only 1 player in the starting lineup being over 30 years old, Rafael Furcal. After a strong end to the 2007 season Furcal was able to be placed in the lineup unlike other players Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent, Garciaparra has been benched in replace for young stud Andy LaRoche, and Jeff Kent was sent packing after the 07 season.

However Furcal won’t be a permanent SS starter through 08, he is to share his starting job with young star Chin-Lung Hu, with the Dodgers hoping to give the youngster some expierence before taking the full time job.

Here is the 25 man team announced for Opening Day:

Starting Lineup
Rafael Furcal (vs RHP)/Chin-Lung Hu (vs LHP)-SS
Matt Kemp-CF
Russell Martin-C
James Loney-1B
Andy LaRoche-3B
Tony Abreu-2B
Andre Ethier-RF
Delwyn Young-LF

Bench
Juan Pierre-CF
Nomar Garciaparra-IF
Josh Bell-3B
Ryan Ludwick-LF/RF
Mike Lieberthal-C
Chin-Lung Hu/Rafael Furcal-SS

Starting Rotation
Brad Penny
Derek Lowe
Chad Billingsley
Clayton Kershaw
Hong-Chih Kuo

Bullpen

Short Relief
Scott Proctor
Chin-Hui Tsao

Middle Relief
Jonathan Meloan

Long Relief
Mark Hendrickson

Setup
Jonathan Broxton

Closer
Takashi Saito

With Saito aging this may be his last year at closer, he may lose the job to Broxton during the 2008 season.

With the activity of many NL West teams in the off season, the Dodgers are a bit behind in the NL West race, with Arizona looking to have a strong 08 season and the Giants looking to make a playoff run way before anyone expected.

2008 Dodger players to keep an eye on:
Matt Kemp – the young star is making a move to centre field with the sending of Pierre to the bench, this young kid was one of the main names in the NL winning 07 team, however his playoffs were short lived with a season ending injury in the 1st round of the playoffs, this kid is a strong hitter and great fielder, expect some amazing plays from this kid this year.

Clayton Kershaw – the star rookie of 07, and playoff hero moves up in the Dodger rotation in 08, the rookie went 4-1 in the playoffs, getting key wins in situations where the Dodgers needed desperate wins, he may a year or 2 away from his top form, but this kid strikes fear in the hearts of many teams when he steps onto the mound.

Delwyn Young – the young outfielder spent 07 warming the bench gets his shot at the starting role at LF with Pierre hitting the bench, the young stud is expected to make quite a few long shots throughout the year and is a fan favorite at LA.

Prediction: with 50 year celebrations taking place this year the fans will be hoping for a great show, and a tight race, Arizona looks dominant this year however injuries can take their toll so nothing is certain, however it is predicted the Dodgers will clinch the west again, however if they don’t expect them to be only 1 or 2 games behind the winner, and hoping earn a wild card spot.

Great article!

Well done!

APRIL REPORT

The 2007 NL champs begun their season in fine fashion, going 14-9 through April.

However it’s only been one month, and the Dodgers are not alone.

Arizona’s strong off-season has been worth while, with the DBacks going 12-11 through April and causing the Dodgers early chaos.

However that isn’t the worst, the San Francisco Giants, a team nobody expected to be a candidate this year has proved the critics wrong, showing great skill through April to hold a 12-12 record, the Dodgers were able to sweep the Giants in their first clash of the 08 season however the Giants recovered strongly and were able to keep pace with the Dodgers and DBacks and are currently on a 4 game winning streak.

The Dodgers got off to a horror start, with 4 of their key young players hitting under .200, Andy LaRoche was hitting under .100 with only 2 hits in 20+ bats. The homeruns were missing again just like in 2007, but the Dodgers didn’t need homers to win, they had great pitching, Clayton Kershaw went 2-0 in his first 2 games of the 08 season, showing great skill. Chad Billingsley was the disappointment of the group, going 0-2.

However a sweep of the Giants kicked the Dodgers into gear as they then wont key games against STL and COL.

With the Dodgers winning games, they still found themselves trailing the DBacks, they needed some help to catch up, and it came from the team the Dodgers hate, the Giants. They Giants were able to win key games against the DBacks and on the 27th of April, the Dodgers took first of the NL West from Arizona as the Dodgers beat the Padres and the DBacks lost to the Giants.

Towards the end of the month the Dodgers let go of 4 players that had lost their positions to better players, Shea Hillenbrand, Joe Beimel, Randy Wolf and Rudy Seanez were all released, with all going into free agency except for Rudy Seanez, who announced his retirement after his release, this helped drop the Dodger payroll by 15 million, but it cost them a fair bit in buying out the players.

With the upgrade of the Dodger medical staff, the Dodgers were able to stay relatively healthy in April, however it is hoped this will continue throughout the year as the Dodgers try to return to the playoffs and hopefully get a World Series Ring.

Takashi Saito who is supposedly playing for his career, appears to be doing well, he leads the MLB with 9 saves and appears to be handling himself well despite the pressure. The Dodgers confirmed in an interview that if his form continues, he could be around for another year or 2.

May is looking like a tough month for the Dodgers, with games against strong teams such as, Atlanta, New York, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Florida and the dangerous Arizona.

End Of Month Results
Dodgers, 1st NL West, 14-9 record, 2 game lead.

End Of Month Injuries
N/A

Player Of The Month
Brad Penny – after losing opening day, Penny has won 4 straight games to have an April record of 4-1, the 2007 NL Cy Young winner is showing some of the magic he showed in 2007.

As always, great article

DODGERS MAKE TRADE AT THE RIGHT TIME

The Dodgers made a much needed trade to start off a tough May. Mark Buehrle from the Chicago White Sox will now be wearing Dodger blue in 2008.

The Dodgers were very pleased with the deal as they were able to trade off aging centre fielder Juan Pierre, who had a 9 million dollar contract for him to sit on the bench after he lost his starting job in the off season. Also in the trade they Dodgers gave up young starting pitcher prospects Steven Johnson and Jesus Castillo.

The Dodgers are hoping Mark Buehrle will have an immediate impact on the club, he was traded to the Dodgers while he was injured, but he has now recovered fully from injury and is ready to hit the Dodger rotation.

It couldn’t have come at a better time, #2 in the rotation Derek Lowe was struck down with injury for 2-3 weeks, with this injury Buehrle should be immediately placed in Lowe’s position.

Despite Lowe being dropped to the Minors, he is expected to return to the rotation when he gets healthy.

The talk is that Mark Hendrickson will be dropped to AAA, and Hong-Chih Kuo will be moved to long relief leaving his spot in the rotation for Lowe who is expected to re-join the rotation at spot number 3, pushing Billingsley and Kershaw down to 4th and 5th.

MAY REPORT

The Dodgers were able to hold off very stiff NL West competition the tough month of May was played out.

The first Dodger trade of 2008 happened at the start of May, Mark Buehrle a Chicago White Sox ace was traded to the Dodgers in returned for benched CF Juan Pierre and minor league pitchers Steven Johnson and Jesus Castillo

The month got off to a great start, with a sweep of last year’s NLDS opponents, all 3 games won in strong fashion.

The Dodgers were slowly pulling away from the pack, however when the Dodgers traveled to Houston they got themselves in a lot of trouble, the Giants were on the rise, and on an impressive winning streak.

The Dodgers came away from Houston battered and bruised, the 4 games series was tied at 2-2, the Giants got within 1 game of the Dodgers, which sure made Dodger fans worry about the possibility of an arch rival surpassing them on the standings.

Things didn’t get better for the Dodgers, Derek Lowe was struck down with an injury that would put him out for the rest of the month.

However when the Dodgers returned back to Dodger Stadium they faced off against a tough opponent in the New York Mets. The Mets had been trouble for the Dodgers in recent years however that was all changed very quickly, the Dodgers swept the Mets in impressive fashion, and with the Giants on a 4 game losing streak they were able to extend the lead.

The Dodgers then swept the Phillies. Then new player Mark Buehrle started his 1st game in Dodgers blue against Seattle at Dodger Stadium, and boy did he make a great start. He pitched 8 strong innings, giving up 7 hits and only 2 runs. He would make an even better performance on his 2nd game.

However the month didn’t end that well for the Dodgers, Arizona continued to belt the Dodgers around and pirates won the last 2 games of the month against the Dodgers.

June is looking like a great month for the Dodgers, they are going up against some first class opponents in the Tigers, Cardinals, Giants, Marlins, Indians. However none will be as important is the World Series re-match set to happen at the Twins ground from the 14th till the 16th of June, however unless the Dodgers get struck down with key injuries the Dodgers should be able to maintain is current lead over the NL West.

End Of Month Results
Dodgers, 1st NL West, 32-19 record, 4.5 game lead.

End Of Month Injuries
Kyle Ocampo – 20 days
Hong-Chih Kuo – 18 days
Bryan Morris – 4 days
Eric Stults – 2 days
Clayton Kershaw – 1 day

Player Of The Month
Clayton Kershaw – the young star continues to improve, currently with a 5-1 record.

AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT

With such a large promising field of players to choose from in this year’s draft, the fact that the Dodgers had a 29th pick didn’t hurt as much as it was expected to do, the Dodgers came away with some promising players.

For the Dodgers 1st round pick the Dodgers selected young CF, Todd Conley, at 18 years of age this player has a lot of strong years ahead of him, although he might not be a power bat which would help the OF, he is an AVG player. Posting up strong numbers in his 4 years of high school baseball.

The 2nd round and 4th round picks pulled out some strong relief pitchers in Colin Stadtmauer, 18 years old and Eric Jones, 17 years old, which is exactly what the Dodgers need for the future with trade talks with the New York Yankees for relief pitcher James Adkins.

Other draft picks included:

Seth O’Leary (3B), 3rd round
Terry Parisi (1B), 5th round
Barrett Fraser (2B), 6th round

These 3 players are only expected to make careers in the minors, very unlikely they will hit the Major League level.

With the 3 strong players that Dodgers got being aged, 17, 18 and 18, the Dodgers came away from the draft with some strong players to add to their already large depth youth team, although it will be some time before these players hit MLB level, they will be the talking point of the future Dodgers.

WORLD SERIES REMATCH RESULTS

The Dodgers went off to play a 3 game series against last years World Series opponents and winners, the Twins.

Game 1 was started by Derek Lowe for the Dodgers and Matt Garza for the Twins.

The Twins came out firing, putting on 4 in the 2nd, then another 2 in the 5th, Lowe only lasting 4.0 inning’s, giving up 6 ER, the Twins 6 early runs were all they needed, as they easily walked away with the match 6-2, the Dodgers never really posing a threat.

Game 2 was between Chad Billingsley and Nick Blackburn, Blackburn would like to forget this game, as he only lasted a small 3.0 innings, Chad Billingsley didn’t really have a better game anyway, only lasting 5.0 innings, after he gave up 2 runs in the 5th, which tied the game at 3-3. The game would remain tied until the 7th inning when Andre Ethier hit a leadoff homerun to give the Dodgers a 4-3, which would last the game, with the Dodgers winning 4-3, with relief pitcher Greg Miller getting the win and Saito the save.

With the series tied at 1-1, game 3 would be quite a game for the star that continues to amaze. Clayton Kershaw stepped onto the mound with an impressive 5-1 record, the kid continued to impress and dominate, he toed the rubber against Scott Baker. The Dodgers led from the 1st inning and never lost the lead, Clayton Kershaw pitched a thrilling 7.2 innings, only giving up 6 hits, his opponent Scott Baker wasn’t so impressive, lasting 5.2 innings, Clayton picked up the win in the Dodgers 5-2 win.

The Dodgers ran away with the series, 2-1, and spirits were high, the younger pitching proved its worth against a strong AL team.

JUNE REPORT

The Dodgers had an impressive June, with so many distractions with trade talks, amateur draft, injuries and the relentless charge of Arizona, San Francisco and Colorado, the Dodgers went 17-10 in June, improving their record to 49-29.

The Dodgers kick started June in fine form, going 5-0 in the 1st week of June before the Amateur Draft.

Rafael Furcal was benched giving the full time starting job to Chin-Lung Hu.

However Arizona was on the charge, the Amateur Draft was something the Dodgers didn’t really want at the moment, with a poor pick and current trade talks.

The Dodgers did however come away with 3 strong players, including their 1st round pick Todd Conley, an 18 year old CF, the Dodgers also nailed 2 RP’s aged 17 and 18.

Trade talks with the Blue Jays for OF Vernon Wells which was rumored to be an 8 player deal, broke down in the early hours of the morning the day of the Amateur Draft.

The Dodgers did a clean sweep of the up and down Indians, however then Detroit flattened the Dodgers with a clean sweep, which is not what the Dodgers needed heading into a World Series rematch against the Twins and also 2 straight weeks away from Dodger Stadium, however the Dodgers turned things around, with some strong pitching led by continuing star Clayton Kershaw.

The Dodgers then won 2 out of 3 against the ever less performing Whit Sox, the only loss came with Mark Buehrle’s return to Chicago, he pitched 8 strong innings only for Greg Miller to blow the game giving up 3 runs in the 9th for a White Sox win, not what Mark Buehrle was hoping for, but non the less he was happy with his performance which he stated in the post match interview.

The Dodgers then headed to arch rival San Francisco, with the Dodgers and Chad Billingsley putting on a clinic with a 8-2 win, however the Dodgers lost game 2 6-3 giving Clayton Kershaw his 2nd loss of the season to go 6-2. Brad Penny and Mark Buehrle turned on the heat in the final 2 games as the Dodgers ran away with the 4 game series 3-1.

The Dodgers then lost 2 out of 3 against Seattle, with Clayton Kershaw being injured in his game, and isn’t expected to return until the All Star game, which is a possibility to be picked in.

The Dodgers ended the month losing 2 out of 3 at home against the Giants, but the Dodgers held their lead in the West against stiff competition.

End Of Month Results
Dodgers, 1st NL West, 49-29 record, 2.5 game lead.

End Of Month Injuries
Clayton Kershaw – 13 days

Player Of The Month
Brad Penny – 2007 Cy Young winner went 4-2 in June with some strong performances, improving his record to 10-5.

FREAKIN AWSOME!

VERY VERY NICE!

MID SEASON REPORT

The 2007 NL Champ Dodgers have looked strong in the 1st half of the 2008 season as they attempt to defend their NL crown, in what has been labeled as the toughest division in the NL (NL West).

The Dodgers didn’t make many changes in the Money Management department, ticket prices were left the same at $25, 2nd cheapest in the league, which in 2007, gave every Dodger home game, a full house, some of the changes made were Medical Staff payments were risen to $15 million, and the food and drinks were raised to the normal price of the league at the time.

The Dodgers after an opening series sweep by Arizona, played some inspiring baseball in April, going 14-9, sitting atop the NL West. The Dodgers were strong in areas.

However some concerns for the team at the end of month meeting included, the sharing job at SS by Hu and Furcal, both were underperforming and both were wanting full time jobs, however the main concern for the Dodgers was the trouble in the rotation, Chad Billingsley and Hong-Chih Kuo were both underperforming and it was only being kept stable by some strong pitching from the 2007 NL Cy Young winner Brad Penny, and the 2007 playoff hero Clayton Kershaw. Other topics brought up at the meeting were Juan Pierre and Nomar Garciaparra’s large contracts, with both players benched, Pierre for Young and Garciaparra for LaRoche.

However at the beginning of May the Dodgers were able to make a key trade that helped them with numerous problems, Mark Buehrle the Chicago White Sox stud was traded to the Dodgers, and in return the Dodgers sent Juan Pierre and to minor league pitchers, Jesus Castillo and Steven Johnson. Buehrle, who was injured when he headed to Los Angeles Dodgers, would not begin his career at the Dodgers until May 21st against Florida, which Buehrle pitched a stunning 8 inning’s, giving up 7 hits and 2 earned runs, in a Dodger 6-2 win in front of 56,000 Dodger fans at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers continued to hold the lead in the West through May, as they went 18-10, improving their record to 32-19.

The Dodgers main priority at the Dodgers at the end of May was to acquire a big bat, nobody was hitting homeruns, and the OF was underperforming in the field and at the plate. The Dodgers tried to acquire some big names, with the big story being Hanley Ramirez, however the Dodgers were out done by Tampa Bay and the Dodgers came out empty handed.

With the Ramirez deal falling through, the Dodgers turned their attention back to the OF, and tried to make a deal similar to the Giants, the Giants acquired Rowand for the 08 season and he making quite a contribution, as the Giants were on a storm in May, getting within 1 game of the Dodgers early in the month, but had slipped off the pace as the month continued. So the Dodgers turned to Toronto, especially at their centre fielder Vernon Wells, Dodgers immediately made an offer for him, and all appeared to go well until Toronto received scouting news that they were on the wrong side of the deal due to countless reasons, and the deal fell through.

At the start of June the stats of Hu and Furcal was put together and a decision was made, Hu would get the full time at SS starting in June and Furcal would be put on the bench in the DH position. With the Dodgers having the 29th pick in the 08 draft the Dodgers didn’t take much notice of the draft list, not expecting to get quality players, and the week before the draft the Dodgers went 5-0, including a sweep of the Cardinals. However when the draft came on the 6th of June, the Dodgers came out very surprised with the result, with the failure to acquire a big bat in the OF and the OF underperforming, the Dodgers used their 1st round pick to get centre fielder Todd Conley, the Dodgers were also able to snare 2 young talented RP’s later on in the draft.

With the draft over the Dodgers really needed a lift, Arizona was on the charge, and a World Series rematch was the talk of the nation, as the Dodgers headed to Minnesota for a 3 game series against the World Champions. The Dodgers won the series 2-1 and were feeling pretty good after redeeming themselves from last years 4-3 World Series loss to the Twins.

The Dodgers spent 2 straight weeks on the road in June but were able to close out the month with a 17-10 record, improving the 08 record to 49-29, the Dodgers were on track to win the West for the second straight year if they kept up the pace and kept ahead of Arizona, Colorado and San Francisco.

In the 08 All Star Game in New York, Brad Penny and to much surprise, Chin-Lung Hu, were the representatives for the Dodgers in the NL team, however the AL team won the match 8-6, with Penny getting loss giving up 6 runs in an 1.1 innings.

The Dodgers half way through May have a 6-8 record at the moment, however they still have a handful game lead over Arizona.

The Dodgers are still after a big bat however Loney, LaRoche and Martin have started sending balls deep and gone.

2008 Mid Season Stats

BATTING

Chin-Lung Hu - .315 AVG, 2 HR’s, 53 Runs, 34 RBI’s
Matt Kemp - .290 AVG, 6 HR’s, 54 Runs, 45 RBI’s
Russell Martin - .292 AVG, 13 HR’s, 44 Runs, 59 RBI’s
James Loney - .322 AVG, 9 HR’s, 42 Runs, 44 RBI’s
Andy LaRoche - .235 AVG, 14 HR’s, 40 Runs, 43 RBI’s
Tony Abreu - .262 AVG, 5 HR’s, 47 Runs, 42 RBI’s
Andre Ethier - .288 AVG, 11 HR’s, 57 Runs, 42 RBI’s
Delwyn Young - .271 AVG, 9 HR’s, 36 Runs, 44 RBI’s

Rafael Furcal - .217 AVG, 2 HR’s, 25 Runs, 13 RBI’s
Josh Bell - .316 AVG, 0 HR’s, 2 Runs, 3 RBI’s
Ryan Ludwick - .290 AVG, 9 HR’s, 24 Runs, 34 RBI’s
Nomar Garciaparra - .320 AVG, 2 HR’s, 20 Runs, 18 RBI’s
Jason Repko - .365 AVG, 2 HR’s, 14 Runs, 7 RBI’s
Mike Lieberthal - .429 AVG, 0 HR’s, 0 Runs, 4 RBI’s

PITCHING

Brad Penny - 12-5, 3.12 ERA, 86 K’s, 138.1 IP
Mark Buehrle - 7-6, 4.74 ERA, 49 K’s, 106.1 IP
Derek Lowe - 6-6, 3.75 ERA, 56 K’s, 86.1 IP
Chad Billingsley - 9-7, 4.21 ERA, 79 K’s, 102.2 IP
Clayton Kershaw - 7-3, 4.67 ERA, 83 K’s, 88.2 IP

SR
Greg Miller - 2-2, 5.54 ERA
Chin-Hui Tsao - 3-1, 3.99 ERA

MR
Jonathan Meloan - 1-1, 3.55 ERA

LR
Hong-Chih Kuo - 3-2, 4.66 ERA

SU
Jonathan Broxton - 1-1, 4.89 ERA

CL
Takashi Saito - 3-3, 2.97 ERA, 27 SV

The Dodgers look like they will be in the 08 Playoffs, but as NL West champs or Wild Card winners, is yet to be decided, Arizona, Colorado and San Francisco are sure to give the Dodgers a challenge in the last half of the season, all of the Dodger faithful are behind the 07 NL West champs, hoping for a repeat of last season, except for this year we hope for a World Series victory.

GOOD LUCK LOS ANGELES DODGERS!

Keep up the good work!

DODGERS SHUTDOWN TRADE TALKS

The Dodgers announced to the press in the late hours of the 30th of July, that no trades will be made before the trade deadline.

The announcement comes just hours after the Dodgers suffered their 8th straight loss, with the Astros winning 3-2.

The news come as quite shock due to recent events, over the last 2 weeks the Dodgers only won a single game, they have crashed from 1st all the way to 3rd, behind Arizona and Colorado.

"Its just been a team let down by everyone, nobody can be singled out, everyone performed poorly" said Nomar Garciaparra in a press conference moments after the loss.

The Dodgers have 1 more game against the Astros, before they have a day break then head off to Atlanta for a 3 game series, with Arizona and Colorado playing each other when the Dodgers are in Atlanta, it is key that the Dodgers turn things around and get some much needed wins in Atlanta.

DODGERS ATTEMPT THEIR VERSION OF CHAMBERLAIN

As the MLB nation watched the rise of superstar Joba Chamberlain through the Yankee’s bullpen.

Many have tried to copy this, most failed.

However the Dodgers may be 1 of the 1st to have found their own Joba.

James McDonald, the 23 year old starting pitcher from Long Beach, California, has been in the Dodgers minor league system since 2007, he played A league in 07, going 15-2 in 26 starts with an amazing ERA of only 1.89, what was even more amazing was his BB-K ratio, 36 BB’s, 193 K’s! In 166.2 IP.

The Dodgers noticed the promise this kid had and gave him a promotion straight to AAA for 2008.

Seemed AAA wasn’t able to slow him down, with so far in 08, he’s gone 6-5, with a 3.66 ERA in 147.2 IP. His BB-K ratio continued to shine. 36 BB’s, 171 K’s!

The kid has shown amazing power with throws and he makes it even more wonderful with his extremely good control, confusing batters left right and centre.

Finally he will get his taste of Major League Baseball.

Tomorrow the 31st of July, will be his 1st day in the Majors, he is being placed in the middle relief spot, which was previously owned by Jonathan Meloan. Meloan has shown promise so far in 08, and instead of dropping Meloan back to the AAA team, the Dodgers announced that he will be moved to the long relief spot. Therefore Hong-Chih Kuo will be the player dropped to make way for McDonald.

2nd year pitcher Clayton Kershaw commented on the news, “I remember watching this kid in Spring Training, he pitches just like Joba Chamberlain, very quick fastball’s and strong with his control, we hope he can bring a much needed lift to the team and help us get out of this slump and back on the win list.”

The Dodgers have a home game tomorrow against the Astros before heading off on a week long trip for 3 games at Atlanta and 3 games against the Brewers, so if James doesn’t get the call from the dugout tomorrow his first pitch will most likely be thrown in an away field.

JULY REPORT

A horror July has seen the Dodgers show a completely different team as they had a horrific 9-19 record, knocking them from 1st, all the way to 3rd in the NL West, behind Arizona (1st) and Colorado (2nd).

The month got off to a good start, with the Dodgers winning a 3 game series against the struggling San Diego, things were looking good, but then over the next week, the Dodgers went 1-6, the only win coming in a 2-1 win against Colorado, all of a sudden things were not so easy going.

The All-Star game came around, with 2007 Cy Young winner Brad Penny, and young promising SS Chin-Lung Hu represented the Dodgers in the losing NL All-Star team.

Following the All-Star break the Dodgers welcomed Arizona for a 4 game series for a battle for top spot of the West. The Dodgers looked to have regained the composure, as they won 3 out of the 4 at Dodger Stadium.

Things were looking like they would get back to what had been the case for 2007 & early 08, however all that quickly vanished as in the final 2 weeks of July, the Dodgers went a poor 2-11, knocking them from 1st, but not just to 2nd, they dropped all the way to 3rd with the Rockies surge.

End Of Month Results
Dodgers, 57-48, 3rd NL West, 1.5 G.B

End Of Month Injuries
Chin-Lung Hu – 13 Days
Andre Ethier – 9 Days
Jonathan Broxton – 5 Days
Jonathan Meloan – 5 Days

Player Of The Month
Chin-Lung Hu

AUGUST REPORT

After a horrific July the Dodgers found themselves chasing the lead instead of defending it, they were 1.5 GB the leading Arizona, with Colorado in 2nd. Los Angeles went 17-11 in August, not their best performance, but far better to what the Dodgers played in July.

The Dodgers got off to a great start, in the 1st week they went 4-2 including a sweep of the Brewers, then the week after the Dodgers got some much needed revenge on Washington and Florida, who contributed in the Dodgers collapse from the top, the Dodgers swept the Marlins, and won 2 out of 3 against the Nationals.

However in the 3rd week the Dodgers were swept by the powerful Phillies, this and Arizona’s sudden loss streak helped move the Rockies into 1st position.

However this was short lived, as the Dodgers won a 3 game series against the new NL West leaders and with Arizona back on the winning side, they were able to regain their lead in the West.

In the last 3 days of August a Dodger sweep of the Pirates and an Arizona sweep of Colorado helped get the Dodgers back to 2nd place, and were 2.5 GB Arizona.

With the Dodgers playing Colorado, then Arizona, then the Giants in the first 2 weeks of September, it is looking like the battle for the NL West could go down to the final game! As Arizona, Colorado and Los Angeles are all at each others throats for the NL West crown, it will surely be an entertaining and heartbreaking month for all 3 teams.

End Of Month Results
Dodgers, 74-59, 2nd NL West, 2.5 G.B

End Of Month Injuries
Cory Dunlap – 18 Days
Chin-Lung Hu – 16 Days

Player Of The Month
Brad Penny – The 2007 Cy Young winner is on track to go back to back Cy Young awards, as he went 4-0 from 6 starts in August, improving his record to 17-7.