The Dodgers announced today the signing of veteran infielder Jamey Carroll to a two year contract pending the results of a physical. This move is similar to the one they made last year when they signed Mark Loretta. Loretta proved to be a really good pickup for the Dodgers providing great versatility in the infield and a good bat off the bench. So the question is how are they planning on utilizing Carroll? Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti has said that Blake DeWitt will be the starter “as of today”. So it looks like they’re putting the pressure on DeWitt to have a good showing in Spring Training and make him earn the spot. A little competition is always good, it keeps egos and laziness in check. From what I have seen of DeWitt I’m confident he has the work ethic and the desire to get the job done. At a little under $4MM I give this signing a thumbs up. At the least it bolsters the Dodgers bench with a proven day to day player and provides the veteran presence on the bench. With Carroll coming from Cleveland I have to wonder if Casey Blake played a part in this signing.

Just when it seemed the Los Angeles Dodgers were doomed to Hell, they have managed to come back from oblivion and are one game away from the National League Championship Series.

These are not the same guys who staggered to the end of the regular season. Let’s be honest, the Dodgers really, really sucked those last 10 games. I mean, they were a disgrace.

So, who are these guys that have a 2-0 lead over the mighty St. Louis Cardinals?

Yeah, they got very, very lucky in Game 2 of the NL Divisional Series against the Cards, but how many times have the Dodgers come back from the brink of death to emerge victorious?

Honestly, though…this is one of the most frustrating Dodgers team I have ever seen. They are so moody and streaky, there is no way to gauge what they will do next.

Someway, somehow, they have managed to erase all the doubt from the end of the regular season and have emerged as an indomitable force.

By the way, now we’re finally getting to see Manny Ramirez being the real Manny. Yeah, you know, the guy who isn’t hopped up on Mountain Dew and isn’t coming at opposing pitchers like a spider-monkey.

Dude, the real Manny sucks.

He has not done anything convincing to prove that he did not need to shoot up steroids to produce like a monster. Instead, he has been a whimper, at most.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre should finally just bite his lip and put Juan “Slappy” Pierre out in left. That dude always finds a way to score.

Anyway, let’s hope Nicaraguan Vicente Padilla can get it done on Saturday and put the lil’ red birdies out of their misery.

If the Dodgers can get past the Cards, they’re gonna win the World Series. I said it. Believe it.

As always, keep the faith.

As always, go blue!

While their bullpen was in the throes of throwing away another great performance by Randy Wolf, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced the acquisitions of slugging first baseman Jim Thome and right-handed pitcher Jon Garland.

While Thome (who was in Minnesota with the Chicago White Sox at the time the trade was announced) won’t make it to Los Angeles until tomorrow, Garland was informed of the trade in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ dugout.

Garland laughed a bit, looked around at his now former mates and made his way out of the dugout and across the hall to the Dodgers clubhouse.

Earlier in the evening, second baseman Ronnie Belliard made his debut with the Dodgers, hitting a home run in his first at-bat.

With Thome on board, the Dodgers can count on one of the most prolific sluggers of his era. On August 15, Thome passed Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and moved up to 11th on the all time home run list with 564 home runs.

However, what does this mean for current first baseman James Loney? Will he go the way of Juan Pierre and join the Bench Mode Crew?

Meanwhile, as I’m writing this, Garland is getting his new uniform and meeting his new teammates. It will surely be really weird to face the D-Backs later in the series.

While at 39 Thome is nearing the end of his great career, he surely adds punch to a Dodgers lineup that looks great on paper but sputters all too often.

At 29, Garland is no slouch and could become a very important member of the patchwork Dodgers starting rotation for years to come.

That bullpen, however…is just terrible.

The Dodgers won’t get far in the playoffs with a bullpen that will let them down.

How the Dodgers have managed to hold on to first place is a wonder. Making it to the playoffs will be an accomplishment, on its own.

Nevertheless, keep the faith.

Go Blue.

With only a two game cushion between us and the Rockies the series against them just got a whole lot more interesting.  The Dodgers have had the Rockies’ number all season long going 10-2 against them in the past and averaging over six runs a game.  But that is the past and the message the Rockies want to send to the Dodgers and the league during this series is that the old Rockies are gone and the new and improved Rockies led by Jim Tracy are here.  So should Dodgers fans be worried?  My simple answer is yes.  The Dodgers that started the season strong and posted the best record in baseball at the All Star break are gone.  Maybe not entirely gone, but they definitely don’t have the same stuff as before.

Some might argue that the biggest weakness of the Dodgers right now is their offense, specifically the inability of the Dodgers offense to produce runs with runners in scoring position.  Although that is a big problem for the Dodgers, I do not see it as their biggest weakness.  Right now the biggest weakness I can see is the pitching, specifically the bullpen.

Broxton, the “Closer, hasn’t been as effective as he was earlier in the season.  Perhaps it’s because he’s tired having pitched the second most innings of all closers in the National League, or perhaps it’s because hitters are learning how to hit his fastball.  My hope is that he is just tired and not commanding his pitches, but my gut is telling me that it is a little bit of both.  Either way the inability of Broxton to shut down games for the Dodgers is a big problem.

The pitching problems for the Dodgers bullpen don’t stop there, many of the Dodgers middle relievers are struggling as well.  Two pitchers that immediately come to mind are Ronald Belisario and Ramon Troncoso.  These two guys just aren’t providing the Dodgers with the consistency needed to win games.  Many of the Dodgers starters tend to have high pitch counts early in the game, so the importance of the middle relief is magnified.  Last night with the game tied Belisario came in for Kershaw and immediately gave up a home run to Clint Barmes to give the Rockies their first lead of the game.  I’m confident I’m not alone when I cringe seeing the middle relievers being brought in during close games.  Torre puts on a great face, the way any good manager should, but I have to imagine he has the same pit in his stomach.

Lets all pray the Dodgers bullpen can come together down the stretch and the offense can wake up and start producing with runners on to ease the pressure from the pitchers.  Otherwise the Dodgers will be battling for the NL wild card.  Either way the remainder of the season will be fun to watch.

If the starting pitching was faltering, they would find ways to score enough runs to win.

If the batting was lacking, the pitching staff would come together to shut down the opposing team.

While most of the lineup was failing at the plate, one or two guys would do just enough to generate enough runs to lead the Dodgers to victory.

Throughout it all, the Dodgers have rarely been thoroughly convincing, especially that bullpen, which is as reliable as a taco truck at 3 a.m.

All the members of the Dodgers relief corps have failed miserably at one point or other during the season. However, no one has done so with as much consistency as grandmaster chef Jonathan Broxton, who is notorious for cooking up late inning collapses that have left legions of Dodgers fans sick to their stomach and with verbal diarrhea of the most foul kind.

It’s ironic that Broxton comes out of the bullpen to Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.” While it’s easy to assume the song is about the iconic Marvel superhero, if you pay attention to the lyrics the song is actually about a vengeful villain who brings about the end of the world.

Whenever Broxton takes the mound these days, the Dodgers are in danger.

Is it more unsettling that Broxton is so unreliable as a closer or that manager Joe Torre continues to call upon him at the most crucial times?

By the way, now that Manny Ramirez can’t rely on the juice, it seems he’s slowly dissipating away. Yeah, he’s had his moments where he has shined. However, that shine has dulled a lot and Manny isn’t as reliable or clutch as the Dodgers would hope.

At least, Andre Ethier has avoided any more serious slumps. With Manny back, Ethier has put up impressive numbers.

Nevertheless, his efforts might not be enough to keep the Dodgers from falling out of first.

The Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants have remained hot throughout the summer and are creeping closer and closer to the Dodgers every day.

Who would’ve thought that the Wild Card would come out of the National League West this season? It sure seems that’s the way it will be.

If the Dodgers aren’t careful, they’ll find themselves fighting for that Wild Card spot. However, even if the Dodgers do manage to hang on the NL West, they still have to figure out the St. Louis Cardinals, who have beat up on the Dodgers like no other.

Nevertheless, as 1988 proved, hope never dies.

As always, keep the faith.

Go Blue.

From the title, you can gather that I’m referring to Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake, who is instantly recognizable with his lumberjack beard.

Since joining the Dodgers, last season, Blake has been one of the keys to the Dodgers’ success, which prompted legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully to joke that Blake “always has his playoff beard on.”

Although he goes through short stretches when his bat goes cold, Blake has remained consistent, overall.

His latest feat occurred last night, knocking in the winning run with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning.

Have faith in “Beard.”

Beard will deliver us.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how clutch Andre Ethier has been since Manny Ramirez returned.

When Ramirez got suspended, Ethier looked so downtrodden, he might as well have locked himself in his closet and listened to Linkin Park like an emo kid.

However, he’s regained the same confidence he displayed at the beginning of the season, since Ramirez returned. Maybe Ramirez is holding his hand.

Oh, hey, how about that amazing bullpen?

For a while, Ramón Troncoso (a.k.a. “Megatron”) was the most consistent. However, since the rest of the bullpen was so bad, manager Joe Torre
overworked him and he hasn’t been as sharp.

Ronald Belisario is an interesting member of the bullpen. He might have great numbers, but the truth is that he fails at the worst times. Then, when he finally got it together and was actually coming through when needed, he gets injured. Double-fail.

The Dodgers still don’t have an ace or a bullpen that can back up the so-so starting lineup. The Dodgers have admitted interest in Toronto Blue Jays ace starter Roy Halladay, but the most pressing matter is the bullpen.

Hiroki “Samurai” Kuroda, has started to warm up and he might soon display the same form that made him the best Dodgers pitcher in the playoffs last season. At the start of 2009, he was, arguably, the best starter on the staff.

It’s amazing that the Dodgers have amassed the best record in the Major League Baseball, despite all their faults.

It still comes down to one or two guys on any given night. And, last night’s hero was Beard.

In such a curious season, you need some consistency. You know the Beard is always going to be there.

Have faith in Beard.

Beard will deliver us.

Hey, you know what? I was brushing my teeth this morning and I was just thinking…maybe, just maybe…the National League West is not that toothless after all.

Maybe, just maybe…the Los Angeles Dodgers are actually a pretty decent team when playing out of their division.

Just maybe…

Oh, who am I kidding? As agonizingly as they have played as individuals, for periods of time, the Dodgers continue to find (or stumble upon) ways to win. The San Francisco Giants have roared to the second best record in the National League and the Colorado Rockies are suddenly a threat.

If you look at the Dodgers’ roster, they look really good on paper. However, sitting down to watch them play is usually an exercise in masochism. You cannot help but shake your head and cuss a little (or a lot) at how many times the Dodgers mess up or blow big opportunities.

I do not care how much praise is heaped upon the bullpen, they are still as shaky as a Blair Witch Project (Artisan, 1999) camera and just as unnerving, all too often. Jonathan Broxton’s meltdown in San Diego is a prime example. What was that?

And, despite boasting such a formidable lineup, you know that, on any given day, most of the offense will come from only two or three guys, while the rest of the team will just be there for face time.

Hey…I am not being a troll, just being honest.

Now, regarding Manny Ramirez. He has a looked a bit rusty, but he seems to be warming up, knocking in RBIs and going yard a few times.

If you are Manny, and you want to dispel as much criticism about your talent being the product of performance-enhancing drugs, the only way to do it is by going all-out and generating numbers similar to your torrid run with the Dodgers, late last season.

That might be too much to ask, but it is the only way to quell the ire of baseball purists and journalists, who have taken it upon ourselves to defend the integrity of the game.

Manny, or no Manny, the Dodgers have remained strong, surviving the annual June swoon, and are poised to finish with the best record at the All-Star break.

However, more tests loom ahead as the Dodgers must prepare for the challenge of the fearsome Giants, streaky Rockies and late summer crunch that leads to September baseball.

Next time, I will write about nicknames for several Dodgers players. If you have any you think I should mention, go ahead and drop me a note. I will be sure to mention the real cool ones.

Go Blue.

Roy Halladay is on the market! We’ve got to move on this!

There is no reason the Dodgers couldn’t make a deal for him.  Put together a package around Clayton Kershaw and make this thing happen!

Think about this rotation: Halladay, Billingsley, Kuroda, Wolf, Milton.

That thing is rock solid. That is a rotation that will win a championship.

Ned, get on the phone right now and do this thing!

Guess who’s back?

Yes, I’m back to share my thoughts on our beloved bums, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

That June swoon not only stymied the Dodger Blue Wrecking Crew, but it kept me terribly busy with life.

Well, I’m back. However, I am quite understanding if you are not as excited about my return as that of the ever-perplexing Manny Ramirez.

I am not sure how many of you noticed, but, after Major League Baseball suspended Ramirez, I simply omitted him from any of my columns.

I guess you can say that I am one of those people that were terribly offended by what transpired. Major League Baseball and baseball purists want to turn the page on this dark chapter of the Steroid Era.

However, it is difficult when the respected careers of people such as Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa (although we all knew it all along, huh?) are tarnished by performance-enhancing drugs.

What now?

Some will say that by serving the 50-game MLB suspension, Ramirez had done his time and has learned his lesson. Cynics, however, will argue that it goes deeper than that.

Ramirez still hasn’t publicly addressed Dodgers fans or even come close to offering an apology for his actions. While we should not confuse him for or vilify him as a criminal, he should still be pressed to apologize to Dodgers fans for being so shady about this whole issue.

While some so-called Dodgers fans have remained supportive of Ramirez from the beginning, it is maddeningly irritating to see them offer support so blindly.

These were the same people that were screaming bloody murder whenever Barry Bonds approached Los Angeles city limits. They were the same people that wondered aloud why Bonds was allowed to play when it was so clear he had been using performance-enhancing drugs.

So…what is the difference between Ramirez and Bonds? Bonds has yet to be nailed.

But why treat Ramirez any different?

While those so-called Dodgers fans will bust out the Manny wigs and shirts, the rest of the league will come down hard on him. Dodgers fans will be hearing it, for sure.

Whether you are a baseball purist and feel just as weird as I do about the return of Ramirez, or are one of the dreadlock-wearing lemmings, just remember one thing…

No man is bigger than the team.

It will be interesting to observe how Ramirez performs now that he will be forced to play without the help of the juice.

Will he defy critics and prove that he is truly one of the greatest ballplayers of all time?

Or will he just deteriorate and slowly fade into baseball purgatory?

Whatever happens, remember that no man is bigger than the team.

Go Blue.

Well, this is it.

We’ve all had plenty of time to think it over, plenty of time to decide who we’ll support, who we’ll line up behind.

Now it’s almost time to see the decision we’ve made.

No, I’m not talking about All-Star voting.

I’m talking about the return of Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, as he rejoins the team in San Diego to take on the Padres. How should we Dodger fans react to our fallen hero?

The rest of the baseball world has already made up its mind, it seems. They will react to Manny the same way the used to react to Bonds. They will taunt him relentlessly, boo him unmercifully, and hope that he fails.

This was doubtlessly an easy decision. After all, that’s the way anyone would act around an opposing team’s player who is surrounded by steroid talk.

We here in Los Angeles, however, have a more difficult decision to make.

On one hand, we have the return of the key component to our lineup, which has struggled for the past week. We need him badly, especially for the second half.

On the other hand, we have the man who betrayed our trust, who could have singlehandedly destroyed what was supposed to be a dream season. Luckily, his teammates have shown their resilience and maintained a level of play that few expected them to maintain.

What do we do? Do we cheer him and show him support? Do we boo him and let him know how disappointed we are?

We’ve had a bit of a preview as to how it will all go down. Manny has been doing his rehab assignments with the Dodgers Triple-A and Double-A affiliates.

So far, the crowds there have reacted pretty favorably to him, cheering when he comes on to the field and when he bats.

It’s going to be very interesting to see if that plays over into the rest of the Dodger world.

We still have a few days to make up our minds, and even longer before he actually comes back to Dodger Stadium.

After much deliberation, I personally have decided to support him. After all, he’s done so much for our hometown heroes, and been such a huge part of the team in the short time he’s been here.

I am, however, still waiting for him to personally come out and address the fans. I think we’re still owed a bit of an apology.

Either way, though, we’re all looking forward to having him back in the middle of our lineup, whether or not we’re totally ready to forgive and forget.