TDB: Odds and Ends

The Dodgers wrapped up their first 2012 series with the San Francisco Giants last night by pulling away from Tim Lincecum and Company. Tony Gwynn Jr.'s pinch hit triple cleared the bases and made the chances of the Dodgers losing another low scoring, 2-1 type game disappear. Not to often are you going to see the Dodgers beat a two-time Cy Young winner when their own starter has thrown 85 pitches through 4 innings. But last night was the exception to the rule, as the clutch pinch hit, combined with Jamey Wright's solid 2 innings of relief shut down the Giants offense. Which allowed manager Don Mattingly to avoid digging deep into his bullpen.

Speaking of Mattingly... Only a few hours after I was tearing his decisions from Tuesday night apart on my podcast, he looked like a pure genius by having TGJr. bat in Chad Billingsley's spot in the bottom of the fourth. The game was heading in the direction of a loss as the Dodgers righthander had been fighting his stuff from the jump, and Timmy was dealing. So when the bases were loaded with one out in the 4th, Donny obviously felt it could potentially be his team's only chance to jump all over the Giants. Mattingly took his shot, and Chad was not thrilled. After he was called back from the on-deck circle, he immediately smacked his bat on the ground of the dugout before sitting down and cooling his jets. Fortunately for Chad he was off the hook of a loss after the pinch hit. Unfortunately for Chad he had not reached the five inning minimum to be in line for the win. Considering how badly he was missing locations, he can call it a wash.

So its the day off for 'Dem Bums (20-11) but The Dodger Blog never takes a day off, whether it be by blog, podcast, facebook, or twitter. So with that being said, lets dive into whats going around the Dodger Town:

• Scott Van Slyke made his Major League debut last night with an RBI, broken-bat single pinch hit in the late innings. I could give an entire diatribe about what Andy's son may or may not do for the Dodgers this season, but the reality is Mike Petriello over at the blog "Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness" already did so.
• Van Slyke is currently occupying Juan Rivera's spot on the roster while Rivera spends the time being on the disabled list with a strained or "sore" left hamstring. So far this season the "H-word" has been the fly in the ointment for the Dodgers' training staff. Iron man Matt Kemp, the owner of Major League Baseballs longest games played streak, missing a start last week in Chicago (he still looks a step slow as we speak), Jerry Hairston Jr. having the last few games off as he's trying to stay off the disabled list himself, and now Rivera is gone. The Dodgers are hoping that this hamstring fiasco follows the rule of bad things coming in three's, and that there won't be a fourth hammy issue before the end of may.
• The Dodger Blog got a little bit of a face lift today. Seeing as I'm in the plastic surgery capital of the country (Hollywood), it only seemed natural. Hopefully, the loyal few followers of TDB find the page a little easier on the eyes and the mouse pad. You no longer have to go constantly scrolling through past posts when looking for any previous pod casts. There's a little player just to your right hand side where you can find the latest audio from TDB.

The Dodgers still share the best record in the National League and we're over a month into the season. While I'm not completely sold that this team is the real deal quite yet, there is definitely an air of confidence and positivity in the Dodgers club house this year that seems to breeding success. Good evening to you, wherever you may be.

Dodgers Happy to be Home, Rivalry Begins

After a week long, six-game road trip to Denver and Chicago, alot has changed. Matt Kemp is no longer blistering the baseball like he was in April (his average has finally dipped below .400). Clayton Kershaw can now say that he has allowed three home runs in a single game for the first time in his career (against Rockies). And  the Dodgers infield depth has taken some pretty big hits (Uribe's Wrist, Hairston Jr's Hammy). But despite all of this less-than-stellar news, the Dodgers (18-10) still boast a 4-game lead in the standings and a new addition to the bench in the form of veteran Bobby Abreu. The 38 year old former All-Star was released in late April after he had expressed some dissatisfaction with the role on the Angels to which he had been relegated.

The reality is that Abreu's bat is still strong enough to contribute somewhere in major league baseball but the franchise that he has called home for the last 4+ seasons just signed Albert Pujols and clearly wanted more youth in the outfield. The Dodgers have picked up Bobby for the veterans minimum, while the Angels will be responsible for the rest of his previous contract (9 million this year). He arrives in Dodger Stadium for the first time as a member of the home team, completely aware and more importantly at peace with his new role as a bat off the bench or an outfielder available for a spot start once a week. It isn't the big splash that new ownership has made clear is coming, but it does add legitimate left handed power to a Dodgers bench that had none.

The Dodgers now play 18 of their next 23 games at home where they hold a 10-2 record on the season. 13 of their next 16 games will be played against inter-divisional foes. An opportunity that everyone has had circled on the calendar for some time now, as the first real chance for the Dodgers to separate themselves from the pack. They're happy to be off the road, but can't take their foot off the pedal as this next stretch of games could very well define the momentum of the entire 2012 season. As new ownership has their first official day in their offices at Dodgers stadium. The entire affair will be under the watchful eyes of Magic Johnson and Stan Kasten.

Here are a few pod casts. The first is a recap of yesterday's heartbreaking loss and treacherous road trip, while the other discusses the Dodgers and Giants rivalry that resumes this evening.

listen to ‘The #Dodgers limp home from a 2-4 road trip. As they prepare for the #SFgiants at Chavez Ravine.’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘The rivalry between the #SFGiants and #Dodgers is renewed for 2012 as they begin a 3-game series at #DodgerStadium’ on Audioboo