Ned Colletti's Whiff 'N Poof Express

I remember seeing a BC comic strip one time where a sports reporter was interviewing the manager of the BC baseball team and he asked him if his teams lineup had a nickname like "Murder's Row" or the "Gas House Gang". The BC manager replied yes, he did, they were called the "Whiff 'N Poof Express".

That comic strip reminded me of Ned Colletti's free agent acquisitions in the past several years. This years crop of Catcher Matt Treanor, and infielders Mark Ellis, Adam Kennedy, and Jerry Hairston, Jr. are all at the tail end of their careers and are all utility men at best. Mark Ellis and Adam Kennedy are probably going to be penciled in as starters at Second and Third Base, respectively, and Catcher Matt Treanor may end up being the starter at Catcher.

Colletti's track record with these signings is not too good and I can use last years signing of Marcus Thames and Jay Gibbons as a reference point. I can only hope that someone emerges from the non-roster invitees or the minor leagues to take over a few positions.

Kershaw To The Rescue

Clayton Kershaw came to the rescue again as he pitched the best game of his young career, a two-hit shutout of the Florida Marlins. The Dodgers offense actually put eight runs on the board so Kershaw actually got to focus on pitching. He even got in on the 17 hit Dodgers action, going 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Alot of the Dodger roster that has been on the Disabled List this year led the Dodgers attack. Names like Rafael Furcal (a Homer and two RBI's), Casey Blake (two RBI's), Dioner Navarro (a couple of hits and an RBI), and Jay Gibbons (three hits) finally appeared in the boxscore in a positive fashion rather than on the Disabled list.

The Dodgers got some further good news when it was announced that Marcus Thames, Vicente Padilla, and Hong Chih-Kuo were ready to start rehab assignments. The bullpen did take another hit when Kenley Jansen was placed on the Disabled List.

Manager Don Mattingly and Matt Kemp were not around to see the end of the game as they got tossed for arguing balls and strikes. I am happy to see that kind of fire and passion from both of them and I loved the way Mattingly stood up for his player. Now I am hoping some pieces will start clicking and they can get a good winning streak going.

Fighting It Out for the Last Roster Spots

Its coming down to the last two or three weeks of the preseason and some decisions have to be made by Don Mattingly and his staff. An interesting battle is developing for the utility infielder position between Aaron Miles and Juan Castro. Miles has had a good spring with the bat and Castro's value will always be in his glove. They can both play multiple positions so they cancel each other out there.

With Furcal's ever present health issues and Blake's age and the fact the Dodgers want to rest him more, I would like to see Miles get that roster spot. I believe he has more pop in his bat (he is also a switch-hitter) and it is not a secret that the Dodgers cannot seem to put runs on the board.

It seems that longtime prospect Xavier Paul is going to be the odd man out in the fight for the last outfield spot. He is out of options and I would be willing to bet that some team will be glad to claim him off the waiver wire. The Outfield seems to be set with a Thames/Gibbons platoon in Left (which I am really not a big fan of), Kemp in Center, and Ethier in Right with Tony Gwynn, Jr. as the occasional fill in and left-handed bat off the bench.