A Streak Like No Other

The Dodgers are on a winning streak like no other in Dodgers history. They are 41-8 since they were 30-42 at their lowest point of the season. They were behind 9 1/2 games to the Arizona Diamondbacks at that point. They have now built a 8 1/2 game lead in the National League West. Their current winning streak is nine straight. They swept the Tampa Bay Rays, one of the Contenders in the American League East, last weekend. They won an improbable 7-6 game in which they were behind 6-0 and won 7-6 in extra innings when Rays reliever Fernando Rodney took a one hopper and potental game emding double play and fired it into centerfield, allowing Adrian Gonzalez to score the winning run. They beat Mets wunderkind and potential Rookie of the Year, Matt Harvey, in a sweep of the Mets. Hanley Ramirez comes back from missing nine games and stayed just as hot as he did before he got hurt. No matter who they plug into the lineup to replace hurt regulars, they hit like future Hall of Famers, Skip Schumaker and Nick Punto are prime examples of that. Schumaker had a 4 RBI game against the St. Louis Cardinals and Punto hit his second homerun of the year against the New York Mets. Punto got to celebrate his homerun with television and movie star Danny De Vito. De Vito was wearing his Nick Punto #7 Dodgers jersey and De Vito might also be one of the few people that Punto towers over.

All Things End Eventually

The Dodgers finally lost a road game the other night to the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 and Clayton Kershaw was once again the victim of a lack of run support. Kershaw (10-7) pitched well enough to win (6 innings, 2 runs) but Brandon League came in and did his thing to the tune of 1/3 of an inning, giving up 3 runs and 2 homeruns. The Dodgers had 9 hits but could only push across 1 run, Adrian Gonzalez driving in Carl Crawford in the 6th inning. Crawford and Nick Punto had 2 hits a piece and that was about it for the Dodgers offense. 15 road wins in a row has been the longest streak since the San Francisco Giants won 16 in a row in 1916 and I ssomehow knew it was going to end in St.Louis. That streak is very impressive nonetheless, and they still have two games left in St. Louis before returning home.

Scattered And Smothered

I had to borrow this headline from the Waffle House menu. Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu gave up 11 hits but only 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings in yesterday's 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs but he hung around long enough to get his 10th win on the season. The Dodgers offense was led by Nick Punto's 2 RBI's and Yasiel Puig, who was on base 4 out of the 5 times he was at the plate. He had 2 singles, a walk, and was hit by a pitch and drove in a run. Puig also threw himself all over Wrigley Fields' outfield grass making one sliding catch, barely missed on an all out sprint into the right center field gap in which the ball popped out of his glove, and a missile of a throw from right field to Juan Uribe at third that almost nailed a sliding Junior Lake. A lot of people in baseball and in the press are questioning Puig's attitude and his respect for the game but you really cannot question his effort between the foul lines. He is raw and he makes his share of mistakes but the potential is unlimited. Manager Don Mattingly and Second Baseman Mark Ellis were not around to see the end of the game as they got tossed by Home Plate Umpire Alan Porter for arguing balls and strikes in the top of the fourth inning. Porter's strike zone was inconsistent all game and he called Ellis out on a pitch that was outside. Even the Cubs announcers commented that Porter gave Ellis a quick hook and Mattingly even a quicker one. In Mattingly's argument with Porter in defense of Ellis, the replays looked like Porter and Mattingly came in contact with each other. It looked to me like Porter initiated the contact. I am sure Major League Baseball's League Office will be taking a look at that one.

The Dodgers Bench

The Dodgers bench this season has been a good mixture of veterans who can play multiple positions and rookies who have been in the revolving door between Albuquerque, Chattanooga, and Los Angeles. I was most impressed with utility man Nick Punto. It seemed like every time the Dodgers scored an important run against the Toronto Blue Jays, Punto was at the top of the Dodgers dugout steps being the first player to congratulate the player that had just scored. He can play multiple positions with third base being his natural position but he gets the occasional start, he's a defensive replacement, and he can come off the bench as a pinch hitter from either side of the plate. Veterans Juan Uribe, Skip Schumaker (who hit his first home run of the season in the Toronto series) and Jerry Hairston, Jr., have performed the same functions. Several rookies and young players-Yasiel Puig, Scott Van Slyke, Tim Federowicz, Dee Gordon, and Justin Sellers- have made key contributions in between shuttle runs between Albuquerque and Los Angeles. Puig is the only one that seems to be here to stay. During the Toronto series, I was impressed to see Puig sitting between two veteran players, Uribe and Hanley Ramirez, when he was out of the lineup and he was cutting up with the two of them and didn't seem anywhere near the arrogant player that has been portrayed in the press. Now if they could just get him to lay off that pitch just off the plate with two strikes.

The Kershaw Leap

In Football there is the Lambeau Leap and in Baseball, there is now the Kershaw Leap. In the top of the fifth inning with the Dodgers holding a commanding 9-1 lead, one of the Washington Nationals hit a screaming line drive towards third base. Nick Punto, all 5'9" of him, leaped high into the air to snag the line drive. The replay showed Clayton Kershaw leaping high into the air at the same time Punto did like he was going to catch the line drive himself. His eyes were glued on Punto the entire time and it was like he was willing Punti to catch the ball. That kind of passion displayed by Kershaw was just a natural display of a desire to win in a game, for all practical purposes, that was already over. He dispalyed that same sort of passion when he struck out twice, swinging at bad pitches. The Dodgers scored 7 runs in the top of the second on the strength of a lead off solo home run by Matt Kemp his 5th, fresh off the Disabled List, and a three-run home run by Hanley Ramirez, his 10th, both off hanging sliders from Nationals' starter Jordan Zimmerman. Matt Kemp ended up 3 for 4 with 3 RBI's, but twisted his ankle making the final out of the top of the 9th. It was a meaningless play in what ended up being a 9-2 win and now Kemp is going to miss even more time. Clayton Kershaw (9-6) pitched 7 innings, allowing 2 hits (both long, solo home runs by ex-Dodger Jayson Werth) and struck out 9 with no walks. Kemp, Carl Crawford, and Mark Ellis all had three hits and Kemp and Ramirez had 3 RBI's a piece. The Dodgers handed Jordan Zimmerman his first home loss on the season.

Another Game, Another Loss

The Dodgers lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks last night 5-3 as closer Brandon League gave up a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lose it. As the old baseball joke goes, a closer is supposed to put out the fires, not pour gasoline on them. Josh Beckett had a decent start, good enough to get a win anyway, but the Dodgers cannot seem to get over the hump. That drops them to 13-19 on the season. Nick Punto is the only one that brought a productive bat with him to the game as he doubled and hit his first homer on the season. The Dodgers left 15 men on base led by Catcher Ramon Hernandez and his .045 Batting Average with 4. That Aaron Harang trade is looking better and better all the time. There comes a point and time when it is time to cut your losses and bring Tim Federeowicz up and let him get some meaningful playing time at the major league level.

Adrian Gonzalez Breaks Out

Adrian Gonzalez drove in 4 runs yesterday in support of Hyun-Jin Ryu's 6 1/3 innings of 2 run baseball. He picked up his first major league win in the process and gave the Dodgers the sweep of the Pirates in the 6-2 victory. Ryu's only mistake was allowing a two-run homer by Andrew McCutchen in the top of the first. The Dodgers quickly got that back on a two-run single by Adrian Gonzalez in the bottom of the frame. Gonzalez had three hits, all singles, on the day and Justin Sellers had his first hit on the season, a solo homerun in the seventh inning. I still really don't understand the reasoning behind keeping Sellers over Dee Gordon to open the season, especially with Hanley Ramirez on the Disabled List. Sellers is not going to hit much over .200 whereas Gordon is probably going to hit more but with less power. Gordon is going to offer much more speed on the basepaths and on defense as evidenced by his highlight making catch for the Albuquerque Isotopes a few games ago. Sellers does offer defensive versatility as he can play multiple positions but so can Luis Cruz and Nick Punto. Matt Kemp had his second hit and second RBI on the season so here is to Kemp breaking out of his mini-slump and regaining his MVP form.

The Trade Of The Century

The Dodgers pulled off an unbelievable trade today with the Boston Red Sox. They were able to acquire First Baseman Adrian Gonzalez, Outfielder Carl Crawford, Starting Pitcher Josh Beckett, and Third Baseman/Utility Man Nick Punto. The Dodgers gave up First Baseman James Loney (who is due to be a Free Agent at the end of the season), Pitchers Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster, and Infielder Ivan DeJesus Jr., and Outfielder Jerry Sands. With the exception of De La Rosa, I do not believe any of the players traded had a future with the Dodgers. The Dodgers have waited forever for Loney to live up to his potential, Webster is still 2 or 3 years away, DeJesus never could get over the hump, and Sands was never really going to get a legitimate chance because of the Dodgers crowded outfield. For the Boston Red Sox, this deal was primarily financial. They unloaded $261 Million in salary and the Dodgers opened up the checkbook like they never have before especially during the McCourt years. With the exception of Punto, all of the players the Dodgers acquired have been All-Stars, MVPs in one way, shape, or form, and are still in their prime. Carl Crawford will not be able to help the Dodgers this year but the Dodgers have seriously changed the balance of power in the National League West.