Colletti Talks Betemit Trade

After last night's swap was announced to the media (Danys Baez, Willy Aybar and about 1.5 mil's worth of cash considerations to Atlanta for third baseman Wilson Betemit), Ned Colletti addressed the throng for a few minutes. Subjects ranged from the team's newest acquisition, how the Dodgers are in a "buying mode" and the potential for more moves before Monday. Colletti said his conversations with other G.M.'s (labeled "more frequent and serious" of late) have come more as a result of outgoing calls than incoming, a sign that he's taken on the pursuer role. And that the Dodgers will finish this month with a honkin' big phone bill, if not a blockbuster trade. It wasn't a long gathering, but here's some of what he had to say.

"He's already got some experience under his belt. He's played in a good organization, obviously, in Atlanta. His extra base production for the number of at bats that he's had, it's pretty strong. He's farther along than a prospect. More accomplished than a prospect... I think he's gonna be a real good bog league player. We'll take as many of those as we can get. Betemit is a versatile player who can play second, play short, play third..." - on Betemit

"We've seen him up here. He's got a great future. He's got a lot of potential, but we think Betemit's a little bit farther along right now in his development. So that's why there's a trade. " - on Willy Aybar

"Tomko is coming back to fit in Baez's place. With the addition of Giovanni (Carrara) a couple weeks ago and with Elmer the other day, we felt that we could take a chance." - On losing Danys Baez's contributions

"We've got a lot of things going on... I'd say from the middle of last night forward, there's been a whole lot more activity. Been a whole lot more conversations. Big Pieces. Smaller pieces... What will get done I can't predict because I'm only half the equation." - On the possibility of more trades on the horizon

"Sure, but again, a big bat is like an ace starting pitcher. There's not many of them available and you have to take it as it comes. If there's a player of that ilk available and I can make it work, we'll do it... I think this is an upgrade to our offense with Betemit." - On whether he's still seeking out a big bat.


AK

Extra! Extra! (7.29)

Grady Little said it would happen again. The players said it would happen again. The fans said it would happen again, if simply by the law of odds. But nonetheless, the Dodgers 13-1 win over the Nationals initially prompted more shock than fist pumps. But once that understandable reaction wore off, hard not to get stoked (or in Tommy's case, down to some serious eating) over starting a series with a good old fashioned thumping. Chad Billingsley may have thrown his usual gazillion pitches per outing, but at least he had something to show for the effort. The rook put a second "W" next to his name, and more importantly, found himself with plenty of teammates getting his back in said quest. The whole damn squad, more or less. And watching Andre Ethier, Cesar Izturis, and J.D Drew swat balls out of the park, you'd wonder why this squad ever hit such skids in the first place. Or why similar box scores have been more rare than undercooked sashimi.

Dodgers Win

No, it's not a typo.

BK

They Say That Cat AK Can Sniff Out a Trade On The Horizon like a Bad Mother...

Shut yo' mouth!

As I suspected earlier, the Dodgers have indeed made a move. It was just announced about two minutes ago that The Dodgers have traded Danys Baez, Willy Aybar and cash considerations (I had a feeling that guy was on the move) to the Braves for...

Wilson Betemit!

I'm about to listen to Ned Colletti discuss the trade, but I wanted to let y'all in the loop.

More to come later.

AK

We Interrupt My Watching the First Season of "The OC" on DVD for This Important Dispatch from Dodger Stadium

And you know this is big, because Ryan is about to confront Luke and tell him he needs to stop sleeping with Marissa's mom.

I got a call from AK, at the game today, and he told me there's a good chance the Dodgers have something in the works. In the pregame wrangle with Grady Little, the GM said Brett Tomko will be activated before the game... but they can't do it quite yet.

"We have a decision on Tomko. There's a couple more things going on right now where we're kind of on hold on the announcement on the move," Little said. "The other day it was health issues. Today it could be other things."

Says AK: "At minimum, it sounded like someone is going to get released, but it sounds like there could be a trade in the works. The throng seemed to get that impression. Little said he was just waiting for the phone to ring, and was as anxious as we were."

If it's Soriano, it would make for one of those cool deals in sports where guys clean out their lockers and walk to the other dugout. At least we know it won't require a police escort. But AK pointed out he could be off, and had no idea what players might be headed in, or out. It could just be someone getting designated.

"They gave no indication more than there's a phone, and it needs to ring," my brother said in an exclusive Blue Notes interview. It's actually a giant red phone in Little's office with one huge flashing light in the center. No buttons to call out, just a big red light in the center.

That last part may not be true, but it adds flavor and atmosphere to the scene.

—BK

Extra! Extra! (7.28)

Slow news days. Perhaps the nation's writers are having trouble varying descriptions of the Dodgers' struggles. It hasn't been a picnic for us. With any luck, Thursday's break will help the Dodgers regroup. Or refresh. Or rejuvenate. Re-anything, as long as some tangible results are quickly on display. Though by now it requires the help of a forklift, Grady Little is keeping his chin firmly high.

And on the positive side, the NL West remains the still the most winnable division this side of a beer softball league, so anything can happen. And since the Dodgers are running out of ways to lose, "anything" may start including wins purely by default.

Elmer Dessens rides like the wind when it comes to getting on the mound.

Will East Coast bias hurt Andre Ethier (or darker horse candidate Russell Martin) in a Rookie of the Year campaign?

If you're such a roto enthusiast that you play minor league fantasy baseball (not to judge, but... loser!), you may wanna consider releasing Chris Hobdy from your squad. Kid won't be of much value  for a while (unless you also play prison league fantasy sports).

Tonight's game: "Last meets Last" in a battle between the Dodgers and the Nationals. Rookie Chad Billingsley will attempt to turn the team's fortunes by outdueling Tony Armas. Bills picked up his first win two starts ago, then proceeded to get crushed. One hopes that was just a hiccup on the road to breakthrough, although Armas is certainly just as vulnerable a pitcher.

Blue Curses

We learned a few things in the Dodgers' 10-3 loss to San Diego on Wednesday afternoon.  First, Brad Penny is Rafael Palmeiro's finger-pointing equal both in technique (very crisp, excellent extension) and bad timing (just as Palmiero probably should have held off on his "vitamin B-12" shots before getting all high and mighty in front of Congress, Penny might have waited for an inning where he didn't give up six straight hits- including a crippling double to the pitcher- before freaking out at a teammate, even if Lofton's hustle was suspect, which it was).  We learned that what last week could have been a fun, laugh it off, "Hey, remember that time we lost seven of eight out of the break on our way to winning the West?" kind of deal has become an unqualified "Women and children first!" five alarm emergency after three losses to the division leading Padres has the Blue in dead last, 7.5 games out.  We learned that the Dodgers may now be too far gone to make a deadline deal effective. 

The Dodgers were never shoe ins for the Fall Classic, but c'mon!  Even the Royals look at L.A. right now and say, "Man, those guys really suck!"  I heard the front office is getting sympathy cards from the Pirates, and that Forest Lawn is saving space for the entire bunch.  But how the hell did this happen?  Bad pitching?  Horrible hitting?  Debilitating brain cramps?  Questionable decision making from players and management?  Those could explain it, but the Dodgers have lost in soul sucking ways that have an air of inevitability to them, as if the results are out of their hands?  Like, say, a curse?    

Extra! Extra! (7.27)

On the plus side, it can't get any worse. It really can't. Short of players showing up drunk and passing out before the sixth inning, how much further can the Dodgers sink than recently displayed?

Yesterday afternoon's 10-3 loss to San Diego completed a Padres sweep, the second straight series that left the Dodgers thoroughly broomed. The Blue actually jumped out to a quick lead (for new fans unfamiliar with such proceedings, that's when the Dodgers have more runs than their opponent), but relinquished it by the third inning.

The Padres broke things open by shelling ace hurler Brad Penny, the one Dodger pitcher worthy of theoretical confidence. Even Pads pitcher Jake Peavy got in his licks, hitting the Okie for a double and a long ball. Then things got really bad for Penny. The fiery righty took exception to the speed with which Kenny Lofton ran down a Dave Roberts ground ball and let his displeasure be known. The two ended up screeching at each other in the dugout (to the delight of their opponents). Both claim the matter is behind them, but the conflict represents a larger problem for Penny. The box score represents a continual problem for the Dodgers.

I Don't Mean to Panic...

...but this team hasn't won a game since Odalis Perez was traded. Not a single game. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I think at this point, it's fair to say that he was the glue that held the squad together. They cannot win without O.D.! He's like a left-handed-throwing Paul LoDuca!

OK, we're not quite at that stage yet, but after Wednesday afternoon's 10-3 loss to San Diego, the Blue's 13th in 14 outings since the All-Star break, it's getting pretty hard not to give in to wild, irrational notions about what's wrong with the team.

So what is the problem? Let's hit the checklist. Bad hitting? Check. Bad pitching? Check. Lousy defense? Check. Mental lapses? Hella check. Lack of passion? Check. Lack of dugout arguments between your starting pitcher and veteran centerfielder? Good news, that's not a problem anymore. Brad Penny and Kenny Lofton had to be separated after it looked like Penny felt Lofton didn't put in a great effort on a shallow fly ball to center that fell in between Lofton and Willy Aybar. UPDATE: Your fearless reporter bricked this hard.  It was a ground ball past Aybar that Lofton played into a Dave Roberts double.  Bad mistake.  Thanks to those who pointed out the error.

Things got very finger pointy and yelly (I'm sure television viewers appreciated the first bit of heated action from the Dodgers in a while), but by the end of the game, they said it was talked about and done with.

"It was frustration," said Lofton. "It's over with. When you're going through a losing streak, that can happen. It's over." (As for the play itself, both Little and Lofton pointed out that its tough to pick up balls against the new, pale painted seats at the Ravine. It's a complaint that we've heard from home and visiting teams all year, so it is, at least, a viable excuse. Granted, it doesn't explain the balls Lofton has misplayed at night, but one thing at a time.)

Little also blamed the blowup on frustration. The kind that can sink in when the opposing pitcher not only not only goes seven strong, allowing only five hits and striking out eight, but out-RBIs the home squad 4-3, as San Diego's Jake Peavy managed to do today. Or the kind that sinks in when your team seems to be BASE jumping to the bottom of the NL West without a parachute.

One programming note — the Dodgers didn't end up making the anticipated roster move to activate Brett Tomko. They're gonna marinate in that decision until Friday. The blood tests on Danys Baez came up clean. Just a stomach virus. He told me he'll be fine when the Nats come to town.

Wish I could say the same about the Dodgers.

—BK

And Now For Something Completely Different

Grady Little has been in baseball a long time. A very long time. So to hear him say as he did this morning that he's never gone through a stretch quite like the one the Dodgers are currently experiencing is a little unnerving, unprecedented losing spells not being an area in which teams hope to forge new ground. I asked him how he's managed to keep a positive public face while the team heads southward, when other managers might blow up publicly and/or call out players.

"I keep things in the right perspective. I've got a job to do and I know that I'm doing it the very best I can. There's not much more I can ask of myself. Things happen a lot of times that are out of our control, so there's not much you can do about it. You do as much as you can to make it better, but then you've got to wait for the results," Little said. "If I the manager or my coaches start to lose it, it's going to trickle down. And that's not going to happen here. We're going to continue working and doing our jobs as we expect our players to do, and we'll all get through this together."

You know things are bad when the manager is giving the media pep talks, but that's exactly what happened.

"This is not an easy time for us as a ballclub, and the end result is it's not an easy time for you. God dang, you get tired of asking the same questions, and take my word we're trying to get you some variety," he said. "We have a lot of respect for what you guys have to do, so just hang in there. Things have to change. Nobody likes to keep writing about losing games every day, and we don't like to play them either. Hang in there."

He's right. We could use some variety.