Timm's Two Cents

The momentum has faded. The pixie dust has run out. The Stunt Men have all but gone. It's time for Ned Colletti to make his move.  

Easier said than done, I know, but he absolutely needs to find another impact bat - now.  

The Dodgers need to protect this five game lead in the NL West.  If Ned was looking for help during the glorious first seven weeks of the season, he ought to be ramping up that effort tenfold now.  This is not the time to "sit and wait" and see how the club responds to this monstrous road trip and the injury to Matt Kemp.  Add a bat to this roster now, or that five game lead will be history inside of three weeks.

Ownership needs to understand this as well.  Look around: fans are not flooding Chavez Ravine in droves most nights (Thursday's announced crowd was 26,773 - seemed like half of them actually showed).  What do you think will happen if the Dodgers find themselves in second place - or even third - by the end of June?  Think they'll fill the Stadium to watch Adam Kennedy and James Loney hit .220?   (By the way, Loney is hitting .214 over his last ten games; Kennedy is "hitting" a measly .100).

And consider what adding an impact bat now does for this team once Matt Kemp returns. It'll be like Christmas.

Look, I'm not going to be so arrogant to suggest that this is an easy task. Nor am I going to pretend to have insight into which impact players are available and how the Dodgers might match up with such a club.  There are too many variables, unknowns, and secret handshakes to fully understand the nature of making a Manny Ramirez deal.  But that's exactly what Ned needs to find.  

It's time for Ned to pull out all of the stops. Time to take a calculated chance. Time to pull a rabbit out of his boots. 

Before it's too late.

Dodgers Press Release

Hall of Fame Broadcaster Vin Scully will be featured on the club’s final bobblehead night on Aug. 30 when the Dodgers take on Arizona at 7:10 p.m. Entering an unprecedented 63rd season broadcasting the Dodgers, Scully’s 62 years of consecutive service with the Dodgers is the longest of any sports broadcaster with one team. This marks the Hall of Famer’s first-ever Dodger Stadium bobblehead and it will be given out to fans with the first 50,000 valid tickets. 

Fans can purchase tickets to this game through a season ticket plan or the 10-game Flex Plan with tickets starting at $11 by visiting dodgers.com/promotions. Individual tickets will not be made available to the general public.

Around The Horn

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle believes now is the time for the Giants to make their move:  

The Dodgers' start has been legitimate but aided by a cushy early schedule. On Thursday, they complete a stretch of 23 of 28 games at home, with the away games in San Diego and Phoenix. Things are about to change. 

On Monday, the Giants begin a stretch of 20 of 32 at home, with all 12 road games on the West Coast, including three in Oakland. Meanwhile, on Friday, the Dodgers start a run of 20 games in 34 on the road, including an exhausting trip to Colorado, Philadelphia and Seattle. Moreover, they have only two days off before the All-Star break begins July 9, and those are four days apart (June 14 and 18).

There's no question that the schedule here tips in favor of the Giants.  It's more reason to be thankful for that 7.5 game lead in the West.  And that the Dodgers are getting healthy before the challenging days ahead.  

Timm's Two Cents

You know, I've been thinking...

• If the Dodgers were serious about Roy Oswalt, what's the plan?  Was this just a kicking of the tires? Is Ted Lilly seriously injured? Or perhaps Chad Billingsley has pitched his way out of Los Angeles (though Don Mattingly appropriately denies this). Sure, they'd likely have to eat some contract to deal Chad, but how long can you continue to hope that Billingsley becomes that trusted #2 starter? At this point, I believe we've seen what Chad is. And it might be time to move on. As for Lilly, here's hoping it's nothing too serious.  I look forward to seeing Nathan Eovaldi get a few starts.

• So how badly do the Dodgers want another starter?  Curious about who else they may pursue.  How about Ryan Dempster, Ned? 

• Tony Gwynn, Jr. is about to lose some serious playing time when Matt Kemp returns to the lineup this week. But perhaps more importantly, the Dodgers may be losing their current lead-off hitter in that process. On the one hand, Dee Gordon looks to have rebounded nicely from his benching last week.  But does Donnie really want to stick Gordon back on the fire?  Or, perhaps it's time to pass the baton to Elian Herrera.  The guy takes a ton of pitches and has a solid approach with every at-bat.  Oh, and he had a .421 OBP entering today's game.

• Vin Scully said it best Sunday afternoon, following a double steal in the second inning by Dee Gordon and Tony Gywnn, Jr. "So Don Mattinlgy, with that pocket full of miracles, just keeps pulling them out. Everything he seems to gamble with has worked, and it shows in the standings."  Scully's poetry this season has never been better as the Dodgers continue to give him a canvas for expression.  

Around The Horn

In case you haven't seen this week's Sports Illustrated yet, here's the Magic & Kemp cover and an excerpt of the article by Albert Chen...

ONLY THE BEGINNING

Dodgers centerfielder Matt Kemp is one of the best baseball players in the game, but the fact that he is still learning the game is a scary thought for opposing teams. As a teenager growing up just outside of Oklahoma City, Kemp loved basketball and played on his AAU team all summer. Baseball was strictly secondary. By his junior year in high school though, Kemp realized that his build would limit his basketball potential, and he began to focus on baseball (page 46).

In many ways, Kemp is still new to the game. What the Dodgers see now is a player whose mental skills are catching up to his physical skills. Manager Don Mattingly said, “This game is not so much physical. It’s when the mental side and physical side connect, that’s the most important part. Everyone’s road takes them on a different path. And with Matt, we’re beginning to see everything connect, and it’s a beautiful thing.”