Hey Dodger fans, Owen here.

I’m one of you. I wasn’t the happiest when Zack Grienke left for Arizona.

Why didn’t the Dodgers match the offer? How could they give up one of the best pitchers in the game?!

LOUD NOISES!

It’s only one game, but calm Dodger fans have to be feeling pretty good about the team’s conservative approach to giving the lovable righty big money. I still like Grienke. I still think he’s a good player. But when some combination of Julio Urias, Jose DeLeon, Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, Jharel Cotton, and maybe others are contributing at the major league level in the next 1-3 years, the Dodgers’ free agent chastity this past offseason will be lauded.

In fact, I’m going to make a prediction here: After a quiet offseason for free agents in 2015-16, the team will spend BIG money this upcoming offseason. As some of their young players come into their own, the team will make a concerted effort to build it into a true dynasty.

In case you’re worried that the team might not have a chance at the World Series, think about this: This time last year, I felt way better about the overall makeup of the roster, and look where it got them! The Royals didn’t look like a World Series team before either of the past two years, and look where it got them. There isn’t any reason to think this year’s Dodgers can’t get a little better, a little luckier, and make it to the World Series.

I know they won’t win 15-0 every game, and yes, the generalization of what I saw in one game to an entire season is ridiculous, but honestly — we need to stop being mad about Grienke. This is a playoff team again. To be honest, even with Grienke, that’s all it was the past few years too.

For some, the ninth inning was the most stressful frame of Wednesday night’s Dodgers-Giants matchup. For me, it was the eighth.

At about 1:37 of the video below, Kershaw catches Giants’ pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez looking. Kershaw, who is usually pretty mild-mannered and not demonstrative during his starts, gives a mini fist pump and lets out a primal yell.

He didn’t over-do it. It was quick. It was intense. It was something Dodger fans needed to see.

Kershaw gutted-out a 132-pitch, 15 strikeout complete game win, giving the Dodgers some additional room to breathe in their division.

Kershaw is the unquestioned leader of the Dodgers, who are not 18 games above .500, sitting on a 6 1/2 game cushion in the National League West. Kershaw’s team is not a generally demonstrative one. Veteran stars like Adrian Gonzalez keep a levelheaded energy that is really great for managing a 162 game season.

Some games, though, mean more than others. Over the stretch run, the Dodgers’ games against the second-place and rival Giants have a heightened atmosphere. It’s nice to see the team step things up and show how dominant they can be in those situations.

After seeing the team get no hit twice in 10 days, I wasn’t sure there was another notch these guys could hit. I wasn’t sure that when push came to shove, these guys would shove back.

Going into the recent Cubs and Giants series, the Dodgers’ season was poised for a turning point. They came out of the past six days 5-1. Yes, they got no-hit in that one game, but their 2 1/2 game lead is now 6 1/2. Fans should be breathing a little easier today.

Despite the breakouts of Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero, the hot start of Adrian Gonzalez has been they key to the Dodgers’ hot start. By Owen Main

The Dodgers are 13-8 at the end of the first month of the season — two games ahead in the National League West. The fun thing is, they haven’t got close to hitting their stride.

I thought it would be an OK time to summarize the good and the bad of the first month of the 2015 season.

The Good

First place

No matter what, setting a tone early-on in the season is important. The Dodgers have won five of the seven series they’ve played so far and, while they were swept by the Giants in San Francisco, they also had a seven-game winning streak.

Greinke keeps rolling

While Clayton Kershaw finds his form and the rest of the Dodgers pitching staff struggles to stay afloat, Zack Greinke has been exactly who he has been since he joined the Dodgers — a second ace. Grienke has a .918 WHIP and is 4-0 in his five starts in April.

Howie Kendrick is as-advertised

Howie Kendrick has been really, really good. He sports a .295/.353/.526 slash line and has been everything the Dodgers have needed him to be.

When people in the know said how good Howie Kendrick would be, many Dodger fans, especially those who are fans of the type of game Dee Gordon plays, didn’t want to hear it. All Kendrick has done is start the season in Kendrick-like form, contributing to wins, fighting in at-bat after at-bat. I really like watching replays of Kendrick at-bats.

Joc Pederson

Neat.

Joc Pederson, who owns the MLB's best walk rate, also appears to be hitting the ball quite hard: pic.twitter.com/AnD7QPcjEQ

— August Fagerstrom (@AugustF_MLB) May 1, 2015

Adrian Gonzalez‘ hot start

This has been the real story of the beginning of the season. Gonzalez leads the National League in home runs (8!!), slugging percentage, OPS, and total bases. Dude is lighting it up. I don’t expect him to all season, but I’ll certainly enjoy it while it lasts.

Alex Guerrero

In just 28 at-bats this season, Guerrero has been dominant, bringing much optimism from Dodger fans. Five home runs, 13 RBIs, and a 1.505 OPS is a decent start for the enigmatic Cuban. Especially with the losses of Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford, Guerrero should get a chance to prove that he can hit for real in the major leagues.

The Bad

Injuries

Unfortunately, the list of key injuries to the Dodgers was long in April. Perhaps better that they come now instead of July or August, but here’s a short list:

Yasiel Puig

Carl Crawford

Brandon McCarthy

Joel Peralta

Hyun-jin Ryu

Kenley Jansen

Chis Withrow

Brandon League

Brandon Beachy

In all, nine players are currently on the disabled list, including three pitchers named Brandon. Ryu’s and McCarthy’s injuries are the most concerning for me. The starting rotation for the Dodgers could hinge on the performance of guys from the minor leagues.

Mike Bolsinger, David Huff, and Scott Baker have already made one start each. Zach Lee, Joe Wieland, and Carlos Frias could all be future options as well.

The list of replacements isn’t bad if we’re talking about a spot-start or a fifth starter situation. The problem is that right now Brett Anderson is being depended on as the THIRD starter and the fourth and fifth spots look like they’ll be filled with the list above, at least until Ryu comes back.

Starting pitching depth

This is kind of addressed above. The Dodgers have stockpiled talented hitters who are major-league ready. Despite trading Matt Kemp and injuries to Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford, the team has three or four Major League-capable outfielders to choose from. On top of that, Darwin Barney, Austin Barnes, Chris Heisey, and Enrique Hernandez are all at the ready down on the farm should the Dodgers need them in Los Angeles. Corey Seager could be successful in the big leagues RIGHT NOW if he was needed.

But for all the depth in hitting the Dodgers have amassed, the pitching depth is thinning-out pretty quickly. Kershaw and Greinke are as good as any duo in the majors, but after that things are starting to get rocky. Brett Anderson hasn’t gotten hurt yet, but he was supposed to be the fifth starter. He’s now in the number-three role.

It looks like Carlos Frias will get the start tonight against Arizona. 

The good news is that there are guys who could fill the role (see the list above), but none of them are really proven. Will the Dodgers go outside of what has been their plan so far and reach in a trade for a pitcher like Cole Hamels? Who else could be available as the season goes on?

I guess as long as the team keeps playing like they are and maintains their first-place standings, maybe the questions about starting pitching depth become moot. If they start to skid or fall in the standings, how much patience will the new management team exhibit?

Only 141 more games left, you guys.

The baseball season started today and Mike Krukow thinks Yasiel Puig is dumb for not pegging the Giants as their biggest rival. In San Luis Obispo, I’d say they are, though the two teams have not met in the playoffs since the Wild Card round started.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been going position by position and comparing what personnel the two teams have in preparation for the 2015 season. Let’s finish up this blasted series by comparing pitching staffs.

A quick note — I had this entire post written, clicked save, and it went away into the abyss. The second complete draft of something like this is always worse. That means worse than my usual posts. Consider this fair warning.

Some of the spots in a rotation — who is the third versus fourth starter, for example — are up for debate. I’m going to go in the order of ZiPS Projections for the Dodgers and Giants. Follow the two links in the last sentence if you want to see those projections. I’ll refer to them some in the text to follow.

Ace — Clayton Kershaw vs. Madison Bumgarner

Clayton Kershaw. The best pitcher on the planet. By Owen Main

Clayton Kershaw is, without a doubt, the best pitcher in baseball. He’s won three of the past four Cy Young Awards in the National League, including the past two.

Madision Bumgarner is coming off one of the greatest postseason pitching performances in recent memory. He has three World Series rings, which is two more than Kershaw.

Bumgarner is less than two years younger than the 27 year-old Kershaw, and both will surely have spectacular seasons. According the Fangraphs, Kershaw has been worth no less than 4.5 Wins Above Replacement for each of the past five seasons, including 7.0 last season.

Bumgarner has been worth three or more wins each of the past four seasons, including 4.1 last season — the second best season of his career.

Kershaw is the better pitcher of the two, but Giants fans won’t be rushing to trade places anytime soon. They believe Bumgarner has something Kershaw doesn’t come the post-season. According to the numbers and the whole of the past half-decade, I’ll take Kershaw all day.

Advantage: Dodgers

 Number Two — Zack Greinke vs. Jake Peavy

After Bumgarner, the Giants’ rotation gets really interesting. None of the other four truly stands-out. Peavy is a pitcher who has tormented the Dodgers for years. At the age of 33, Peavy is nearly a decade now from his truly dominant form, but last season he was good for 200-plus innings. His stuff isn’t what it used to be, but Giants fans would be happy with a stable and dependable pitcher that Peavy has been over the past few years. He’s not amazing, but he gives Bruce Bochy a chance to win whenever he steps on the mound.

ZiPS projects Peavy for about two wins about replacement in 2015.

Greinke would be an ace on most staffs. At the age of 31, his great performance over the past three years has been overshadowed by his left-handed teammate. ZiPS projects him for 3.7 WAR — basically splitting the difference between his last two seasons.

A few things I like especially about Greinke are his grittiness, athleticism, and quirkiness. He is the only Dodgers pitcher who has stood up for his hitters over the past few seasons, and it cost him time two years ago when Carlos Quentin broke his collar bone. Greinke can hit a little bit and was even the Gold Glove Award winner last year — the first such award of his career.

Greinke’s ceiling and floor for performance this year are higher than anyone on the Giants, save Bumgarner. He can opt-out of his contract after this season and sign an even bigger one too, so there’s definitely a little extra incentive for him to pitch really well this year.

The signing of Greinke can also be called Ned Colletti’s best signing as a General Manager. Greinke has been everything Dodger fans could have asked for, and then some.

Peavy would be a great fourth or fifth starter, but in the widest margin of this post, Greinke beats-out Peavy.

Advantage: Dodgers

Number Three – Hyun-jin Ryu vs. Tim Hudson

Things start to get interesting here. Much like Peavy, the 39 year-old Hudson isn’t exactly the pitcher he once was. Giants fans will tell me that he didn’t need to be that good to be a part of a championship rotation, and they’d be right. Things broke well for Hudson and the Giants last year and Hudson started 31 games. Even with a losing (9-13) record — the first losing season of Hudson’s career — he still gave the Giants value and stability in a pitcher they could depend on. While there are no indications of it other than his age, Giant fans hope this isn’t the season Hudson breaks-down completely.

Speaking of breaking-down, Hyun-jin Ryu, the Dodgers 28 year-old lefty from Korea, has started the season on the Disabled List.

Over the past few seasons, Ryu has quietly been a really really good pitcher. Greinke and Kershaw in front of him makes him not as flashy, but Ryu is a dependable, solid, and slightly overqualified number-three starter. Recently, I went down a Ryu YouTube rabbit hole. It was quite enjoyable.

Shoulder discomfort shut him down at the beginning of the season, but Ryu has generally been a workhorse when the Dodgers have needed it most over the past few years, going 28-15 over that span.

If Ryu wasn’t injured, this matchup would be a slam-dunk. Instead, a Giants fan could make an argument that having a dependable Hudson all season is better than say, half a season of Ryu (which would be a really bad scenario for the Dodgers in general). Hudson will probably have a solid, dependable year. Ryu though, will likely be much better when he does pitch.

Ryu has been solid for two years and even if he misses a month or up to even a few months, he still is a player I’d rather have than a 39 year-old Hudson.

Advantage: Dodgers

Number Four – Brandon McCarthy vs. Matt Cain

Health is always a huge question-mark with pitchers. The fourth and fifth starter positions for both the Dodgers and Giants will put health at a huge premium.

When healthy, Brandon McCarthy is a really good pitcher. In 2014, McCarthy started 30-plus games for the first time in his career (32 total), split between the Diamondbacks and Yankees. In exactly 200 innings, he put up a 4.05 ERA overall and a 2.89 ERA with the Yankees. Clearly, something clicked after his move to New York, and the Dodgers are hoping whatever it was can be sustainable throughout this season. McCarthy is also, immediately, the best twitter follow on the team (A.J. Ellis and Brett Anderson are both also, very good follows). The Dodgers seem pretty confident that he can stay healthy and effective evidenced by the four-year, $48 million contract they gave him this off season.

If McCarthy stays healthy, he’ll be exactly the kind of quality, middle of the rotation guy they need to be the kind of consistent team fans are hoping for.

Matt Cain used to be dominant. His statistics from 2007- 2010 (or even 2012) show a pretty great four or six-year run. After being good for 30-plus games per season for eight straight years, Cain’s body started to break down last season, when he only started 15 games, going 2-7. His WHIP, FIP, HR/9, and BB/9 all were at career-high levels. The Giants still went all Giants on everyone and won the World Series anyway, but the 30 year-old Cain is looking to bounce back this year and show at least some return to form going into his 30’s.

This one is really hard to call, so I’m going to take the coward’s way out and call this matchup a push. McCarthy is a little older, has less mileage, and probably is a little more injury prone. Cain’s numbers have declined over the past few seasons and now he’s starting to also fit into the “injury prone” category. Since the first draft of this post, Cain has been placed on the Disabled List to start the season.

In the end, I think Cain is still potentially likely to be more stable than McCarthy if he’s healthy, but McCarthy’s upside I see as higher, especially given his second half last season. Dodger fans might think I’m giving Cain too much credit here, but I’m comfortable calling this one just a straight-up push for now.

Advantage: Push

Brett Anderson could have a solid comeback season — if he can stay healthy. By Owen Main

Number Five – Brett Anderson vs. Tim Lincecum

While Matt Cain was making his ridiculous six-year run, Lincecum was going on a ridiculous run of his own. The Freak won the National League Cy Young Award in 2008 and 2009, led the league in strikeouts for three straight years, and was worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 23 WAR over a four-year period. After starting 32-plus games per season for five years in a row, Lincecum started just 26 games last season, in his age-30 season.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Lincecum has been worse than a replacement-level pitcher since 2011. Peripheral stats aside, Giants fans will tell me that Lincecum still got 33 starts for a World Series champion in 2012 and 26 for a World Series Champion in 2014.

By all accounts, Brett Anderson is really good — when he isn’t hurt. The former A’s lefty was good for Oakland in 2009 and 2010, but has only started 19 total games over the past three years. Anderson’s value to the Dodgers this season is probably going to be based on how many starts he’s actually able to make.

If the Dodgers even get 15-20 starts out of him, he could be really really useful. If his starts are in single digits and he gets hurt, then he’ll be less useful.

Advanced statistics aside and giving both guys some kind of benefit of the doubt, my question here is whether I would rather have an aging, less effective Lincecum for 25-30 starts, or whether Brett Anderson for (as ZIPS projects) 10 starts. While I like the argument about other guys also adding value after Anderson’s 10 or so starts for the Dodgers, I really think there is something to having a known entity on the mound. Lincecum has three World Series rings and two Cy Young Awards. He has been out there nearly every day for a lot of years and that, to me, is worth something over the course of the season, even if his skills are probably declining.

Hey, it’s the fifth starter, so literally ANYTHING could happen, but for now, I’m going to give Lincecum the nod, at least until I can see like 15 Brett Anderson starts.

Advantage: Giants

The Rest of the Story

Other Dodgers starters — Joe Wieland, Mike Bolsinger, Carlos Frias, Zach Lee, Julio Urias, Erik Bedard, Brandon Beachy

Other Giants starters – Ryan Vogelsong, Yusmeiro Petit, others?

The Dodgers definitely have the depth advantage here. They’ve picked up some “scrap-heap” guys in Bedard and Beachy — neither of whom have much risk associated and both of whom could give some spot starts. Joe Weiland is an interesting option, should Ryu stay on the Disabled List for long, or should any other Dodgers starter go there.

Zach Lee is another option the Dodgers have. A former top pick, Lee’s stock has slid some over the past year. But his pedigree is there, and he might have already been given a big Major League shot in some organizations. Frias is potentially a guy the Dodgers could use and I haven’t even mentioned Julio Urias, who probably still needs at least one more year in the minors.

As for the Giants, Vogelsong has already been called into action and will start the Giants’ second game today, with both Peavy and Cain going on the DL. He’s been serviceable, but not great since his hot start a few years ago. Petit is an interesting option and, given the collective age of the Giants’ starting staff, should also get an opportunity at some point this year to show what he’s made of.

There are lots of other pitchers on the Giants’ pipeline page, including former Cal Poly hurler Chase Johnson at #24, but I haven’t heard a whole lot about them. Maybe it’s because I’m not paying enough attention… .

That said, when it comes to organizational depth at the starting pitcher position, the Dodgers are in pretty darn good shape compared not only to the Giants, but to most other teams in baseball.

Advantage: Dodgers

Overall, the Dodgers have clear advantages in pitching outlook, but there’s a big caveat in the form of three trophies now sitting in San Francisco. Bruce Bochy is probably the best manager in baseball, and pitching staffs are affected by how they are utilized. It remains to be seen how the Dodgers protect, utilize, and try to get the most out of their guys this season. I’d rather be Don Mattingly with the Dodgers’ depth this season, but we know Bochy gets the most out of his guys.

What did I miss? Who did I miss? Why am I wrong? Add your comments below!

With all the recent excitement in the Dodgers front office, people may have forgotten the actual players. Going into the 2014 offseason after what was a very disappointing postseason run for the Dodgers, it seems as if they may not look the same come March. Hanley Ramirez seems a lock to not re-sign and the outfield situation needs to be finally solved. Josh Beckett is retiring and the bullpen needs to get rid of almost everyone. The Dodgers need to have a good off-season in order to reposition themselves as the class of the National League.

New president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has a large task ahead of him with the Dodgers. By Andrew_Friedman_and_Joe_Maddon.jpeg: Jennifer Huber derivative work: Delaywaves talk (Andrew_Friedman_and_Joe_Maddon.jpeg) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

With Beckett gone, starting pitching should also be looked at. The Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw, Zach Greinke, and Hyun-jin Ryu as their front three starters, but the back end of the rotation is the key to winning championships. Like Brian Wilson, Dan Haren will return to the club after picking up his player option. Haren gives them a nice fourth or fifth starter, but they need another.

There are a many options the Dodgers can choose from but I suggest the idea of signing a fourth starter rather than a fifth. Some interesting names are available that include Ervin Santana, Hiroki Kuroda, and Jake Peavy. The Dodgers’ spending habits lately would indicate at least a mild interest in players Jon Lester or Max Scherzer, though new management might not be as excited at the idea of another huge contract.

Finally, the Dodgers need to solve their outfield situation and upgrade a few positions. The Dodgers have too many outfielders and need to do something about it. Who gets the boot?

Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp, or Yasiel Puig? Puig is basically untouchable, as he should be. Kemp should be as well after his resurgence last season, which leaves Ethier or Crawford. They both have terrible contracts, which will make it tricky to trade them. Trading Ethier seems the most likely to happen. A team like the Detroit Tigers may be interested, especially with uncertainty surrounding Torii Hunter.

Upgrading at the catcher position would vastly improve the team. AJ Ellis commands the plate as well as any catcher in the league but his hitting isn’t what the Dodgers need to get them over the hump. The only clear option to replacing Ellis for the Dodgers is with Russell Martin. Martin would bring some extra power as well as his control of the plate to the Dodgers, a team he spent a large chunk of his career with.

With Hanley Ramirez half way out the door, the shortstop position is open while they wait for prospect Corey Seager to grow. Some intriguing options in the free agent market, but making a trade with the White Sox for shortstop Alexi Ramirez makes sense. Maybe an Ethier, prospect and money for Ramirez trade would work?

It is essential that the Dodgers have a good and productive offseason in order to repeat as NL West champions and hopefully mirror their Northern California rivals and hoist a World Series trophy for the first time since 1988.

After making it to the NLCS a season ago and going on their historic 42-8 run to make it there, the Dodgers seemed primed to be legitimate World Series contenders in 2014. Yet the start of the 2014 season seems oddly familiar to the 2013. The likelihood of them going on a run like they did last year, though, is very far-fetched. So the question remains what is wrong with them right now?

Currently the Dodgers hold a record of 19-18 and are sitting in the third place position in the NL West. They started out winning four of their first five games and were looking good. Recently though, they have dropped six of their last eight games. They are a pathetic 2-6 head-to-head against the Giants who are clearly the best team in the NL West right now. They have had some injuries including Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu and A.J. Ellis but that shouldn’t be an excuse for a team with such a high payroll and as much talent as they have.

It’s been said before but if the Dodgers don’t start winning soon, Don Mattingly may be looking for a new job. By http://www.flickr.com/photos/pvsbond/, via Wikimedia Commons

Aside from their obvious struggles, the Dodgers have had some bright spots this season, including the play of Dee Gordon, Dan Haren, Zach Greinke and Adrian Gonzalez.

Gordon, who  is leading the team with a .328 batting average, has also  stolen 21 bases already which is the best in baseball, nine more than the next guy behind him.

Free agent acquisition, Dan Haren, has shown why the Dodgers signed him with his 4-1 record and his 2.68 ERA. With all the injuries to the pitching staff, Haren has stepped up and played a huge role in keeping this team afloat.

Zach Greinke started out 5-0 only to finally lose a game where the Dodgers just couldn’t score any runs. His 2.35 ERA and 47 strikeouts lead the team and have carried the Dodgers while Kershaw was hurt.

Adrian Gonzalez, in my opinion is an early contender for National League Most Valuable Player. He is hitting .265 with 9 HR and 26 RBI. He also has an .861 OPS, putting him just below the range of his best three seasons. Gonzalez has carried the load offensively thus far while the rest of the team figures themselves out.

How to fix whatever is wrong?

Other than the injuries to the team the only two real problems with this team are the inconsistency of the bullpen and the lack of hitting in some games, both of which can be easily fixed. As for the bullpen, manager Don Mattingly needs to read the situations during games better and figure out when to plug certain pitchers in rather than go with a set bullpen rotation. With the kind of depth that the Dodgers have, its the only way to manage all those bodies.

Dodgers win and Mattingly only made three mistakes. I'll take it.

— Howard Cole (@Howard_Cole) May 10, 2014

The hitting will come around, I’m sure of that. The Dodgers have too much depth and talent on their roster for it not to. It’s still very early in the season and the Dodgers just need regroup and get things together. Although it was over a month ago, the unorthodox trip to Australia could still be affecting them, since it cut their spring training and usual time to prepare for the long grinding season short. The Dodgers will get it together and I expect to see them being the team we all expect them to be come the second half of the season.

What do you think? Will the Dodgers turn it around or will they stay at .500 and be a disappointment all season?

Clayton Kershaw is the ace of a much-improved Dodgers pitching staff. By Owen Main

The Dodgers signed Clayton Kershaw to a seven-year deal last week. Andy and I discuss the Dodgers, their logjam in the outfield, and their starting rotation with and without Tanaka.

My ears are still recovering from Monday night’s Juan Uribe home run. For those of you who have been in a cave or on the moon, here it was.

I have never heard Dodger Stadium so loud. The crowd reaction was an exultation of all the nervous energy that was built-up at the beginning of the year. Hopefully the mood will be just as loud and not as nervous when the team returns home for Game 3.

Whether Andre Ethier comes back will be a big story over the next few days. By Owen Main

Grienke/Kershaw

The Dodgers’ pitching is once again lined-up for this series. Zack Grienke and Clayton Kershaw will start games one and two on the road. This is a best-case scenario for Dodger fans. It’s the reason they signed Grienke. Pitching is a huge deal in the playoffs and the Dodgers have two of the best.

Mark Lemke or Joe Carter?

I am 32 and grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, so “Mark Lemke or Joe Carter” seems like a prescient question to me. When all is said and done, will players like A.J. Ellis, Mark Ellis, John Jay, Daniel Descalso, and Juan Uribe be the heroes? Will any of the bigger stars like Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Yasiel Puig, Matt Holliday, Matt Carpenter, or Yadier Molina be the names we’re talking about?

We are ’bout to find out.

Will Ethier be back?

Andre Ethier’s bat vs. Skip Schumaker’s bat could make a huge difference in a close series.

How important is Game 1?

REALLY important — Especially for the Dodgers. A scenario where the Cardinals win Game One puts huge pressure on Kershaw and the Dodgers for Game Two. Can you imagine a worst-case scenario where the Cardinals win both games and the weight of the world is on Ryu for Game 3? I don’t want to think about it. Instead, Dodger fans would prefer to put the pressure on the Cardinals by forcing them to have to beat Kershaw in order to avoid losing both games in St. Louis.

However you cut it, Game One of a series shapes all the rest of the games. It’s huge.

Brian Milne was in the middle of this scrum and talked about it on Podcast 71.

What’s it like to kayak at McCovey Cove during an All Star Game? Why would Bruce Bochy leave Tim Lincecum in for 148 pitches? And what do you do when an All Star Game is bereft of a true hero?

Brian and I explored these and other issues on the most sports-bereft day of the year – the day after the Major League Baseball All Star Game.

Here’s a link to the Detroit Free Press article about Brian kayaking in McCovey cove during the 2007 All Star Game.

Podcast can be played under the YouTube clip.

So the Major League Baseball All-Star Game was last night. After watching some of the midsummer classic on TV, reading a lot about it before and after, and conversations that I’ve seen and had, here are some notes:

Bochy vs. Kershaw

Bruce Bochy knows exactly what he’s doing. After making the right decision to start Matt Harvey in the All Star Game in New York, Bochy took an implicit pot-shot at Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw, who could lead the league in ERA for the third straight year (a feat last accomplished by Greg Maddux), could get with the young phenom starting the game in his home park.

Then, Bochy said, “It wouldn’t have mattered what city we were playing in with the year he’s had,” referring to Harvey.”

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRp_mVi969I

Back that up for a minute Boch. You’re saying that the dude with an ERA under 2 who has led the league in ERA for each of the past two seasons isn’t a little better? The guy who singlehandedly beat your Giants on opening day by pitching a shutout and hitting a home run wasn’t up to snuff if the game had been played in, say, St. Louis?

Bochy knew what he was saying and doing though. He’s been in the league for far too long for that to be anything but an intentional poke at the 25 year-0ld Kershaw. The Dodgers have become the target — a team with more innate swagger and big contracts anyone has ever had who is playing well and finally making a run at the National League West. Bochy’s World Series champs are on a losing streak and fighting to stay out of last place. Any story to keep people’s mind off of that is a good thing for him. Hence his comment.

All Kershaw said was, “That’s his opinion,” according to the LA Times article. Kershaw pitched a perfect third inning and will go into the second half of the season with a little more motivation to continue to be as dominant as he has been.

Neil Diamond: Please stop

I have to admit. I turned the game on in the 6th inning. I would have watched more, but when you have a pregnant wife and a list of chores longer than the list of orders guys allegedly placed with Biogenesis, sometimes things fall by the wayside.

Matt Harvey deserved to start in his home park, but Bochy threw a few jabs anyway. By slgckgc on Flickr, (via Wikimedia Commons

In the 8th inning, they showed Neil Diamond getting ready to sing. A week or two ago, I saw him perform at a game and wondered why and how he is still relevant. His performance then was mediocre. Last night, he came out to sing Sweet Caroline and with a cheerful (if bored) crowd waiting, what could have gone wrong? We found out quickly.

When the music and lyrics aren’t synched up, listening to a classic song sang out of rhythm becomes an instant channel turner. If fans hadn’t switched off their TV’s before then, they did afterwards.

The decision to have Neil Diamond perform at the game wasn’t a horrible one. Neil brought what energy he could to the thing. But to have it go the way it did was not good for Diamond and not good for baseball. Dogs jumping through hoops on fire or something would have probably been more awesome.

A memo to Bud Selig that he will probably never get

Unless someone prints this out for him, he may never read what I’m about to write. In all fairness, I’m sure he probably wouldn’t have read it anyway.

It was reported this week that Selig has never sent an email. And he says he “never will.” Some people think it’s a good thing to be “above” email and other forms of less-effective, if more efficient communication.

But they are wrong. Selig not having email is an issue. A huge, foul pole-sized one.

What do Ford Frick (left) and Bud Selig have in common? They were both MLB commissioners and neither ever sent an email.

For a game that has been accused of being “behind the times,” the public image that the industry’s leader maintains is an important one. The image of an man pushing 80 and not embracing technology is sure to turn off anyone under 50 who deals with and uses email throughout their daily work lives. To think about a loss in efficiency that would come with not having email is overwhelming for someone like me.

I hope the answer is that the commish has an amazing assistant or 5 who is/are in charge of his regular communications and work with him in a way that allows him to still be an efficient and effective manager of a game so precious to so many. If that’s the case, he should have explained that a little more clearly.

Baseball hasn’t exactly been hurting — players salaries haven’t gone down and teams like the Dodgers are worth billions of dollars. But, if league leadership ever wonders what they could do to better engage a younger demographic of fans with so many other options for entertainment, who are drawn away from america’s pastime, they need look no farther than a culture cultivated by a leader who is unable to or refuses to use email.

The second half will be fun.

Five out of six division races in baseball are within 2 1/2 games and there are great stories all over the place. You just have to do a little digging. After all, you won’t be getting any email updates from Bud any time soon.