Do not under-estimate McCourt

In a perfect world, you'd like to think he'll walk away-

He'll realize the chips are stacked high against him, he'll sell the team and walk away.

It's not going to happen. The Dodgers (read Frank McCourt) filing for bankruptcy proves this will be a long drawn-out war.

McCourt made his money being a scrappy east-coast huckster. It wasn't pure luck that he talked his way into owning the Dodgers. You can blame bonehead logic on Bud Selig's part, and FOX was so anxious to get rid of the team, the mailroom guy could've bought it, but McCourt deserves credit for out-foxing his highest bidders.

Now, with his empire falling around him, McCourt views this as his Stalingrad, and he will throw everything he has into it. This is what little legacy he has left, and he will hold onto it.

It does not matter that there is no TV deal riding in like Clint Eastwood to save him. Despite a bit of support from the Los Angeles Latino community, Los Angeles wants him out. The media wants him out, the owners want him out and Selig wants him out.

No matter. he will fight to the end on this one, holding the team and the stadium hostage. It is his right.

The fans will lose, enduring at least another season of not just mediocrity, but mediocrity with its hands tied.

Make no mistake. McCourt is digging in and will stop at nothing to bring down or at least slow the eventual full takeover by the MLB.

Thud!

It's one thing to lose a series to the Philadelphia Phillies. They are by far the best team in baseball, so for an injury-prone and strife-ridden team like the Dodgers to go in and take one game out of three and play competitively in the other two, it was encouraging. Maybe not jump-up-and-down encouraging, but not bad for a team in their position.

Getting swept by the Cincinnatti Reds in Dodger Stadium is quite another. Cinci is a good team-no dis-respect to them. But in Dodger Stadium with the top three guys in the rotation going, the Dodgers needed to make a better showing. Aside from Chad Blillingsley, the starting pitching was decent. Three errors and a leaky bullpen helped do Hiroki Kuroda in on Monday. The bullpen let a strong Clayton Kershaw outing go to waste on Tuesday, and Billingsley once again has everyone scratching their heads. The Dodger offense is getting some hits, but they need to score more runs.

This was Billingsley's third straight weak outing, and his fifth in his last sixth. He continually digs himself into holes he can't get out of. Any success the Dodgers have this season is going to ride on pitching. He is the number #2 starter, and he needs to show some veteran steel. The Dodgers are very close to being out of it even in the mediocre NL West, and Billingsley needs to step it up. The bullpen is a roll of the dice and the offense is only going to bring it so far. You can rightly say that too much pressure is being put on the starters, but it is what it is. With the ownership mess, there are no easy solutions on the horizon, so the Dodgers have to do the best they can with what they got. Billingsley making quality starts is central to that.

Hopefully they can beat up on the Astros a bit before the Tigers come to town, and thank God they won't have to face Justin Verlander, although it would be nice to see him pitch in Dodger Stadium.

Here come the kids and time for Uribe and Thames to start earning their money

The Dodgers, as you may know, had a pretty major shakeup on Monday. Dee Gordon was called up, Juan Uribe, Marcus Thames and Blake Hawksworth came back from rehab, while Jay Gibbons and Juan Castro were DFA's, perhaps ending their careers as Dodgers. On top of that, Rubby de la Rosa pitched a halfway decent five innings against the Phillies, the highlight of an otherwise tough series against the Phillies.

Hmmmmm. Lots of questions here. Gordon looked fantastic, de la Rosa is making a campagin to stay even when Jon Garland comes back. Gibbons didn't exactly look amazing, but Uribe and Thames haven't exactly been tearing it up, either. One of the reasons the Dodgers started so slow was that those two guys under-performed, and then got hurt. Aside from a bump in the road against the Phils, they won three staright series before that.

Rafael Furcal is injured, yet again, and even when he comes back, this is his last year as a Dodger. Jamey Carroll is busy putting out the other fires in the infield, so this is an opportunity for Gordon to shine. He went 3 for 5 Tuesday night, and seems to be fired up at the opportunity, so we shall see. Based on his minor league stats, this is what we have: He can steal: he stole 53 bases at Chattanoga last season, and 22 at Albuquerque this year; he hits for decent average, .277 at Chattanooga and .315 for the Isotopes, but has very little power, and needs to walk more. Sounds almost like Juan Pierre at a shortstop position.

de la Rosa looked wobbly in his first couple of innings, but he did not cave. he pitched well enough to win, and the improving and healthier Doger bullpen saved it for him. he at least deserves another start. The other options are John Ely and Tim Redding, neither of whom is getting anybody out at triple A, so it is up to Rubby for now.

In the gaping hole of left field, Gibbons seemed to be providing some stability in a pl;atoon with Jerry Sands, but his .255/.323/.345/.668 wasn't good enough to keep him around. They don't have another lefty to play there, so for now it's up to Sands, who is having his rookie ups and downs, and Thames and his .143 average and .181 batting average abd .515 SLG. This is ugly, hopefully Thames can turn it around. We'll see if Gibbons goes to the minors or leaves via free agency.

Put Uribe in the Thames department. The patchwork Dodger infield of Lames Loney, Carroll and whoever else was standing was beginning to work, so hopefully he will start earning his money. Blake is injury prone and needs his rest, Furcal is Furcal. Carroll is really a utility guy, although he is #2 behind Loney in games played in the infield. Uribe's .222/.290/.333/.623, while not as bad as Thames, is not what you want from a guy you just payed some serious dough to. He has not shown the power he has had in the past.

Hail to the youth movement, but I still don't get dumping the relatively productive Gibbons for the the ugly play of Thames. It's all in the contracted, I think. Gibbons was relatively inexpensive, and he may hang around in the mionors until the Dodgers need him again. Thames and Uribe, in their eyes, are a larger investment, and may still come to life. we can only hope.

Lock up Kemp and Ethier now, plus a James Loney sighting

The Dodgers have recently had "informal" discussions about locking up Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp to long-term contracts. This is a touchy time. Both are entering their last arbritration-eligibility years, and will be free agents after next season. Besides Clayton Kershaw, both are the closest things the Dodgers have to franchise players. Second, they are producing, and look to continue producing, whether in Doders uniforms or otherwise. Ethier had a 30 game hitting streak, and while homers aren't exactly flying out of the park for him, his .325/.405/.455/.860 is a nice figure fro a guy who spends most of his games hitting in pitcher's parks. Kemp is a five-tool monster who looks to be firing on all cylinders. He has hit 13 homoers and has 40 RBI's, which can ver easily add to a 40 HR/ 120 RBI season at year's end. he also leads the team in stolen bases and is tied for the team lead in games played. He has franchise player written all over him if he keeps this up.

It's just those pesky ownership issues that keep cropping up. While Frank McCourt searches his couches for change to meet payroll, he looks like he his in no shape to pay these guys long term. If he thinks that attendance and fan morale are in decline now, he has noooo idea what would happen if we lose these guys without suitable immediate replacements. If Bud Selig and his merry men take over on an interim basis, it behooves the MLB to sign these guys long term. If nothing else these guys can keep on L.A on life support until a new owner is found. With all the turmoil, injuries and drama going on, this collective band of misfits has the dodgers only 4.5 games out in the mediocre NL West. I'm sure the Giants would grin broadly to see the Dodgers turn into the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the MLB should not let this happen. Despite McCourt's efforts to the contrary, the Dodgers are a big-market marquee franchise in a sport that is threatened with decline. They need to prop them up. Thirdly, if a new owner is found, the first thing he needs to do is establish a core. Before the new paint dries in his office, these guys should be locked up long-term.

How about James Loney? I have been a harsh critic, both here and in The Hardball Times. He was a disappointment last year, and looked to start off even worse this year. he has been coming alive lately, as have the Dodgers, who just got off two series wins against the Marlins and Rockies, neither of which are pushovers. He had a homer off Javier Vasquez in the opener against the Marlins, went 3 for 4 against the Rockies on May 30, including a bomb to right field off Jason Hammel. Overall he was 6 for 19 with 4 RBI's (.315), as part of a larger Dodger offensive Dodger expolsion. Perhaps as Loney goes, so do the Dodgers.

The bullpen is scary, but (thought I'd never say this), but Vicente Padilla is on his way back, and you gotta love the way the minor league kids (Rubby de la Rosa, Javy Guerra and Scott Elbert) are pitching. They may all yet round into form.