With a starting staff in shambles, the team last week recalled Matt Magill, and in his first start against Milwaukee, did reasonably

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well. Las night, however, he was knocked out in the second inning, giving up five runs to the Giants. I’m sure the team is searching for someone, anyone, to fit into the rotation, as the disabled list now includes FIVE starting pitchers. Magill is actually now the number four stater, out of four. Chris Capuano is penciled in to come off the DL to start tomorrow. If he is unable to make it, they may have to call me to start. As I am sure the baseball world is aware, Hanley Ramirez returned on April 29th, played in four games, hit .455 with power, and got hurt again and is

back on the DL himself. The one guy who has hit for the Dodgers from day one this season, Adrian Gonzalez, will miss tonight’s game, his third straight, with hopefully a minor injury. Mark Ellis, batting .342 and clearly the number two guy on that short list of players the team has been able to count on this season, has not played since April 26.

I cannot even mention the bullpen. Suffice it to say, they are bringing back the nickname the old LA Angels of the 1960s saw inflicted on their bullpen: The Arson Squad.

But there is good news. Among the carnage, the Dodgers did recall Dee Gordon, and he has played well, so well, that I really hope he stays at short, and when Hanley returns, the empty suit of a manager sees the light and moves him to third base, replacing the Luis Cruz (.095) and Juan Uribe (.231) tandem.

The only thing left to say about the Dodgers is that they are at 13-16 and yes, it could be worse. With today’s loss, the Angels are now 11-20. Nuff said, for now.

It can go either way. The key is Chris Paul, and how the front office will act when it comes time to put cash on the line for him and for others.

Paul is the difference maker, not between a division winner that loses its first round playoff series and a true championship contender, but between a middle to bottom of the pack lottery team and a division winner that loses its first round playoff series.

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Paul is for all intents and purposes now a free agent (though technically not until July 1) and his signing is priority one, two, three, four, five, ad infinitum. The other pieces can be handled once this is settled. The Clippers’ issue is the mirror image of the situation faced by the Lakers, who I have repeatedly made clear must say bye-bye to the plague of Deee-Wight Howard. Interestingly enough, on a team of athleticism, speed, great team defense, outstanding ball handling, and hopefully desire, Howard would be an infinitely better fit. If the Clippers’ purse strings are open and Howard moves on, could he choose to stay at Staples as a member of the Clippers?

The Clippers are use to a center who can do not much more than dunk on offense, who cannot shoot free throws, and who disappears in crunch time. I guess that begs the question as to whether or not Howard is worth $100-150 M more than DeAndre Jordan?

An issue of immediate concern for the Clippers is the future of Vinny del Negro. I’ve always supported him and thought that much of the criticism he has received to be unwarranted and undeserved. However, looking at the past week, when his team absolutely fell apart after getting off to a two-to-zero game lead, and looking at some of his personnel decisions, I now have to question his continued future with the team. In watching the awful end to the season last night, I could not comprehend how he kept certain people on the court when they clearly were not performing. I’m a big fan of Chauncey Billups (and do not strongly disagree with a local commentator who recently suggested that he should be the new Clippers’ head coach), but in the fourth quarter when del Negro stuck with him as he had seldom done all season, and let him throw up clinker after clinker, with Jamal Crawford and Willie Green, and at times Eric Bledsoe, all on the bench, I was dumbfounded. Granted, Crawford was having his worst game of the season, but all season long he was the guy (along with Paul) who the team counted on to put in the key points at crunch time. He could not do it from the bench.

In this series, coaching made the difference, and Lionel Hollins thoroughly out-coached del Negro. Try this one out as well: How about Phil Jackson to the Clippers? The rumors are strong that he wants back in to the NBA, through more likely than coaching to a front office, but the Pat Riley model of a year or two then moving up could be a possibility. One incident, though, mitigates against him ever taking a Clippers’ spot: Phil’s mentor was his coach at North Dakota, Bill Fitch. Supposedly, Phil and Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling have been at odds ever since Sterling fired Fitch as the Clippers coach in the late 90s and then forced Fitch into litigation to get paid what was due under his contract.

I expect 1) Phil will not become a Clipper, 2) Howard will not become a Clipper, 3) Paul will remain a Clipper, and 4) Del Negro will become an ex-Clipper.

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Ramirez suffered a serious injury, torn ligaments in his thumb, that required surgery, and he made his 2013 debut just last night, and what a night it was for Hanley. But I digress. As far as the WBC is concerned, injuries are a cost of doing business, regardless of the ramifications, and the organization was willing to accept that cost in order to keep its major league roster of ticket-sellers. The WBC agreed to pay the salaries of injured major leaguers out 30 days or more, for as long as they are unable to play. Estimates are that the Dodgers and yankees may be relieved of upwards of $10 M for the time that their two stars are

out of action. I wonder if they sold enough tickets to cover that?

Anyway, the name Hanley Ramirez was in the Dodgers’ lineup for the first time this season last night, and the overmatched Justin Sellers was on the bench. The result was the Dodgers’ easily beating first place Colorado, 6-2, behind the pitching of Hyun-Jin Ryu, who allowed only three hits and struck out 12 in six innings, and the hitting of Mr. Hanley, who homered and doubled in four at bats. Justin Sellers (1 HR, 2 RBI, .203 avg. over 64 ABs) remained on the bench.

The day before, Colorado destroyed LA 12-2 (Sellers was 0-3 at short), with Ted Lilly giving up eight hits and five runs in only three innings. This was Lilly’s second appearance in about a year. Since he signed his $33 M contract after the 2010 season, he has basically lived on the DL, but there were hopes that he was now healthy and could step in for Chad Billingsley, out for the next year following Tommy John surgery.

Reports today are that following Monday’s game, Lilly had not one, but two areas of his anatomy MRI-ed, neck and rib cage, that he received at least one injection, and that his status would be “re-evaluated”. I wonder if Hanley can pitch?

Heading the list is of course staff ace Jered Weaver, who is there nursing back to health his broken LEFT elbow – thankful emphasis on LFET, his non-pitching elbow. Also there is anticipated closer and high-priced free agent vet Ryan Madson, who is still on the mend from last year’s elbow surgery (yes, his pitching elbow). There is hope he may be pitching before midseason. Maybe.

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Taking another of those DL spots is another big free-agent acquisition, lefty set-up guy Scott Burnett, who has been pitching well but who was recently put there because of arm pain following game appearances, pain that has not effected his performance, but that has limited his use. No idea if the minimum two weeks will do it, or if this turns into another day-to-day >>>> full season problem. The list also includes two veteran righty long reliever/set-up guy-types, in Kevin Jepsen and Mark Lowe. Jepsen is there with triceps tightness in his

pitching arm. Who knows what that will lead to or how long he’ll be out. Lowe has a stiff neck, and while that may be fine in a week, it could also be a nerve root irritation leading to season-ending surgery.

The only good news regarding the list is that it no longer includes Erick Aybar, who, after a single rehab appearance has been activated and is expected to be in tonight’s lineup against Oakland. Still on the list, however, are regular third baseman Alberto Callaspo, and the newest member of the group, center fielder Peter Bourjos, who was hurt in last night’s 11-inning fiasco.

When pitcher’s started falling by the wayside, the Angels brought up Dane De LA Rosa, a journeyman minor leaguer picked up during spring training from the Tampa Bay organization. Since being recalled, De La Rosa has been a real find, at least so far, filling part of the giant void in the team’s relief corp, making 12 appearances in the last 20 days, and performing as well as anyone Mike Scioscia has to put on the mound.

In another pitching-related move, and the lack of any spare part that can play the outfield after Bourjos’ injury, the team was actually forced to rid itself of a pitching body, sending Michael Roth down in order to bring up outfielder Scott Cousins. Cousins figures to be a big help – he’s a lifetime .183 hitter after parts of three seasons with the Marlins.

I wonder if he can pitch?

To make matters far worse, this morning, the Angels placed their eighth player this month on the disabled list. Center Fielder Peter Bourjos, who has been playing brilliantly at bat, in the field, and on the basepaths, pulled a hamstring in the 11th inning lat night, and is out for who knows how long.

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The one bit of good news the Angels did have is that shortstop Erick Aybar has been activated, and is, hopefully, recovered and ready to play. When Aybar was out light-hitting subs were batting at the bottom of the order, I was thinking that with Bourjos hitting so well, especially since moving from the nine spot to leadoff, with Mike Trout moving from leadoff to second in the order, that once Aybar was back, the top of the order could be Bourjos, Aybar, Trout, and then Pujols, Hamilton, and Trumbo, and THAT is one balanced, powerful, run-producing one-through-six.

But, alas, it is not to be, at least not yet, and with Trout now back in center, and with Trumbo playing first most of the time due to Pujols’ foot problems making him the DH, there is now a great, big hole in left field. I guess J.B. Shuck will get the first shot, at least against righties. Super-sub Brendan Harris, who has done a good overall job since getting the call to fill in a short, has played over 500 major league games, but while he has filled in at all four infield spots, he has never played the outfield in the majors. Could he be in left against lefties, like tonight against the A’s Jarrod Parker? Pujols did play first last night, for all 19 innings, so if he made it through that with out aggravating his foot, and can continue to play first, Trumbo can play left, and any of these guys and Hank Conger can DH.

More about injuries and all those pitchers on the DL, later.

Today’s fiasco against San Antonio clearly portrayed the differences between a winning organization and the team they put on the court, and a moribund organization that is clearly moving downhill at an alarming rate. The Spurs have a deep, talented, and young bench, and can pull an NBA caliber fivesome onto the court that can compete. Not so the Lakers.

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Injuries, some that should have been anticipated, were certainly a key, but even a healthy Kobe Bryant in the playoffs would not have mattered one iota. He might have gotten them one win against the Spurs. Maybe not even that. This was a team that was ill conceived and it should be ripped asunder. The time to make a trade for Howard has likely long passed, unless a sign-and-trade deal can somehow be done. What if four months ago they had done one of those three-team deals, perhaps getting Kevin Love and a lottery pick for Deee-Wight? How about Love and Shabazz Muhammad in Lakers’ uniforms next season? That will not happen now, but it could have been.

The laughing man, Deee-Wight Howard, has little basketball instinct, and through this painful season none of Kobe’s rubbed off on him. The laughing man was called for his second technical foul just as the third period started, and he, and his seven points, were done for the day and for the season. I was actually very happy to see Howard and his smirk leave the Lakers’ court – hopefully for good.

Viewers saw some great honesty from TNT commentator Reggie Miller, who emphatically said that in his opinion Deee-Wight is not a “Max” player and does not deserve “Max” money, that a “Max” player is one that a team can count on in the last five minutes of a game to score, and Howard clearly has no offensive talent, other than the power dunk game, and unless there is yet another rules change, fouling him and forcing him to attempt free throws will negate the talent he does have.

Speaking of free throws, no Laker other than the laughing man went to the free throw line until there were 22 seconds left in the third quarter. Howard shot a magnanimous 33% (3-of-9) as the only Laker who got to the line for the first 35-1/2 minutes of the game, until Darius Morris in the waning seconds of that third period. No Lakers’ player again went to the line until Pau Gasol with 4:17 left in the game, and no one after that. Another telling stat that demonstrates the Lakers’ play the entire season was their today committing 21 turnovers, to the Spurs eight.

There needs to be a major fix, and it has to start with telling the laughing man, bye-bye!

And the reason they can’t is not because of all those injured guards, though the latest injury the team has suffered, that to the meta tag artest psycho thing, is a big plus for the team, NOT having it on the court. No, amazingly, the deep subs culled from the

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recesses of the Lakers’ horrid bench, have played well, especially in the last game, when the forgotten and maligned Darius Morris went 9-15 from the floor, scoring 24 points and tossing out six assists, and when Andrew Goudelock put in 20 points and contributed three steals. It’s not to say the game would not be considerably closer if the Lakers’ lineup included, at full capacity, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jodie Meeks, and oh yea, Kobe Bryant, but the fact of the matter is, for most of the year San Antonio was likely the NBA’s second best team, and only lost that lofty perch with its own injuries, in particular those suffered by Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. As they return to health, and to form, the Spurs are again a far more talented and better coached team, and one that was built around

a plan of pieces that fit together, not a willy-nilly go get the big guy the fan’s want theory of team-building, regardless of the consequences of square pegs in round holes.

The Lakers’ made the playoffs by a miracle, and clearly, they do not belong. The agony will end later today, and I really, really hope that we have seen the last games in Lakers’ uniforms for the meta tag artest psycho thing and for Deee-Wight Howard.

Goudelock spent the season in the Development league, and Morris played the equivalent of 14 full games during the entire season.

I figure that Nash will start, but how long he can go is speculative. I figure he’ll play about 22 minutes for the entire game. Steve Blake, however, is definitely out tonight and for the foreseeable future, and Jodie Meeks is also most likely out. So, even Chris Duhon figures to step on the court.

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It’s not as if Tony Parker is looking healthier than he has in a couple of months, or as if Manu Ginobili is back and playing 20+ minutes, or as if Gary Neal and Danny Green are playing pretty well. Oh, wait – they all are. The first home game after losing two on the road is always the key game in a playoff series. The Lakers are screwed. Anyway, it’s time for a good laugh. All season, Deee-Wight Howard has been the laughing man, whether rain or shine, win or lose, great

play or miserable screw-up, Howard can be seen smiling and laughing as he meanders down the court. Well, he just came up with his funniest line of the season, when is reported to have said the following after practice at the Lakers’ training complex. Quoth the Deee-Wight: “‘We have total confidence that we can come back and win this series.”

One final note: Before injuries set in, the Spurs were playing lights out, and figured to give Oklahoma City a run for the Western Conference title. After Parker and Ginobili got hurt, there did not look like the same team, and the Thunder were looking really tough. Now, Parker and Ginobili are healthier, the Spurs are back on track, and Oklahoma City has its own serious injury problem now, losing Russell Westbrook for two weeks to two months, depending on the seriousness of his knee injury. He suffered a slight tear of the lateral meniscus, which is a more serious injury than a tear of the medial meniscus, the injury that the meta tag artest psysho thing suffered. The psycho thing was back playing in less than two weeks, but he now is saying he came back too soon. What they find during surgery and how extensive it needs to be will determine how soon Westbrook can try to return, but he may well be done for the year.

And James Harden is in Houston.

On the day after Chad Billingsley underwent Tommy John surgery, it was revealed that a third Dodgers’ pitcher, is today undergoing THE KNIFE in barely two weeks time. Shawn Tolleson has a herniated lumbar disc and likely will not pitch again this season. Five pitchers on the disabled list – it sure is a good thing the Dodgers didn’t go out a make a stupid deal and trade away a dependable pitcher, especially a starting pitcher.

Oh.

Not only is the need to have a guy like Aaron Harang around growing by the hour, but the guy they got in the trade FOR him continues to do worse in each succeeding game. The other day I mentioned Ramon Harnandez’ stats, and they’ve gone downhill from there, especially after today. In a game the Dodgers won 3-2 on two ninth inning runs, Hernandez was 0-4, hit into two double plays, and left five runners stranded. He is now “hitting” .067, managing one base hit in six games as a Dodger.

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Hernandez would fit in well on the over-achieving Mets, who somehow have managed to win half of their 2013 games, despite fielding what is basically a minor league team. Just look at their outfield, that includes one actual major league player, Lucas Duda. They have five additional outfielders on their MAJOR LEAGUE roster, and other than journeyman Marlon Byrd, who was in the majors last season only long enough to appear in 47 games, I defy you to recognize ANY of their outfielders. Ready? Here are the rest: Mike Baxter, Collin Cowgill, Juan Lagares, and Jordany Valdespin.

Granted, Valdespin hit a game-winning, 10th inning grand slam yesterday to give the Mets their one win the the three games against the Dodgers, but he’s got barely 100 games under his belt, with an average in the .240s. Lagares is 1-4 for his career, Cowgill has less than 100 games to his credit, also with an average in the .240s Mike Baxter is the veteran of the group, having made it into almost 250 games, hitting a robust .255. The entire roster of six Mets’ outfielders are earning about $2.7 M this season. The Dodgers have three outfielders on their roster (though the team lists infielder-outfielders Skip Schumaker and Jerry Hairston, Jr. as infielders), and the three AVERAGE $18 Million (their salaries total $54 M for 2013). And the Mets have a better record.

How have the Mets won half their games with this group, you ask? Well, there are basically three reasons. One has been the early season play of catcher John Buck, who has had an incredible month, closing in on his total 2012 stats in only 20 2013 games. Another has been the solid play of the Mets’ one star, David Wright. Third has been pretty good pitching from a couple of starters and most of their bullpen. Some of their pitchers are overachieving, Buck will never continue this pace, and the Mets’ minor league outfield will soon sink them in the NL East. But, “the best team money can buy”, despite its pitching woes, did manage to eke out two wins in the three game series. The team comes home now to face Milwaukee, who lost yesterday, which ended a ten-game winning streak. The Brewers’ outfield is a bit better than the Mets’.

In Game One of the series, Leonard had eight points and eleven rebounds, and provided one of the key moments, and turning points, of the game, when he blocked a three-point shot put up by the psycho, and, keeping the pay in play, and leading a fast break for a lay-in, faking out and thoroughly embarrassing the psycho.

Add Leonard’s athleticism and enthusiasm and basketball ability to the ever-young TIm Duncan, to the healthier Tony Parker, and with the return of Manu Ginobili, the Lakers’ will have a tough time tonight, and going back to Los Angeles 0-2, may be an obsticle the “Old and Slow” Lakers will not be able to overcome.

If they have any chance, they need not just outstanding performances from Deee-Wight Howard, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, and Steve Blake, but some stellar work off the bench, and that means real contributions from the likes of Antawn Jamison, Jodie Meeks, and the newly activated Jordan Hill.

We shall see.