Wilson Betemit was reportedly just traded for Yankee reliever Scott Proctor. Though this might not have been the blockbuster trade some were hoping for, it does seem to send a signal that the Dodgers are not willing to part with their present and future stars.

In that sense, it was a solid trade, in which the Dodgers let go a .231 hitter and welcomed back a reliever whom the Dodgers originally drafted in 1998, and traded in 2003.

Scott Proctor, a righty who was born in Florida, sports a 3.81 ERA, but pitched well in July, when he threw at a 2.84 clip. Considering the Dodgers bullpen has been hemorrhaging runs as of late, a fresh harm, hell, any harm could help lower its 5.61 ERA since the All-Star break.

Facts about the newest Dodger:

Full name: Scott Christopher Proctor

Born: January 2, 1977 in Stuart, Florida.

Drafted: 1998 by the Dodgers

Stats: 2-5, 3.81 ERA, 1.51 WHIP

Pitches: Four and two-seam fastball in the mid to high-nineties; mid-eighties slider, high seventies curveball, low-eighties changeup. Mainly a four-seam, curve kind of guy who throws a wicked slider.

Fact: On Saturday, June 30, after a poor performance in a loss to the A's of Oakland, Proctor lit fire to his equipment on the field, just feet from the Yankees dugout.

Fact: According to the New York Times, he's a perfectionist.

Welcome to Los Angeles Mr. Proctor

AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

Didn’t the Dodgers look absolutely miserable against Houston and Colorado?

With a couple of exceptions the pitching looked outright miserable. It looked like Hans Brinker sticking his finger in one of the dikes in Haarlem, Holland to prevent the city to be inundated with the ocean water. The only difference is the Dodgers are failing to conquer this leak.

That is one of the reasons why I was hoping for Barry Bonds to break the homerun record at home last week.

Imagine this scenario.

Barry is up to bat Wednesday night in the second inning against Mark Hendrickson. On a 2-1 fastball that hangs out over the plate Barry whacks the ball deep to the right field Pigvilion landing in someone’s over steamed Dodger Dog. Barry has just tied Hank Aaron!

The boos start raining from all over the stadium as ESPN’s cameras show the Dodger faithful giving the finger and throwing their plastic beer cups onto the field.

The camera then pans to the left field pavilion where a gang of Dodger fans pummels two Giants fans.

And for all eternity, that will be how Dodger fans are remembered.

James Loney was a star pitcher in his high school in Houston. In his senior year of high school, he went 12-1 with 120 strikeouts in 69 innings pitched.

More than once this season, he has been willing to pitch if asked.

As unlikely as that may have seemed a few weeks ago, it looks like it could be a distinct possibility now.

In the fifth inning in Wednesday’s night 2-1 loss to the Astros, Prozac came out of the game with a strained left groin. Apparently he originally strained it when he pitched one inning of emergency relief Sunday afternoon against the Mets. He’ll go in for an MRI Thursday. Let’s hope it’s not serious.

If it’s serious, the Dodgers are fucked now.

Maybe some of the young Dodger’s pitchers can step up a la Chad Billingsley. But with the status of the bullpen, and three starting pitchers injured it makes it hard to believe this can happen.

It seems like lately all I’ve been harping about is the Dodger’s pitching. But right now it is the obvious deficiency in this Dodger’s team.

The trading deadline is Tuesday. Let’s hope that Ned Colletti will pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and get us some pitching.

And one more thing. Can someone strap Russell Martin down on one of the training tables so he can rest for a game or two? It’s more than obvious he is tired – he’s pulling the bat in all of his at bats which explains the slump he’s in. We will really need him in September, so Grady I beg you. Even if you have to do it by force, sit him down!

AP Photo by Pat Sullivan

This photo taken in Echo Park by Victoria Bernal speaks for itself. Go Dodgers!

Found on the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

Chad Billingsley was just what the doctor ordered for the Dodgers Monday night.

With the Dodgers bullpen so exhausted they’ve started using Prozac as a reliever, the Dodgers needed Bills to go deep in the game against the Houston Astros. In his last three starts he had not gone longer than six innings with 90 pitches. In fact his last game he went five innings on 113 pitches.

So the fact he pitched a complete game five hitter on 109 pitches in the Dodger’s 10-2 win is nothing short of amazing.

As I’ve noted in my last several posts, the Dodger’s pitching is in trouble. Game Over v.2.0 has been out due to a strained shoulder and neck. Grady Little has been going through AAA pitchers like Tammy Faye (RIP) and her mascara. Both Hendrickson and Prozac have been called upon for relief pitching.

I don’t know what Ned Colletti has in store for the trading deadline, but we sure could use another arm.

As for the offense, they should practice getting extra-base hits off of the Astros. They did a good job in the seventh inning scoring three runs off of two doubles and a single. It’s much easier than having to get four singles to score just one run.

But for the most part, I’m really not that worried about the Dodgers. If they can get some good outings by their starters, they should be all right come September. Offensively the Dodgers lead the National League in batting average. By the way, the Padres are dead last in the NL in batting average. If you can’t hit, you can’t score runs. If you don’t score runs, you don’t win games no matter how great your pitching is.

My 34th birthday present to Nomar: no NoMore GarciaPopUp watch tonight.

AP Photo by David J. Phillip

I don’t know what more needs to be asked of Brett Tomko. He went six innings and gave up five hits and an unearned run (thanks to Juan Pierre’s fielding error in the first inning) with only one walk and three strikeouts in Friday night’s 4-1 loss against the Mets.

For a pitcher who a week ago had his confidence at an all-time low and decided to start pitching his cutter which he hasn’t pitched in a couple of years, he pitched like a pro despite the boos still rained upon him (though significantly less than before).

I hope he continues to pitch well for the Dodgers because from the looks of it the Dodgers need all the pitching they can get.

As for the offense, I still say the Dodgers are in a little bit of trouble. Besides Nomar’s home run and Jeff Kent’s double every other hit was a single. It’s awfully hard to win games when it takes four hits in an inning to score just one run.

What in the world is going on?

On Tuesday night the Dodgers give up 15 runs to the Phillies, and now on Thursday night the Mets get 13.

I was going to write off Tuesday’s game as a fluke. It happens, and the Dodgers just had to forget it and move on.

Now I sense some bells starting to ring.

Prozac gave up eight earned runs in only three innings pitched. Actually the only Dodger pitcher not to give up an earned run was 42-year old Roberto Hernandez whom the Dodgers picked up from waivers off of the Cleveland Indians earlier this month.

Could this be a sign that the Dodger’s pitchers are getting a bit weary?

Another thing that’s a bit alarming is the offense.

I know they’ve improved a lot since the beginning of the season, but the Dodgers had only four extra-base hits. That is 15 singles. Unless they start hitting to the gaps better, the Dodgers are going to be plagued with running station-to-station.

And base running? Twice Dodger’s base runners were called out at third base after a run scored to end an inning: Jeff Kent on a Luis Gonzalez single in the first inning; Nomar on an Olmedo Saenz sacrifice fly to end the third. If these outs didn’t occur, the Dodgers possibly could have won the game.

Granted the Dodgers made this an exciting game, but the fact that for the second time this week the Dodgers gave up more than ten runs is a bit alarming.

By the way, the longest nine-inning game in MLB history was on October 5, 2001. The Dodgers defeated the Giants in San Francisco 11-10 in 4:27. Gary Sheffield went 3-3 for the Dodgers with two singles, a homer in the sixth inning and four RBIs.

Malingering's photos often show us the seedy underbelly (or is that oversized bellies?) of Dodger Stadium, and local fans often get a bad rep. Here's the latest in classless fan footage, as a Dodger fan shoves over the Giant's mascot in San Francisco.

Was he provoked? Sort of. Did he overreact? Yup.

What an abortion of a game. It was like an exploded hemorrhoid. The sad thing was that I witness everything up until the sixth inning. It's the earliest I have left for a Dodger's regular season game.

Unfortunately no one gets free Hooters when the visiting team scores more than ten runs.

I’m not going to dignify this game with any further description. Let's just forget about it and move on.

NoMore GarciaPopUp Watch

Nomar went 1 for 4 with a walk and an error that scored the Phillie's 15th run in the ninth inning.

AP Photo by Mark Avery

Ten runs + a win = 10 free wings at Hooters. I don't care about a 124 year old franchise getting 10,000 losses. Really I'm more impressed that the franchise is 124 years old. I do care that they gave us all 10 free wings at Hooters. Woo HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTERS!

Anyone who follows sports knows about the losing history of Philadelphia teams. Since the Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA finals in 1983 no Philadelphia team has won a championship.

So should it come as any surprise that the Phillies would be the first North American sports team with 10,000 losses?

This is the same organization that had to use sheep in the 1920s to maintain the playing field.

This is the same organization that had 100 or more losses for five consecutive years from 1938 to 1942.

This is the same organization whose manager Terry Francona (now the Boston Red Sox skipper) had his tires slashed on fan appreciation day.

This is the same organization that has a fan website dedicated to the celebration of their 10,000th loss which came on Sunday night thanks to the St. Louis Cardinals.

So it should come as no surprise that the Dodgers put the game away in the sixth inning taking a 10-1 lead when Matt Kemp hit a three-run homer to the Dodger bullpen.

The Dodgers won their 11th straight game at Pac Bell/SBC/AT&T Park yesterday. The Giants were held to 11 runs during this weekend's series (compare this to the Dodgers' 22 runs - or should we say 11*2?). Brett Tomko's ERA is no longer as close to 11 as it was prior to the game (and it was getting there...). I spent 11 hours in the car this weekend driving back and forth from SF and now hold hour long conversations with myself. Oh and Malingering has 11 letters. So does "coincidence."

The Dodgers won yesterday despite the fact that Tomko started, which is shocking to all Dodger fans. Take some time to let that sink in. Even better, Barroids went 0-5 including a strikeout and a pop up to end the game. It was a beautiful day in San Francisco. Oh and Martin was on base 4 times. Yay.

Enough happiness, now we cut over to AT&T Park and why it (and all of the orange people inside it) pisses me off.

Now I’ve refrained from saying this, but I’m afraid now is right time for it.

NoMore GarciaPopUp!

On the July 6th game against the Florida Marlins, I conducted an informal survey while at the game. I went up to people specifically in Nomar jerseys and asked them, “Should we bench or trade Nomar?”

Surprisingly most people responded that they loved Nomar and support him, but given his horrible play he should be warming the bench. Though most were split between Tony Abreu and Wilson Betemit, it just shocked me that they would prefer those two at third base over the beloved Nomar.

And they say LA fans are blind and stupid.

Thank heavens baseball is back. Despite my week of partaking in bacchanal debaucheries there was a void akin to eating empty calories. But enough about me.

To open up the second half of the baseball season, the Dodgers and the Giants present the tale of two games.

Friday night, the Dodgers held on to a slim 3-1 lead going into the ninth inning when the Dodger’s bats came alive for six runs to put the pesky Gnats away.

This afternoon, the Dodgers broke the game open with six runs in the fifth inning thanks to a solo shot by Wilson Betemit and a two out, three run shot by Jeff Kent. The Gnats sent the game to extra innings with a grand slam by Randy Winn in the eighth and an RBI single by Pedro Feliz in the bottom of the ninth giving Game Over v.2.0 his third blown save of the season.

The Dodgers would pull out the game in the 12th inning with a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Rafael Furcal to win 8-7. This gave the Dodgers 10 consecutive road wins against the Gnats, tying the Yankees mark against the Texas Rangers.

I have a lot more to say tomorrow.

AP Photo by Eric Risberg

The All Star Break has come to an end, and so goes my week of leisure. I caught up on the Romanesque orgies, coke parties and golden shower extravaganzas that I have missed out on since April. My how Caligula would have blushed.

Now that I’m refreshed, let’s talk some Dodgers baseball.

They start the second half of the season with a weekend series against the hated Giants up in San Francisco and a pitching staff in shambles. Outside of Tubby, Prozac and Game Over v.2.0 you never know what’s going to happen. Chad Billingsley looks like he’s starting to come through though it’s still too early to tell. Mark Hendrickson is plagued with getting even worse run support than Prozac, the last game against the Florida Marlins being a glaring exception. And Brett Tomko. Brett Tomko.

Brett Tomko is the scheduled starter for Sunday afternoon’s game. According to the Dodger’s webpage, “it’s a pretty bold move by manager Grady Little handing the ball to Tomko, who is going through probably the worst physical and mental slump of his career.”

Before I start with the obvious, let me talk about a positive from the Dodger’s Friday night 6-5 in 10 innings loss to the Florida Marlins.

When My Boyfriend homered in the bottom of the fifth, the MVP chants started. It was really awesome since the last time I heard those chants at the Stadium was when Adrian Beltre had his outstanding season in 2004. Beltre would end up second in voting to Barry Bonds that year then bolt to the Seattle Mariners where his career has floundered to say the least.

Now for the doom and gloom: Dodger’s pitching.

Here’s a list of Dodgers pitchers on the disabled list: starters Jason Schmidt, Randy Wolf and Hong-Chih Kuo and reliever Yhency Brazoban. What used to be a pretty strong staff at the beginning of the season is starting to look like a bombed out road in Baghdad.

And Brett Tomko isn’t helping things any.

This may be the first time anyone has ever heard me say this, but last night the Dodgers lost and I still feel like a winner.

My sheer joy was a gift from a generous benefactor who will be referred to as JC, not only because those are his initials but also because he is now holier than Christ himself. JC hooked us up with seats in the Dugout Club, which is where I am hoping to have my ashes spread after I pass on through the pearly blue gates. We were sitting with the likes of Larry King and Tommy Lasorda, we could talk to the players as they entered the dugout, and I could shoot all the photos I wanted and the only person in my way was Brad Penny, who I forgive entirely.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, whenever I get great seats to a game, they lose. Four times this season I was given seats directly behind home plate, and each time the Dodgers lost. Last week I was given tickets on the baseline, and not only did the Dodgers lose, but my hand got crushed. So it was a bit selfish for me to sit in the Dugout Club, knowing that the Dodgers were guaranteed a loss, but sometimes I've gotta take care of number one, you know what I'm sayin'?

Some nice up close photos after the jump.

Tuesday, July 3rd the Dodgers celebrated a cumulative total attendance of 175,000,000 which is the highest of any sports franchise anywhere. To thank the fans in attendance, they gave all of us a free ticket to a game in the Phillies series (July 16-18), and then (augh) they started hurling autographed baseballs (175 of them) into the stands.

Now as badly as I wanted one of these balls (I have yet to catch a foul ball or any other ball at that), my hand is still splinted from last week's line drive disaster. Having balls chucked right at me (even by my favorite player, Russ Martin) caused me to have flashbacks from Friday night. I started flipping out. I almost had a panic attack. Mom said I was being dramatic. She's one to talk. She's still got opposable thumbs.

The Dodgers are all right.

I know there were some people who were annoyed with the fact that I constantly harped on the Dodgers horrible offense in May and June. It’s too early in the season worry about it, and the Dodgers are in the top of the division, right?

Well the Dodgers finally brought up the youngsters from the farm and got them in the lineup. James Loney and Matt Kemp have given the team some offensive pop. Tony Abreu has provided some clutch hits despite his inconsistent at-bats. And there’s not much more I can say about My Boyfriend.

But Matt Kemp in particular is an interesting story. When he came up last year, he went on a tear going yard three times in three consecutive games. After a while pitchers figured out he could hit only a fastball, so they threw him breaking balls and sliders. As a result, the Dodgers sent him back to Vegas to work on this.

In last night’s game in the seventh inning with Jeff Kent on third and two outs, Atlanta pitcher Wilfredo Ledezma did not throw one fastball. With a full count, Kemp reached for a slider outside the plate and got the game-winning RBI single scoring Kent. It may not have been as spectacular as the home run he hit in the second inning off of a Kyle Davies’ fastball, but to me it showed how far he has come along as a hitter and being able to see pitches.

As it stands right now, the New York Yankees are 11 feet deep in a 15 foot hole with no ladder. Currently 11 games back of the Boston Red Sox in the American League East division, the Yankees, at 37-41, are poised to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993 (in 1994, a strike siphoned off the remainder of the season).

The Yankees are still a juggernaut. At $198.6 million, they have baseball’s highest salary, forcing them to shell out $26 million in luxury taxes. They account for 27 percent of Major League Baseball’s merchandise, the profits of which are then evenly distributed to all 30 teams at a clip of about $3 million for each squad.

Additionally, the traveling constellation of New York stars increase attendance at most stadiums they visit. During a recent three-game stint against the Colorado Rockies, attendance increased by about 25,000 per game and per-game revenue at Coors field increased $1.495 million.

All of this begs the question: When the Yankees don’t make the playoffs this year, will baseball suffer? Will the baseball world implode because they can’t ride the coat tails of a team that Curt Shilling once compared to a gaggle of strippers?

How does a team score two runs when a batter with two outs strikes out swinging?

Have the catcher misplay a splitter that travels to the backstop, the batter goes to first, and the following batter hit a 3-1 homer 430 feet.

In the bottom of the sixth with two outs and the score tied at one, James Loney did in fact strike out on a wild pitch by All-Star John Smoltz which allowed Loney to reach first base. Matt Kemp did in fact homer to the back of the Dodger bullpen that broke the game open for the Dodgers 3-1.

Once the Atlanta Braves went to the bullpen in the seventh, the Dodgers completely exploited them scoring five runs to put the game away. Even Brett Tomko couldn’t spoil the 8-2 victory despite giving up one run on three hits in the bottom of the ninth.

It's bad enough that I got hit by a line drive on Friday and have a nasty contusion on my hand. But then I sit through 12 innings only to watch Tomko lose the game. Tomko who is 1-6. Tomko who can turn a 6 run lead into a save opportunity (see Thursday's game). Last night hurt. It really did.