The Pirates came into town as losers of eight straight games; oddly,
they swept the Giants in San Francisco only two weekends ago, and even
managed to scratch a win off St. Louis, but that was a week and a half
ago. The Dodgers happily handed the Bucs three straight losses, and
so they leave town with their losing streak intact and extended eleven
games. They're nowhere near the National League record for futility,
held by the godawful href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLV/1899.shtml">1899
Cleveland Spiders, a franchise that defined the depths of dispair for
all time by going 26-128.

That streak might not be the worst in the Senior Circuit, but it's a
local maxima; the Bucs haven't lost so many in a row since erstwhile
manager Fred Haney (and later, Angels GM) led the href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/1955.shtml">1955
Pirates to a 55-99 record. What's even more embarrassing for the
Bucs is that they got swept ,
one of the few teams that even Pittsburgh should have, in theory, been
able to beat.
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It has been a very busy week and although the weather has been pretty crappy, the play of the local teams have not. First and foremost with the MLB season opening, the Dodgers were picked anywhere from first to third in the division by various sports writers. LAist has always maintained that if the team, how ever hodge-podged it may seem, remains healthy they will contend. Well, we know how that went dont we? Nomar Garciaparra ended up on the 15 day DL from opening day... NOT a good sign. Eric Gagne's elbow is putting his career in SERIOUS jeopardy. Kenny Lofton (at about 100 years old) who was to lead off and patrol center has not played a game yet. The pitching has been spotty at best (can someone PLEASE remind Derek Lowe that he is a GROUNDBALL pitcher?) and the offense has shown flashes. Standing at .500 (5-5) after splitting four games from former Dodger manager Jim Tracy and the Pirates, the Boys in Blue get set to start the rivalry with the hated Giants. We wonder what type of reception Barry is gonna get... PLEASE OH PLEASE do NOT let him get his first homer of the season against us! more ›

Ned Colletti and the Los Angeles Dodgers have been busy trying to clean the mess left by former GM Paul DePodesta. In spite of the injuries that decimated the roster, there was no doubt that the pennant was winnable down the stretch.. Instead of banding together to try and salvage the season, infighting and poor play killed any chance the team had. Eventually killing not only their post-season hopes but costing the DePodesta his job and forcing manager Jim Tracy to find happiness elsewhere. more ›

The Dodgers finished their disappointing season with a loss to eventual division champs San Diego Padres and closed the books on what was their worst season in over 10 years. We don’t know what was more frustrating, the fact that the Dodgers, just before the post season was to start last year, watched their first place team melt away under the misguided general management of the since fired Paul DePodesta. Or that the team that was brought in to replace it this season was mainly on the bench injured while unproven youngsters took the bulk of the innings as well as the bulk of the losses. LAist never thought that DePodesta’s “Moneyball” system was going to work in LA bringing in new players with stats but not taking into regard the chemistry of the clubhouse (see future Hall of Famer and clubhouse cancer Jeff Kent). Then to add insult to the injuries (sorry that was too easy) manager Jim Tracy, a master at making the most of what he was given, was let go. more ›

Ultimately, it came down to philosophy. Jim Tracy is a good manager, but it's not like he's Casey Stengel. It is essential for a GM and a manager to be on the same page. If they aren't, then a change needs to be made. Paul DePodesta probably wanted to jettison Tracy last year, but couldn't do so in good faith after the team made the playoffs. He might have been fine letting Tracy finish out his contract, but Tracy's demand for an extension coupled with his uncharacteristic criticisms of team management served as the catalyst for his ouster. more ›

In today's LA Times, Bill Plaschke adds yet another volume to his DePodesta Hate-Fest, claiming that Tracy should opt out if he isn't guaranteed a long-term contract and more influence in personnel decisions. more ›

You can read all of the dumb jibes back and forth in these articles here. Bradley and Kent's behavior and comments are almost childish. more ›

It's disconcerting that the Dodgers were outclassed this week by both the Cardinals and Braves, arguably the NL's two best teams. more ›

Now, LAist knows not to make too much of a great early season start. But consider that the Dodgers have managed to play fantastic baseball without Eric Gagne, Brad Penny, or Wilson Alvarez yet. To all of those Dodger doubters, who think using new innovations and technologies to build a baseball team is foolish, you can admit that Paul DePodesta probably knew what he was doing. Even ESPN Analyst and Moneyball doubter Harold Reynolds publicly apologized on Baseball Tonight. more ›

Scott Erickson of all people will take the hill for the Azul, as Mr. Lisa Guerrero desperately seeks a Major League job again. more ›

He may no longer be a Laker, but Derek Fisher's shot with 0.4 seconds left against San Antonio was the best thing to happen to LA sports fans all year. With every Laker annoying the hell out of the city of LA, from Shaq to Kobe to Malone to the Glove to Phil to Jerry Buss to Jeannie Buss, it was always nice to know that D-Fish was around. Sure, he couldn't defend to save his life. And he probably did take too many threes. But Derek Fisher was a consummate professional who was finally rewarded for years of hard work and humility. more ›

Tracy is a good fit for the DePodesta Moneyball philosophy, not because he necessarily believes in it, but because Tracy has always been a "yes man" of sorts. Kevin Malone hired him because, unlike Davey Johnson, he wouldn't diss Dodger Boy's moves in public. Tracy heralded Dan Evans every opportunity he could. And he has continued to tow the company line with Paul DePodesta. more ›

After last night�s 4-0 loss to the Padres, the Dodgers have turned a 6-game lead on September 11, to one-half game lead today. The Giants winning 9 of their last 10 hasn�t helped, but we are steamed that Jim Tracy�s bunch seems to find a way to blow it down the stretch. more ›

In yesterday's 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Dodgers saw the reclamation project of Hideo Nomo take a step backward. Nomo sputtered, giving up six runs in 3 2/3 innings, leading one to wonder if his shoulder can hold up against any team not called the Arizona Diamondbacks. more ›

Let's be honest. Jim Tracy is a "yes man." He's a company man. Kevin Malone hired him because he knew Tracy would go along with whatever he wanted, unlike Davey Johnson. Dan Evans kept him, because, well, Tracy always stayed in line. And now Paul DePodesta is likely keeping Tracy because the GM can suddenly trust his manager to respect the principles of sabermetrics. In a sport where the influence of a manager may only be marginal, it sure helps to be the manager who everyone can work with. more ›

At LAist, we acknowledged that the riskiest part of Paul DePodesta's deadline deals was giving up Mota. But let's hope Jim Tracy and the Dodgers realize one thing: Darren Dreifort is a slightly above-average middle reliever, and has no business being the team's setup man. more ›