Nomar in today, Lowe goes Game 4

A couple of notes about the next couple of games. First, Joe Torre has announced that Nomar Garciaparra will get the start today based on previous success off of Jamie Moyer. Where he'll be remains a mystery. It'll either be at 1st base in place of James Loney or over at 3rd base for Casey Blake.

My gut instinct tells me that Loney will be the odd man out. I'm not sure I can see Casey Blake getting benched after they traded for him during the season and have counted on his bat. Thus far, Loney is 3-7 while Blake is 1-7.

In other news, Derek Lowe is officially the Game 4 starter. Not surprising at all there, especially since no matter what happens tonight, the Dodgers will still be in a hole. Had the first 2 games gone to the Dodgers, it may have been a different story.

Nomar could be at 1st base in Game 1

I just posted about what the lineup should look like for Game 1 of the NLCS tomorrow night. I also speculated about James Loney and Matt Kemp swapping spots in the order due to the lefty Cole Hamels going for the Phillies. What I didn't consider was that Nomar Garciaparra could start at 1st base.

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, that could indeed happen. With someone who has stuff as nasty as Hamels, it's probably a good idea to get another righty in there. Nomar hasn't started a game yet, but that had more to do with the Dodgers' offense being hot and facing righty starters all 3 games against the Cubs.

So if Nomar does start, look for him to be in the #5 spot right in front of Kemp.

By the way, Rosenthal picks the Dodgers in 7. I've always like that guy.

Jones and Garciaparra to return today

This is probably old news by now, but Andruw Jones and Nomar Garciaparra will be activated for the start of the San Francisco series today. Jones has been out since May 27 for right knee surgery, and Nomar since April 26 with a torn left calf muscle.

The Dodgers played well in Houston, something they really needed, but their offense is still one of the worst in the Majors. A big part of that at the start of the year was the horrendous play of Jones, who currently has a .165 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI. Um... yuck. Nomar has only played in 9 games and didn't do much, with a .226 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI.

Even with some poor numbers, the Dodgers need to at least see what they can add. It's not like they guys in their places have seized the opportunity and made things happen. Actually, the opposite has happened. I remember when Jones went out, I can hardly think of anyone that thought they'd miss his bat. Now, they're willing to see if he has figured out what went wrong to start the year.

Both showed signs of encouragement, as Jones went 4-8 with a homer and Nomar 5-8 in their 3 games at Triple-A Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Millionaires Club

It must be quite an interesting sight for fans of the Las Vegas 51's this week. In addition to Jason Schmidt rehabbing there, he has now been joined by Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones, and Rafael Furcal. I'd say ticket sales have probably seen a spike.

Nomar, Jones, and Furcal all played last night, and each had some success. Nomar was 0-2 with walk, Furcal was 1-3 with an RBI double, and Jones was 1-3 with a homer. Man, those kinds of stats would earn them a spot smack dab in the middle of the Dodgers' lineup!

In all seriousness, it's great to see them close to coming back. For Furcal, he was clearly the top SS in the NL before his injury, and his return means everything. Nomar and Jones have not exactly torn up the league this year, but perhaps some R&R will do them good. Just reading about Jones hitting a home run is a big sigh of relief. Granted, he has a lot of prove that he can do that at the Big League level when he's back, but hey, it's a good start.

As for Schmidt, he's had pretty good success in his long road to recover thus far. He's made 5 starts for 13 IP. His ERA is 3.46, to along with 6 BB and 10 K. There's already been rumblings that he will team up with Clayton Kershaw to pitch in the same game, which makes since considering neither one of them is capable of going deep into games right now.

I'll be sure to keep an eye on all 4 of these player's performances as long as they are down on the farm.

Nomar to be DL'd, so DeWitt is back

I made a small joke the other day that "when" Nomar Garciaparra (not "if") gets hurt, Blake DeWitt will be back with the big club. Little did I know how right I would be.

Nomar exited Friday night's game against the Colorado Rockies with a strained left calf muscle and will be back on the shelf once again. It's a positive for DeWitt fans, as he'll get the call back up. That demotion lasted, oh... about 5 minutes.

Look, I can fully appreciate Nomar's desire and heart to play ball, but enough is enough. The guy is simply WAY too much of an injury risk at this point in his career, and is just an accident waiting to happen. He was actually hitting pretty his last few games, but like always, cannot find the ability to stay on the field.

So what to do with him? I hate to say it, but it's time to seriously consider moving him, whether that be by trade or outright releasing him. Andy LaRoche will be back soon, and while he's had his fair share of injuries, it's not nearly as bad as Nomar. DeWitt has played well enough to keep getting starts for now, but LaRoche is their future.

No disrespect meant to Nomar, but it's time to acknowledge that resigning him was a mistake and for the organization to move on.

Jones hitting 2nd, Nomar cleaning up tonight

I would definitely qualify tonight's lineup against the D-Backs as "quirky."

In another one of Joe Torre's lineup shufflings, he has Andruw Jones in the 2-hole, Nomar in the cleanup spot, Matt Kemp 7th, and Chin-lung Hu 8th. Jeff Kent gets the night off against the dangerous Dan Haren.

Should be an interesting game...

With Nomar back, Troncoso optioned

I speculated on who would be sent down once Nomar Garciaparra was activated earlier today. And the winner (well, loser) is... Ramon Troncoso.

He was one of the few guys I mentioned, and his 9.53 ERA was most likely the deciding factor in the end. It's certainly not the end of the line for him, as he's only 25. He pitched scoreless ball in his first 4 appearances covering 3.2 innings, but was roughed up for 6 runs in his last 2 innings.

It's not like Triple-A Las Vegas is the best place to improve your numbers pitching, but with the Dodgers crazy injury history, if he can prove he can keep the ball down and get outs, he'll be back.

Nomar will be back on Friday

*** UPDATE ***

I guess we all were wrong about Nomar's return date, because he's playing 3rd base and hitting in the #7 spot tonight. In fact, he just drew a walk in his 1st AB of the year.

***

Nomar Garciaparra will return from the DL on Friday and join the Dodgers in Atlanta. He has been sitting out since March 7 when St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle McClellen beaned him in the right hand. After initially thinking it would be a day-to-day injury, it turned out to be 5 weeks. Coincidentally, this was the same game that Andy LaRoche was hurt and lost for 2 months. Rough day.

Now that Nomar will be back, 2 questions will be asked: 1) What will happen to Blake DeWitt? 2) Who will be optioned to the minors? First things first, I firmly believe that DeWitt will remain with the big club. He's hitting .261 with 5 RBI and a stolen base. However, he has been praised for his slick glove work, which is the most important thing. Heck, the guy had his hometown of Sikeston, MO name the month of April in his honor. How can you send him down now?

Since I don't believe it'll be DeWitt to get optioned, that brings us to question #2. As of now, both Esteban Loaiza and Chan Ho Park are the long relievers, so one of them could get sent back. After Loaiza's sparkling performance last night, it would have to be Park if either of the 2 are sent back down. Another option is Ramon Troncoso, who's given up 6 runs in 5.2 innings for a 9.53 ERA. His days could be numbered.

My take is that DeWitt should absolutely NOT be sent back down. He has played his way to at least a platoon player for the time being. If the Dodgers are that high on Troncoso, then it should be Park. They really don't need 2 long relievers considering their starting staff is capable of pitching deep into games each night.

With Nomar hurt, is Mark Loretta on his way in?

Yet another rumor is being thrown around concerning trading for a 3rd baseman. This time it seems legit, given that both Andy LaRoche and Nomar Garciaparra won't be ready for the start of the season. In the past the names have been Brandon Inge and Joe Crede. Now, add Mark Loretta's name to the mix.

Loretta is currently with the Houston Astros, but will be behind Kaz Matsui when he gets back from his pain in the ass injury. Sorry... I couldn't resist! Anyway, Loretta is a steady, singles hitter. He has a combined 12 home runs the last 3 years, and his AVG will be in the mid-.280's range. If the Dodgers are willing to get a guy that will get hits, but provide absolutely no power, then they should go for it.

I do like Loretta because he is a guy that can get on base. He's certainly not flashy, but at this point, the Dodgers can't be too picky about who they want. If he can come cheap, it should be worth a shot.

The other options include Blake DeWitt, Tony Abreu, and Chin-Lung Hu. Their averages this spring are as follows: DeWitt - .243, Abreu - .214, Hu - .243. While they obviously are still raw and will be better in the years to come, those averages don't exactly make the Dodgers too confident in handing one of them the job. Abreu may be called to duty at 2nd to fill in for Jeff Kent until he returns, so DeWitt and Hu remain.

If it were up to me, then I'd lean towards Hu, only because he has more experience being in the Bigs. DeWitt's time will come at some point. Who knows how long Nomar will be out, but it's one of those injuries that looked minor at first, and gradually it becomes longer and longer for him to come back. When Kent comes back, I think Hu and Abreu can hold the fort down for awhile.

New 3rd base options

All it took was one injury to Andy LaRoche, and the good old trade rumor mill has been given new life.

Now take a deep breath for this one... Guess who's being talked about as a potential trade option for 3rd base? But you'll never guess...

Why it's Brandon Inge, of course!

This on again, off again trade talk has seen the switch flipped back on, all because LaRoche is out for 2 months. How serious is it? Well, mlbtraderumors.com doesn't exactly make a specific link for it, but they seem to more in the speculation stage. For the last time, the guy had 1 good year and that's it. Let it go!

Another name being tossed around is one that has also popped up in the past, Joe Crede. I will admit that this one has me intrigued just a teeny, tiny bit. It was just 2 years ago that he hit .283 with 30 HR and 94 RBI. He also had +20 HR seasons the previous 3 years (ok, he had 19 in 2003, but close enough!), so he has shown pretty decent pop. But, last year was a disaster as a bad back held him to 47 games and 4 HR.

A couple of different sources to check out concerning Crede. The first is from South Side Sox where they accurately point out that not only does Crede bring more power than Inge, but he's also in the last year of his salary, as opposed to 3 years and $19.1 million for Inge. Perhaps he can be plugged in with Nomar Garciaparra for the time being, then be reevaluated when LaRoche is healthy. It could work.

The second is from ESPN's Buster Olney, who points out that scouts claim Nomar's unusual throwing style from 3rd could mean he's not being counted on there for the long haul. Interesting point, though I tend to think that is just scout-talk and wouldn't read too much into that.

Man, Nomar has got to be feeling like crap right now. There was a time when he was one of the top players in the game, now people talk as if he's completely washed up. He's practically handed the 3rd base job, yet the Dodgers might not want him to play that much. Oh ya, he also was hurt the other day when he was hit on the right wrist by a pitch.

IMHO (cool Internet slang), I would take a serious look at bringing in Crede. BUT, the price has to be reasonable. What would the White Sox want? If it's an arm out of the bullpen, I'd consider that. If it's a young stud, then forget it. For a reasonable price, this deal may very well happen.

Torn thumb ligament sidelines LaRoche for 8-10 weeks

This sucks.

That was my first thought, and is still my only thought when I read the news that injuries have yet again derailed Andy LaRoche's rise to the majors. This time, it was a freak play involving an attempted pickoff play that caused the injury. No matter how you look at it, Nomar Garciaparra is now the man at 3rd base on Opening Day and beyond.

According to my 5-star math skills, 8-10 weeks means a return in early-mid May. Nomar will have a good month and a half to prove if he's the man for the job. If he slips, I can only hope that LaRoche is ready to step in.

It's a shame this happened because we'll never know what direction Torre was going to lean in. I always was a believer that both men would get their shot at starting and showing what they have, but that's all for naught right now.

The ironic part to all of this is that Nomar also left today's game when he was pegged in the right wrist with a pitch, but fortunately X-rays were negative and the injury is considered minor. Both men were hitting very well so far, and Nomar even went deep today, so that's a good sign. His days of hitting for power are gone, but I can assume he'll hit in the bottom part of the lineup and still get on base if all is well.

With LaRoche's injury, that takes care of 1 position battle and leaves the focus on 2 more: left field and 5th starter.

MLB.com preview: Corner Infielders

The 2nd of 7 installments of the Dodgers' roster is up, and this time looks at 1st and 3rd base. 1st base is obviously wrapped up, with James Loney proving he was worth the trouble of moving Nomar Garciaparra to 3rd base. He should be a building block for years to come.

Over at 3rd base, the situation is much different. I talked about Nomar yesterday and his quest to regain the starting nod. Andy LaRoche is the other X factor in all of this, and he has shown just as much, if not more, promise than Loney in the minors. Can he translate that into big league success? So far, it's been anywhere from a "we'll see" to "no." He hasn't proved he can handle being an everyday 3rd baseman yet, from a production and injury standpoint. Time will certainly tell.

Next week: Middle infield

Nomar's fresh start

Nomar Garciaparra and wife/soccer legend Mia Hamm are getting prepared for their celebrity soccer challenge on January 26 to promote funds and awareness for bone marrow transplant patients and their families. Good for them. In between talking soccer (which for the record, I absolutely hate. I mean seriously, what is so much fun about watching a 1-0 game all the time?), he discussed the upcoming season. Here's a quote:

"I'm preparing myself for whatever. I want to be flexible and agile if I'm asked to play other positions besides third base. I always prepare myself to do whatever's asked of me. Right now it's third base. But I've talked to Torre and he loves the fact, being in the National League, that I can play other positions. I don't think that's a sign that I won't be playing third base. We've just seen before how things change and I want to be flexible."

The rest of the article, which can be read right here, mainly goes into last season's debacle, sitting the bench in September, and how he still respects Grady Little.

Having a guy of his caliber, a six-time All-Star for crying out loud, around the clubhouse is always a good thing. Looking at things realistically, he only has had 1/2 a good season in 2 years with LA. The good was obviously the first part of the 2006 season, where he hit .358 with 11 HR and 53 RBI. He made the All-Star team, though it was by fan vote, which still pisses me off that he was originally left off. Anyway... injuries tanked his hitting to only .222 in the 2nd half, and was a complete non-factor in the playoffs vs. the Mets.

Last year, his power numbers were slim and none, and slim took a hike! Hitting .283 wasn't bad, but with 7 HR and 59 RBI. Yuck. 121 games, 431 at-bats, and only 7 homers to show for it. It's safe to see why Little wasn't comfortable playing him in September, whether you agree with the decision or not. His body was just broken down.

The general consensus is that Andy LaRoche should get the nod, and I can't disagree with that. He's proven he can hit anywhere in the minors, now it's time to step it up on the big stage. Since injuries happen to every team, having a guy like Nomar who can play any infield position ready on the bench is a big plus. All it takes is 1 rolled ankle to turn a season around (ask Rafael Furcal about that), so playing time could always jump in no time. Hopefully LaRoche will produce and Nomar can become the ultimate utility man, still getting plenty of PT.