In real life when you encounter people less fortunate than you, it's customary to lend them a helping hand. In sports, you stomp on them without mercy. For the slumping Dodgers, who were outscored 22-7 during their three-game beat down in the Twin Cities, a crack at their downtrodden neighbors from the O.C. was just what the doctor ordered. Sure, the Blue have struggled on the road in interleague play, but that was against the likes of Oakland and Minnesota, i.e., teams that don't suck. 

The Angels, however, have made the Dodgers look like world beaters, sinking to the bottom of the AL West like a mob patsy in concrete shoes. Considering a visit to Anaheim hardly constitutes a grueling road trip (despite brutal holiday weekend traffic), and that it seemed like about half of the 44,000+ in the crowd were Dodgers fans, this "road" game was a prime opportunity to buck a trend, and that's exactly what Grady Little's bunch did in their 6-1 win Friday night.

If anyone knows a quick way to get from Hollywood to Anaheim on a holiday weekend that doesn't involve a helicopter or Star Trek style teleporting, I'm all ears.  Just because they call it the Freeway Series shouldn't mean I have to spend 2 1/2 hours on them trying to get here. 

There was some interesting media time today with Ned Colletti.  First of all, all indications are that the Dodgers will be carrying three catchers, and all indications are that Russell Martin won't be losing starts to newly acquired Toby Hall.  That puts a guy who was playing every day in Tampa on the bench in L.A., never an easy adjustment.  I don't mean to say Hall is going to be a disruption or has already started causing trouble.  He hasn't and isn't likely to, but it's an interesting situation.  From Colletti's end, it's not a concern.  "I do what's best for the club.  The day I try to do what's best for one player I try to do what's best for one player I'll be trying to do what's best for 25 players on an individual basis rather than a collective group," Colletti says.  "I can't get beyond that the collective group, that the team itself is more important than any individual."  Hopefully, Colletti says, solid play when he does get the opportunity will give Hall (or any other player looking for playing time) tough decisions to make.  "Force issues.  Force playing time.  Force starts.  Force the issues," he says.  That element of competition is something he's emphasized all year, including in the time he spent talking to us a few weeks ago.   Hall will make his first Dodger start tomorrow, catching fellow newbie Mark Hendrickson, but Little said the arrangement was just a comfortable way to get them both in the mix, not a permanent arrangement.

It's obviously no secret that the Dodgers could use a little more oomph in the rotation. But here's the $1,000,000 question. What cost are they willing to pay? In a rather amusing bit of irony, were Jeff Weaver to rejoin the squad, the price tag would likely please Bob Barker. At any case, dude could become available.

Like everyone else, the Press-Enterprise has noted of the success currently enjoyed by "the kids."  Thus, they did some individual profiles of the usual suspects: Jonathon Broxton. Andre Ethier. Matt Kemp. Chad Billingsley. Russell Martin. One could make a serious argument that the Dodger farm system features some rather fertile soil. But don't forget about a few vets who "get 'er done" as well.

Interleague Follies! Freeway Series II, Electric Bugaloo. The weekend/rivalry gets kicked off tonight with a battle of two...heavyweights. (Oh, c'mon! You guys were thinking it! We just said it!) These, however, would be some serious heavyweights.

The Hendrickson/Hall for Navarro/Seo deal this week officially kicked off the Dodgers Summer Improvement Campaign '06. No doubt the Blue had to make a move, no doubt Navarro was no longer considered the catcher of the future. He could go without much risk of serious impact in the long term. But while Navarro may not be L.A.'s best prospect anymore, he's still a pretty good prospect at an important, talent-poor position. The Rays got some value in exchange for a pitcher in Hendrickson whose career pedigree (5.01 ERA, .291 BAA) doesn't exactly have the bust makers in Cooperstown memorizing the contours of his face. It was a nice first move for the Dodgers, but it shouldn't be their last. Think of it as a midafternoon snack. Something to tide you over until dinner, but doesn't spoil the appetite.

What the trade did show me was that in this pitching thin market, any available arm will come at a price, and if that arm were attached to say, Dontrelle Willis, Barry Zito, Livan Hernandez, or John Smoltz, the cost could kick off a new round of Congressional hearings- this time to root out extortion in baseball.  So here's the question- How far would you be willing to go to improve the Dodgers this year? 

If Pedro Martinez were still on the Dodgers (and with this current rotation, dare to dream) yesterday afternoon's 6-3 loss to Minnesota would prompt him to declare the Twins "L.A.'s daddies." The loss clinched a sweep for Minny, a team hotter right now than a warehouse of stolen merch. And speaking of thievery, any hopes of L.A. stealing a game on their way out were pretty much dashed in the bottom of the first when Odalis Perez (in the rotation for an injured Brett Tomko) gave up a granny to Torii Hunter. The quartet of runs mirrored Perez's eventual exit, in that both arrived pretty quick. But that's probably a good thing, since he apparently wasn't into expending a lot of effort on the day, anyway. The Dodgers tried making a go of things, rallying a bit in the eighth off a three-RBI double by Olmedo Saenz. But for the most part, the bats were silent, even after a lineup change made specifically to help spark a slumping Matt Kemp. As the box score shows, the tinkering didn't do much for either party. Kemp struggling is nothing to panic over, since it's typical of what happens to all rooks, much less ones jumping directly from AA. And frankly, the drought seems appropriate, given how unkind June's been to the team in general.

No, not the Madonna flick, but equally nauseating.

I consider myself a reasonably optimistic, glass is half full kind of guy, but I have to be honest. Knowing Francisco Liriano and Johan Santana would start games two and three of the trifecta in Minnesota when the Dodgers lost game one with Carlos Silva on the hill for the Twins, a certain word popped into my head when considering L.A.'s chances the rest of the way. I cannot type that word on this website. Then Derek Lowe got shelled last night. That meant only Odalis Perez could save the Blue from the Broom. I woke up this morning a first-ballot inductee of the Pessimists Hall of Fame (though I still didn't feel good about my chances of getting in, hahahahaha). But there was still a tiny part of me that still believed.  Maybe...a heroic performance from O.P...just maybe...

...maybe not. Any lingering optimism I had lasted 2/3 of an inning before Odalis hung it over the heart of the plate for Torii Hunter to tattoo and send over the left field "wall" at the Metrodome for a first-inning grand slam. In the end, it was all Minnesota would need in their 6-3 win Wednesday afternoon.

Joe Mauer once again used the Dodgers as his personal AL MVP resume builder. He followed up a 4-5, 5 RBI show Monday with a 5-5 performance last night. In the end, that made his 2-3, two runs scored and a walk on Wednesday seem pretty weak by comparison. Think Mauer liked Dodger pitching? In three games, he raised his average from .368 to .392. In late June. That's ridiculous. Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau also chipped in with big games for the Twinkies. As for the Dodgers, only Olmedo Saenz managed to do some damage, generating two of the five L.A. hits and all three of their RBIs with a double in the eighth off Juan Rincon.

Hey, at least the 'pen kept the game close. 3.2 scoreless from Broxton, Baez and Saito. That's pretty good.

Fortunately for the Dodgers, who haven't exactly weathered this interleague road thing all that well (0-6 this month against Oakland and now Minnesota), the team they'll see next — the Angels — are quickly becoming a 25-man slump breaker. If ever there were a time to head down to the Big A and feast on the home team, this could be it. After a day off Thursday, we'll find out.

—BK

Thus far, the Dodgers are 0-1 in the Mark Hendrickson-Toby Hall era. Of course, it's probably a stretch to blame last night's 9-2 loss against the Twins on the presence of the newest Boys in Blue, considering they won't even join the squad until the Anaheim series. Those seeking more accurate explanations might simply say Derek Lowe's sinkerball...sunk. The Metrodome's field (the baseball equivalent of a fake Christmas tree) didn't quite mix with Lowe's propensity to create groundballs, making them more or less radioactive. Four of the dozen hits he surrendered came courtesy of Joe Mauer and they all helped the Twins score — as Ferris Bueller's principal would say — nine times. But hey, it could be worse. At least Lowe didn't get hit by a grounder against his final batter.... Never mind. If it's any comfort to Lowe (and it's probably not), at least his teammates were also pretty lousy. They didn't exactly light up the box score either.

Plus, the Twins got some runs off him.

For the most part, Derek Lowe's sinkerball has been his bread and butter, with a success rate that makes it a more-than-satisfying meal. But tonight, the trademark pitch came up tasting more like bread and water. The 9-2 loss also left a little to be desired when it comes to tempting a Dodger fan's palate. In a mere 5.1 innings, Lowe was pounded for a dirty dozen hits, all of which added up to an ugly nine earned runs. Six of those runs came in the second, an inning so out of control that Justin Morneau nearly batted twice. Adding insult to (a hopefully non-) injury, Lowe was hit in the forearm by a line drive, which led to him in the dugout with a trainer using some space age blow dryer-looking contraption to keep the swelling down. No word yet as to the seriousness, but it doesn't take a baseball genius (or in lieu of one, me) to figure out that the Dodgers can't afford any more holes in their already Swiss cheese-esque rotation.

In the meantime, Twins rookie phenom Francisco Liriano was pretty much money, stifling Dodgers hitters for a mere five hits and two runs over seven innings, although Nomar and Jeff Kent did manage solo jacks (the latter an absolute monster long ball). Unfortunately, that was almost the extent of any L.A. excitement. Save a sweet diving catch by Jose Cruz Jr. and Russell Martin's in-game shaving of a horrible idea mustache, there weren't many other Blue highlights to speak of. Seriously, I gave it some legit thought. Drawing a big ol' blank here.

More to come later.

—AK

Brett Tomko has been placed on the 15 day DL with a strained left oblique muscle, retroactive to Saturday the 24th. That opens up the two roster spots necessary for newbies Hendrickson and Hall. Odalis Perez will fill Tomko's slot on Wednesday. In theory, Hendrickson would fill it this weekend against the Angels, but I'm just guessing and doing a little math...often a recipe for disaster.

—BK

We hate to interrupt a lively trade discussion, but we want to send our best to Peter Gammons, who suffered a brain aneurysm today and is in surgery. He's truly one of the great baseball writers around.