Even without Manny on hand, Lowe v. Webb is worth checking out, in my humble assessment.

Wow.  I leave the park last night pretty convinced that the Dodgers weren't gonna make a move of any real magnitude, then later get a call to fill in for an ill Steve Mason for 710 ESPN's Mason and Ireland Show (and not to pimp myself out in too blatantly obvious a fashion, but you wanna listen to John Ireland and I discuss a certain topic, hit the "hourly podcast" link).  "Why the heck not," I figure.  I might end up missing Joe Torre talk, but I can find out the high points later, since it's not likely to be anything all that exciting.

Clearly, my "intuition" signals got crossed on this one.

Oh, and for those who still can't figure out what I'm alluding to... Manny Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers.   

Hey kids! AK and BK can't make it but they'll be here to recap the craziness as soon as they can!  In the meantime...let's discuss!

Andrew and Brian are away from their desks this afternoon, probably dumbstruck and shocked that the Dodgers were able to pull the trigger on pretty much The trade of the year.

According to Bill Shaikin of the Times, the Blue Crew didn't have to give up all that much to get the controversial slugger:

The Red Sox are expected to cover the $7 million remaining on Ramirez's salary, enabling the Dodgers to meet owner Frank McCourt's reported mandate that any trade not add to the team payroll.

The Dodgers are expected to trade two prospects -- third baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris -- as part of a three-team deal. The Red Sox are expected to get Jason Bay from the Pittsburgh Pirates to replace Ramirez in the Boston outfield, with the Pirates getting those two prospects from the Dodgers and two more from the Red Sox.

Hey all, I'm working on getting Manny Ramirez confirmation.  From what I hear, it's Manny to L.A. for Andy LaRoche and Triple-A righty Bryan Morris (apparently well thought of, but had Tommy John a while back) to Pittsburgh, with Jason Bay the main prize for Boston.

Making calls, trying to get some info.  But for now, that's what I know.

AK

Nothing doing for the Dodgers as of 1:22, past the 1 pm non-waiver deadline but still not entirely out of the window for deals to trickle in.  Don't expect anything, though.  The interesting thing is the continuing noise that financial considerations are a big stumbling block for the Dodgers.  It was reported earlier today that the Greg Maddux talks fell apart because the Dodgers wanted too much money from San Diego to help cover the HOFer's remaining salary.  How much of that is true is hard to gage, because once the label of non-spender is attached to a team, it's hard to shed.  But should it be cash that kept the Dodgers from improving today (and changed the parameters of the Casey Blake deal), it'll certainly be a topic of conversation for a while. 

BK

My inside sources tell me there could be implications to this series with Arizona.  I'm still trying to figure out specifically what they are (tooooooooooootally lost here!), but either way, it felt like a good enough reason for a live blog. 

AK

Well, the Dodgers, their front office and their fans, for much of the 2008 season.  But after last night's 4-0 win over the Giants, the Blue have inched themselves a game above the "Even Steven" mark (although still a game behind the Diamondbacks).  Chad Billingsley, smoking of late on the hill, racked himself another win, but added the first shutout to his young career.  The feat didn't come without a bit of a scare, however.  Already on second, Jose Castillo attempted to get the Giants on the board by passing and collecting his metaphorical 200 bucks.  Thankfully, Andre Ethier's arm and Russell Martin's ability to hang onto a ball prevented Bill's night from gaining any tarnish.

It is definitely one of the biggies on the baseball sports calendar- today's non-waiver trade deadline (1 pm PST).  Lots of sound, lots of fury, sometimes signifying something, often amounting to nothing.  Most of the big pieces have already been moved- Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, Pudge Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Casey Blake (yes, in this context, he qualifies)- a few, like Greg Maddux, haven't but could.  Adam Dunn, Jason Bay, and Houston Street are among the other high profile guys still out there, and typically contending teams will look to make smaller trades to add bench or bullpen help. 

So here's the QOTD, and it's a simple one:  Who do you want the Dodgers to get, if anyone?  What do they need, and how much should they give up to get it? 

Personally, I'm lukewarm on Maddux, because despite the fact it worked once before in LA and he seems to have the ability to bend the brainwaves of other Dodgers pitchers like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Maddux hasn't pitched all that well lately.  On the other hand, with Hiroki Kuroda reeling, reinforcements can't be a bad thing, but Ned Colletti should resist the urge to give up any value for the HOFer.  Smaller additions- bullpen help, another bat to bolster the bench- these are things that could really help the Dodgers.  Given the fragility of Nomar, another option at short can't hurt. 

We'll see how it goes- about four hours to go.

BK

Not in volume, of course (although if you listen very closely, his "sustain" can also be heard).  The number marks Billingsley's win total, now one shy of a dozen after a 4-0 win over the Dodgers.  The tally also comes one shy of Billingsley career-high for victories (and I'll go out on a limb and predict he'll establish a new career high before the season is done).  In the meantime, the complete game notched the first shutout on Bills' resume, a blanking (along with a record now above .500) preserved on the final play of the game after a laser launched by Andre Ethier landed perfectly in the glove of Russell Martin, who absorbed Jose Castillo's contact to record the third out.  For Billingsley, it was a new benchmark, but for his manager, the night felt par the course, at least measured against his view of the pitcher's capabilities.  "You give him the ball now, it gets to the point where you expect him to do something like this," praised Joe Torre.

Not that Billingsley is boasting, but he's feeling pretty confident at the moment when it comes to turning a box score's tide in his favor.  Not because he's Billy Badass, but because he's a good study.  "I've learned a lot from last year to this year.  I'm still learning.  Every time you go out there, you're always learning something."

Apparently so.

The breakdown is below.