I have no idea if Clayton Kershaw reads this blog.  But if he does, the following clip could certainly be interpreted as him providing two cents on BK's posed query as to whether or not the kid should start the season in the big club's rotation.  In case folks haven't seen it, this would be one mutha of a curveball.  I'm not saying that pitch clinches Kershaw's spot.  I'm just saying, dude threw a pitch somewhere between "nasty" and "narsty." 

Vin Scully like-ee.

AK

I'm not naive.  Jake Peavy, with his robust (and league-leading) win (16) and strikeout (206) totals combined with his microscopic (and league-leading) ERA (2.20) and WHIP (1.03), has -- barring a Nuke LaLoosh pre-eyelid-breathing September collapse -- a stranglehold on the NL Cy Young Award.  It's also true that to win that piece of hardware relievers generally have to be so good that their impression of Superman is indistinguishable from the real thing (see Gagne, Eric -- 2003). 

But let's say for a second that Peavy's meltdown happens.  That through the rest of September he goes 0-5 with a 8.99 ERA, robs a bank and punches a couple of kids on a school trip to PETCO.  Anything to ruin his eligibility.  After Peavy, there would be a few other names people would jump on.  Brandon Webb's scoreless streak was remarkable enough to vault him into contention, if he wasn't there already.  Brad Penny has been rock solid all year for an often-shaky squad.  Cole Hamels (pre-injury) and Tim Hudson have both been very good. 

But it's not a stretch to say that Takashi Saito has been better than all of those guys, and better than any other relief pitcher in the National League. 

With their win Sunday against the Friars, the Blue have put 84 games in the books, with another 78 to go.  Technically not halfway home, but close enough.  It's been an interesting, often thrilling, equally frustrating, periodically infuriating half-season for the Dodgers.  But while they leave a little queasy feeling in the bottom of the stomach -- a host of worries and "what if's?" will do that -- L.A. has managed to win 48 games, tied for the highest total in the NL.  That's without a sustained hot streak that could help them pull away from the pack.  In short, the Dodgers haven't dominated, but they clearly don't suck, either.  They've got as good a shot as any team in the league to advance, perhaps even deep, into the playoffs.  Considering few thought the squad was airtight heading into the year, that's not a bad situation.

So let's hand out some midseason hardware. 

The Dodgers have played 76 games.  After Monday night's win in Arizona, they sit a scant half game behind the Diamondbacks for the lead in the NL West.  They're ten games over .500, and that improves to fifteen if you toss out the Interleague games (should the Dodgers find their way to the World Series, we can all revisit their 5-10 record against the AL).  At 15-11, they've had better success inside what has become a very tough division than any of their rivals.  More good news?  Despite the loss of Jason Schmidt for the year and a couple dings here and there, the Dodgers haven't been forced to repeat last year's semi-grotesque, injury induced player shuffle that saw, if memory serves, 4,891 different guys don an L.A. uni.  I think the old dude from Major League started three games in July.  At the beginning of the season I picked the Dodgers to win the division, and wrote they had as good a chance as any team to represent the NL in the World Series.  I still think that's true.  Yet there are few fans/writers/baseball gurus out there who consider the Blue a stone cold lock to be playing deep into October.  Given the strength and balance of the West, it's possible they could miss the playoffs entirely. 

So as the header of this post asks, just how good are these guys?

The monumentally Cublike way in which Chicago managed to gift wrap Sunday's 2-1 Dodgers win was certainly noteworthy.  Three walks, a missed attempt to catch a guy off second base, and a hit batter to finally lose it?   No Dodger puts a ball in play?  If you wrote a movie where Chicago loses a critical game in that fashion, people would dismiss it as cliche. "That wouldn't even happen to the Cubs," they'd say. 

But as much fun as that was (I already sent a note to my buddy J.T., a native of the Windy City and devoted Cubs fan, making fun of his team), the most interesting part of the game came in the eighth.  Lots of maneuvering, a few pitching changes, and very mixed results for each manager.  It's was the sort of stuff that makes baseball ripe for debate, provided a good illustration of long term and short term thinking and how it can impact a game, and perhaps a small window into managerial styles. (Note:  If you're not the type who likes to dissect strategy, you'll want to skip the rest of this post...) 

The Dodgers, given their blend of vets (replete with "crusty" potential) and highly touted prospects, pitching and offensive problems, are always a good subject for discussion- or so I hope, since my job depends on it.  So yesterday's promotion of Tony Abreu generated some talk.  Rob Neyer of ESPN.com weighed in on his blog, and wasn't all that impressed. 

Before Wednesday's game, Grady Little said it takes about two weeks of a season for a manager to figure out what he has in a team.  Two weeks.  That can make for a long stretch of time should the figurin' yield a bad result.  Fortunately for Little he likes what he sees in the '07 Dodgers, who at 17-11, are on top of the NL West heading into this weekend's series in Atlanta.  So how do things look after a month?  Should Little be so happy?

Given the salaries that have flown around since the start of free agency this winter, I think it's fair to say that most players have already received their Christmas presents, helping the hot stove lower from a boil to a simmer entering the holiday weekend.  So all the big Dodgerland issues- where will the power come from, what uniform will Brad Penny be wearing come spring training, how long would it take Ned Colletti to grow the sort of 'stache to compete with these guys, etc.- in will wait until next week, at least.  So let's take the time to reflect on one more gift some former players are hoping to get in the near future- a ticket to Cooperstown. 

The eligibility of Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, and Ken Caminiti for enshrinement in '07 has pushed the steroid question to the forefront, or more fore in the forefront, since it really hasn't gone anywhere.  Caminiti isn't a consideration, and Canseco would be a long shot even without the needle issues, but McGwire gives writers their first opportunity to accept or reject a symbol of the Steroid Era.  The general consensus is that Big Mac won't get in this year, but the larger debate is on how to handle players from the last decade and a half, give or take. 

I know I'm not an L.A. native, and perhaps that sort of thing matters in a case like this, but once again, the Dodger Dog is being placed in some pretty lofty company with which it doesn't belong.  Yes, the somewhat sorry excuse for a ballpark dog has been nominated by AOL CityGuide for its "City's Best Hot Dogs 2007" honor for Los Angeles.  From the press release sent by the Dodgers:

"The world famous Farmer John Dodger Dog is competing against Carney’s, Hot Dog on a Stick, Jack’s Diner & Billiard Club, Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom, Nathan’s Famous, Skooby’s Hot Dogs, Weiner Factory, The Stand and Pink’s... The Dodger Dog has been a staple at Dodger Stadium since 1962.  The Travel Channel named Dodger Stadium the world's best stadium for fine dining in 2004." 

Or any other cast member from Law & Order because Ned Colletti has opted not to pursue tampering charges against the Sawx.  Maybe it just wasn't worth the effort, give how slim the chances of winning these cases are.  Or maybe Colletti just didn't want to spend any extra seconds in a room with Satan... er, Scott Boras.  Hey, get in line, Ned.  But I can still picture the court room scene, if witnesses are actually sworn in for these types of cases.