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| Nomar Garciaparra will likely start at first base when the Dodgers face the Phillies in Game 3 of the NLCS, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. |
Our View: James Loney is 3-for-7 in the series, but Garciaparra smoked lefties this year (1.067 OPS) and the Dodgers are going up against Jamie Moyer.
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| Derek Lowe will start for the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Phillies. The right-hander will also get the call if there is a Game 7, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. |
Our View: Lowe will be starting on three days' rest in Game 4, but that shouldn't be a worry given the importance of the contest. He has pitched very, very well since May, and the Dodgers are wise to live or die with their best arm on the mound.
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| It is possible that the San Francisco Giants will make an attempt to acquire Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, according to the Chicago Tribune. |
Our View: Uggla hit 32 bombs last year, while driving in 92 runs. The team really could use a power bat, which Uggla certainly provides.
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| Rockies hurler Casey Weathers was holding his elbow and had to leave an instructional league game after throwing a pitch, according to the Denver Post. |
Our View: That's certainly bad news for the pitcher Colorado drafted with the eighth overall selection in 2007. No word yet on the extent of the injury.
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| The San Francisco Giants outrighted Tyler Walker, Kevin Correia, Scott McClain, Ivan Ochoa, Geno Espineli and Eliezer Alfonzo off of their 40-man roster, according to the San Jose Mercury News. |
Our View: Walker was decent, throwing 53.1 innings with a 1.28 WHIP and 4.56 ERA while averaging 8.27 K/9. Each player can choose to become a free agent or accept a demotion to the minor leagues.
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| Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley was horrid in the team's loss to the Phillies, and put part of the blame for his 2.1 inning debacle in which he allowed seven earned runs on catcher Russell Martin, according to Amy Nelson of ESPN.com. "I felt good; I felt I had good stuff. I didn't do well [Friday] and I didn't get the job done and I think pitch selection was kind of what the problem was," Billingsley said. |
Our View: If Billingsley didn't like the pitch selection, he does have the authority to shake Martin off. Joe Torre has a way of dealing with these things, so we don't expect this to be a festering issue down the road.
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| Dodger reliever Takashi Saito, who is not on the team's roster for the NLCS, threw 40 pitches in a side session and reported no problems, according to the L.A. Times. |
Our View: Saito will throw again when the team travels back to L.A. We suppose it's possible that he could pitch in the World Series, but the Dodgers have a pretty big hole to climb out of.
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| Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw threw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief during Game 2, making it more likely that Derek Lowe will start Game 4 for the team, according to the L.A. Times. |
Our View: It was thought that Kershaw might be saved for Game 4, but the Dodgers needed help out of the 'pen when Chad Billingsley imploded.
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| A federal judge gave six months of home confinement, and not prison time, to a bicycle racer named Tammy Thomas who was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice concerning the BALCO case, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The news is seen as a positive sign for Barry Bonds, whose trial will be under the same judge. |
Our View: Judge Susan Illston said that putting the Thomas in prison for the prosecution's recommended 30 months would be unfair considering that Victor Conte got just four months.
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