The Trolley Dodger

With Andy LaRoche on his way to Pittsburgh, and with the rental Casey Blake likely only here this season, all eyes will turn to Blake DeWitt next spring.

From the Dodgers minor league report today, seems like DeWitt is doing pretty well so far in his first AAA experience:

BLAKE CAN RAKE: INF Blake DeWitt is 6-for-14 (.429) with a double, a triple, two homers, and seven RBI in three games since being optioned to Las Vegas on Saturday…the 22-year-old was selected by the Dodgers in the first round (28th overall) of the 2004 draft.

And now with one Manny Ramirez patrolling left field in the middle of a pennant race, this series should get even better ratings. :D

Update: Well, I guess I need to change that question mark to an exclamation point: Manny to Dodgers! As usual, the important thing isn’t the money, the other trade pieces, the offensive upgrade, or anything else — with both 24 and the obvious 42 reverse taken what number will he wear?

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Naw, probably not, but it’s time for the annual “Where’s Manny getting traded?” roulette wheel. To listen to the Boston Media, they’re super serious this time about Manny Being Manny elsewhere. Just like every year.

Buster Olney seems to think the Dodgers (among several other teams) might match up:

They could make a deal with the Dodgers, who are overloaded with outfielders but have a manager in Joe Torre who is accustomed to dealing with star players with diva issues. The offer from L.A. would start with third baseman Andy LaRoche, conceivably.

While I’m sure the Dodgers would love to have that power in left field, I don’t see it happening at all before the deadline, for the simple fact of how much we would certainly have to give up. Besides, if the Red Sox are serious about getting rid of him this time, we can wait till they test the waiver waters in August, or even wait till the off season.

And how much you want to bet the Andruw Jones Effect* has the Dodgers front office a bit leery of taking on big contracts?

* AJE — rhymes with “age”

UPDATE: it’s official

And the countdown begins to Vin’s first mention of “Casey at the bat“. :)

ESPN.com: “Source: Indians, Dodgers close to deal sending Blake to L.A.”

The Cleveland Indians are closing in on a trade that would send third baseman/outfielder Casey Blake and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor leaguers, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.

The teams were in the process of finalizing the deal early Saturday and it appeared the trade could be completed by the end of the day.

While Blake won’t make that much of an impact — it’s not as if we’re getting A-Rod — he will likely stabilize the 3B position for the rest of the year. As a rental, he could also net us a draft pick or two if we let him walk at the end of the season.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see DeWitt sent down where he should have been the last month or so, with LaRoche on the bench as 2B/3B backup. Unless Andy winds up in some other trade.

The two minor leaguers heading the other direction for Blake are said to be Carlos Santana and Jon Meloan.

My head is spinning. ;)

As mentioned recently, the City of LA and the Dodgers are making arrangements to provide shuttle service from Union Station to the Stadium. More details are now available.

We’re excited to announce a new Dodger Trolley to make getting to the stadium even more convenient! The service is provided on Game Days, starting 2 hours before game time and concluding 1 hour after the game ends.

When: Shuttle service begins Friday, July 25 and will operate for the 32 remaining home games in the 2008 season.

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