Welcome to L.A., Russ and Ramon Ortiz

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The Dodgers have decided that Chad Billingsley will be a reliever to begin the season.

Now this is the kind of decision making we expect from a Grady Little team. No he didn't work deep into games as a 21-year-old rookie, but Billingsley was 6-4 with a 3.34 ERA in his 16 starts for the Dodgers last season. Brett Tomko had a 4.73 ERA last year and hasn't been under 4.00 since 1997. Mark Hendrickson's career ERA is 4.98. We wouldn't mind seeing Hong-Chih Kuo as the Dodgers' fifth starter, but he's far and away the worst bet of the group to hold up for 200 innings. Billingsley has no real experience out of the pen, and it's doubtful he'll be very effective unless the Dodgers can find him consistent work. It's probably not going to be a long-term arrangement, but it's still going to hurt the Dodgers' chances this year.

Well, then, we can pencil in the games in which Brett Tomko and Mark Hendrickson start as losses. Can't blame J.D. Drew for leaving this team for somewhere better.

Opening series:
Lowe vs. Sheets
Wolf vs. Capuano

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Any way to spnig this as a good choice? From that it just seems incredibly stupid.

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Tomko and Penny each pitched well and they took 2 of 3 games against Colorado.

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Marlon Anderson is out for two months. He needs arthroscopic surgery, I forget for which part of his body.

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Tonight's game against the Cardinals is not worthy of its own thread. The fact that Brett Tomko sucks is all you need to know.

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The Dodgers delivered a similar pounding to Adam Wainwright as payback for Tomko getting shelled. Sweet.

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Man, the Cards' pitching must really suck for them to run out Kip Wells to get his 8th loss of the season. :nopity:

And Betemit earned his paycheck for one night with a 3-run bomb off Kip.

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They beat Ben Sheets yesterday and tagged Chris Capuano with a 4-run first inning in tonight's game.

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News from the 1st of June.

Chin-Hui Tsao remains unable to pitch due to a right shoulder strain.
"He still a ways away. We're going to wait until he's completely free of any kind of tightness or soreness … before we let him throw off the mound," manager Grady Little said.

Larry Bigbie, who was hitting .349 for Triple-A Las Vegas, was dropped from the Las Vegas roster hours before a June 1 escape clause in his contract kicked in.
Bigbie is now a free agent. We expect multiple teams will be calling his agent in an attempt to add outfield depth to their major league rosters.

Dodgers recalled LHP Eric Hull from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Hull, 27, had a 3.62 ERA and a 27/15 K/BB in 27 1/3 innings as a reliever for Las Vegas. The Dodgers could send him right back down tomorrow.

Dodgers placed RHP Yhency Brazoban on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder.
Brazoban is likely to miss at least a few weeks after getting hurt last night, but the Dodgers have plenty of bullpen depth without him. He had given up three earned runs in 1 2/3 innings since being called up.

Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News believes the Dodgers will send down Andy LaRoche to make room for Saturday's probable starter, Hong-Chih Kuo.
He goes on to say that Jason Schmidt could return Tuesday, bouncing Mark Hendrickson from the rotation. Kuo would stick with the team under that scenario, with Eric Hull returning to Triple-A to make room for Schmidt.

Russell Martin homered in his third straight game on Friday when he took Pirates starter Zach Duke deep for a solo blast in the fifth inning.
Martin also doubled in the contest, raising his OPS to an impressive 879. Martin has eight steals in nine tries to go with his 34 runs scored and 38 RBI. That he's also started 49 of the Dodgers' 53 games makes his productivity and quality defense even more valuable. It'd be unlikely to actually happen, but Martin would be deserving of more than a few MVP votes if the season ended today.

Takashi Saito, who was unavailable on Sunday due to a sore shoulder, returned to action on Friday and picked up a save against the Pirates.
Saito and the Dodgers downplayed the event as them just being overly cautious. Indeed, Saito showed no ill effects by striking out three and not allowing a baserunner while retiring five batters. It's nothing to worry about.

Randy Wolf gave up four runs in five innings of work against the Pirates on Friday but picked up his seventh win of the season anyway.
Russell Martin put the Dodgers ahead 5-4 in the top of the fifth, and the bullpen held the lead with Chad Billingsley, Joe Beimel, and Takashi Saito combining for four scoreless innings of work. Wolf gave up seven hits and walked two tonight, so he certainly wasn't at his best. He'll get the Padres at Petco Park next time out.

Dodgers optioned Andy LaRoche to Triple-A Las Vegas.
LaRoche deserved better after doing a great job of getting on base for a team that just didn't appreciate it. He hit .216/.444/.270 in 37 at-bats during his 26 days in the majors. The power surely would have come had the Dodgers given him more of a chance. Maybe he's not ready to hit for average, but he's a better bet than Tony Abreu.

Dodgers recalled LHP Hong-Chih Kuo from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Kuo will get the start Saturday against the Pirates. If he does well, it looks like he'll stick around and bump Mark Hendrickson from the rotation. Kuo has a great deal of upside while healthy, but he is a risky play right now. He's really struggled to throw strikes at times this year.

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News from the 2nd of June.

Tony Abreu went 2-for-4 with a two-run double Friday versus the Pirates.
The Dodgers chose to keep Abreu over Andy LaRoche when they went back to 11 pitchers tonight. It helped his case that he won't slow the game down with those annoying walks. Abreu should hit for average while splitting time with Wilson Betemit. That may give him some fantasy value, but he's not likely to complement the average with many homers or steals.

Mark Hendrickson is being sent to the bullpen to make room for Jason Schmidt in the Dodger rotation.
Hendrickson could get another chance to start soon if Hong-Chih Kuo struggles. He's struggled of late, but he still has a 4.17 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in eight starts at three relief appearances this season.

Jason Schmidt (shoulder) had a successful bullpen session Saturday and will come off the disabled list to start Tuesday against the Padres.
He'll replace Mark Hendrickson in the rotation. If Schmidt only has so many bullets left in his arm, the Dodgers figure they might as well use them now. NL-only leaguers will probably want to activate him immediately. Mixed leaguers could take a wait-and-see approach.

Hong-Chih Kuo surrendered two runs in 4 2/3 innings Saturday to lose to the Pirates in his first start of the season.
It was a very rocky start for Kuo, who gave up three singles in a row to begin the game and then hit a batter and walked in a run with one out. Fortunately, a flyball out to right followed and Xavier Nady was able to gun down Freddy Sanchez, who tried to tag up and score. Kuo was fine the rest of the way, though he had to be pulled in the fifth with his pitch count up to 96. He'll get at least one or two more starts before the Dodgers reevaluate his status.

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News from the 3rd of June.

Marlon Anderson (elbow) took BP and played catch for 12 minutes Saturday, throwing from a distance of more than 150 feet.
Anderson still needs to build arm strength, a Dodgers official said, but he could be ready for a minor league rehab assignment this month.

Chin-Lung Hu went 3-for-5 with a homer and a triple Saturday for Double-A Jacksonville.
Hu, a 23-year-old from Taiwan, is batting .330/.362/.493 in 209 at-bats while repeating Double-A. He currently projects as a major league reserve, but his glove is good enough that someone might want to give him a look as a regular shortstop.

Takashi Saito left Sunday's game in the ninth inning with an apparent leg injury.
Saito was removed from a closing situation with one on and one out and replaced by Joe Beimel. It wasn't his shoulder acting up, which is good news. Still, he might end up on the disabled list. If that's the case, Jonathan Broxton would be the favorite for saves.

Brad Penny was touched up for four runs in six innings against the Pirates on Sunday but did not factor into the decision.
Penny gave up nine hits, including a pair of homers, while also walking two. The right-hander had given up zero or one run in five of his last six starts before today, and he also entered the game with 10 quality starts in 11 tries. His ERA still sits at a neat 2.37, but it's a number on the rise.

Joe Beimel picked up a save on Sunday by retiring the last two batters in the ninth inning of a one-run game against the Pirates
Closer Takashi Saito had to leave the game after retiring just one batter due to an apparent leg injury. Beimel finished out the inning, but he was only called upon with Jonathan Broxton having already pitched the eighth. If Saito is unavailable again, Broxton will take over ninth inning duties.

Andre Ethier hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning off Pirates reliever Salomon Torres on Sunday.
The Pirates were ahead 4-0 after six innings, but the Dodgers rallied for three runs in the seventh off starter Tom Gorzelanny and Torres. Then in the eighth, Russell Martin singled to lead off the inning and Ethier followed with his fifth homer of the season. The blast allowed Chad Billingsley to pick up his fourth win of the season in relief.

Takashi Saito injured his left hamstring in Sunday's game, but the Dodgers don't believe he tore it.
Saito seems to be day-to-day for now, though a DL stint remains a real possibility. Manager Grady Little indicated that Jonathan Broxton would close while Saito is out.

The Dodgers believe Takashi Saito is day-to-day with a left hamstring injury sustained in the ninth inning Sunday.
"He's mature enough to let us know as soon as something like that happens," manager Grady Little said. "I don't know how serious it is, but we feel like he informed us in time (to prevent a severe injury). We'll look at it tomorrow and see how it is, but it's a plus he told us that quickly." Jonathan Broxton still might be the better bet for saves this week.

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News from the 4th of June.

Dodgers manager Grady Little expects Takashi Saito to be sidelined for two to three days "in a best-case scenario."
Saito left Sunday's game with a left hamstring injury. Jonathan Broxton is closing in his place.

Tony Abreu went 0-for-4 and made a pair of throwing errors Monday against the Pirates.
Abreu is still a novice at third base, making the switch from second a month ago, so it's not very surprising that he's committed four errors in nine games at third base. He has been hot at the plate -- he's at .342 in 38 at-bats even after tonight's 0-fer, but we're not convinced he's the Dodgers' best option at the hot corner.

Jonathan Broxton picked up his first save despite allowing a run in the ninth Monday versus the Pirates.
Broxton gave up two hits and a walk, but he stranded the tying run at third after entering a 6-4 game. Broxton could get one or two more save chances before Takashi Saito returns.

Derek Lowe took a no-hitter into the seventh Monday and picked up a win after giving up four runs in 7 2/3 innings against the Pirates.
Freddy Sanchez broke up the no-hitter and Xavier Nady homered as part of a three-run seventh. Lowe came back out for the eighth anyway -- it might not have happened had Takashi Saito been healthy -- and gave up another homer, this one to Jose Bautista, before Joe Beimel came in. The Dodgers ended up winning 6-5. It was just the second time this season Lowe has allowed more than one run and won. He's 6-5 with a 3.44 ERA.

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News from the 5th of June.

Takashi Saito (hamstring) is doubtful for the Dodgers' three-game series with San Diego which starts Tuesday.
"I'm not too clear as to when a concrete timetable will be set to get me back on the mound," Saito said through an interpreter. "It bothers me when I try to finish off a pitch, especially twisting. With an injury like this sometimes you feel good, then the next day you don't feel good." Jonathan Broxton will close while Saito is out.

Jonathan Meloan earned his ninth save for Double-A Jacksonville on Monday by retiring all six batters he faced.
Meloan has allowed 15 hits, walked 11 and struck out 38 in 28 innings for Jacksonville. If he keeps it up, the Dodgers will have him need of him eventually.

Dodgers optioned LHP Eric Hull to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Hull didn't get into a game during his four days with the Dodgers.

Dodgers activated RHP Jason Schmidt from the 15-day disabled list.
Schmidt's return to the rotation will come tonight versus the Padres.

Schmidt looked good in his return going scoreless through the 7th but the bullpen gave up a run in the 8th which led to a Padres victory.

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Saenz walkoff homer in the 10th won the first game.

Matt Stairs' solo homer off Derek Lowe gave the Jays the win in the 2nd game.

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Loney got recalled, Brady Clark got DFA.