first pitch is 30 minutes after i take off for Dallas : (

Phil will be covering the game tomorrow, and I will be there as well, in the stands, occasionally commenting here but probably Tweeting more often since its easier from the phone to do so.

I will be covering the game Sunday.

www.twitter.com/truebluela

what a great outing…i think hes our best pitcher at the moment

Wolf easily led all hitters and pitchers in WPA (win probability added), a stat covered by the great statistical site Fangraphs.

In Wolf’s previous start vs Arizona. He was #1 in WPA for all pitchers and a close second for all hitters, right behind Ethier.

Not bad, eh?
vr, Xei

Vegas:
Dodgers 50.98%
Rockies 63.10%

Simulator
Dodgers 48.24%
Rockies 67.74%

vr, Xei

What are the chances of us resigning Wolf and what would it take? I don’t think I would want to go more than 2 years. I doubt that would get it done.

Okay, it’s obvious that Schmidt will get transferred to the 60-day in order to activate Padilla.

Now, what about Eyechart, X-Man, and Ohman? I doubt we’re going to DFA three other guys to get them on the roster in September. But, I guess if a spot is needed, Repko will get the boot.

the Dodgers have to find spots on the 40 man spot for

- Padilla
- Eyechart
- Ohman
- Lindblom

When Beliasario and Wade were on the DL and Troncoso was gassed, Kuo was still rehabbing, why didn’t they bring him up then?

They obviously didn’t want to burn an option in the event he needed to go back down.

He may be the best relief pitching prospect but since he doesn’t have to get added on for 2 more years, why do it now.

Because he’s a lock to make the team next year in some capacity and there’s no drawback in calling him up in September with the expanded roster.

Is Lindblom suddenly going to pitch ahead of McDonald, Belisario, Troncoso, Sherill, and Kuo. He probably wouldn’t even pitch ahead of Elbert if he was here. And yes, even Mota would be used before him,

Since when does he have to pitch ahead of guys to be a September call-up? Look at Meloan in 2007. He certainly wasn’t ahead of anyone but he got the call because of his great season.

I could see the Dodgers calling Trayvon Robinson before Lindblom (which won’t happen either).

Robinson isn’t hitting in AA, so your theory doesn’t hold much water. Lindblom could be a useful asset, even if he’s not pitching in CRUCIAL spots, which is apparently your requirement. There is such a thing as saving innings for your playoff bound relievers and things of that nature.

RT @DodgertownUSA: #Dodgers Lineup: Furcal SS Pierre CF Ramirez LF Blake 3B Kemp RF Hudson 2B Loretta 1B Ausmus C Haeger RHP

when it comes to roster moves and especially when it involves young players. So that is the main reason why I don’t think it will happen.

Certainly had Beliasario not made the club, Lindblom had a ton of momentum back in ST. But I think Belisario and Sherill (along with Kuo) being on the team makes it less likely.

Plus you add in the roster moves they would have to make, just makes it seem to me that the last pitch Lindblom will throw this year, he will be wearing an Isotope uniform.

This is not based on any evaluation of how good he is or his potential. Rarely are moves made for those reasons alone.

2. Except for HRs, Haeger’s knuckleball was tricky
Knuckleballer Charlie Haeger made his Dodgers debut Monday and threw seven solid innings against the Cardinals, allowing three runs on just five hits and no walks (and no wild pitches).

The only damage came from the long ball. Albert Pujols led off the fourth inning with a home run that tied the game, and Rick Ankiel hit a two-run bomb to give the Cardinals the lead for good in the seventh.

Haeger threw knuckleballs on 78 of his 80 pitches, and the pitch was especially effective at inducing weak ground balls when it floated over the outer part of the plate:

Where Haeger’s knuckleball finished vs. Cardinals
Outside Middle Inside
Pct. of pitches 41.0 33.3 25.6
BA against .083 .273 .333
Ground-ball pct. 72.7 50.0 33.3

Haeger’s outside knuckleballs weren’t just hard to make contact with; they landed for strikes 88 percent of the time compared to just 38 percent of the time for inside pitches. That enabled Haeger to work ahead in the count all night, with 12 of the 27 plate appearances ending on pitcher’s counts.

Next up for Haeger are the Cubs on Saturday. Cubs hitters might want to get some advice from Alfonso Soriano, who handled knuckleballer Tim Wakefield pretty well back when Soriano was in the AL. He hit .306 (11-for-36) against Wakefield with four home runs.

Soriano is expected to sit today.

They keep on mumbling their words.