A...Winning...Streak?

Okay, so two games isn't really a winning streak, but i'll take anything at this point.

For those who haven't noticed, Andre Ethier is playing great since he took over regular playing duties from Juan Pierre. On August 11th, Joe Torre named Andre the starting right fielder. Since then, all Ethier has done is put up a line of .286/.337/.636/.973. And while the power numbers are bound to come down to reality a little bit, the chances of Juan Pierre ever putting up a line like that is about the same as a quadrapelgic Nigerian midget genie falling out of the sky and granting me 3 wishes. Slim.

In other news, Jeff Kent is going to have surgery on his knee.

"Second baseman Jeff Kent will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday, but the Dodgers actually expect him back before September is over, at least in a pinch-hitting role."

The article also mentions that Chin Lung Hu is being called up as a response. Not that it really matters anyway, since rosters expand today.

As far as Kent goes, it sucks to lose his bat to injury, but the dude was basically a DH that was forced to play in the field. And other than an extremely hot bat for a few weeks, he generally stunk it up offensively this year too. So while it could be a pretty big blow, if the Dodgers manage to insert a superior defender who can contribute a decent offensive punch, they may not miss Kent as much as people think. Well, at least the pitching staff won't.

In that same article, there's also a bit of potentially disasterous news:

"So the front office spent part of Sunday trying to make a waiver deal for a middle infielder. One intriguing fit could be San Francisco's Omar Vizquel, particularly because of Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti's relationship with San Francisco GM Brian Sabean. Colletti was Sabean's assistant for 12 years."

WHAT THE FUCK?! Did I take a DeLorean back to 1999 or something? Jesus, my head just exploded. Okay, it doesn't even confirm that the Dodgers are pursuing him, but the guy has an OPS of fucking .466, so please allow me a little time for overreaction here. Plus, you have to take the rumor somewhat seriously, especially when you consider that Vizquel is the exact type of guy that Uncle Ned loves to acquire.

There's also good and bad news regarding the guys coming back to the team for September.

"The Dodgers will recall pitchers Eric Stults and James McDonald and outfielder Jason Repko from Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday, when rosters expand to 40.

In addition, outfielders Andruw Jones and Delwyn Young and pitcher Scott Proctor will return from Minor League rehab assignments and are expected to be activated off the 15-day disabled list."

I think they just forgot to mention Clayton Kershaw, who is still scheduled to make his start on Tuesday.

Anyway, so besides Kershaw, the good news is that I finally get to see what James McDonald can do on the major league level. The bad news is that now Torre has the temptation of an activated Andruw Jones and Scott Proctor sitting in the dugout again. Seriously though, if Jones ever gets another start in center field on this team, I just may drown in my own tears. I equate it to what happens everytime I see Mark Sweeney stepping up to the plate to pinch hit with runners on 2nd and 3rd: a little piece of my soul dies.