The Perfect Storm...Except For Joe Torre

Talk about things working out well, huh? The Dodgers dominated the Braves yesterday, as the pitching, hitting, and defense all came up big.

Chad Billingsley was absolutely dealing, and he allowed a mere 3 baserunners through 5 innings while striking out 9. Unfortunately, he left the game with what was later classified as a cramp.

"I told Russ [Martin, catcher] I was cramping -- not every pitch, but when I was striding, and he looked in the dugout," said Billingsley. "I shouldn't have said anything."

Russell Martin, the snitch. :o

Billingsley said he wasn't really hurt, blamed the cramp on the effects of a humid summer night and his tendency to dehydrate and said he expected to make his next start Friday night against the same Braves.

Don't lie to us, Chad. We all know you were cramping because 90% of your body weight is in your legs and you didn't drink enough water before the game. Thunder thighs.

"He was very strong-willed at that point," said [Joe] Torre. "I almost gave in, but I would have never forgiven myself if something happened. You pitch to compensate and all of a sudden you hurt your arm."

A wise decision by Joe Torre, but calling Billingsley strong willed? Unpossible! The media has told me he's weak and doesn't have what it takes to be a warrior! Surely Torre jests.

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So can Matt Kemp still not handle hitting higher than eighth? After having a huge July, Kemp is continuing his hot hitting into August. After today's game, Kemp is now the most valuable center fielder in the major leagues by a rather large margin. Hell, if you consider Ben Zobrist a second baseman (I do), Kemp is the most valuable outfielder in the bigs this year.

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I absolutely could not understand why Torre burned through three relievers to get the last four outs. Scott Elbert was on cruise control until he got into a bit of trouble when he put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 down. Given that the Dodgers were leading by 8 runs, why not let Elbert just work through trouble? What's the worst that's going to happen there? 8-3? But no, Torre brings in Guillermo Mota to face a righty, and after Mota surrenders a hit that scores a run, Torre calls for George Sherrill to take care of a lefty. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, he brings in Ramon Troncoso to finish the game.

So to recap, while he could have just left Elbert in to finish all four remaining innings, Torre ended up wasting three of his best bullpen arms to get four outs in a 7 run game. God.

Here's a suggestion to the Dodger front office: instead of trading away top prospects because you "need" bullpen depth, why don't you just tell your manager to stop being such a ******* moron?

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In transaction news, Cory Wade was activated off the disabled list and optioned to AAA. The same article also mentions that Ronald Belisario is on a rehab assignment. Casey Blake should be back in a couple days as well.