A Dodger comedy of errors

The sometimes fierce rivalry with the San Francisco Giants ramped up to red-hot on Tuesday night when the Dodgers were beaten 7-5 at Chavez Ravine and saw three members of the staff suspended.

As well as manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer, both banned for one game, key starter Clayton Kershaw was handed down a five-game sanction for intentionally throwing at Aaron Rowand.

Kershaw’s seventh inning indiscretion was not particularly harsh and his reaction when asked after the game came with a grin that suggested it was nothing other than a typical baseball incident. He has appealed the ban so he can continue to pitch in the meantime.

But the incident costing Torre and Schaefer their places on the bench probably cost the Dodgers a win, with the bullpen blowing a 5-4 lead in the ninth for a sixth successive defeat for the team.

MLB betting pundits note that it sparked a catalogue of errors from the team and management, with hitting coach Don Mattingly making a rare blunder during a visit to the mound that forced Jonathan Broxton to leave the game.

Mattingly spoke with the inner sanctum on the mound, and went to leave, making a couple of steps back towards home plate before turning and telling James Loney where he wanted him to play at first base.

After an appeal from the Giants, the umpires determined that Mattingly's turning constituted a second visit to the mound, meaning Broxton had to come out of the game. He was replaced by George Sherrill, who was then not given the unlimited number of warm-up pitches he should have been allowed.

The lefty, looking rusty, proceeded to give up the game-winning double to Andres Torres as a game Kershaw and the Dodgers looked to be winning went to the Giants in the most confusing fashion I can remember.

Strange how these things always seem to happen when rivals are playing – you can bet if Kansas City had been playing Tampa Bay MLB betting predictions would have suggested that  it would never have happened!

I’ll be back soon says Ely

7-20-2010 @ 9:45 Andy Charles

Probably the story of the first half of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers was the impact made by rookie starting pitcher John Ely, whose stay in the bigs came to an end at the All-Star break when he was sent down to Albuquerque.

The tall right-hander was not tipped by MLB betting experts to be a long-term prospect for the future, but three months in the major leagues may well have just changed that thought.

Ely was drafted back in 2007 by the Chicago White Sox in the third round and arrived in Los Angeles last December as part of the trade that sent Juan Pierre to the Windy City, but few expected him to progress as quickly as he did.

He was originally called up at the end of April to bolster a beaten-up rotation and although his first start in New York against the Mets was nothing special the next six outings gave Dodgers fans a look at the talent that should be part of the ballclub for plenty of years to come.

The 24-year-old, who hails from Illinois, won three of those starts and was an unlucky loser in one of the others, had a 2.54 ERA by June 1 and although that has risen to 4.63 thanks to three poor outings, there is plenty to build on for the future.

"It's just part of the game. Sometimes you've got to cut your losses while you can. I'm not getting the job done," Ely said after his demotion. "We'll figure out what I need to do, wrestle it out. I'm as motivated as ever. I'll be back."

Ely has impressed everyone at Dodger Stadium and it is fairly clear that manager Joe Torre is a fan, although admitting that the time was right to send him down to Triple-A to get his confidence back and give Jon Link a chance to shine.

"We just decided that he needs to get back on track, and talking to John he certainly understood that," Torre said. "He's going down there with the attitude we need for him to have."

But Ely is confident that he will return to the rotation soon, and it would be no real surprise according to baseball betting tips to see him along with Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley fronting it for a few years if the Dodgers can keep all three of them around, especially with James McDonald not really doing much to earn a promotion.