[h3]
Now a dad, Broxton back with Dodgers[/h3]Los Angeles (41-22) at Texas (35-26), 12:05 p.m. PT
By Daniel Paulling / MLB.com
06/14/09 12:46 AM ET
ARLINGTON -- Jonathan Broxton had been asleep for about an hour when he received an important phone call at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday.
It was from his wife, Elizabeth. Her water had broken.
Broxton caught a flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta on Thursday and drove the three hours to his hometown of Waynesboro, Ga.
"When I landed in Atlanta, she was in the fifth stage," he said. "She was in the eighth stage when I got to Madison, which is about halfway. I thought there was no way I was going to make it."
The doctors rolled his wife onto her side and she crossed her legs. That slowed the procedure long enough for Broxton to get there about 5:50 p.m. on Thursday evening.
"I walked in and she said, 'Let's go. I'm ready to get this thing out of here,'" he said. "It's a pretty neat thing."
Jonathan Brooks Broxton was born shortly thereafter and weighed slightly more than seven pounds. His father missed Friday's game against the Rangers but returned to the team Saturday.
Broxton said none of his teammates has offered words of wisdom on fatherhood. Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who has four children, has just one piece of advice.
"I'm probably not a good guy to give advice on that," he said. "Just enjoy your sleep when you get it."
Broxton said he's had the opportunity to sneak in a few naps. He plans to return to Waynesboro after Sunday's game and rejoin the team in Oakland on Tuesday.
Pitching matchup
LAD: RHP Chad Billingsley (8-3, 2.73 ERA)
Billingsley impressed Torre against the Padres by scuffling through a start without anything near his best stuff but took the game into the sixth inning and did well enough for his eighth win. He allowed the first three batters hits and two runs in the first inning, making 117 pitches in only 5 2/3 innings. Billingsley has never faced the Rangers. He's among league leaders in wins, innings, strikeouts and ERA.
TEX: LHP Derek Holland (1-3, 6.54 ERA)
Holland was supposed to start Thursday but was pushed back after the Rangers were rained out on Wednesday. He replaces Doug Mathis, who is going to the bullpen. Holland is 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA in his three starts since joining the rotation. He is 1-1 with a 6.06 ERA in nine relief appearances. The Rangers talked about moving him back to the bullpen, but he is going to stay in the rotation now that Brandon McCarthy is on the disabled list.
Tidbits
Jason Schmidt, Eric Milton, Will Ohman, Eric Stults and Claudio Vargas all threw Friday as part of their rehabilitation programs. Torre said there was no lingering pain for any of them. ... Left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo threw a bullpen session of about 35 pitches Saturday. ... The Dodgers are 5-4 on Sundays this season.
[h4]
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/...ierre-has-been-MVP-for-Dodgers?urn=mlb,170042[/h4]
[h4]
With Manny gone, Pierre has been MVP for Dodgers[/h4]
The
Los Angeles Dodgers haven't faltered with
Manny Ramirez(notes) on suspension like many thought they would. The reason?
Juan Pierre(notes).
According to the Boston Globe, Pierre went into the weekend hitting .351 with an on-base percentage of .408 as the leadoff hitter. When Ramírez returns, they hope it will have the feel of a midseason acquisition, as it was when they picked up Ramírez from the Red Sox on July 31 last year.
"We're a better team with him," said right fielder
Andre Ethier(notes). "There's no doubt about that. I think early in spring training we were able to draw the conclusion that Manny wasn't with us and that we had a good team anyway and that we were just going to go along as if we didn't have him around."
While no one was helped more than Ethier by Ramírez's presence in the lineup last season, he is making his own mark as a hitter without that protection, according to the Globe.
"I think what we did, to be honest with you, is we shelved him," said backup catcher
Brad Ausmus(notes). "We knew he wasn't going to be with us, so we made a conscious decision that there's no reason to dwell on it. When he comes back, he'll have no problem sliding back into the lineup on this team. He's easygoing and, sure, there'll be a few days of media hype over his return, but after that, we've added one of the best hitters in the game to our lineup. So it's all positive."
Source:
Boston.com
Related:
Manny Ramírez,
Los Angeles Dodgers
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/teams/Los+Angeles+Dodgers/mlb.t.19
BASEBALL / DOWN THE LINE
[h1]Dodgers' division rivals still in playoff contention[/h1]
David Zalubowski / Associated Press
Rockies outfielder Brad Hawpe could be a late-season acquisition for a contender.
In fact, every National League team except Washington still has a shot at the postseason.
By Bill Shaikin
June 14, 2009
And, in the rest of the NL West ...
The Dodgers have crushed the competition so decisively this season that it's hard to believe the rest of the National League West remains in playoff contention.
So does every team in the league save the Washington Nationals, and that means the wait could be frustrating for general managers waiting to fortify their rosters from the ranks of non-contenders.
The Angels could use bullpen help and a power hitter, and they have talked to the Colorado Rockies about outfielder Brad Hawpe and reliever Huston Street.
Jose Valverde or LaTroy Hawkins of the Houston Astros could help in the bullpen too, and so could Chad Qualls of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
But, thanks to the wild card, every team in the NL except the Nationals began play Saturday within six games of a playoff spot. The San Francisco Giants were seven games behind the Dodgers, but they were tied for the wild-card lead.
The last-place Diamondbacks were six games behind the Giants, or one good week from contention.
The Rockies just enjoyed that good week, winning nine consecutive games -- eight on the road -- to close to within 3 1/2 games of a playoff spot, even as they were 10 1/2 games behind the Dodgers.
"We have to see if that was a mirage," Colorado General Manager Dan O'Dowd said.
O'Dowd said he has talked with his Angels counterpart, Tony Reagins, and not just about relief pitching. He would not say which players were discussed, and he could not even say whether the Rockies would be buyers or sellers.
"We've played as bad as we can play," O'Dowd said. "Now we're playing well. We'll have to see as we play out the ebb and flow of the season. We know we have a chance to be good. We've demonstrated we may not be."
Winter rerun: Peavy on block
The coming winter apparently will be much like the past winter, with the San Diego Padres trying to trade Jake Peavy.
The Padres put Peavy on the disabled list Friday because of a torn ankle tendon, and it's unlikely he'll return by the July 31 trading deadline. He could be traded in August, assuming a team would claim his big contract on waivers, but Peavy still has his no-trade clause.
That could lead to some gamesmanship. Let's say the Dodgers have the best record in the NL come August. The Phillies could claim Peavy ahead of the Dodgers, well aware he probably would reject a trade to Philadelphia but ensuring the Padres could not trade him to L.A.
Hey, old man: Tweet this
John Henry couldn't resist a little tweak. After the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees on Thursday, the Red Sox owner took to his Twitter account. The Red Sox are 8-0 against the Yankees this season, and this is what Henry wrote: "The MT Curse?"
Those would be the initials of Mark Teixeira, whom Henry personally recruited last winter. Teixeira signed with the Yankees for $180 million.
"I was totally honest with everybody," Teixeira told reporters in New York. "This is a business, guys. Everyone knows the Yankees paid the most. This is a great place to play. This is the greatest organization in the history of baseball."
Henry is 59, and he won't be hearing from Teixeira any time soon.
"There's no reason for me to get into any war of words with some 70-something-year-old man," Teixeira said.
