Advertisement

INSIDE BASEBALL

Share

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.

Advertisement

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.”

Advertisement

--

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.”

Advertisement

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.

-- Bill Shaikin

Advertisement