34-year old lefty swinging outfielder Scott Podsednik won’t have to look over his shoulder at Manny Ramirez anymore. Podsednik has played in 30 games for the Dodgers since coming over in a trade with the Royals and he is 35 of 115 (.304 avg, .708 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 125 games this season with the Royals & Dodgers and he is 156 of 505 (.309 avg, .743 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 5 homers, 50 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. While Podsednik is no Manny Ramirez with the bat, he does bring speed and he plays hard all of the time.

The Dodgers finally have had enough of Manny Ramirez after his antics yesterday when he got tossed out of a game for arguing balls and strikes on the first pitch with the bases loaded. That is why the Dodgers decided that they didn’t require anything back for Manny Ramirez saving the team $3.8 million bucks. Ramirez played in 66 games for the Dodgers this year and he was 61 of 196 (.311 avg, .915 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 8 homers and 40 RBIs. In his three years with the Dodgers, Ramirez played in 223 games in which he was 237 of 735 (.322 avg, 1.012 OPS) with 130 runs scored, 44 homers and 156 RBIs. No one can question what a difference Ramirez made on the Dodgers when he was healthy and active (he was suspended for 50 games last year by MLB). But, his antics lately caused the Dodgers to just give up on him.

22-year old lefty starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw is having another very solid season for the Dodgers. He has started 27 games this year and he is 11-8 with a 3.01 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has only given up 138 hits in 170 1/3 innings while whiffing 180 batters showing what kind of stuff he has. If only he threw more strikes. Kershaw has walked 74 batters this season which is way too many. If he could just cut his walks down by 20-25% I think he would definitely have a great chance of winning a Cy Young Award. He’s still young enough for everything to come together but he’s still a good pitcher just the way he is.

The Dodgers have signed 27-year old righty reliever/starter Edgar Gonzalez to a minor league deal. He pitched in 26 games (6 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 0-4 with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Gonzalez has now pitched in 106 games (41 starts) in his 7 years in the majors and he is 14-25 with a 5.88 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He is a big longshot to help the Dodgers down the stretch this year.

The Dodgers have activated 38-year old starting LF Manny Ramirez off the D.L. He has played in 62 games for the Dodgers this year and he is 59 of 189 (.312 avg, .912 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 8 homers and 39 RBIs. His return bumps Scott Podsednik to the bench where he will be the new #4 outfielder of the Dodgers. To make room for Ramirez on the roster the Dodgers have DFA’d 38-year old infielder Juan Castro. Castro played in 1 game for the Dodgers this year and he was 0 for 3 with 1 walk and 2 whiffs.