they came from left field

it looks like it will be another year of photoshopping for topps and scott podsednik (just like this 2010 topps update card)

as he declined his option and became a free agent and will likely be wearing some other uniform in 2011. 

meanwhile, john moses, the dodgers aaa hitting coach got canned because xavier paul didn't progress enough at the plate or in the field.

aside from jamie carroll, who at either level outperformed expectations?  i really thought that paul could be our left fielder nex year, but it sounds like they're down on him.  on a tangentially related note, i wonder if chili davis will get a look to fill moses' old job.

still, the dodgers did re-sign jay gibbons the other day

gibbons could be our leftfielder, but if paul isn't ready, then i'm hoping that ned brings in a better option in left, in which case gibbons becomes the main lefty off the bench.  shouldn't be too hard to top ga's performance this year.

goose joaks for the newly acquired

since i gave scott podsednik the o-pee-chee treatment, i figured it was only fair to do the same for the three players the dodgers acquired at the trade deadline. 

octavio dotel

ned seems to enjoy trading with pittsburgh, although the last time he did it the dodgers wound up with a motivated manny ramirez.

the other two guys came over from the cubs.  they are ted lilly

and ryan theriot

lilly was a dodger prospect way back in the latter part of the 90's, but we had to have carlos perez, so he was dealt away.  as far as theriot goes, ned actually compared his level of play to the guy (blake dewitt) who was sent to the cubs as part of the deal.  if it's a wash, could dewitt have been that crucial to the deal?

anyway, the three amigos posed for dodger photographer jon soohoo soon after arriving, and i've tried to cut it up to create more traditional card images.

lilly is too skinny to get his own card without some resolution loss.  since the trades, only lilly has really delivered, although theriot is batting .276.  dotel hasn't even been used in a game in which the dodgers have had a lead yet.  and, as for scotty pods,

he is batting a buck ninetyfive since the trade with a .250 obp.  that's garret anderson territory.

a scotty pods welcome, goose joak style

ned made a move.  not for pitching, but for another outfielder - this time it's scott podsednik.  while i recognize that manny and reed johnson are out, and that garret anderson is performing exactly as we all expected, i am still kinda surprised by this move.  i would suggest giving xavier paul as many at bats as possible and only make this move if the pitching is upgraded first.  without pitching, we're not going anywhere.  on the flip side, podsednik's wife will now become the most blogged about dodger wife since jose lima sang the national anthem.

here's a quick 2010 goose joak original (o-pee-chee style!) that i whipped up for pods.

there are also a bunch of goose joaks that i have been meaning to display, but haven't gotten around to it.  here are some of them.  a lot of these photos are from the marlins series early in the season.  that's how long they've been hanging around.  the photos are either getty images or from jon soohoo, the dodgers' official photographer.  enjoy.  or at least tolerate.

jeff weaver

tough night last night.

carlos monasterios.

dodgers are 5-2 in his starts. 

russell martin.

at this point, i would rather have carlos santana back.  sorry russ.

hiroki kuroda

i am really hoping he can put together a string of good starts in august and september, but he's already made as many starts this year as he did all of last year.

charlie haeger.

i don't think we'll see him back in the bigs this year.

reed johnson

our fourth outfielder is still backing up manny.  too bad he's doing it on the dl.