[PilotMan]

LA makes their first trade of the year as we find ourselves a couple weeks from the deadline. Leaving is reliable starter Peter Chapin. Chapin pitched for LA for 4 years, going 28-41 with a 4.13 ERA and a 91 ERA+. He resurrected his career in LA. After a big rookie year with the White Sox back in '85, he struggled to stay up in the majors until he was traded to LA. He was a workhorse who started 105 games. Leaving with Chapin will be minor league prospect Rico Beltran. A former 10th round pick in 1990, Beltran pitched as high as AA this season. On the year, in 9 starts, he was 3-2, with a 3.17 ERA. The lefty showed a good low 90's fastball with an above average forkball to go with his slider and changeup. They will be going to the Florida Marlins and coming to LA is utility man Charlie Montoyo. Montoyo was selected in the 24th round of the expansion draft, and previously had been a 4th round pick by the Phillies in 1986. He play's all the infield positions ok, and hasn't started until this season. On the year he's hitting .266 with a .398 OPB and 100 OPS+. He play or sit, but I would hope the team would trade for players who start when they are trading a starter like Chapin. Montoyo looks like he will replace Denny Hocking at SS and Hocking will go to the bench.


On July 20th, the Dodgers got a 3 hit and solo-homer from Carl Everett, five innings from Sergio DelRosario, and 4 scoreless innings from the bullpen to stop the Philadelphia Phillies and their 18 game win streak. The Phillies have vaulted to the top of the NL East behind speed of Otis Nixon (44 SB), the batting of Roberto Alomar (.396) and the power of Matt Williams (26 HR's). The Phillies also feature the the brother combination of Greg (13-7) and Mike (24 S) Maddux.


Ricky Henderson made his return from injury on the 26th with a big 3-5, double and HR (5) game against the Giants to run the Dodgers win streak to 4. LA is 9-3 since the break. Fred McGriff has powered the Dodgers July run. We are no longer the cellar dwellars of the West. We're three full games up on the Rockies now with the Reds five ahead.


A sweep of the Giants has run the Dodger win streak to 6, which has to be the longest win streak in at least two years. In the 10 games since Montoyo has joined LA, he's slashing .308/.400/.436. Could he be the spark that the offense needed? I know that McGriff has had a good month, and getting Rickey back is crucial. The rest of the team needs to keep going too. The current Dodger bullpen only has one pitcher with an ERA below 5.00 (Todd Worrell, 3.34) and the starting rotation only has one pitcher with an ERA over 4.00 (Don Robinson, 4.39).


LA promoted injury prone Sergio DelRosario to the rotation with Chapin out the door. He's still building his endurance, throws triple digits, and is trying to develop a circle change as part of his repetoire. His four starts for LA are the first starts in his career, which dates back to '87 and 109 games of relief (20 this season).


The win streak was stopped at 7 on July 30th and the way it was done was ugly. Playing the Cubbies, LA jumped out with 6 in the first, and another pair in the 2nd and another pair in the 5th. Pat Rapp had been staked to a 10 run lead. He ran into big trouble in the 5th and and needed Valdez to get him out after the Cubs scored 6 thanks to two doubles, two triples, and a Mariano Duncan HR. They would come again with 3 more in the 6th to cut it down to a one run lead and all of LA fandom knew how this was going to end. LA squandered multiple chances to get on the board again but the Cubbie bullpen turned stout. It came down to closers in the 9th with the Cubs Fassero striking out the side. Bob Patterson came on and struck out the first batter before C Bret Mayne knocked a single to put the tying run on. Up next was former Dodger, Duncan one more time, and he teed off with a 2-run shot over the left field wall (2nd of the game, 4th on the season) to send the Cubs home as winners. Patterson blows his 5th save, gets his 5th loss and LA, despite a 10-0 lead, loses. Mercy please.


Willie McGee (Reds) has notched the 2000th hit of his career. The 3-time All Star hit 1086 of them for the Cardinals, who he left after the '88 season.


A flurry of trades at the deadline with the biggest for Dodger fans being the trade of Orel Hershiser from the Royals. Hershiser has played his whole career for the Royals after bring traded by the Dodgers back in '83 with Floyd Banniser for Roy Smalley. He's made over 5.5M in his career and now he will be heading back to SoCal......but not to LA. Instead he goes to the Angels. The Royals will get 28yr old rookie Jack Smith (.291/15/51) and minor leaguer Mike Cantu, a former 19th round pick playing A ball.


The other big deal was between the Padres and Rockies. A rare intra- divisional trade that was actually two trades together, but as a single deal it's impressive. The Rockies add 2B Carlos Garcia (.287/7/47), 24yr old minor leaguer Ray Harvey (12th round, A Ball), 20yr old minor leaguer Duane Singleton (14th rounder, Rookie ball), and 23yr old minor leaguer Rob Butler (6th round, A ball). The Padres will get SS Walt Weiss (.273/1/32) and pitchers Wally Whitehurst (7-8, 4.76) and Kent Bottenfield (2-1, 7.54).


Former Dodger, former ace, and now journeyman starter Dave Stewart (7-7, 5.59) was shipped with cash and minor leaguer Troy Percival (48th round, A ball) to the Red Sox, for young Gold Glover OF Junior Felix (.268/15/55).