One other thing ...
... due to space limitations, I wasn't able to get this into tomorrow's paper, and I wanted to make sure I got it in somewhere ... Andre Ethier had a single, double and home run today for the second time in three games, and he has now homered in three consecutive games. This guy has really been on fire lately. He is 9 for 19 over his past five games, and he has four HRs in his past eight games. Seven of his past 10 hits have gone for extra bases. His HR today came off Giants lefty Jonathan Sanchez, significant because the LH-hitting Ethier came into the day batting .167 (10 for 60) against lefties for the year. He is now hitting .281 overall. ... Also, Jason Schmidt got knocked around in his rehab start at Las Vegas last night, but by all accounts, he pitched well and his velocity was good. He admitted to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that is still a little gun-shy about really letting it go for fear of re-injuring his shoulder. That's something he'll have to get over, but that's what rehab is for. ... Torre also said Andruw Jones and Nomar Garciaparra will sit out Sunday's game. He wants to be cautious with those guys, and that's understandable.
I hope his recent hot streak helps Joe Torre understand that he is not only one of our three best outfielders, but he is also in the top two.
It's hilarious that Ethier has to compete with Pierre/Jones for playing time. If Ethier was 30 and making 9 million, there wouldn't even be a competition. Instead, he gets punished for being young and cost-controlled. Amazing.
Unless we're getting Hanley Ramirez in return (no chance), this talk about trading our young players for a SS is simply ridiculous.
Assuming it's not Hanley Ramirez (ditto, "no chance"), and e.g., someone like Jack Wilson, I can't imagine that the cost would be huge. Using Wilson as the example, the Dodgers would be doing the Pirates a favor by taking his contract off their hands. They would be assuming a pro rata portion of his $6.5 million salary this year, and the $7.25 million he's guaranteed for next year. I believe there is also a club option of $8.4 million for 2010 that can be bought out for $600K. I still like Hu, but would be willing to include him in such a deal, considering that the Dodgers also have another solid prospect in Ivan DeJesus. If the Pirates asked for multiple prospects the answer would be an emphatic NO!!!!!!
Considering acquiring Wilson would be a favor to the Pirates, sending them ANY player of note would be unnecessary. A scrub from IE or Great Lakes should be enough.
Of course, knowing Ned, it's probably LaRoche, McDonald, Hu, and DeJesus for Wilson. And then he'll sign Wilson to a four-year extension.