According to multiple news sources, Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez has tested positive for a banned substance, and will begin serving the fifty game suspension.

Ramirez, arguably the highest-profile player to fail the test, released the following statement;

Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons. I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole situation.

Jeff Kent is retiring from baseball.

We'd like to say good riddance.

As an ardent fan of baseball, we'd like to step in and offer you some advice on how to get your career back on track.

We remember you as that fleet footed 19 year old who almost single handedly ruined the 1996 Yankees season. You killed them in the World Series, only to lose to destiny and the fact that God loves the Yankees more than the Braves.

You used to be a human highlight reel, Gold Glove center fielder. You crushed baseballs.

Now, the Dodgers are trying to pay you to stay away from them.

We'd like to offer sure-fire advice that'll get you where you want to be.

1. Change your name: How are people supposed to take you seriously when you can't even spell "Andrew" correctly? In order to show people that you're still a team player, show them that there's no "U" in Andrew.

2. Get off the Michael Phelps diet: Yes you both are athletes, but that's where the similarities end. Just because you and Phelps both play a sport, doesn't mean you have to share the same eating habits.

3. Go on Oprah: Let her do that Oprah thing she does on you. Then you're money.

4. Check your bat for termites: You do realize that you're strikeout to hits ratio for the past 2 combined seasons is 2:1. There couldn't possibly be anything wrong with you, your swing, your mental attitude while at bat, or the fat that you may be way to fat to physically swing a bat. There are obvious signs that wood burrowing bugs have infected your bats, causing the ball to sail right through your swing.

5. Acquire a new fan base: You should start attempting to attract a new set of fans; namely baseball fans that are blind or deaf. That way they won't be able to see how bad you suck or hear you suck out loud.

Well, any way, we hope these tips help you out. We'd hate to see your career end up with you being rolled out of Dodger Land by a bunch of Animal Activists trying to roll a beached whale back into the ocean.

-With Love and Respect
108 Red Stitches

After seeing their star reliever Joe Nelson jump ship and head over to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Florida Marlins countered with the signing of RHP Scott Proctor.

The Marlins and Proctor agreed to a $750,000, one-year contract with an additional $250,000 in incentives.

Proctor battled elbow ailments last season, posting a 6.05 ERA in 38 2/3 innings pitched. Some have predicted these elbow issues, as he was often overworked by manager Joe Torre while in New York and later in LA.

Proctor's signing has made this fan glad he's found a new home.

The Angels have found their man whom they hope will replace the single season saves leader Fransisco Rodriguez; and that man just happens to hail from Colorado.

The Angels agreed to a two year deal with 33 year old left handed closer Brian Fuentes (1-5, 30 saves in 34 chances, 2.73 ER).

According to ESPN.com Fuentes will earn $8.5 million for 2009 and $9 million for 2010. The contract includes a $9 million vesting option for 2011, based on games finished, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

The Chicago Cubs continued to tweak their roster, trading away fan favorite Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians for minor league pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer and John Gaub.

DeRosa fills the Indian's void over at the hot corner, and allows them to keep their young middle infield intact (GM Mark Shapiro considered moving shortstop Jhonny Peralta to third and Asdrubal Cabrera from second to short.)

The Cubs are also considering a trade for the Rockies Luis Vizcaino in exchange for Jason Marquis. According to ESPN; The 30-year-old Marquis was 11-9 for Chicago last season, with a 4.53 ERA in 167 innings while Vizcaino, 34, struggled in his first season in Colorado, pitching to a 5.28 ERA in 46 innings.

The Baltimore Orioles signed left handed starter Mark Hendrickson to a one year deal. The Orioles only have Jeremy Guthrie slated in their rotation, as Daniel Cabrera signed on with the Washington Nationals.

Rumor Mill:

The Mets may have made an offer to free agent starter Derek Lowe.

Mets and Dodgers talking trade? Andrew Jones could be wearing blue and orange next season.

Dodgers are looking to get their offseason shoping list Dunn.

The Rangers added three arms into the mix for bullpen help.

Aaron Miles is set to replace DeRosa.

Mark Loretta packed his SPF 40 and left his shit kickers back in Houston, as the two time all star heads west to join the LA Dodgers, according to an espn.com news report.

The deal is believed to be worth $1.4 million, for one season. The deal will be finalized as long as Loretta passes a physical.

According to MSN's Ken Rosenthal, the Bombers are talking trade with the LA Dodgers, and Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera seem to be the topic of conversation:

As the Dodgers try to resolve their infield, they are again talking to the Yankees about a trade for second baseman Robinson Cano. The teams have resumed their discussions about Cano at the winter meetings, according to one source.

The Dodgers also are interested in Yankees center fielder Melky Cabrera, and the Yankees likely would want outfielder Matt Kemp and pitching in return.

The Dodgers' interest in Cabrera is a sign that they might not be confident of Andruw Jones making a strong return in 2009. The Dodgers also need to find a match for Juan Pierre, who has requested a trade.

According to a news article posted by the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers second basemen Jeff Kent is apparently supporting the YES on PROP 8 campaign. PROP 8, if passed, would ban same-sex marriages that would impose a California constitutional amendment that would define marriage as being between one man and one woman:

Jeff Kent, who played second base for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, has stepped into the emotional world of same-sex marriage, giving $15,000 to backers of the California proposition on Tuesday's ballot that would ban it.

In a disclosure filed with the California secretary of state, Kent listed his occupation as professional baseball player for the Dodgers and his address as Austin, Texas. He gave the $15,000 in a transaction dated Monday but which only now is public.

The Phillies finished off the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 last night, setting the NL West Champs down in convincing fashion.

The Phillies controlled almost every aspect of the game throughout the series; timely hitting, solid pitching, a great bench (see Stairs, Matt), and a lights out bullpen.

Joe Torre's team had no answer for Utley, the 'Flying Hawaiian", Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hammels, and Brad Lidge. Charlie Manuel out-managed Torre, making all the right moves when necessary.

The Phillies now await the winner of the Rays/Red Sox Series, with Tampa Bay leading the series 3-1.

According to ESPN.com news services, the Los Angeles Dodgers are set to acquire Greg Maddux from the San Diego Padres:

The team had agreed to the terms of a deal with the Padres for veteran right-hander Greg Maddux, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday night because no announcement had been made.

It's unclear what the Padres will receive in return for the 42-year-old Maddux. MLB.com reported on Monday night that the Padres would receive two players to be named later. The trade, which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, was expected to be announced Tuesday.

According to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, no deal had been reached Monday night, but conversations are ongoing. Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch and general manager Ned Colletti would not confirm the deal to the Times either.

Angels pitcher Jered Weaver had a hand in the a no hitter yesterday, but also found himself on the losing side of the ball game. Here's an excerpt of the story from ESPN News Services:

LOS ANGELES (ESPN.com news services) -- Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo combined to no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night -- and it still wasn't good enough for the Los Angeles Angels.

The Dodgers became the fifth team in modern major league history to win a game in which they didn't get a hit, defeating the Angels 1-0. Weaver's error on a slow roller led to an unearned run by the Dodgers in the fifth.Weaver downplayed the fact the Angels lost without giving up a hit."Any loss, no matter what, is tough," he said. "I'm sure you guys are going to eat this up a lot more than I am. I don't call it a no-hitter for me. I only went six innings." The Dodgers' Joe Torre thought it might've been his weirdest win as a manager."I'd really have to reach down, and I don't really remember too much, but that's about as bizarre as you can get," he said.With the Angels trailing in the interleague game at Dodger Stadium, Weaver was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning after throwing 97 pitches. Arredondo pitched the next two innings.

ESPN's Fantasy Department recently ran an article explaining how and why washup and never drafted Aubrey Huff will outperform a rising star and over paid for Evan Longoria. While the evidence is there, we don't totally agree with Huff outperforming Longoria, but we do have our own list of overbid and underpaid:

Nick Swisher vs. Andre Ethier

Swisher has been slow to perform this season (fantasy wise) batting a sub par .268. Not the greatest batting average for a lead off hitter. He's been extremely streaky (2-12 in one stretch followed by a 4-10 current stretch) and his power isn't there just yet. Sure he's scored a bunch of runs (11) because he's hitting in the lead off spot, but lets be honest, I didn't draft Swisher because he scores a lot. Note; he is still Selective Swisher, walking 12 times so far this season.
Here's a fun stat: Percentage of Fantasy Leagues With a Team That Owns Nick Swisher: 100%

Andre Ethier, on the other hand, is only owned in 80% of the same leagues (ESPN Fantasy) and is outperforming Swisher; .308 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI, and has a stolen base.

Are we saying that Ethier is a better player than Swisher? No, not really. We're just pointing out the oddity of dissimilar players putting up similar numbers and being drafted on opposite ends of the board.

Frustrating is the life of a fantasy league team owner. He carefully selects a player he hopes will bat third or fourth in a semi-potent White Sox lineup, only to find out Swisher will be batting leadoff, and some other owner gets lucky by drafting a fourth string outfielder who supplants Juan Pierre in the Dodger batting order.

In what seems to be one of the most anticipated announcements coming out of Spring Training, Dodger skipper Joe Torre officially announced that Andre Ethier will start in left field, leaving Juan Pierre without a job.

Courtesy of Rotowire.com:

Ethier has won the Dodgers' starting left field job over Juan Pierre, the LA Daily News reports.
Spin: Ethier clearly had the better spring and is a better hitter than Pierre. Just because he won the battle now, don't assume that he's completely out of the woods here. A slow start might force manager Joe Torre to play Pierre more often.

The slow start would mean Ethier would have to bat worse than .173, Pierre's contribution to the Dodgers' offense this spring. We're willing to bet that Ethier could bat .150 with a blindfold on. It's going to take a lot on Pierre's end to regain his starting role.

Torre has faced a similar situation involving young outfielders replacing veterans (Google search Melky/Damon). He was able to gracefully handle the situation, partially because Damon could still hit water if he fell out of a boat.

Pierre's throwing arm is suspect too. Initially we thought he was using his left arm to toy with base-runners. Apparently, he's not kidding when he throws the ball.

Pierre's future may lie with actions of Dodger GM, Ned Colletti. There are a handful of teams that could use a speedy leadoff hitter like Pierre, that's assuming that Pierre fulfills his end of the bargain by approaching at least the Mendoza line.

Last Season's Record: 82-80
108 Red Stitches Projected Finish: 3rd NL West
Major Offseason Acquisitions:
- Andrew Jones: CF
- Hiroki Kuroda: RHP

Major Offseason Losses:
- Randy Wolf: LHP
- Mark Hendrickson: LHP

Bringing Joe Torre over from the Yankees during the offseason sent a wonderful message to the veterans in the Dodger's organization: "Time to start cashing in on that retirement plan".
Torre will not put up (for long) with the organizational tendency to give playing time to their rustier parts. Torre coming in will usher in a youth movement in LA.
Curious is the decision to sign guys like Jason Schmidt and Hiroki Kuroda, while LA has arms like Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw. LA also has guys like Andy LaRoche and James Looney that need to get more at bats, in order for LA to win ballgames.
Until LA fully commits to an overhaul and a youth movement, the old and the new will continue to butt heads and keep LA out of the playoffs.