Quick Baseball Notes

Just a few quick thoughts before I head off to sleep...

-- D-Backs Land Dunn
Obviously this is Arizona's response to the Manny deal - looking for a power boost to carry them through August/September.  I don't know if it'll work or not.  Dunn is very much a feast or famine hitter.  He'll hit a lot of home runs but he'll have a lot of rally-killing Ks as well.  It's interesting though because a lot of experts were projecting Dunn as the hot free agent next winter - the guy that all the teams might target instead of big money deals for Tex or Manny.  This'll give the D-Backs a bit of an inside track if they're aiming to keep him.

-- Manny To Yanks?
In typical East Coast biased reporting fashion, almost none of the news outlets picked up on Manny's (possibly temporary) desire to retire as a Dodger.  Instead, all we've seen is rabid speculation about the Yankees signing him to spite the Sox.  With Manny being Manny, who knows if he'll really feel the same way about the Dodgers in three days, let alone three months - but it'd be nice to see the "journalists" at the big sports sites at least acknowledge the possibility.

-- Lucchino to Dodgers?
I found this one interesting.  Reports of Larry Lucchino butting heads with Theo Epstein are in the air again and this time, instead of Theo's resignation/re-hiring, it looks like it might be Larry leaving town.  Speculation says he might end up in LA to serve as the team president.  Personally, despite McCourt's obsession with all things Sox, I don't really see it.  The Dodgers have enough trouble keeping the front office in order - why add another layer of red tape to it?

-- No Sale
Apparently Nolan Ryan wants to buy the Rangers from Tom Hicks but has been shut out so far - isn't it ironic, don'tchathink?  I'd like to see this happen.  Hicks has forever earned the ire of baseball fans for giving out the original A-Rod contract that threw the sport's finances for a loop.  Not to mention the deal he gave Chan Ho Park. 

-- Another Win, Another Day Of Mediocrity
The Dodgers knocked off the Phillies tonight - after nearly suffering another bullpen collapse.  I'm not sure what's up with the Dodgers' pen but it's a weakness they can't afford going into the home stretch.  They should have taken first place over the weekend and instead find themselves still a game out.  The end of the schedule is growing near so the time to "flip the switch" is now.