So we didn’t have the money in the winter to snag Albert Pujols.

The Dodgers missed out on the biggest free agent in years in Albert Pujols. But are they better off in waiting for better things to come?

Who needs a .278 batting average, 28 home runs, and 85 RBI’s in their lineup?

Nor were there any funds for a kid by the name of C.J. Wilson. The hottest pitching free agent of the off-season. They should’ve known he was bad luck after two World Series with the Rangers.

And we missed out on jumping on a potential hall of famer, Bobby Abreu! Oh, wait…we did sign him didn’t we?

At any rate, what the Dodgers doown is a 67-55 record in a season that was destined to be as unpredictable as a Billingsley fastball.

No?

How about a Vin Scully bobblehead?

10 dollar parking?

I know, Melky Cabrera leading the league in hitting! Ah, Perfect.

Well Bills has won six in a row, Vin gets his night on August 30^th, and number 32 made it five bucks cheaper to sit in traffic.

Come on, you didn’t think Melky was that good, did ya?

I’ll get to mini-Barry in a moment, but the theme here is that with all that drama-town – ERR – I mean, Dodgertown has endured, there is plenty to celebrate here down the stretch of the 2012 season.

Could the Dodgers end with a better record than the Angels? Although I’m not ready to commit to that anymore than I can commit to Pujols’ real age, management has shown what their commitment to winning (and good real estate) can do for a ball club.

Mattingly for President

Don Mattingly going toe to toe with MLB umpires in Pittsburgh on August 16th, after a controversial ejection of center fielder, Matt Kemp.

Speaking of management, I would like to go on record as saying that Don Mattingly deserves serious national league manager of the year consideration.

Given the roster he owned on opening day, the injuries he’s managed to overcome, and not knowing if his paychecks were going to clear, he may very well be the best Dodger manager since Tommy Lasorda.

Sorry Glenn Hoffman.

Mattingly has shown poise with his players, professionalism with the media, and a coaching style that is not phased by large egos.

If this past week demonstrated nothing else to Dodgers Nation, it proved that Donnie Baseball is behind his team 100 percent. The days of lame duck managers such as Bill Russell, Grady Little, and Jim Tracy are hopefully well past us. Everything short of heaving bats on to the field, Mattingly’s tirade in Pittsburgh, was just what the doctor ordered to highlight what has been the muscle of this 2012 club – their heart.

Giant cheater

Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera has been suspended by MLB for 50 games in violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.

And while we’re on the subject of muscle, can someone explain to me what Melky was doing with testosterone?

Unless he went from ‘Mary’ to ‘Melky’ and nobody knew about it, why would anyone at this point in time even consider messing with PED’s? With testing as prevalent as it is today, I’m disappointed that we haven’t found hydroxycut on Juan Uribe.

A 50 game suspension is a fairly strong repercussion for someone who cheated their way through the sport. But if you really want to put an end to performance enhancements drugs, the teams need to begin to share in the punishment. No different than how we’ve seen the NCAA come down on college football programs for the “mistakes” of one or two, major league baseball should hold the clubs seriously accountable for having an unfair advantage.

What am I getting at?

I propose that the team of the player found in violation of baseball’s drug policy, should either be stripped automatically of a serious number of wins, and/or should lose eligibility to participate in one post-season.

Baseball should have a serious problem with the San Francisco Giants making the postseason and potentially winning the division when they evidently played at an unfair advantage.

Then again, we should allhave a serious problem when the Giants make the playoffs. #fanbias

Holding the organization accountable will foster an environment where teammates and management will police each other. Aside from that, a player may be even less likely to risk disappointing his teammates, knowing that he may cost them a season. I find it incredibly hard to believe that not a single teammate or staff member had a clue that Cabrera wasn’t exactly training for the Olympics.

From Cuba with love…

Young phenom, Yasiel Puig, signing autographs before a Rancho Quakes game.

And finally, one guy that is not training for the Olympics but is working hard to live up to the hype, is young Cuban defector, Yasiel Puig. By now you’ve heard of the huge success he had at the Arizona rookie league batting .400 with four home runs and 11 RBI’s in only nine games. Since being promoted to single A ball in Rancho Cucamonga, he’s batted .381 in 21 at bats and has swiped six bases.

I know what you’re thinking.

How could a move to the Inland Empire ever be a promotion?

Okay, maybe not. But you are probably asking if he is ready for the big leagues.

The Dodgers would like to think that not right at this moment. All of the chatter has been focused on a 2013 call up, where he may answer the call of left field power hitting hero.

But for now, who needs a guy like Puig when you have All-Stars such as James Loney, Juan Uribe, Dee Gordon, and Adam Kennedy on your roster?

On second thought, let’s get him out at the Ravine ASAP.

What are the Dodgers afraid of?

Mickey Hatcher rubbing off on him? Rihanna making a move? Fans at the left field pavilion?

With only 40 games left in the season, I could not consider a better story in Dodgertown for a regime that is on a mission to prove to baseball that the Dodgers are back in business.

The Nationals have Harper.

The Angels have Trout.

We could have Puig!

Yeah, he’ll need a nickname…