Jamey Carroll

The number of Minnesota Twins participating in next month's World Baseball Classic is now six.

In addition to catcher Joe Mauer (USA), closer Glen Perkins (USA), first baseman Justin Morneau (Canada), and catcher Drew Butera (Italy), pitcher Samuel Duduno and utility infielder Jamey Carroll have been added to WBC rosters. 

The Detroit Tigers have a glaring hole at second base this season. 

Will Rhymes, Scott Sizemore, and Ryan Raburn haven't fared well in their time at second.  The Tigers' front office suggests that they will address the position internally (likely with the return of Carlos Guillen from the DL) rather than with a trade. 

This season's trade deadline held no surprises for the Dodgers and General Manager Ned Colletti.

As per usual, the tenacious GM pulled off some big moves in the 11th hour, acquiring best-of-the-remaining starters Ted Lilly, a reliable infielder and everyday starter in Ryan Theriot, a seasoned veteran fireballer in Octavio Dotel, and stability and speed in the outfield with Scott Podsednik.

However, there are still several players on the Dodgers' roster that should have been shipped out in the process.

The MLB trade deadline is just two weeks away and talks are beginning to heat up around the league.

This year's deadline is sure to be filled with sellers as a lot of teams are looking to free up cap room in an ever-struggling economy. Despite a meager bank account and not many prospects for improvement, the Dodgers view themselves as buyers.

The lack of a solid starting rotation has prompted the Dodgers to reach out to several teams regarding pitching, but the Dodgers seem unwilling to part with core talent.

I was looking at the box score of the Giants-Dodgers game today, and aside from the fact that the Dodgers are thumping the Giants, I noticed that Jamey Carroll was having a big day (2-for-2 with a couple of walks and three runs scored), and it got me thinking about how much Carroll has changed since he first came up in 2002.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are approaching a pivotal stretch in the 2010 season. The next 11 out of 17 games the team will play will be against division opponents.

As of this writing, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in last place in the National League West, with an 11-16 record. The Milwaukee Brewers have scored 11 runs on them the past two nights.

Most Dodger fans did not expect this, with the team coming off two straight NLCS appearances with a good core of young players.

However, when the season started, I was afraid that this swooning futility might happen, sorry to say.

Here, in my humble opinion, is why the Dodgers are where they are at this point:

Injuries