Fantasy Los Angeles

The injuries seemed like they were maybe, possibly, kind of taking a turn for the better for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then they got the brutal news early Thursday that leadoff hitter and sparkplug of the offense Rafael Furcal will miss another eight weeks after undergoing back surgery.

Manager Joe Torre would not concede that Furcal will be lost for the rest of the season, but neither did he say he's holding his breath awaiting Furcal's return.

"From all the numbers I've heard, he'll probably miss a minimum of eight weeks," said Torre, meaning a return of September at the earliest.

That's probably overly optimistic. Watkins performed a similar procedure in 2002 on Dodgers pitcher Kevin Brown, whose disc was badly ruptured. Brown rushed back after two months, but quickly had to shut it down because he was not fully healed. Reliever Eric Gagne underwent a similar operation by Watkins at St. Vincent's Hospital on July 8, 2006. Like Brown, Gagne was also trying to return from elbow woes at the time and did not pitch again that season.

Like I mentioned the other day (link above), I'll believe it when I see it regarding recovery. Eight weeks is still a looooong time anyway and the odds that Furcal will be completely healthy by the beginning of September is possible but as soon as KB and EG's names get tossed around, I get a little skeptical.

And no, the "would not concede" line does not help anything either.

Fantasy Spin: I'm heading to drop him in a 12 team league right now (non-keeper) and grab someone that can help me now. Bear in mind though, that this is a head-to-head league, so not only will I be able to grab him later, but the loss of steals isn't permanent, so to speak. Still, I think he's done.

It would be hard to blame uber-prospect Clayton Kershaw for getting upset at his demotion back to the minor leagues; he has pitched well thus far, despite not getting any run support from the Dodgers. I actually watched him last night and the 12-6 he froze Hunter Pence on in the fifth after dialing up 96 the pitch before was a perfect example of his potential to dominate.

But the Dodgers have more than just watching a youngster unleash nasty deuce-balls, and he understands that.

It's disappointing, but it's a business," he said. "I'm going to Jacksonville to keep pitching like I'm supposed to. I didn't expect it. Right now, I'm just disappointed."

Well, of course he's disappointed. (So am I, for the record.) Kershaw has pitched very well at times, while at others looking very much like a rookie, but what did the Dodgers expect? The biggest issue with PE#1 was his control: he only walked one or less batters once, during his first start of the season.

Additionally, tossing under a fairly rigid pitch count didn't help matters, as Kershaw never got to really extend past 90 pitches, much less five innings. His last start was arguably his best of the season but LA still couldn't hold on for the win and Clayton remains 0-2 so far in his MLB career.

Fantasy Spin: He's still a virtual lock to land back in the majors at some point, it's just a matter of where the Dodgers are in the pennant race when they decide to bring him back up. Also, if injuries continue to strike, there's a good chance he won't stay in Jacksonville that long. He's a must have in keeper leagues, but seasonal leagues, particularly smaller ones, can drop him and just keep an eye out.

In todays game against the Chicago White Sox, Dodgers rookie pitcher Clayton Kershaw was pulled after four innings after only giving up two runs.Kershaw only threw 69 pitches, hardly a yeoman-like effort.

So what's the deal? Is Kershaw hurt? Well, not as far as I can see - no reports suggests Kershaw was pulled for anything besides his ineffectiveness. 29 of those 69 pitches were balls, which isn't terrible but doesn't suggest he was locked into the zone.

Kershaw has yet to notch his first major league victory, and if you are a Dodger fan or in a fantasy league, that comes as a bit of a letdown considering the huge amount of hype surrounding the youngster. Sports talk radio, internet chats and office watercooler talk ask one question - is Kershaw a bust?

Hardly.

Brad Penny, loser of five consecutive starts including a 3.2 inning, seven run, no strikeout outing against the Tigers the last time he took the mound, was placed on the disabled list today. Penny is dealing with an "inflammation of the bursa sac" (which sounds like something a lot worse, I think) and "mild tendinitis in his right shoulder", according to the Dodgers website.

Penny had complained of discomfort in the shoulder for more than a month without missing a start, but the pain worsened during pregame warmups before his last start, on Saturday against Detroit. An MRI performed on Monday revealed no structural damage.

Tough skids for the Dodgers, of course, but the reality is that Penny had not been pitching well. And if he was performing poorly as a result of shoulder woes -- which seems likely -- then giving him a few weeks to heal up and get right is the correct move.

Fantasy Spin: Penny is obviously DL'd or benched on your roster now (and hopefully before now) but he's not really droppable unless you're in a really shallow league. He finally put together a good second half last year and seems like a reasonable buy low at this point. Always better to inquire before he starts to head back.

The seemingly endless Rafael Furcal recovery process took another hit. And no, not the trade for Angel Berroa. Furcal's time for return was pegged for June 17, well over a month since stepped foot on the diamond.

"I think that's reasonable," Torre said.

Furcal, who last played May 5, resumed taking grounders at short Thursday and reported that his strained lower back felt fine the next day.

The Dodgers pretty clearly need Furcal in the lineup in order to make their offensive squad the most effective. They are still only four games out of the Diamondbacks though, with both teams having gone 3-7 in their last 10 games.

I'm still going to be a little skeptical about Furcal's return until I actually see him on the field after all the setbacks, but at least we have a timetable now.

Fantasy Spin: Furcal should still occupy a bench spot or a DL slot depending on your league options, at least until the week following his return. Now's a pretty good time to take a step at trade for the wrecking ball

You want to know how to be a successful Major League general manager? Two things you need to know. First, always sign multiple, expensive and washed up or worthless centerfielders to your ballclub. Secondly, make sure to use ridiculous verbage when described free agent to be pitchers.

Take Ned Colletti for instance. A true professional indeed, listen (in your head's reading voice) as he politely discusses the Dodgers' starting pitching and the possibility of Derek Lowe's return next season.

'I am concerned about our starting pitching in two cases,' Colletti says. 'I had a nice chat with Derek the other day.

'I told him we're not slamming the door on him from coming back,' Colletti says. 'In Boston he might have known he was not coming back.'

Maybe Boston did treat Lowe -- World Series hero Lowe at that -- poorly on the way out. But not "not slamming the door" isn't anything nice. That's just not being rude. The door, Ned, if you want to maintain a positive stance in negotiations, should always be open.

Unless of course Ned is secretly trying to get D. Lowe down from a 10 mil a year asking price (maybe in the range of 8 a year for the next 12 season, Ned?). That would explain why he's playing hard to get.

Fantasy Spin: Not that you care about Derek Lowe's contract negotiations, but now seems like a good time to point out that Lowe is starting to not be horrible again and is fantasy relevant. Shallow leagues probably saw him get dropped, but you can get the jump by grabbing now.

It's pretty rare in professional baseball when you think a trip to the disabled list is a good thing. But in the case of Andruw Jones, that is exactly the situation. The former slugger formerly known as a superstar was placed on the DL, in advance of having surgery on his right knee.

Now the club is going to invest 4-6 weeks of recuperatory time in the 31-year-old slugger, who will be on the DL for the first time in his career. Dr. Neal Elahrache, the Dodgers' orthopedic surgeon, will perform the surgery on Tuesday at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic.

'He was really determined not to have it done, but surgery is the best thing,' general manager Ned Colletti said. 'It will not only help him physically, but hopefully it'll help his game. Obviously through seven weeks it's been disappointing for him and for everyone involved.'

Andruw getting out of the lineup, out of the public's eye and out of his head would all be good things. Don't be surprised if the surgery is "quick" followed by six weeks of intense "rehabilitation".

See, my theory is that if Jones would just not be as chunky, his ability to hit and field the baseball will improve. I have to believe that the Dodgers feel the same way and given the opportunity to pull a "golf ball sized wart" out of his knee, they might as well drain his stomach too. So don't be shocked to see Jones come back a little lighter, is what I'm saying.

Fantasy Spin: Obviously you can drop him now. Jones might be worth a flier if he comes back in better shape, but I'd probably wait about a month before making a play for him.

The Jacksonville Suns did that thing where they pull a stud prospect pitcher early even though he is fine and pitching well. I say "that thing" because such a manuever is usually followed by a call-up to the major leagues. And that's the news coming out of Dodger-land as well, with Clayton Kershaw dealing and the Dodgers making a run in the NL West.

Beginning with Tuesday's game in Chicago, the Dodgers will need a fifth starter on almost a traditional five-day rotation through the All-Star break. The last time the spot came up Saturday in Anaheim, manager Joe Torre went with a tag-team of Chan Ho Park for four innings (one earned run), followed by Hong-Chih Kuo for four scoreless innings in a 6-3 win.

Bear in mind that a few weeks ago, when we thought Kershaw was getting the call, the Dodgers were not as hot on the heels of Arizona as they are now. The team was inconsistent, except for Andruw Jones, who stunk all the time. Suddenly, they are surging, just three games back. And they have a prospect that their manager has likened to Sandy Koufax (whether that's accurate or not is beside the point).

So a call-up coming seems pretty likely. Or at least pretty reasonable. So, um, welcome to the Kershaw-dome. And any other number of horrible Public Enemy jokes I will be slinging your way.

Fantasy Spin: If you haven't burned through your transaction cap listening to me on Kershaw advice, go ahead and run back out there and grab him. He's a phenom with an otherwordly curveball and tons of strikeout potential. Non-keepers want to be trying to move him as soon as he gets up, if not earlier, because of his innings cap and the hype involved.

Finally, a decent excuse from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Andruw Jones' poor performance, since it would just be too freaking easy to come out and say "he is overweight". Apparently, Jones has a problem with his right knee that could cause surgery.

The Dodgers centerfielder had an MRI on his knee and the rumors of the surgery are being batted around, according to Tony Jackson's Inside the Dodgers blog.

We learned after the game that Andruw Jones had an MRI today, that the MRI showed fluid and torn cartilage in his right knee and that if it isn't better by Thursday or Friday, he'll have arthroscopic surgery that will sideline him, according to what Jones says the doctors told him, for four to five weeks. My experience has been that they usually don't even TALK about surgery unless they're fairly sure it's going to happen. But he is going to get treatment and try to make it work.

Just so we are clear, there is like a 75% chance (at minimum, in my undoctored opinion) that his weight gain caused the problems with his knee.

I also firmly believe that he will undergo surgery this season. And there is obviously no telling how much time Druw will miss if he is forced to stick his leg underneath a really sharp knife, but hey, think of all the free ice cream at the doctor's office!

Update: Karma strikes back, emptying my stomach as I find out that Jones has a "golf-ball sized wart behind his knee that might have to be surgically removed." Geh.

Fantasy Spin: I dropped Druw a while ago and suggest you do the same. If Juan Pierre is available in your league, bust a move. Obviously if Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier are there, snatch them up. Pierre could end up being a huge steal with the way he has played and his proclivity for the stolen base.

Rafael Furcal remains on the disabled list, expected to play as early as Friday, and that creates a bit of a void for the Dodgers. Offensively, it just will not get filled. But defensively, they at least have some options. It was thought that one of those could be the eternally overrated Nomar Garciaparra, who played short with some team that traded him right before they won something.

But Nomar's ability to always be healthy will probably prevent that, as it turns out he and Furcal are moving in opposite directions in terms of getting on the diamond.

When Nomar Garciaparra took ground balls at shortstop this week, it led to speculation that the veteran might temporarily return to his natural position until Rafael Furcal returns from the disabled list.

But in the last few days, Furcal has made steady improvement from his back sprain, while Garciaparra's recovery from a strained calf muscle has stalled.

That would be an interesting move for sure, but not something that would really benefit the Dodgers. Garciaparra seems practically allergic to anything that will cause strain on his body from the obliques down, and I would probably set the over/under at games played at SS somewhere around .05 before he got hurt.

In the meantime, the team won't be crushed by forcing Chin-lung Hu or Luis Maza out on the field. Sure, they're not great options, but remember, as long as Andruw Jones (-7.8 VORP) is still getting at bats, anything is justifiable.

Fantasy Spin: Maza and Hu have little to no value in all but the deepest leagues, and Furcal should be benched in weeklies where possible, given he probably will not be worth much until Week 9.