Andy Laroche

The Dodgers' playoff hopes this season may benefit from the acquisition of Manny Ramirez, but I wonder what damage will be incurred to the wonderful tradition that is Dodgers baseball. If you cut Tommy Lasorda, he'll bleed Dodger Blue. If you cut Manny, he'll simply use it as an excuse to not run out a ground ball. He is a hitting savant who understands little, and cares even less, about the sport he plays. So be careful what you ask for Los Angeles, the game (and your baseball heritage)

Ned Colletti, Kim Ng and Grady Little met for more than an hour Monday at Dodger Stadium, discussing roster moves and trade possibilities, but the only concrete decision was to activate second baseman Jeff Kent from the disabled list in time for today's game against the San Diego Padres. Closer Eric Gagne is expected to be put on the disabled list, and the first move could be as simple as replacing Gagne with Kent, reducing the number of pitchers from 12 to 11.

Looking ahead Remember Rick Ankiel, the hard-throwing left-handed St. Louis Cardinals pitcher who inexplicably lost control of his pitches during the 2000 playoffs? Well, Ankiel is tearing it up in the minors and is on the verge of a call-up -- as an outfielder. Ankiel never fully regained his ability to pitch effectively and switched to the outfield before the 2005 season. He has 31 home runs and 85 RBIs at triple-A Memphis.

The Pittsburgh Pirates removed James McDonald from their starting rotation last week, as they tried desperately to remain alive in the playoff race. That got us to thinking: Just how many of the prospects traded by Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti are playing a significant role in this year's pennant races? The Dodgers sent McDonald to Pittsburgh in 2010 for seven weeks of setup man Octavio Dotel. McDonald was 9-3 with a 2.37 earned-run average in the first half of this season, and it appeared Colletti had blundered badly.

With two Taiwanese (Hong-Chih Kuo and Chin-lung Hu), two Japanese (Hiroki Kuroda and Takashi Saito) and one Korean (Chan Ho Park) on their roster, the Dodgers have what is believed to be the most Asian-born players of any team in big league history. But that's not something that happened overnight, says Acey Kohrogi, the team's director of Asian operations. "I can't say that we planned it," Kohrogi said. "It's a product of all the efforts that we've made throughout the years."

Chan Ho Park turned in two of the finest seasons of his career with Chad Kreuter as his personal catcher. So, with Park with the Dodgers and pitching well again, it is little wonder that Kreuter played a role. The Dodgers did not promise Park a spot on their roster, just an invitation to spring training. In the weeks before he left for training camp, Park worked out at USC, where Kreuter is the baseball coach. "I'm excited he's back with the Dodgers," Kreuter said.

Angel Berroa reported to the Dodgers on Saturday intent on making up for lost time. The 2003 rookie of the year, Berroa spent most of the last two years with the Kansas City Royals' triple-A affiliate in Omaha. The addition of the 30-year old middle infielder, who was acquired Friday for class-A infielder Juan Rivera, forced the Dodgers to designate reserve third baseman Terry Tiffee for assignment to make room on their active and 40-man roster.

NEW YORK -- When it was mentioned that Delwyn Young had to face New York Mets ace Johan Santana in only his second start this season, Dodgers Manager Joe Torre offered a different perspective. "He gets the chance to face Santana," Torre said. Young, who is hitting .280 as a pinch-hitter, shrugged when asked about the prospect of hitting against Santana. "If it's going to be once a month, I want a challenge," Young said. Young's start Sunday was his first in the outfield.

SAN DIEGO -- One step forward, one step backward, Jake Peavy today. This is the Dodgers' trip to San Diego, another three days on what appears to be a dreary summer treadmill. A few runs one day, one run another day, no runs the next day, never enough runs to launch a winning streak. After Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the San Diego Padres, they're facing the defending Cy Young Award winner today. Without a victory, they'll fail to win their sixth consecutive series.

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Of the five or six places on the Dodgers' bench, only two appear to be set in stone, assuming everyone is healthy at the end of camp: one for catcher Gary Bennett and the other for the fourth outfielder, either Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp or Juan Pierre. The competition for the remaining spots started Sunday, when the team played a five-inning intrasquad game at Holman Stadium that launched the evaluation period for Manager Joe Torre and his staff.