Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Yes, the Dodgers' solar system revolves around Manny Ramirez. He's their star on the field and their main attraction.
But they wouldn't have Ramirez, nor many of the players who carried the team in his absence, were it not for a farm system that has been remarkably productive.
"It's nice that management kept us all here," ace Chad Billingsley told FanHouse. "There's some teams that maybe just start trading guys away. And believing in us, that's a huge thing."
In the 2002-03 drafts, Los Angeles took Russell Martin, James Loney, Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp and Billingsley. Those five players made their big league debuts within an 11-month span, from July 2005 to June 2006.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That now might be a good time for general managers to call the Giants' Brian Sabean and see what he's willing to give up for a bat. The Giants, one of the surprises of the first half, have opened the second half by scoring one run in 23 innings... against the Pirates. They were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the two losses.
Solid pitching has helped the Giants lead the wild-card race for most of the season, but their lead is now just a half-game over the Rockies. Offense has been an issue, though, and the need has become glaring in the first two games after the break, including a 2-0 loss at Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Giants have now lost 18 of their past 23 games to the Pirates.
The good news for the Giants is they've got some extra money to afford a bat, and they have the flexibility to put that bat at just about any spot in the lineup other than catcher.
MLB Power Rankings:Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
What a zany week for a pair of pitchers with amazing stories: Zack Greinke is America's favorite story right now, somehow managing to be hotter than Twitter. (And if Oprah starts doing him too, I'm just quitting. And I mean everything.) Meanwhile, Rick Ankiel (you may hear word of this "podcast" we're doing about him, but that's because I'm shameless like that), a former star on the mound as well, nearly decapitates himself running into an outfield wall. And yet, life goes on. Just like our Power Rankings.
NEW YORK -- You pretty much have to hate your offense to bring your infield in with the score tied 0-0 in the bottom of the second inning and the other team's No. 9 hitter at the plate. But while Bob Geren obviously wouldn't admit to such dramatic motivation, that is what he did Tuesday night against the Yankees. And he did cite his team's offensive struggles as the reason for the move.
"The way we've been scoring runs, we just wanted to not give up a weak run right there with the 9-hitter up," the Oakland A's manager said after his team's 5-3 loss at Yankee Stadium.
Just Geren's luck, the A's gave up two runs right there as Brett Gardner grounded a single past second baseman Mark Ellis. And just like that, Oakland was staring up a hill. And these A's don't have what it takes to do the climbing.
PHOENIX -- Sean Gallagher, also known as The Best Player the A's Got For Rich Harden, is not going to be in the rotation. Manager Bob Geren announced the rotation after today's game and he said Gallagher is now "competing for a bullpen spot."
Gallagher was penciled in as the No. 2 starter when spring training began. He has top-of-the-rotation stuff, good velocity and movement, but clearly something is missing.
PHOENIX -- The A's announced the previously reported extension of manager Bob Geren's contract Tuesday. Geren, who was in the final year of a three-year deal, is now signed through 2010, with a club option for 2011.
Geren, 47, is 151-172 in his first two years with the A's, his only experience as a big-league manager.
GM Billy Beane, who has been friends with Geren since his playing days, essentially gave Geren a pass for the team's losing records each of the past two seasons. Beane is no dummy. He knows that the A's had a roster full of injured players. And the guys who weren't hurt got traded away.
The tradition in baseball, for the past few decades, has been for each team to choose one defined closer at the back end of their bullpen. Heading into the 2009 season, there is one team who has already intentionally chosen to head into the season with two closers, and they are both right-handed.
There were plenty of rumors swirling throughout baseball that the Oakland Athletics were looking to trade their closer Huston Street before the deadline, with the latest rumor being a deal with the Chicago White Sox, but when the deadline passed Huston was still a member of the Oakland Athletics. Though now Street is probably wishing he had been dealt.
Why? Because he is no longer the only closer in Oakland, as he's now going to be sharing the role.
The move undoubtedly is spurred by Street's difficulties this season salting away victories, though Geren went to great lengths Saturday to de-emphasize those struggles.
"I actually talked with (Street on Friday) and just said with the way [Jerry] Blevins is throwing and [Brad] Ziegler is throwing, I could potentially use anybody in any situation right now," [Manager Bob] Geren said.
Street has had some struggles this season, converting 18 of his 23 save chances, which gives him the lowest save percentage of any closer in the American League. Still, Street's been pretty effective for the A's in his career, and considering that the team traded away anybody who could help them win this season, I'm kind of surprised to see they suddenly care about it now.
As I've noted over the last few years here since I began writing at FanHouse, the Oakland Athletics sure do suffer a lot of injuries. Last season it seemed like everybody on the roster spent some time on the disabled list, and so far in 2008 it's been a lot of the same. That's why I'm hoping when the A's finally move to Fremont and build a new stadium, they build some kind of bubble around it so nobody gets hurt.
The A's rookie first baseman dived into a shallow pool and struck his head during the All-Star break, and has a stiff neck and six staples on the crown of his head as a result. His neck was worse after batting practice Friday, so the A's recalled Wes Bankston before Saturday's game to take Barton's roster spot.
Barton, 22, knows that such accidents can lead to paralysis or even fatalities, and said he felt fortunate to escape with minor injuries. Barton called it "a stupid mistake," and added, "I've got to take full responsibility for it and deal with the consequences."
Team lifeguard manager Bob Geren wasn't too pleased with his rookie's antics, and considering that Bankston his .294 during a nine-game stint with the club earlier this month, there's a possibility that Barton (who is only hitting .224) may end up losing his job over this.
As much of a surprise as the Athletics have been this season, what's made their early season success so much more remarkable is that they've done it without Rich Harden (Harden's stint on the DL has obviously been the least surprising thing about the A's this season). They've also been doing it without Keith Foulke, who was supposed to be a big part of their bullpen in 2008.
Still, despite the absence of those two, along with Eric Chavez, that Athletics are 19-14 and would be the American League wild card if the season ended today. Whether or not they'll be able to maintain this level of play all year remains to be seen, but they'll be getting a boost soon with both Harden and Foulke scheduled to re-join the team shortly.
"We are deeper with Harden and Foulke coming back," [manager Bob] Geren said. "It gives us good options."
Harden is scheduled to pitch Tuesday at Class A Stockton. Foulke, who had neck stiffness that sent him to the disabled list retroactive to April 11, will throw approximately 30 pitches today at Triple A Sacramento and again Wednesday in Stockton, at which point he should be ready to return to Oakland.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Starting Five
NEW YORK -- You pretty much have to hate your offense to bring your infield in with the score tied 0-0 in the bottom of the second inning and the other team's No. 9 hitter at the plate. But while 
PHOENIX -- 
The tradition in baseball, for the past few decades, has been for each team to choose one defined closer at the back end of their bullpen. Heading into the 2009 season, there is one team who has already intentionally chosen to head into the season with two closers, and they are both right-handed. 
There were plenty of rumors swirling throughout baseball that the Oakland Athletics were looking to trade their closer 
As I've noted over the last few years here since I began writing at FanHouse, the Oakland Athletics sure do suffer a lot of injuries. Last season it seemed like everybody on the roster 
As much of a surprise as the Athletics have been this season, what's made their early season success so much more remarkable is that they've done it without 
