Random thoughts....

Jerry Sands made his Major League debut last night, going 1-3 with a sacrifice fly. Nothing spectacular. But, nevertheless an impressive beginning. Sands was expected to stay in triple A for at least half the year. With the Dodgers putrid offensive output, the call was made. Bring Sands up to the show. At some point other roster decisions will have to be made. The most important being what to do with James Loney who seems to regress every year. So far this season, Loney has been horrendous at the plate. His anemic stats make you cringe. Currently his stat line sits at .172/.194/.234. That my friends is god awful. Loney has been one of my favorite Dodger players since he was drafted back in 2002. There was always a question about his bat, but through his first four seasons he managed to impress with his clutch hitting. However since last years All Star break, he has been completely lost at the plate. I'm starting to wonder if the time is right to deal Loney. I hate to be the guy with the "smart trade" ideas. You know these guys. The ones that call up radio shows, and talk about how they just came up with the perfect trade to solve the Lakers woes. You know, Luke Walton, Shannon Brown, a first round pick for Dwight Howard. Wow, what a great idea. I hate to be that guy, but I'm gonna be that guy. The Cleveland Indians are rumored to be dealing Grady Sizemore. If I was Ned Colletti, I would reach out to them. Try and sell them on a James Loney, Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Withrow, and Travon Robinson trade. The trade would then allow the Dodgers to shift Sands to first base, Andre Ethier to left field, and Matt Kemp to right field. Grady Sizemore would look great roaming center field in Chavez Ravine. I believe the Indians would make this deal. The Indians already have a young first baseman in Matt LaPorta, but he's nothing to talk about defensively. A move to the designated hitter might be the answer for LaPorta. Loney needs to step his game up. If he fails to do so, he might be following in our old friend Russell Martin's footsteps. I can only hope Ned beat me to the punch on this one. Once again, I apologize for being the "Smart Trade" guy.

I was gonna write more on the UCLA Bruins, but to be honest... I'm really, really tired. I'll finish off my thoughts on that tomorrow.