Podcast: 'Dugout Blues' episode 56 - Kemp, Ramirez, injuries, Guerrero

On this episode of "Dugout Blues," Jared Massey (Dodger Diamond) and I chat about the Dodgers' recent struggles as Tuesday night's Dodger game is taking place. Spoiler alert: they won 9-3 and the Dodgers are one win (today or tomorrow) from clinching the National League West title.

Matt Kemp made his triumphant return. Well, it was supposed to be, as Don Mattingly sent him up in a crucial situation only for him to strikeout. Fortunately, he looked like the Matt Kemp of old last night, going 4-for-4 with two doubles (one that would have been a home run in most any other stadium in baseball) and three RBI. Welcome back, Matt.

The Dodgers also have a rash of injuries to deal with in the season's final two weeks. The aforementioned Kemp is coming back, Hanley Ramirez came back (and he looks good to go again), Carl Crawford has a bad back and Andre Ethier has a sparined ankle. Here's hoping everyone is good to go in a couple weeks.

Alexander Guerrero may or may not be a thing. The latest is he signed with Scott Boras, making his previous two agreements with the Dodgers null and void. At this rate, I'd rather the Dodgers go after someone else at second base come 2014.

The Dodgers are sending Onelki Garcia, Yimi Garcia, Shawn Tolleson and Michael Thomas to the Arizona Fall League to go along with Brian Cavazos-Galvez, Pratt Maynard, Chris O'Brien and Corey Seager.

Episode dedications
Jared: Hong-Chih Kuo
Dustin: Pedro Astascio

Finally, we get to listener questions. There were a lot of really good ones. Please, keep them coming.

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Look for new episodes of "Dugout Blues" every Wednesday. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and review us on iTunes. We want to make this the best podcast we can so we're always looking for suggestions and ways to improve.

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Image credit: Joe Martin