According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Dodgers have released right handed pitcher Carlos Monasterios. Monasterios is only 26 years old, and he pitched one semi-decent season for the Dodgers in 2010, starting 13 games and making 19 relief appearances. Since then though, he has been hampered by two elbow operations.

Saturday night's win over the Padres, was the first ugly win of the season for the Dodgers. After leading 5-0 through four innings, the Dodgers' pitchers suddenly lost sight of the strike zone and gave up enough free passes to allow the Padres to tie the game. Chris Capuano, Jamey Wright, and Scott Elbert combined to allow 5 walks, hit 1 batter, and throw a wild pitch, in the fifth inning, which allowed the Padres to score 5 runs and effectively negate the Dodgers' early lead.

Chris Capuano started the game strong, and he seemed to be breezing along, much like Chad Billingsley the night before. However, after recording the first two outs in the 4th inning, Capuano hit a wall and never rebounded. This should be cause for alarm, for Dodger fans, because last night was the typical Capuano outing, and it indicates that the bullpen is going to get lots of use in Capuano's starts.

Capuano's career splits show that he averages a respectable 3.8 career ERA through the first three innings of any start, but then his career ERA balloons to 5.10 in innings four through six. Capuano simply has a history of having some difficulty getting through an opposing teams' lineup the second and third time around. Don Mattingly knew this, and that is why he was so quick with his hook of Capuano last night. Mattingly could have left Capuano in the game to get the last out in the 5th, and secure him a shot at a win, but Mattingly put the team wins ahead of the individual pitcher wins, and that was an excellent move on his part.

With the fifth inning choke job, by Dodger pitchers, it seemed like the Dodgers were destined to lose last nights game. In fact, Dodger pitchers gave up a total of 10 walks last night. Considering the fact that they walked so many batters, and they had to take the game into extra innings on the road, the Dodgers really deserved to lose last nights' game. In reality, the Dodgers stole the win, completely behind the speed of Dee Gordon and the unsung hero, of the night, Mark Ellis.

Dee Gordon began the Dodgers' offensive attack in the first, by singling off of Padres' starter Dustin Moseley. He then proceeded to steal second base, and was moved over to third when Mark Ellis grounded out to the right side of the infield. Kemp then hit a sacrifice fly, to score Gordon from third base. Gordon would not have scored from third base, if it weren't for the sacrifice by Mark Ellis. The box score is going to show that Ellis was 0-5 last night, but he used smart baseball strategy that contributed to the win. Dodger fans should keep an eye on the small things that Ellis does during each game, that won't show up in the box score at the end of the day, and won't be reflected in his final batting average. Ellis appears like he will be the type of player who offers more than what the sum of his stats may reflect.

Gordon was also the catalyst for the offense in the third inning. After Dustin Moseley secured two outs in the inning, he proceeded to walk Gordon, who stole second base right away. Mark Ellis then drew another walk to keep the inning alive (yet another move that will not be reflected in his BA), which allowed Matt Kemp to hit an RBI single, and Andre Ethier followed with a 2 run double.

A.J. Ellis also contributed to the Dodgers' offense with a surprise Home Run, off of Dustin Moseley, in the fourth inning. Ellis certainly will not be known as a Home Run hitter for the Dodgers, but it's nice to see him pop one out of the ballpark every now and then. Petco Park isn't known for being hitter friendly either, so Ellis' homer certainly didn't come cheap.

After securing the 5 run lead, which Dodgers' pitchers let slip away in the 5th inning, all the momentum for the game seemed to be on the Padres' side. However, the Dodgers bullpen was able to step it up, starting in the 6th inning, and they restored some sense of order to the game. Mike MacDougal, Matt Guerrier, and Todd Coffey all pitched scoreless innings. Kenley Jansen then pitched two scoreless innings of his own; looking far better than he did in previous outings this year. The string of scoreless innings by Dodgers' relievers was enough to halt the momentum the Padres had, and it secured enough time for the Dodgers' offense to rebound and gain their own momentum back.

In the 11th inning, Dee Gordon hit a single to right field, which drove in A.J. Ellis from second base. Gordon's RBI single would turn out to be the game winning hit, as Javy Guerra came in during the bottom of the 11th and locked down the win with his second save of the season.

The game was not pretty, the amount of walks allowed by Dodgers' pitchers was downright hideous, but a win is a win, and the Dodgers will take it. Thanks to Gordon's offense, and three steals, the Dodgers have started the season 3-0 for the first time since 1999.

We've added a couple new features to the site over the last few days:

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The forum is your place to discuss everything about the Dodgers; whether it be to discuss the game in our daily game discussion threads, to discuss trades/transactions/rumors, to discuss how horrible the Angels and Giants are, or to discuss random off topic events.

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Chad Billingsley and Andre Ethier are two vital pieces of the Dodgers' puzzle, who need to have a good season if the Dodgers are to have any chance of making the playoffs in 2012. One knock against Billingsley has always been that he doesn't have the heart to be an Ace pitcher. He'll always put together a few good innings in a row, but he can rarely make it past the 6th inning before running out of steam. The main criticism against Andre Ethier, is that he can't hit left handed pitching. In fact, Ethier's .220 BA against left handed pitching in 2011 was more than 100 points lower than his .321 BA against right handed pitching. Those splits were so glaring that manager Don Mattingly was considering sitting Ethier against lefties this season, and starting Juan Rivera in his place. Instead, Mattingly choose to sit James Loney against the left-hander, Cory Luebke, on Friday night, and Ethier got the start in right field. It turned out to be a good move on Mattingly's part, as both Ethier and Chad Billingsley were the major contributors in the Dodgers 6-0 win over the Padres.

On the pitching side of things, Chad Billingsley practically pitched the game of his career.  Billingsley pitched 8 and 1/3 innings, gave up only 3 hits, and racked up 11 strikeouts. The Billingsley who pitched last night was not the Billingsley of old. His control was pin-point all night long, and he only walked one batter. Moreover, he exuded a sense of confidence and command over the game that he usually doesn't display on a daily basis. Billingsley finally looked like the Ace, that the Dodgers know he is capable of being.

Billingsley said that he was using his cutter to the right side of the plate and slider to the left side of the plate, effectively, all night long, noting, "It was just one of those days when everything felt really good."

Chase Headley, who fanned three times against Billingsley, was stunned by the performance, stating, "I've probably faced him 100 times, and I've never seen him pitch like that. He's a great pitcher, an All-Star, but we couldn't figure him out."

Billingsley's ability to pitch into the 9th inning was important for the Dodgers, considering that the bullpen had already been exhausted after opening day. Due to the flu, Clayton Kershaw was only able to throw three innings on opening day, and the Dodgers had to use six innings worth of relievers. Billingsley's marvelous outing on Friday allowed the bullpen to get some much needed rest.

Meanwhile, on the offensive side of things, Andre Ethier displayed some extra base hit potential against left hander Cory Luebke. Ethier doubled and tripled, while driving in 4 runs, effectively putting to rest any worries about lingering knee or pinky problems having a negative impact on his ability to drive the ball. Of course, the best aspect of Ethier's performance was that his extra base hits came off a lefty.

Mattingly, put it best, stating, "It was a great outing for Chad, a good start for him, and Andre bops a lefty, it's a good start for us." Indeed, it was a good start. If Billingsley can consistently pitch as well as he did last night, and if Ethier can continue to hit lefties, then the Dodgers will be a major force to deal with in the NL West this season.

Yesterday was Opening Day, and this particular blogger has been sicker than Clayton Kershaw since Tuesday. Really though, a baseball site isn't much if it doesn't report on Opening Day. So, here are some bullet points from yesterday's opener, in which the Dodgers topped the Padres 5-3:

- Clayton Kershaw started the game, but was sick with the flu. He still managed to gut it out for three innings of shutout ball though, despite the fact that the radar gun on Prime Ticket was reading his pitches in the 86-88 mph range for most of those three innings. The bullpen then took over for the final six innings of the game.

- Matt Kemp put his mediocre spring behind him, contributing two hits; one being a home run that landed perfectly atop the out of town score board.

- As for the bullpen, Josh Linblom pitched two scoreless innings in the 4th and the 5th. Mike McDougal looked shaky in the 6th inning, giving up a walk and a hit that led to a Padres run. Matt Guerrier pitched a scoreless 7th. Then, Kenley Jansen followed that with a very shaky 8th inning, allowing 2 hits, including a home run, that allowed the Padres to get back within two and created a save situation for Javy Guerra. Guerra looked like his usual confident self, pitching a perfect 9th, notching one strike out in the process, to earn his first save of the season.

- Dee Gordon went 0-5 on the day, and looked a bit over matched by Edinson Volquez. However, he also made one of the most dazzling defensive plays that we'll likely see all season.

- And, the biggest news off the field, was Frank McCourt sitting in the front row, with new face of the franchise Magic Johnson on one side of him, and apparently a new girlfriend clinging to his other arm. Be sure to head on over to Sons of Steve Garvey and have a look at his new arm candy.

Seriously, isn't this just like Frank McCourt? Opening Day should be about the DODGERS, and what they are doing on the field. Yet, he feels that it is time to sit in the front row and flaunt his new life in front of the entire world. This douche just doesn't get it, and he never will. He can't get away from the Dodgers fast enough.