By Grant Brisbee

– Editor

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Jun 6, 2011 – Someone in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ front office is on salary, because if they were getting paid by the transaction, there wouldn’t be mass updates like this …

The #Dodgers optioned Ivan De Jesus and John Ely and designated Jay Gibbons and Juan Castro for assignment.

… and this …

The club activated Uribe, Hawksworth and Thames from the DL and has purchased the contract of Dee Gordon, who will be in uniform tonight

So in order:

• Ivan De Jesus, the 24-year-old middle infielder, was hitting .188 with a .188 slugging percentage in 32 at-bats. He hasn’t done much since his breakout season in double-A in 2008, and back to Albuquerque he goes.
• John Ely, a 25-year-old right hander, made a spot start and an relief appearance, and was roughed up in both.
• Jay Gibbons, seemingly out of the game after a PED suspension in 2007, had an unlikely return as a Dodgers bench player last season. He was having almost the exact same season this year, though with a lot less power. That was about the only thing that made him valuable of the bench, so ….
• Juan Uribe had hip soreness, and he performed well in his rehab assignment. With Rafael Furcal going on the DL, Uribe is coming back at a good time.
• Marcus Thames is the Jay Gibbons of the right side of the plate, and he’s hit even worse this year, but he still should offer some power against lefties.
• And Gordon is the Dodgers’ top prospect, a shortstop that the Dodgers hope will hit some day. John Sickels wrote this Dee Gordon scouting report:

Gordon was drafted in the fourth round in 2008 from Seminole Community College in Florida. Although his father Tom was a major league pitcher, Gordon was fairly raw when drafted. Speed is his best attribute, rating at a strong 70 on the traditional 20-80 scouting scale. He hit .277/.332/.355 with 53 swipes last year for Double-A Chattanooga. He doesn’t have much power, but scouts see him as a top-of-the-order player, assuming he maximizes his on-base percentage.

Gordon is 23, and he was hitting .315/.361/.370 in triple-A, though it should be noted that Albuquerque is a hitter’s park in a hitter’s league.

And there you have it: proof that the Dodgers’ PR department doesn’t get paid by the individual transaction. Actually, they might not get paid at all, but that’s a different story.

Read More: Los Angeles Dodgers

CINCINNATI — Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal didn’t hint at retirement this time — he caused a mini-stir when, clearly out of frustration, he said he should retire after breaking his left thumb on a headfirst slide April 11 — but he did express extreme disappointment at going back onto the disabled list Saturday, just 13 days after returning from a six-week stint with the thumb injury.

This time, Furcal has a strained left oblique. He said he was told he could miss anywhere from two weeks to a month.

“I was just getting on track,” Furcal said. “I know my first week (back), when I was trying to get on track, it was a little tough. But I was starting to play better, seeing the ball better, playing better defense. Now, I’m going back to the DL. I want to cry, man.”

Furcal is in the final season of a three-year, $30 million contract, with a $12 million club option for 2012 that seems increasingly unlikely to be exercised and now has no chance of vesting. With free agency looming and four trips to the DL with four different injuries since the start of last season, Furcal was asked about his future.

“I’m not thinking about what happens next year,” he said. “I’m thinking about this year because this year isn’t over. I’m trying to get healthy. Whatever happens next year happens.”

Furcal said he was feeling considerable pain in his side on Saturday, more than what he felt when he left Friday night’s game after the bottom of the second inning, during which he had injured himself turning to make a throw to third on a rundown play. But he also said the medical staff had told him the injury didn’t look that bad, giving him hope might be able to return relatively soon.

“It’s my life,” he said. “Everything happens for (a reason). I just wish I had more control (over) that.”

The Dodgers also missed another chance to have their entire starting infield together for the first time since Furcal went onto the DL the first time, because Juan Uribe is expected to come off the DL on Monday. The Dodgers won the night Furcal broke his thumb, after which they were 6-4. Since then, they are 20-28.

Tony Jackson covers the Dodgers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Follow Tony Jackson on Twitter: @dodgerscribe

Read More: Vicente Padilla (P – LOS), Jon Garland (P – LOS), Jamey Carroll (2B – LOS), Rafael Furcal (SS – LOS), Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers at Cincinnati Reds, Jun 3, 2011 4:10 PM PDT

The 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers are getting hurt at an alarming rate. Rafael Furcal is the latest to get bitten by the injury bug, as he left Friday’s game after just two innings. Furcal injured his left side while making a force play in the bottom of the second inning, then was replaced in the top of the third inning by pinch hitter Jamey Carroll, who remained in the game at shortstop. The Dodgers list Furcal as day-to-day, though the club is no stranger to the disabled list this season.

Furcal already lost significant time this season, missing 37 games with a broken thumb. Since his return, Furcal has nine hits in 40 at-bats in 10 games, though eight of those hits came in the four games prior to tonight. Furcal isn’t the only injury the Dodgers are dealing with.

Vicente Padilla was supposed to be activated off the disabled list before tonight’s game, but no move was made before the game. The corresponding move is expected to be starter Jon garland to the disabled list, which would be the 17th different DL trip for the Dodgers this season. However, either Padilla isn’t quite ready or the Dodgers aren’t sure Garland will miss two or three starts. Or we could see a move after the game.

The Dodgers lead the Reds 1-0 in the fifth inning at Great American Ballpark.

For more news and information about the Dodgers, or on tonight’s game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal was out of the lineup on Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies, marking the first time Furcal hadn’t started since he returned on May 22 from a six-week stint on the disabled list.

The decision by manager Don Mattingly to rest the formerly slumping Furcal came after Furcal went 7-for-13 over the previous three games.

“Furky has played [eight] out of [nine] days,” Mattingly said, the only exception being an off-day on Thursday. “We wanted him to keep playing until he found his timing, and he has kind of had that for a few days. We have to give him a breather in there somewhere to keep him from going backward. He’ll play [Wednesday], then get another day [when the team is off on Thursday]. After that, we play 13 straight, and we’re hoping to play him in a huge portion of those. But we have to keep him healthy.”

Meanwhile, primary catcher Rod Barajas also was out of the lineup, something Mattingly said was a sign of things to come with backup Dioner Navarro finally appearing to emerge from a season-long slump. The switch-hitting Navarro has seven hits in 18 at-bats over his past five games, and all 10 of his hits this season have come from the left side.

Barajas is hitting just .184 against right-handers this season, and the Dodgers were scheduled to face Rockies rookie righty Clayton Mortensen on Tuesday night.

The Dodgers began spring training with the idea that Barajas and Navarro would share time behind the plate this season on a roughly 60-40 split in favor of Barajas. But then Navarro suffered a torn right oblique late in camp and missed almost all of April.

“D has been swinging the bat good, and we’re kind of getting back to what we thought in spring training, where it wasn’t going to be Rod playing seven out of eight,” Mattingly said.

Tony Jackson covers the Dodgers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Follow Tony Jackson on Twitter: @dodgerscribe

  LOS ANGELES  — James Loney had three hits with a homer and
three RBIs, Andre Ethier also drove in three runs and the Los
Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-1 on Monday
night.

 Chad Billingsley (4-4) allowed one run and a season-high 11 hits
in seven innings, struck out eight and walked two. The right-hander
improved to 2-2 in his sixth home start after his teammates
produced the kind of run support that he had been lacking, getting
just 1.29 runs — third-lowest in the majors — in his previous home
games.

 Ty Wigginton’s homer accounted for Colorado’s run as the Rockies
dropped to 2-10 on the road in May.

 Jason Hammel (3-5) gave up seven runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3
innings, struck out two and walked one in his shortest outing of
the season. The right-hander is winless since April 30 against
Pittsburgh, a span of six starts.

 The Dodgers took a 4-0 lead in the third. They loaded the bases
with no one out on singles by Billingsley and Rafael Furcal and an
infield hit by Jamey Carroll. Ethier drove in Billingsley and
Furcal with a single up the middle, just beyond the reach of diving
second baseman Eric Young Jr. as Hammel took off his glove and
pounded it on the mound in frustration.

 Matt Kemp followed with a sacrifice fly to center, with center
fielder Dexter Fowler and left fielder Carlos Gonzalez converging
on it. The ball touched Gonzalez’s glove first and then they
collided as the ball dropped, allowing Carroll to score. Loney
added an RBI single.

 The Rockies scored in the fourth on Wigginton’s fourth homer of
the season off the first pitch from Billingsley.

 The Dodgers extended their lead to 7-1 in the fifth. Carroll led
off with a triple and Ethier had an RBI single. Loney hit a
two-out, two-run homer off the first pitch from Hammel, who then
walked Rod Barajas before getting yanked.

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