Chad Billingsley

The most valuable asset in baseball is good pitching. Good, young, controllable pitching could be likened to winning the lottery for a million dollars, and when you go to cash in your ticket, you find out you actually won five million.

To call the 2009 season a roller coaster for Chad Billingsley would be an understatement. He was named to his first All-Star game in July, but he also had his career-worst year statistically.

It is no secret that Chad Billingsley is struggling mightily at this point.  Fantasy owners almost wish that Joe Torre had opted to pull him from the rotation, giving him a week to clear his head, instead of reaffirming his position.  It would have made things a lot easier.

Looking at his overall numbers would show a solid pitcher, one definitely worth using, though more of a mid-rotation option as opposed to a fantasy ace:

12 Wins
182.2 Innings
3.99 ERA
1.32 WHIP
165 Strikeouts (8.13 K/9)
75 Walks (3.70 BB/9)
.303 BABIP

Three members of the National League West leading Los Angeles Dodgers have been selected to join the National League All-Stars for July 14th contest in St. Louis at Busch Stadium.

Closer Jonathan Broxton, starting pitcher Chad Billingsley, and second baseman Orlando Hudson are on the NL roster, with outfielder Matt Kemp still under consideration as one of the five finalists for the last spot on the roster.

Yesterday, an ice cream man was making his run through my neighborhood, and I decided to treat myself to a cool treat.

"How about a scoop of Strawberry Santana?" he asked. 

"No," I said. "Its taste isn't long-lasting enough."

He tried again.

"How about some Lime Lincecum?" he offered. 

Again, another denial from me.

"The texture is too thin," I replied.

On his third attempt, the flustered ice cream man resorted to his premium flavors.

For years, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers have had the biggest rivalry in baseball that doesn’t include the term “Red Sox vs. Yankees,”  with every game just as heated as the one on the east coast.

However, as both teams have struggled and as players have gone from team to team in the National League West, the rivalry has cooled in recent years.

The thing that had the battle going when both teams moved west was that almost all the players on each roster were homegrown and were taught to hate each other.