Push has come to shove - the Designated Hitter position is not really up for grabs anymore - Garret Anderson's tender knee and aching back now demand that he fill that spot. I wonder if Troy Glaus had not monopolized the DH spot last August and September if Garret would have been healthier and hit a bit better being DH.
If Garret spends the rest of the season at DH, Juan Rivera will certainly get more playing time. Juan has an OPS a hundred points ahead of Steve Finley (.743 vs. .646), but Scioscia seems bound and determined to stick with Frosty in Centerfield for now - but this should change when Dallas McPherson is healthy, as his return to 3B would move Chone Figgins into CF. Figgins has - coincidentally - the same OPS as Rivera, .743, although there is no accounting for speed in the OPS stat.
With Garret as the certain DH, Rivera takes over in LF, Figgy in CF and D-Mac at 3B, the odd men out are Jeff DaVanon, Finley and Casey Kotchman. Short of returning Erstad to Centerfield to open a position up for Casey, his Lefthanded bat is replicated a few times over on this club.
The downside of Garret's tenderness is the lack of the occasional Bengie Molina DH appearance - righthanded power being at a premium on this club.
Here it is, August, and our bench could really use a healthy Robb Quinlan.