Sorry for the late report, but as you might suspect, it's a freakin' zoo at the Ravine tonight.  I'm telling you, I'll know I've not led a clean life when after it's over, I'm reincarnated as an AP reporter assigned to a Groundhog Day-esque reenactment of the Barry Bonds home run chase.  It must be horrible.  It's like watching a flock of birds at the park.  Barry moves, everyone flutters to see what he's done.  Barry might talk, everyone circles around to see what he might say.  I'm not being critical.  If this were Black and Orange instead of Blue Notes, I'd be doing the same thing.  I'm just thankful it's not.

Oddly enough, on the way out here, I heard a report on the radio that Barry wasn't going to start.  Turned out not to be true.  Good thing, since that would have led to a lot of people standing around wondering what to do.   Between the Barry Parade and the trading deadline, it's been a busy day, one I'd love to tell you about...

Still no news other than Betemit for Proctor.  Deals will continue to filter in for a little while after the 1 p.m. deadline, so if you're hoping against hope that the blue and white Solomon Torres jersey you had stitched up will have some use going forward, don't give up yet. 

BK

Well, there will be at least one deal for the Blue today.  The rumored Wilson Betemit for Scott Proctor deal is a reality.  Fills a need for both teams.  While losing Betemit will thin out the bench and take away arguably the best source of left-handed power on the team (scarily enough), considering the state of the pitching staff something needed to be done.  With Andy LaRoche playing well again, the Dodgers have some insurance should Nomar go down.  In terms of priorities, shoring up the staff had to be at the top, and with question marks surrounding Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf, the pen is set to get a lot of work down the stretch. 

Proctor hasn't been as good in '07 as he was last season, having already walked nearly as many batters and surrendered 2/3 as many home runs in only 1/2 the innings, but he's an upgrade over what they have down there.  Also, I just read on ESPN.com that the Cards are still dangling Troy Percival around the league, and the Dodgers might be interested.  Not sure if this changes that or not, but it's an interesting name who could be had on the cheap. 

BK

Anyone looking to talk Dodgers today will have no shortage of material.   

Start with today's non-waiver trade deadline, at 1 pm today.   Mark Teixiera is reportedly headed to Atlanta with Octavio Dotel in tow, and it doesn't look like the Blue are in position to do anything big.  But then again, Dotel still hasn't actually gone anywhere, and even if some of the bigger names are gone, the Dodgers might still be able pick from guys like Washington's Jon Rauch or Chad Cordero (at 6'11", the former could pair up with Mark Hendrickson to give L.A. the NL's best frontcourt) at a potentially lower price.  Or maybe Wilson Betemit heads to New York for Scott Proctor?  High cost in prospects will likely be enough to keep Jon Garland in Chicago... or at least out of L.A.  Given the hit and miss track record of deadline deals for the Dodgers, the consequences of inactivity could cut either way.  In his ESPN.com blog, Buster Olney (not surprisingly) puts the bullpen at the top of L.A's needs list, saying Proctor is probably the most feasible solution. 

At least if the Dodgers are quiet, they'll have company. It doesn't look like the NL West will be heavily involved with any deal making.  Of course, no matter what happens this afternoon, there will be plenty of fireworks tonight.   

Not that the Dodgers were ever really players for Mark Teixiera, at least not down the stretch, but Octavio Dotel?  That seemed like a different story.  Either way, both look like they're headed to Atlanta.  For Teixiera, the Rangers will get a package of young talent headlined by catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  No surprise, really, since Salty (is that his nickname?) is blocked in Atlanta by Brian McCann.  For Dotel, they're reportedly set to send 23 year old righty Kyle Davies to Texas.   Davies is young with a live arm, but hasn't really made much progress in three seasons for the Braves.  No worries, though.  Starting pitchers always seem to find their groove in Arlington.

So if Dotel is gone, that leaves potentially slim pickins for Ned Colletti.  The rumored Wilson Betemit for Scott Proctor deal may be back on the table.  Then there's the Pirates bullpen, with guys like Damaso Marte, Shawn Chacon, and Solomon Torres.  But it doesn't look like anything big is brewing.  Not surprising, since there isn't much out there in the first place.    

BK

No, not these guys, but these guys.  It's officially a four horse race again in the NL West.  L.A., red hot Arizona, the Padres, and those pesky Colorado Rockies, who with their 9-6 win Sunday over the Blue put themselves right back in the mix.  The loss meant a trip sketchier than the Brady's to Hawaii would have ended poorly anyway.  Toss in a hammy strain for Jeff Kent and you get a nice dollop of curdled whipped cream with a sour cherry on top.  Despite a box score that shows seven hits between Kent and Russell Martin,once again the Blue were unable to keep runs off the board.  Chad Billingsley gave up four earned in 4.1 IP on his way to his first loss of the season (happy 23rd birthday, kid!), while Eric Hull was tagged for three runs in barely over an inning of relief.  Par for the course for a staff currently held together with gum and twistie ties.  Not that there's much relief available in the trade market.   The Dodgers needed a big ninth inning to make a game of it, but not everything plays out like a Disney film. Strike three, game over.   

If you're anything like me, you were not intimately familiar with the career of Rockies righty Ubaldo Jimenez.  In fairness, it had spanned a grand total of 13.2 innings entering Sunday's series finale in Colorado.  Jimenez added six more to that total today, enough to give him his first major league win as the Rockies knocked off the Blue 9-6.  It helped Jimenez to have Matt Holliday, who hit another homer and drove in three, around.  He headlined a 12 hit, two homer attack that victimized Chad Billingsley and Eric Hull early, and Joe Beimel late.  As for the Dodgers, Russell Martin and Jeff Kent combined for seven hits, three runs, and four RBIs, but they weren't able to keep up with the onslaught.  After the Blue pushed two across in the ninth to cut the lead to three, Andre Ethier had a chance to be a hero.  Key word?  Chance.  It didn't happen, as Manny Corpas struck him out to end the game. 

And since it wouldn't be a Dodger game these days without some bad news, Kent had to leave the game in the ninth after pulling a hammy.  The Dodgers are officially toting a M.A.S.H. unit into an ever-tightening four team race in the NL West.  More on the game tomorrow.

BK

The Rockies have some dudes who can rake.  Any fantasy owner could tell you that.  But just in case you didn't get the memo, Colorado spent the first two innings of their 6-2 win over the Dodgers Saturday driving home the point at the expense of Brett Tomko.  The righthander, pitching on seven days rest, said he had trouble finding a rhythm early.  That sounds about right. Five runs in the first two frames, including a pair of long balls (legit ones, too- no Rocky Mountain Specials) from Matt Holliday and Troy Tulowitzki.  This from a guy who had been very effective in his last two starts, but as his "box of chocolates" career demonstrates that for Tomko inconsistency has been the rule, not the exception.  As the box shows, the Dodgers had trouble mounting rallies against Rockies lefty Jeff Francis, scratching out a pair of runs but generally going down quietly (a fizzled seventh inning rally being the best example).

For innings three, four, five, and six, Brett Tomko was The Man.  No runs allowed, pitching his way out of trouble with timely tosses and even timelier strikeouts (take the fifth for example, when after a one out triple Tomko stranded Garrett Atkins at third with K's of Brad Hawpe and Yorvit Torrealba).  Call it a moral victory- and one for the bullpen- because in Tomko's first two friends and he was decidedly not The Man.  Two runs in the first on a Matt Holliday homer, three runs in the second on a Troy Tulowitzki bomb and a two run single from Ryan Spilborghs.  That set the Blue on the road to what would become a 6-2 loss to the Rockies Saturday night at Coors.  Offensively, the Dodgers lineup (sans the rest-needing Russell Martin and at-least-for-him-slightly-slumping James Loney) did little off of Rockies lefty Jeff Francis, dinking him for a couple runs over 7.2.  They had some chances to get back in it, but L.A. couldn't get it done.  As a result, they now are in a virtual tie for first in the NL West with the Diamondbacks, who having won eight straight are most decidedly getting it done these days.

BK

Not "bellyaching" in the sense of "bitching and moaning."  The 5-4 downing of the Rockies brought a smile to everyone's faces (well, except Colorado residents, but they don't get a vote).  We mean, a literal bellyache was endured while setting up victorious circumstances.   The unlucky stomach in question?  Brad Penny's.  Dude caught a case of The Midols while running out a seventh inning base hit.  Big man was more than willing to fight through the gut issues, but Stan Conte insisting on sitting him.   The scare will likely end up much ado about nothing, since the ace ain't expected to miss any starts.  It didn't even prevent Penny from entering his 13th win into a box score.  Perhaps the gut knots were a byproduct of queasy circumstances faced a mere inning earlier, when Penny saw his shutout turn into three Colorado runs and a serious pickle.  Or perhaps it was just a freak thing, another reminder of a season filled with trials and tribulations.  As Grady Little pointed out, the truly freaky thing is that after all the drama, the Dodgers are still in first.  Seriously, the man ain't lying.

Two for two.  That would be two straight Dodger pitchers forced to leave a start early, that is.  Thursday night it was Brad Penny and an abdominal cramp that ended his night in the seventh.  At least this time the Blue won the game, 5-4 over Colorado.  And there was some good news for the staff.  Takashi Saito picked up his 26th save... which means he pitched, something he hadn't done since July 18th.  And Penny lasted long enough to get his 13th win, tied for tops in the bigs.  Two hits, including a homer, for Rafael Furcal, while Juan Pierre chipped in with a pair of knocks, a run, and a stolen base.  But until everyone learns more about the state of Penny's midsection (and Derek Lowe's leg, for that matter) it'll be fun times in Nervousville for Dodger Fans. 

More on the game tomorrow.

BK

It's no secret that the insertion of James Loney into the everyday lineup has juiced the Dodger O.  It's also paid dividends on the defensive side as well, since the kid can pick it at first.  Really, you have to look pretty hard to find fault with his play.  No wonder Loney seems welded to every rumor floating around ahead of the trade deadline.  (Of course, you could say the same about most of the hot prospects currently featured on the big club or in the minors.)  Not that you can blame opposing GMs for salivating over the 23 year old Texas native.  With a swing that works to all fields, he looks set to hit over .300- maybe well over- for a long, long time.  I had a chance to speak with him during the last homestand. 

BK   

Which do you prefer first?  Okay, we'll start with the bad news.  The Dodgers fell 2-1 to the Astros last night.  Carlos Lee's 7th inning solo shot broke the game's all-squared at one status, creating a slim deficit that were the Dodgers couldn't overtake.  Crummy box score, yada yada.  But see, here's the bad news.  Starter Derek Lowe had to make an early exit during the contest, not because he was getting shelled, but due to a groin strain that left him unable to throw.   When's the sinker ball specialist due to return, you ask?  Hey, your guess is as good as anyone's, because it's currently an "MRI and see how it goes" kinda thing.  The only thing that's known for sure is that Lowe first messed up the groin warming up for his relief stint last Sunday.  They're hoping for a best case scenario for any time missed by Lowe.  As opposed to, say, the bad news they just received regarding Hong-Chih Kuo, who couldn't deal with the pain of an elbow chip any longer.  That meant time under the knife for the lefty, which means time spent away from the field.  Potentially, the rest of 2007. 

Yesterday, the Blue heartbreak was delivered in grand slam fashion by Craig Biggio.  Tonight, the long ball again came back to haunt the Dodgers, but it was Carlos Lee running the bases by his lonesome to create a 2-1 loss.  His 7th inning jack off D.J. Houlton was the third home run of the game, which happened to be the only mechanism this match saw when it came to offense generated.  For that matter, each was a solo shot.  Eric Munson in the third.  Jeff Kent in the seventh.  Lee in that frame's bottom half.  And in another uncanny instance of symmetry, both teams tallied just six hits.  Throw in one walk and pair of double plays converted per side and there's a lot of similarities throughout.  Unfortunately, the box score contains one major difference.  We'll trust that you're smart enough to figure it out on your own.

-AK

One of them 6's riding solo, however, simply marks an inning from Hell for the Dodgers, one that left them on the soiled end of a 7-4 finish against Houston.  Heading into that fateful frame, things were looking decidedly "up" for the Blue.   Spot starter Mark Hendrickson limited the 'Stros to one run and the second inning kicked off with Jeff Kent's long ball and ended with three runs in the Dodgers' pocket.  But then came the back breaker, when the Lanky Lefty put two on without recording an out and Rudy Seanez, struggling of late, came in to clean up the mess.   And by clean up, we mean "make considerably worse."  After allowing Morgan Ensberg to double in the runners Hendrickson put on base, Seanez stuffed the bases for Craig Biggio, who'd already created an emotional atmosphere before the first pitch was even tossed.  Cue even more emotion.  Biggio went all "granny" on Seanez, furthering concerns that age and heavy work might be catching up with the wily journeyman.   The notion that Seanez might need some rest is particularly problematic, considering able bodied subs aren't exactly growing on trees at the moment.  Figure out how to survive this rough patch, you figure out how to create a solid box score.

Give Craig Biggio credit.  The man has a flair for the dramatic.  On the day he announced he'd retire at season's end, Biggio launched a sixth inning grand slam off Rudy Seanez, part of a six run blow up that gave Houston a 7-4 win over the Dodgers Tuesday night at Minute Maid.  The wheels came off this one pretty fast.  Starter Mark Hendrickson was clean through five, but in the sixth- there it is again- Lance Berkman led off with a single, followed by a Carlos Lee double.  Exit lefty, enter righty... exit lead.  Fair to say it wasn't Rudy's night, at least not in an inspirational, film-a-Notre-Dame-movie sort of way.  Two hits, two walks, four runs.  Plus the two inherited runners he allowed to score.  But at least he gave Biggio one of those great, career defining moments.  Better him than Barry next week. 

More on the game tomorrow.

BK

With 17 hits, including a homer and five doubles, the L.A. attack was robust enough that most pitchers would have felt plenty of support.  But what made Monday's 10-2 win in Houston so sweet for L.A. came from a guy who went 0-5.  Chad Billingsley came up Godzilla big, going the distance for his first career complete game and helping take a little heat off a bullpen more worn down than that rock hammer Andy Dufresne used to escape from Shawshank Prison.  Even better?  He only needed 109 pitches to do it (as opposed to 113 through five), mixing in killer offspeed stuff to go with his patented heat.  Billingsley might have liked to get his shutout- lost in the ninth on a two-out Luke Scott homer- but in the end, nine innings of work was reward enough.  So check the box score to catch up on a big night for the the Dodger O- four hits for Jeff Kent, three for Nomar, three RBIs for Gonzo, a three run jack for James Loney, etc.  This space, this morning, is reserved for good mound news.   

I'll be honest- the most important thing about Monday night's 10-2 win over the Astros wasn't the win.  Sure, it's nice, if you had presented to me a hypothetical in which the Dodgers lose 1-0 but Chad Billingsley throws a complete game or the Dodgers win 10-8 but Bills goes four, I'd have taken the former and junked the game.  That's how much the bullpen needed a night off.  That Billingsley went the distance and the Dodgers won?  Break out the pinatas and party hats, because that's grounds for a serious celebration throughout the Dodger Nation.  Hell, while your at it, do an extra jig or two for Jeff Kent's four hit, two RBI night, or Nomar's three hit explosion (might I remind you, this game was on the road!).  And since I have Billingsley and James Loney, he of the essentially meaningless three run homer in the top of the ninth, on my fantasy team, I'm going to go ahead and call this quite possibly the best win of the season.  It's certainly up there, that's for sure.

More on the game tomorrow. 

BK

The Mets are right up there with the Dodgers in the race for the best record in the National League, so they probably don't need any extra help winning games.  But in Sunday's 5-4, 10-inning loss to New York, the Blue gave it to them anyway, putting to rest any notions that L.A. isn't filled with friendly and generous individuals.  (After all, they made a hero out of a guy with three Major League ABs since 2005.  That's neighborly.)  Matt Kemp, who dropped a shallow pop-up in the ninth to allow Anderson Hernandez to score the tying run, will get his fair share of the blame, but really it was a group effort.  Substitute closer Jonathan Broxton helped move Hernandez along with an untimely wild pitch (one Russell Martin perhaps should have snagged).  Other relievers, including Roberto Hernandez and D.J. Houlton, had struggles of their own in relief of a solid Eric Stults.  But with a gassed bullpen missing -- seriously, desperately missing -- Takashi Saito, shakiness has become the name of the game.  At least the box score shows another homer for Nomar, his second in three games.  Maybe the power is returning?

Whenever somebody's dressed to the nines, it means they're pulling out all the stops in pursuit of a fashion win.  Along those lines, the pursuit of a baseball win means pulling out all the stops until the nines are completed.  And unfortunately, the final frame saw the Dodgers come apart at the seams and surrender their one-run lead.  The inning got off to a bad start for Big Jon Broxton, subbing in at closer for a still-illin' Takashi Saito.  He kicked things off by allowing a Carlos Delgado single, then put himself in serious jeopardy when his wild pitch sent a pinch-running Anderson Hernandez to second base.  The jeopardy was made even serious-er upon Anderson reaching third on Paul Lo Duca's ground out.  Things  reached serious-est status when Shawn Green launched one into shallow right field, Matt Kemp misread the flight path and dropped the ball, allowing Hernandez to score.  One inning later, Chip Ambres' poked one of D.J. Houlton's pitches past Raffy Furcal and brought home Lastings Milledge. A 5-4 loss to the Mets is never any fun, but it's rarely delivered in tougher-luck form than this one.

But the players were in demand on this here Autograph Day, so there wasn't a ton of action before the game.  But I did gather a few nuggets from Grady Little.

Should things get nutty with the pitching staff this afternoon, there's a chance either Mark Hendrickson or Derek Lowe could work out of the pen, which would obviously mess with the rotation that Little projected yesterday for the Monday-Wednesday series in Houston (Bills, Hendrickson, Lowe).  He envisions Brad Penny starting the first game of the series following in Colorado, but obviously can't say for sure, given the topsy-turvy conditions he's currently weathering.  And he definitely can't predict anything beyond that.

If Little gets "five good, strong innings" from Eric Stults today, he'll consider that a more than productive outing.

Mind-boggling as it may sound, this isn't the first time that Little's dealt with such a taxed pitching staff.  Thus, it's easier to understand how he can take comfort knowing that "you get through these periods," cliched as it may sound.

 

Folks asking for Matt Kemp in a deadline trade may just want to save themselves the trouble.  At this point, an opposing GM would likely have to knock Ned Colletti over with a deal to get him to sign off.  Literally.  We're talking a blow to the head forcing unconsciousness, at which point a pen could be stuffed in his hand to complete the paperwork (with a little help, of course).  Because Kemp, as the saying goes, is looking good.  So it was during Saturday afternoon's 8-6 win over the Mets at the Ravine, when Kemp's three-run blast to center in the fourth gave the Blue a 5-4 lead after a rough start from Brad Penny put them in an early hole. Fortunately, once Penny was given the lead, he gutted it out and held onto it, aided by a little more support from his mates.  The box shows four hits, two runs and two RBIs between Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre, an RBI for Andre Ethier, and three trips to first for Wilson Betemit (don't look now, he's over .240!).  It also shows a save for Jonathan Broxton, in place of the sore Takashi Saito ... the sore-and-worried Takashi Saito. 

But at least tonight you'll be downing beer, wine, cocktails, shots, limoncellos or whatever other elixirs you knuckleheads shove down your throats to toast an 8-6 win over the Mets, as opposed to the third straight loss to those dastardly East Coasters.  The fourth inning, in particular, turned fans the right kinda Blue, a five-run explosion that built the foundation for a victorious Saturday.  The frame kicked off with back-to-back one-out singles from James Loney and Wilson Betemit.  Then came Ribbie Fest 2007.  Andre Ethier brought Loney across the plate with a knock to right, then he and Betemit received round-trip tickets from Matt Kemp, who made his reservations using neither cash nor points but rather a three-run belt to left-center.  "Left it up a little bit, you know," shrugged Kemp, describing Jorge Sosa's slider.  "I did what I needed to do with it."

OK, that might be a little strong, since Grady Little is indeed talking to us media types.  But when it comes to the issue of which pitchers are available on a daily basis (a topic where Little's already gone the cryptic route), Little is now remaining decidedly mum.  "That's something we're not going to talk about before the game anymore.  There's really no need.  Why do you need to know?"  Initially, Little sounded somewhat vexed by the inquiry (and I can't say I blame him, since reemphasizing for the umpteenth time how thin your staff's grown is likely fun along the lines of anesthesia-free root canal surgery), but he went on to explain the practical aspect of keeping info close to the vest.  "A lot of times, it can become beneficial to the other team when they know these things."  So does that mean Takashi Saito isn't ready, asked a reporter who apparently wasn't listening or didn't take Little at his word.  "We'll see" and a shrug was all the writer received.

Taking a hint, I opted not to ask about the availablity of Jason Schmidt. 

Roberto Hernandez has been around for a while.  A long while.  So he knows as much as the next guy that things can get ugly PDQ.  Q enough that anyone who left their seats in the top of the eighth Friday night for a Dodger Dog or popcorn or any other delicious treats likely missed the sequence that turned a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 loss to the Mets.  (In a perfect world, of course, Grady Little wouldn't have used Hernandez after the 42-year-old made his Dodger debut the night before.  But anyone who has watched the Blue over the last week -- Thursday night in particular -- knows this world isn't perfect.)  By the time that hungry fan hit the concourse, Jose Reyes had doubled.  Found the perfect concession stand?  Hernandez hurries his throw on a Marlon Anderson sac, whipping it past James Loney at first.  Reyes scores, 2-1 Mets.  Moved a spot forward -- they don't go fast -- in line?  Carlos Beltran deposits a ball over the wall in right center.  4-1. 

Before Friday night's game, Grady Little joked that after Roberto Hernandez, L.A.'s newest reliever, escaped Thursday's Abuse-a-Thon without allowing a run, it was "an instant love affair."  Little was also quick to point out that in this game things can turn on a dime.  "There's a lot of love/hate relationships in baseball," he said, laughing.  Friday's 4-1 loss to the Mets illustrated his point, because on this night, at least, the Hernandez honeymoon came to an abrupt end.  Entering in the eighth with the Dodgers locked in a 1-1 tie, Hernandez was greeted with a double by Mets leadoff man Jose Reyes.  Breaking out the small ball fundamentals handbook, Willie Randolph sent former Dodger (isn't every Met?) Marlon Anderson up to sacrifice.  Hernandez fielded the ball cleanly, but the throw was anything but.  It skipped past James Loney, around Jeff Kent and far enough away that Reyes scored easily. 

That was bad.  What came next was worse.  Two pitches later, Carlos Beltran deposited a Hernandez offering over the wall in right-center to account for the final score.  On a positive note, Hernandez retired the next three guys in order.  Too little, too late, too bad for starter Brett Tomko. 

Asked how he felt about Roberto Hernandez's scoreless Dodger debut Thursday night -- about the only positive anyone could draw for the pitching staff after a game so awful it made small children cry and killed off a bit of every Dodger fan's soul -- Grady Little was understandably amorous.  "Any time you have a game like that game was going last night, any pitcher that goes out there and puts a zero on the board for the other team, I felt it's an instant love affair." 

Given how things have gone, it's fair to say the guy hasn't been in love much these days.  "There's a lot of love-hate relationships in baseball," Little said, smiling.  But seriously folks, "There's no doubt in my mind that if we continue to swing the bats like we are and score runs like we're scoring, we're going to win a lot of games we score nine runs in.  Take my word.  Last night was just not one of those nights."

So with that in mind, let's talk about all the things that went right for the Blue last night in their 13-9 loss to the Mets.  There was a scoreless inning from newest Dodger Roberto Hernandez.  Nice to see.  How about two hits, a homer and three runs scored for Matt Kemp!  Three hits each for Gonzo and James Loney!  A 5-11 night between Juan Pierre and Rafael Furcal!  They chased sure-fire HOFer Tom Glavine before the end of the third!

Unfortunately, that's about all the optimism we can muster this morning.  Despite a big show from the Dodger bats -- 19 hits, including two homers and a pair of doubles -- the big story was the pitching staff.  As in, stop us if you've heard this, the overworked bullpen.  Starter Derek Lowe, reliable all season, was mistake-prone from the start and didn't see the fourth.  Not exactly a winning prescription for a bullpen that needs rest more than the Brits need Colgate.  With Takashi Saito unavailable and Jonathan Broxton needing rest, the box shows four more relievers saw action, including Sunday's scheduled starter Mark Hendrickson and the overworked Rudy Seanez.  There just aren't many combinations that can work if starters don't give a team some innings, and right now it's not happening for L.A.

That headline is not a commentary on the performance of the Dodgers in their 13-9 loss to the Mets Thursday night at the Ravine.  No, I'm talking more about the state of the L.A. bullpen, which in an appropriate-for-summertime-grilling-season metaphor has gone from rare to medium-rare (a little pink in the middle) to medium-well (get it off the fire!) to shoe-leather-overcooked, better used as a doorstop than main course.  Tonight may have been the most damaging of the recent bullpen-chewing slate of games.  It's one thing when Mark Hendrickson or Brett Tomko can't provide innings.  But when Derek Lowe needs to be lifted for a pinch-hitter in the third inning?  That's a different story.  Lowe was flame-broiled by New York to the point you expected him to do his post-game interviews wearing a crown and clutching a Double Whopper with fries.  Nine runs (eight earned), 10 hits, three walks. 

For those of you keeping score, he allowed more hits than he recorded outs.  Never a good ratio.

I mean, when you get a chance to talk pro wrestling- especially what I call The Golden Age, with Roddy Piper, Big John Studd, Andre the Giant, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Paul Orndorff, etc.- with Rudy Seanez before the game, you take it, right?  The man knows him some wrasslin', too.  There was even talk of George "The Animal" Steele and (one of my personal favorites) The MIssing Link (parts unknown, weight unknown). 

And by the way, in case you were wondering, he said Jonathan Broxton would probably be the toughest to eliminate in a clubhouse battle royal.  Not necessarily based on pure strength- though Brox ain't exactly a pushover- but because he's so damn big it would take perhaps a triple team and a couple steel chairs to take him out.  Only Mark Hendrickson has the reach to get his arms around him, and Seanez, no insult intended, wondered if the lefty has the upper body strength to get it done.  Then we talked a little guitar, and of the marketing genius of Gene Simmons. 

All in all, it was a full day. 

The box shows the Dodgers didn't score 10+ runs and pile up 17 or 18 hits.  Fortunately, neither did the Phillies.  After two video-game-style blowouts to start the series, the Blue and Red played an actual, run-of-the-mill baseball game Wednesday afternoon -- without grotesque fantasy numbers and pitchers sacrificed to the Gods of Bullpen Preservation.  Best of all?  The Dodgers won, 5-4.  And in a coincidence that can only be described as journalistically convenient, they were led by homers from Andre Ethier (three-run) and Luis Gonzalez (solo).  Master and apprentice.  Teacher and student.  Toss in some of the typically solid bullpen work in relief of a pitch-happy Chad Billingsley -- we're talking 113 pitches in five innings -- and all those people who skipped work to visit the Ravine went home happy.  Ethier has attributed his recent hot streak to tutelage from guys like Gonzo and hitting coach Bill Mueller, but the Dodgers seem to have figured out this whole veteran/young guy, everyone-gives-a-little-to-get-a-lot style of play. 

The win kept the Dodgers a game in front of San Diego in the NL West, but both teams are slowly starting to gain an edge in regards to the wild card. 

The Dodgers have never selected an umpire as "Player of the Game," but Wegner deserves some serious consideration.  Not that Wegner's actually on the Blue payroll (and by saying that, I just absolved myself from any libel lawsuit).  But by leaving his thigh in the perfect spot to block a pitch down the middle after Russell Martin stepped away from the plate to receive Takashi Saito's pitch out that never arrived, Wegner kept the ball close enough within Martin's reach that he could prevent a base running Michael Bourn from reaching third after swiping second.  That relative cushion allowed Saito to convert the next two outs in simpler fashion, pick up his career high 25th save and ensure a 5-4 Dodger win.  Grady Little shrugged off the gaffe between Martin and Saito as simply a "mix up in signs," similar to how he took today's win on the heels of last night's pasting.  "We talked to them about it and told them to hold onto it as long as they could, so it would carry over to the next two or three games," deadpanned Little when asked if he said anything to his squad before today's action.  But all kidding aside, there's no point to moping in Little's eyes, because it's a long season with a lot of box scores.  "There's a lot of games during the season and not all of them turn out your way, so you better be ready to turn the page every single day." 

Then prepare to scream like a 12-year-old girl who received an advanced copy of "High School Musical 2," because your man is in the house.  To make room for the venerable (and by venerable I mean old) hurler, the Dodgers sent Tony Abreu back to Vegas.  Hernandez is just arriving from Sin City after spending some time at home after being released by the Indians.  Although Hernandez admits he was getting used to kicking it at home, the competitive itch (and his wife's desire to get him out of the house) prompted him to find work with another club.  He's also determined not to do too much while on the mound, a desire that got the best of him in Cleveland.

Woah, there goes another Philadelphia hit!  No, that was just a car backfiring.  But you'll forgive Blue Notes if we're still a little shellshocked from the 15-3 pasting the Phillies put on the Blue on Tuesday night at the Ravine.  It was, from the get-go, an ugly scene.  Starter Mark Hendrickson, perhaps a little off after being pressed into weekend pen duties, wasn't fooling anyone in the Philadelphia lineup.  He was tagged for three runs in the first and four in the fourth.  Aside from a 1-2-3 third, Hendrickson was never out of trouble.  Unfortunately, the cavalry, represented by Eric Stults, wasn't much better.  In an effort to avoid wasting his bullpen's big guns in a potential blowout, Grady Little allowed the lefty to hit with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth. Stults struck out, then rewarded his skip by getting pummeled for eight hits and four runs without eating as many innings as the brass would have liked. (EDITOR'S NOTE: On a normal day, this would be a tailor-made blog topic. Unfortunately, with the Blue taking the field early today, there's a game to cover. Still, feel free to debate this one -- we had a lot of fun discussing it in the press box last night.  Lots of different opinions.) 

As most of you know, beat guys will write their game report throughout the evening.  Generally, I wait until closer to the end to start because a) strange things can happen, and b) we're not always doing your conventional game writeup in this space (we have to reserve room for important issues like phones, socks wrapped around a player's head, conspiracy theories, obscure pop-culture references, etc.).  But I'm not going to lie -- it's currently 9:17, the Dodgers are down 11-1 in the bottom of the fifth, and I'm going to go ahead and get this bad boy rolling.  As we (metaphorically) speak, in what is now the top of the sixth, the Phillies have banged out 19 hits, torching starter Mark Hendrickson for seven runs and 11 hits (on a positive note, he didn't walk anyone!) in three-plus, and sacrificial lamb Eric Stults for six hits and four earned in only two innings ... wait!  Three, now that he's escaped the sixth.  And finally, mercifully, there is action in the Dodgers' bullpen.  As you might suspect, the Dodgers are in full Pen Preservation Mode, trying not to burn too many arms before tomorrow's game and the Mets series to follow.

Basically, this one had a white-towel vibe after Grady Little sent Stults to hit in the fourth, down 8-1 with one out and the bases loaded (very defensible and, for what it's worth, what I would have done -- I doubt that's comforting to Little -- but sure to be a conversation starter Wednesday).   

Which is more than the Atlanta Falcons can say, and they've barely been around the block, relatively speaking.  And for one of those canine-friendly Dodgers, it's a big night.  I'm talking about Mike Lieberthal, who will be making one of his Halley's Comet/socially-responsible-decision-from-Lindsay Lohan rare starts tonight against his former mates.  (Clearly, Grady Little is trying to keep the guy fresh for October, even if it means running Russell Martin into the ground.)  At this point, his lack of playing time -- tonight will be his 10th start of the season -- has become a running joke in the clubhouse.  The last time he started, Lieberthal's teammates decorated his locker with balloons and flowers in mock celebration.  Little made it clear that Martin won't be out of the lineup often, so tonight, when a shoddier version of the same treatment appeared at Lieberthal's locker, Little questioned whether or not his teammates were being a little stingy.  "I think (the balloon) was left over.  It was a little deflated," he said. "What I'm trying to say is whoever's buying those balloons and stuff in there for him, they're not going to go broke if they do it every single game he starts the rest of the way.  So they don't really need to reuse them; they can get new ones each time and still feel plenty financially secure."      

Baseball is a team sport.  It takes 25 guys, all pulling in the same direction with a common purpose and shared sense of self for a team to succeed.  There is no I.  The only name that matters is the one on the front of the jersey, screw the ones on the back.  All for one, one for all!  No one member of the collective is any more important than another, no one player more key than the next. 

So with that in mind, here's today's QOTD:  What player do you see as the key to L.A.'s second half success?  Who's that guy who can step up and push them past the finish line?

Forced jokey intro aside, obviously more than one Dodger is going to have to perform if the Blue are going anywhere.  Jeff Kent's recent surge needs to continue.  It wouldn't hurt for Nomar to pick it up in parks outside the L.A. metropolitan area.  Brad Penny and Derek Lowe need to keep being Brad Penny and Derek Lowe.  But in my mind, there's one semi-wild card from whom a big second half pushes the Dodgers from a good team to one that could potentially haul home some important hardware:  Chad Billingsley.

Coming out of the break last year, the Dodgers lost 13 of 14 and had most Blue faithful ready to do something drastic, be it go lemming off the nearest cliff or curl up in a ball with a month's worth of cheap vodka.  This year, however, the drinks are flowing for a different reason.  The Dodgers continued their undefeated post-All Star run Monday at the Ravine, pasting the Phillies 10-3.  Not that we're paying attention to this sort of thing, but Brad Penny was strong in his first start out of the break- again, refer to last year for uglier times.  He may not want to talk about it, but his seven strong innings en route to his NL leading 11th win of the year were a comfort to fans, especially after his first six pitches gave everyone serious (and unpleasant) flashbacks.  Offensively, Penny got all the support he needed from Matt Kemp and Jeff Kent, part of a ten hit, two-homer attack at the expense of Phillies starter Jamie Moyer, who as the box shows took one (ten, actually) for the team even when things got ugly.

The win, a season high fifth straight for the Blue, kept them a game ahead of San Diego in the West.   

'Cause the Philadelphia skip left his starter in to get beat up in a bad way in Monday's 10-3 win over the Phillies.  Real bad.  I'm talking ten hits, two three run homers, and an unsightly ten- ten!- earned runs.  By the time Manuel showed a little mercy and pulled him, his ERA, 4.43 when he entered, was pushing 5.00.  Not easy to do in mid-July if you've been in the rotation all year.  The Dodgers didn't do any damage after Moyer left, but they really didn't need to.  A night after Philly lost their 10,000th game in franchise history, the L.A. started them on the next 10K. 

As you might suspect on a night where the Blue cruised to their season high fifth straight win, there was much to be happy about.  Start with Brad Penny, who after allowing a run in the Philadelphia half of the first put them in lockdown for his next six frames.  One post-All Star start, one post-All Star win.  Good news for those of you- and I know you're out there- worried about an '06 style second half collapse.  Toss in another big game from Jeff Kent (homer, three RBI, diving stop) and Matt Kemp (homer, three RBI, diving catch) and it's fair to say this game couldn't have been drawn up any better if you swapped out Harold's purple crayon for blue and let him go to town. 

So while it's always exciting when big news breaks- perhaps a gigantic trade, a hiring or firing, an overturned laundry cart, clubhouse fight, or infestation of feral cats- I'm almost happy to report that it's business as usual at Dodger Stadium tonight.  I'm not quite back in game shape yet, and don't think I could have handled it.  Initially, I thought I had uncovered the big scoop of new chairs in the Dodgers clubhouse, but it turns out those arrived during the last homestand while I was out of town.  They're swank, but not news (and really, their news value before wasn't exactly earth shattering to begin with).  I can report a happy ending to Joe Beimel's phone saga.  The lefty is a proud owner of a new iPhone.  Fair to say that the pair have really hit it off and spent some quality time together since he picked it up before the trip north.  While sitting at his locker, phone in hand, (I believe) Randy Wolf saw him and cracked, "The wedding is in August."  Beimel shrugged.  "I can't really argue." 

It seems to have been a love-at-first-sight kind of thing.  Beimel said he even watched a few tutorials before it arrived, just so he could work it better.  I asked if iPhone was as cool as the commercial made it look.  "Oh yeah," he said.  You feel cool using it, and it's easy to operate.   "We had the weekend to spend some time together," he smile.  "Me and phone." 

Given his performance of late, Dodger fans had every reason to fear the words "Brett Tomko, starting pitcher" as they might killer bees or bear attack.  But with pitchers dropping like flies around the clubhouse, the Blue had little choice but to turn to Tomko Sunday afternoon.  Maybe it's because the Giants are terrible, or perhaps it's due to L.A.'s almost scary dominance over the Giants in San Francisco.  Or maybe Tomko is turning it around.  Whatever the cause, Tomko held it together over five innings as L.A. completed the Giant sweep, 5-3.  With the victory, the Blue now have more wins than any team in the National League, and a one game lead over the Pads in the West.  As the box shows, Tomko surrendered a single earned run in his five innings, and was buoyed by strong bullpen (a nice return to normalcy) and contributions up and down the lineup.  Three hits from Matt Kemp and Russell Martin, a pair from Rafael Furcal, and two more trips to first for Juan Pierre, who is (knock on wood) off to a good second-half start.  The Dodgers even squeezed home a pair of runs (one courtesy of a Noah Lowry bobble), and it didn't hurt that once again they clamped down on a slumping Barry Bonds, though he did manage to make solid contact with a laundry cart in the Giants clubhouse after the game.

Not a bad cap to a nice weekend, really.

So many times this season, Derek Lowe has cobbled together a quality effort, only to find the ensuing Blue offense asleep at the wheel.  But during yesterday's 8-7 win over the Giants, Lowe left the game spotted four runs after six innings and appeared on the verge of an oft elusive "W" next to his name.  Apparently, the Dodgers simply can't have that, because Chin-Hui Tsao entered the game in the eighth and promptly pulled all the feathers out of Lowe's cushion.  In two thirds of an inning, Tsao loaded the bases and served up a granny to Randy Winn.  The Dodger lead now a precarious 7-6 in the ninth, Takashi Saito- whose story is worth singing about despite any outcome- proceeded to blow his second straight save opportunity.  Free extra baseball ensued and the outcome appeared rather ominous for the Dodgers after failing to convert a based loaded, no outs gimme.  Fortunately, the dozenth inning proved rather prosperous, with Raffy Furcal sacrificing himself to send James Loney across the plate and Rudy Seanez putting the finishing touches on Mark Hendrickson's clutch tossing to create a triumphant box score.

Whew. 

What looked like a second consecutive Bayside cakewalk got downright frightening for the Dodgers Saturday afternoon, but in the end they still got the win, 8-7 in 12 innings.  It was, I believe, their 79th consecutive win in San Francisco.  Give or take 69.  When Juan Pierre trotted home on a Jeff Kent single to cap the Dodgers' half of the seventh for a 7-2 lead, it looked like high quality garlic fries and spot on weather would be the only precious memories Giants fans would take from the park.  That was before Chin-Hui Tsao coughed up a Randy Winn grand slam in the eighth and Takashi Saito blew only his third save of the season in the ninth.  Two innings, five San Francisco runs, tie game, free baseball!  Fortunately for L.A., Rafael Furcal plated James Loney on a 12th inning sac fly, then Rudy Seanez shut the door on the Giants in the bottom half for his first save of the season.  Kudos bestowed upon winning pitcher Mark Hendrickson for his two scoreless innings of relief, Derek Lowe for six solid frames of his own, Jeff Kent and his four RBIs, and Wilson Betemit for his quartet of hits.

More on the game tomorrow.

BK 

The Dodgers maintained a steady if tenuous control of their match against the Giants for eight innings.  Then came the ninth, which turned the affair into a 9-1 romp/laugher.  That final frame featured a six-run rally that blew the doors open, highlighted by Andre Ethier's double that emptied the previously stuffed bases.  Perhaps he was influenced by the peer pressure on display by fellow wet behind the ears teammates, putting up three hits to match James Loney and Russell Martin's individual tallies.  And since all the cool kids were playing well, Chad Billingsley felt the urge to copycat, putting in six innings of shutout ball and inducing a certain surly outfielder to ground into a double play.  Big doings to create a big box score?  Nah.  All in a day's work for the youth movement that the enemies up North seriously envies, especially when it comes to taking control of the West.

Callback joke alert!  But what ain't funny (aside from said joke) are the stakes at play with the Dodgers' second half of baseball now officially underway.  The Dodgers are right in the thick of a tight NL West race and we've officially reached "every game counts and not just in a cliched, Knute Rockne-kinda way" status.  How to make the most of this time?  For starters, the offense needs to kick into high gear on a consistent basis and at more than 2.7 GPA-quality.  Of course, tip-top wood can't get a team over the top unless it has complimenting solid arms, an area where the Dodgers have found themselves hurting  -- literally and figuratively -- of late.  How badly have injuries depleted the Dodger rotation?  The heavily booed Brett Tomko finds himself st