He's old, he's new, he's (on) borrowed (time), he's Blue

"He's a strike thrower.  He changes speeds.  He didn't give up many hits until that sixth inning when they came in a rapid bunch with a lot of total yardage, but his general game is that he'll give up hits, but when he has runners on base he'll make pitches and get out of those jams," Grady Little said.  "He knows how to make a big pitch when he needs to.  He has his whole career." 

I asked Little if a guy like Wells can get by on experience and attitude, which at the very least seem to be a couple major ingredients of his winning recipe.  "It means an awful lot to a pitcher when he's got the kind of credentials and the name, and pitching against his ex-team.  It means a lot.  They hit some balls.  They hit a lot of balls to the warning track that were caught, but he was just missing the sweet part of the bat when he needed to."

Don't underestimate that whole "pitching against his ex-team" thing, either.  Talking to Wells after the game it was pretty clear Boomer wanted this one.  He acknowledged that he didn't throw well for San Diego.  Nor did he say they let him go because of the contract incentives that would have paid him a bonus for every additional start he made.  "I pitched poorly, so I can't blame them.  I've got to blame myself."  But Wells also thought the Pads bounced him too early.  "I didn't give up on myself.  They gave up on me, but I didn't give up on myself.  I knew that eventually I was going to come out of it, but I never got the opportunity.  But now I'm showing it.  Maybe they're having second thoughts about it.  I hope so."

"It's just tough.  I enjoyed playing there.  It's a great bunch of guys over there.  It's a solid ballclub."

Wells enjoyed his two hits, too.  Granted, running the bases took a little out of him, but even for an old guy, a pair of knocks feels good.  He didn't worry about being pulled for a pinch hitter in the seventh despite his red hot bad, even though it could have been his first three hit game.  "Coulda," Wells laughed.  "We'll keep it at that.  Coulda.  But I'll keep the little clipping for tomorrow.  I'll cut it out, and that will be a special moment.  Out of all the memorabilia I have, a little piece of paper is probably one of my most prized possessions.  That was when I faced Ron Guidry, one of my idols growing up.  My first start was against Ron Guidry, so that little piece of paper means a lot to me.  This one might rank right up there.  Two hits, man.  Wow!"

Hopefully he won't have to slide much more this year.  "I don't know if he's sliding or falling down," Little said.  "He did put on a little exhibition out there on the bases."

Wells had plenty more to say, and honestly it's too much for a postgame report.  But we'll make sure the audio gets into tomorrow's posts.  Definitely worth a listen. 

Amidst the love for Wells, some major kudos should be reserved for a Dodgers O that torched Greg Maddux from moment one.  Three hits and four RBIs for James Loney, a trio of stolen bases and runs scored for Rafael Furcal, a hit, walk, stolen base, and run scored for Juan Pierre.  And the work by the L.A. pen (scoreless innings from Scott Proctor, Jonathan Broxton, and Takashi Saito) shouldn't be ignored. 

The Dodgers did what had to be done, and now sit only a game and a half behind the Padres in the race for the Wild Card.  Don't make those early October vacation plans just yet.

More on the game tomorrow.

BK