You may, however, want to make your way to the local tavern to drink off Sunday's 11-2 season-ending loss to the Giants, where in a few hours a bartender can tell you the same thing.  The writing was on the wall in the first, when San Francisco plated Rajai Davis on a Randy Wolf double.  Sure, the score wasn't out of control at that point, but unfortunately the aforementioned writing said, "The Giants will hang a five spot on the Blue in the fourth, drop another three on them in the sixth and a deuce for good measure in the ninth."  And, as we know, the writing never lies.  On a positive note, in the footnotes, the wall mentioned there'd be bacon in the press box for the media to put on their hot dogs.  So the wall taketh away, but the wall also giveth. 

All hail the wall. 

With extras on Saturday, no BP scheduled for Sunday and a final day that matters only to the Vegas crowd, there isn't much by way of big stories to report.  There will be plenty of time to start with the postmortems on the '07 season -- something we'll kick off this week -- but for the Blue the process began today.  Or at least the process of talking about it.  Grady Little, Ned Colletti and Frank McCourt all met with the media before the game.  It's the same group that will lead the Dodgers into next season (McCourt confirmed that both Little and Colletti will return in '08) and will be entrusted to figure out what went wrong this year, and more important, to channel their inner handymen and fix it. 

The big theme of the day?  Disappointment.  Good to know they agree with the fans on this one.   

Don't ever accuse the Los Angeles Dodgers of not caring about their fans.  Not only did they pull off a 6-5 win over the Giants last night, but knowing that Blue fans will soon be without their baseball, they took it upon themselves to gift them an extra frame to enjoy.  If that's not athletes giving back, we don't know what is.  The evening was ugly for starter Chad Billingsley, who lasted a scant 1.1 innings before allowing six hits, three walks, four runs and himself to be removed in favor of Mark Hendrickson.  A rough outing, to be sure, but the only thing more certain than that statement would be Grady Little's faith in Bills' skills and development.  But the youngster's derriere was covered by his teammates, whether you're talking relief work, defense (Matt Kemp gunning down Kevin Frandsen at home) or the hot Dodger bats, exemplified by a pinch-hitting Luis Gonzalez.  Entering the game in the bottom of the 10th with one out and Andy LaRoche on second.  A veteran comes through with a knock to deep center.  A youngster crosses the plate.  The winning box score formula for years to come ... except for the part about the veterans.  While a sage presence will obviously be scattered about here and there, their general presence next season might be as common as during these last few games.  As for the presences of Grady Little and Ned Colletti, time will tell (and possibly soon).

Which is why Dodger fans can take more than just a little solace in tonight's 6-5 extra-innings win over the Giants.  Sure, the game barely equaled a hill of beans when measured in terms of tangible worth (i.e., postseason implications).  Still, it clinched a series victory against the hated ones, which does a Dodger fan good when trying to reconcile a disappointing season.  Perhaps Chad Billingsley can use that knowledge to reconcile a disappointing final start.  Whatever rationale he used, he definitely had plenty of time to think it over, since he was back in the dugout PDQ.  Six hits, three walks and four earned runs over 1.1 innings tends to earn a hurler the fast hook.  Thankfully, those following in his footsteps (particularly long man Mark Hendrickson) limited to the Giants to only one extra run over the next 8.9 innings, allowing the hot Dodger bats to create enough runs to crack open a see-saw battle in their favor.  Juan Pierre alone contributed three ribbies, but the biggest run of all came from a pinch-hitting Luis Gonzalez.  Bottom of the tenth.  One run.  Andy LaRoche on second.  Single to center.  LaRoche crosses the plate.  A box score worth the three hour, forty-two minute wait.   

Just as he reported yesterday, there ain't jack going on before a game these days.  I mean, nada.  Nothing particularly interesting to talk about.  Nothing particularly intriguing to analyze (I think you can figure out on your own why Delywn Young is in the lineup).  Zip in the way of material.  Save a few guys  scattered around the clubhouse signing a bunch of pics and gear (which is every bit as enthralling as it sounds), there would have been nothing for me to watch except for the USC-Washington game on the picture box.   And even that wasn't all that fun for this blogging Trojan alum, since USC is playing like dookie right now (as I type this sentence, John David Booty threw a "pick-six").  14-14.  Of course, Washington is universally recognized as a powerhouse, what with their 2-2 record and all.

When a guy who's had a David Wells-esque career takes the mound for what might end up his last time in a professional baseball uni, it's safe to say most baseball fans would like to see him go out a high note.  If it happens to be a guy who's had an actual David Wells career, even better.  In the case of last night's 8-3 win over the Giants, Wells' note may not have been "high" in a traditional sense, but it was pitch perfect enough to sound sweet to a Dodger fans' ear.  In what could be a swan song, Boomer put forth six solid, workmanlike innings, keeping his club in the game and the "W" within reach of his name.  From there, the kids (and even a few "adults") took care of business.  James Loney has  absolutely dominated throughout September, which makes him cranking a long ball for his 32nd RBI of the month more impressive than shocking.  But in the end, the story was really about Wells, who can now send himself off in winning fashion, should he choose to call it a day in baseball.  For those into collecting inexpensive memorabilia, it might be worth printing up a copy of the box score. 

For those of you who figured the Blue were done winning for '07, shame on you for your lack of faith.  With their 8-3 victory over the Giants Friday night, the Dodgers not only gave themselves and their fans something to smile about, but ensured they'll finish the season no worse than a .500 team.  Small victories both (the latter not really constituting a victory, per se), but about the best that can be had now that the damage has been done.  The big news, other than James Loney's 15th home run of the season (giving him 32 RBIs in September and the fourth highest single month total in team history), was the performance of David Wells. 

Granted, as a society we've been saying this for about the last six or seven years now, but it's never been more true that Friday night could very well have been Boomer's last appearance on a big league mound.  And good for him, he went out a winner.  Six innings, three runs (two earned), and a scattered- when you win, they're scattered- seven hits.  Good enough for his ninth win of the season, and fourth as a Dodger.  Not surprisingly, Wells spoke at length to the media after it was done, and we'll try to get that to you this weekend. 

More on the game tomorrow.

BK

(When the time comes to kick off a totally meaningless three game, season capping series between the fourth and fifth place teams in a division, the term "important news" in relation to ballpark scuttlebutt becomes an extremely relative term.  Bear that in mind as you read what follows.)

Given the lineup changes we've seen over the last ten days or so, unusual sights on the field are always a little more intriguing.  Consider the motley crew (as opposed to the Motley Crue) taking grounders at short during B.P.  You had your Chin-Lung Hu. No surprise there.  Ramon Martinez.  Makes sense.  Nomar Garciaparra.  Retro is in.  Why not?  From there, it gets more interesting.  Luis Gonzalez?  Well, he played some third base back in the day, remember?  Mike Lieberthal?  He's probably got the freshest legs on the team.  But my personal favorite was Takashi Saito.  Much to the delight of his teammates, Saito, while able to pick it reasonably well, seemed to struggle with the throw.  He bounced a couple, threw wide once or twice, and generally found it difficult to get the ball to Mike Sweeney at first on a line.

"He was throwing sliders," Sweeney laughed. 

Give the Dodgers a little credit.  Last night's 10-4 loss to the Rockies, their third straight and ninth of their last 10 games, serves as proof positive that they're more or less unstoppable in this regard.  More  decidedly "stoppable," however, would be Esteban Loaiza.  The waiver-wire-claimed righty continued to struggle in Blue, lasting just 3.2 innings on the mound before reinforcement was required.   As has been the case this season, Loaiza thinks the performance would have been different had the home runs (in this particular game, a pair) not occurred.  So what's causing the rash of long balls?  Depends on who you ask.  But whether you agree with Loaiza (it's a leg thing) or his Skip (it's an arm thing), the bottom line is that the team is very much looking forward to seeing what the guy can contribute to a box score at (hopefully) 100% next season.

Not that I predicted the exact score of tonight's 10-4 loss to Colorado before the first pitch was tossed.  I'm not that dude Matthew McConaughey played in "Two for the Money," nor do I claim to be the second coming of Kreskin.  I mean, the final could have easily been 11-5, Rockies.  Or 3-0.  4-1.  21-1.  The particulars themselves were definitely something of a surprise for me.  But the outcome in broad strokes?  Not so much.  I'm not trying to be cynical, but let's be honest.  Tonight's reverse-brooming box score was the Rockies' seventh straight win over this club.  They've won eight of the last 10, boast a 12-6 record against the Blue in 2007 and a trip back to early April is required to relive the last time the Dodgers won consecutive contests against this NL West rival.  Combine the visitors' 11-game winning streak with the Dodgers dropping nine of their last 10, and it ain't a shock this marks the first season the Rockies will finish ahead of the Ravine Crew in the standings. 

My pregame report didn't save, meaning the whole thing is erased.  And since I wouldn't finish rewriting it until probably the fourth inning (which really screws with the whole "pre" element), I'm just gonna give you guys the lineups and provide a new thread.  Sorry about that.  It's more than a little aggravating, to say the least.

-- AK

Tonight's lineups

Rockies:
Kazuo Matsui - 2B
Troy Tulowitzki - SS
Matt Holliday - LF
Todd Helton - 1B
Garrett Atkins - 3B
Brad Hawpe - RF
Ryan Spillbourghs - CF
Yorvit Torrealba - C
Franklin Morales - P

Dodgers
Pierre - CF
Young - LF
Kemp - RF
Loney - 1B
Martin - C
LaRoche - 3B
Valdez - 2B
Hu - SS
Loaiza - P

Clever, huh?

Last night, after dissecting what he felt was a poor performance on the mound in '07, Derek Lowe spoke to the assembled media about the season in general, what went wrong down the stretch -- perhaps you've heard there's been some turmoil -- and, most importantly, how it can't happen next year.  And while normally Lowe is about as grounded and serious as your average fourth-grader, he was very frank Wednesday night.  Many of his comments echo things he said earlier in the week but are worth reading again. 

Click below the jump for the quoteage. 

-- BK

Not the god-awful Keanu-Hackman flick, mind you.  That's a memory that should be buried and repressed at all costs.  We're talking the Replacements, one of the most influential bands of the '80s.  What they represented was an alternative to the music found on mainstream radio.  And during last night's 2-0 loss to the Rockies, the Dodgers fielded what some might consider an alternative to mainstream lineups, featuring names like Valdez, Moeller, Hu and Young (the latter two getting some shout outs from their fearless leader).  The folks would recognize Derek Lowe, who continued his bad run of "timing is everything."   Seven runs, two runs allowed and very little to show for it.  Unfortunately for the sinker specialist, Wednesday's box score represents a distinct "same as it ever was" feeling.  After the game, Lowe refused to feel sorry for himself or point fingers, just express hope for a better and brighter 2008. 

An alternative to bitching, if you will.

Given that Derek Lowe has spent much of the season getting all the support of a MoveOn.org rep at an NRA rally, there was something almost comforting about L.A.'s 2-0 loss to Colorado on Wednesday night.  Sure, it's disappointing to see the Blue drop their ninth game in 10 tries, but don't focus on that.  Instead, think of the harmony and balance that comes from completing the circle.  From going out as you came in.  From ...

... OK, I give up.  Lowe, who has watched his ERA get all swoll (as our friend Tropp likes to say) during a rough second half, capped off his season with a solid start.  Seven innings, two runs, five hits, seven punchouts.  And, as the title of the post implies and the score confirms, he got no run support from his mates, who left eight on base and (obviously) were shut out with RISP.  Like I said, it's oddly comforting.  Or like a baseball version of the Stockholm Syndrome.  Either way, it's a tidy microcosm of the season (or at least a healthy portion of it).

We've officially reached the point in the season where covering the games feels like being a seventh-grader at the middle-school mixer.  Everyone stands awkwardly, not sure what to say (all the good questions have been used up at this point), and the conversation is forced.  And that's just in the dugout, talking to Grady.  In the clubhouse, it's all crickets and tumbleweeds.  I don't know if they have cameras in there, but if ever there was a good time to rifle through a guy's wallet, that would have been it.  There weren't enough guys in uniform to bust you.  There was a little more loitering at the end of media availability, but at least initially we outnumbered the guys in uniform. 

It'll pick up on Sunday during the Annual Media/Player Indian Leg Wrestling Tournament.  That's always an event.  I know I've been training.* 

I was actually going to write something in response to Bill Plaschke's column this morning about Matt Kemp and the prospects that he might end up moving in a deal.  Good thing Molly Knight, a friend of ours from ESPN and a native and proud Angelino, was sufficiently outraged to do it first, freeing up the rest of my morning (ha ha).  BK

Earlier today this newspaper ran a column from Bill Plaschke that all but blamed Matt Kemp for the Dodgers' free-fall into fourth place, and suggested that club officials will consider trading him for a veteran in the offseason.  Why?  Because the amiable Jeff Kent told some reporters that during this, the sunset of his career, some of the young players don't understand how to be professional or how to manufacture runs, and alluded to his belief that they don't know how to respect veterans like him.

By defending themselves in the media after Kent's barbed comments, rookies James Loney and Kemp unwittingly cast themselves as targets in the media's assault on youth.  For reasons unknown to Dodger fans everywhere, certain veteran newspaper reporters snuggled up to the curmudgeonly Kent with boxes of Kleenex and abandoned puppies, and sharpened their pens to eviscerate the very young players whose performances have kept the team out of last place. 

The Dodger youth movement hasn't gotten old; Luis Gonzalez (40), Nomar Garciaparra (34, brittle) and Kent (39) have.

Five games and counting, to be exact.  Last night's 9-7 loss to the Rockies took what was already a minuscule shot of making the postseason and did a slamdance all over it.   The Blue actually managed to put together some runs to help their cause, six of them coming courtesy of home runs by James Loney, Chin Lung-Hu and Delwyn Young.  Unfortunately, from starter Brad Penny to final contestant Roberto Hernandez, the hurlers didn't hold up their end of the deal.  A disappointing finish (and box score) to a season falling short of April expectations.  Whether you think (as Grady Little does) that the key hurdle was Raffy Furcal's spring training ankle injury or (as Russell Martin) one wicked bad July skid, similar to last night's game, there's no doubt that the air's been let out of some rather lofty sails.

And the next five games, of course.  I mean, they're already on the schedule, tickets have been sold and fleece blankets ordered, so they might as well get played as planned.  But tonight's 9-7 loss to the Rockies ensured that there wouldn't be more than a quintet of contests left for the Dodgers in 2007.  Tonight's elimination defeat saw Brad Penny labor through five innings of ineffective work, Mark Hendrickson pick up the loss throwing some equally ineffective relief for Penny, Roberto Hernandez ice the loss with more of the same and a trio of jacks from James Loney, Chin-Lung Hu and first-timer Delwyn Young go to waste.  In some ways, the box score represented a microcosm for the entire Dodger season.  As Joe Beimel said after the game, "It seems like we never really put it together."

No, you get out of town, because it's true. 

Not surprisingly, said squabbles were a topic Grady Little was asked about plenty before today's game.  At the risk of stating the abundantly obvious, I've listened to Little speak a lot over the last couple seasons.  Typically, he's pretty laid back, often even on the heels of a couple losses.  Not that the poor outcomes don't faze him.  He's just tends to maintain a pretty even keel (publicly, if nothing else).  And during those times when a losing streak visibly eats at him, he tends to come off more "frustrated" than "on edge."  But today's pre-game was among the few times Grady's mood has ever struck me as "tense."  The observation could be nothing more than me playing armchair shrink, but I got the sense that the Hatfield-McCoy atmosphere has worn on him, in large part because he's truly disappointed to see such reactions surface. 

But the Dodgers can at least ruin Colorado's chances of getting in, which is what they're setting out to do with this three game homestand.  We know the festivities will kick off with Brad Penny battling Ubalda Jiminez, although the middle infield covering big righty's back remains in question.  Raffy Furcal, Ramon Martinez and Tony Abreu are nursing various ailments, which could mean extra playing time for the question-laden Andy LaRoche.  Truth be told, folks are looking for answers when it comes to a lot of the players in LaRoche's age bracket.  And since you'll be seeing many a young face come 2008, there's a good chance the powers that be will use this last week to get a look at them.  That's about the extent of the entertainment these Dodgers can provide right now (possible cat fight aside), all things being realistic.  It ain't over until it's over, but the Dodgers are currently residing in "Over Adjacent." 

It's coming sooner than hoped for fans, players, and management alike, but alas the end is near.  A season that began with all of the excitement and anticipation of the premiere of Eyes Wide Shut will end with all the frustration and bewilderment felt by those who actually saw and suffered through it.  Same sense of disappointment, same sense of confusion and "what might have been."  No nudity, of course, but the metaphor works.  Go back and rent it if you have to.  And now that a week's worth of Armageddon (now I'm talking about the losing streak, not the equally awful film) has ended with a win on Sunday, it's time to take a look at the next week.  Whether you believe, to touch on the topic of the week, the children "are the future" or "of the Corn," six more games remain on the schedule, and they need to be played.  Which leads to today's question:

What are you looking for over the last week?  Is there anything that can start to get the sour taste of '07 out of your mouth, and get you excited for '08?   

Jeff Kent may feel the next generation of Dodgers may be more callow than a bunch of first graders  when it comes to knowing how the game works, but as yesterday afternoon's 7-1 win over the D-Backs showed, they've learned enough to string together the occasional victory.  With just Juan Pierre remotely resembling anything along the lines of a crusty old vet, the Blue wasted no time putting the screws to Arizona and putting an end to their skid.  Tony Abreu, who unfortunately represented the "old man" contingency after eventually hurting his hip, put the Dodgers on the board ASAP with a first inning long ball.  James Loney, who along with Matt Kemp took a pre-game meeting with Grady Little and Ned Colletti to discuss reactions to Kent's comments, smacked two ribbies and scored a pair of runs.  Chad Billingsley picked up his dozenth win by holding the Snakes to just a run over 5.1 innings.

Forget the division, the Wild Card, or even third place.  Are the Dodgers going to finish the '07 season over .500?  After dropping their seventh in a row, this time a 6-2 loss in Arizona Saturday night, it's hard to feel confident.  Things got off to a rough start, as D-Backs centerfielder Chris Young took David Wells yard- long, long yard- on the lefty's first pitch.  As the box score shows, it didn't get much better for Boomer.  4.2 IP, nine hits, five runs.  Youch.  Not surprisingly, the Blue struggled against Brandon Webb, who sailed through the Dodger lineup until Tony Abreu finally touched him for a two-run double in the seventh.  However you slice it, it's looking like the collapse of this week and accompanying drama has taken a lot out of this team.  Is all the fight gone? 

If anyone wondered whether or not Jeff Kent's pop off would inspire his mates to band together, rip off a few wins in a row, and end the '07 season on a high note, the answer (at least on Friday night) was... no.  Friday night, the Blue dropped their sixth straight, on the wrong end of a 12-3 desert disaster that moved "math" that much closer to joining "reality" in mocking their postseason chances.  At least the beleaguered Dodgers pitching staff held Arizona to four field goals.  That's a pretty high powered offense, what with Edgerrin James, Matt Leinart, Anquan Bo-- oh yeah, wrong team.  Things started off well enough, as L.A. got out to a 3-1 lead... before Arizona reeled off 11 unanswered (try not to look at the bullpen stats in the box).  The impetus was a botched Tony Clark popup, in which Tony Abreu appeared to call off Nomar Garciaparra.  The rook chasing away the vet (who says L.A. doesn't rub off on it's sports teams?) as the ball landed harmlessly in between the two.   Clark, given second life, promptly homered, and the rest was history.

Including a 30 minute postgame meeting, the details of which were sketchy, but it certainly looks like the last eight games will be youth heavy with an eye towards '08.  Those same youths who didn't appreciate Jeff Kent's comments from Thursday.

When did the Dodgers morph into the Lakers?   

The nails had been driven, but just in case there was still any hope that the Dodgers would be playing this October, the Blue went ahead and killed it with a 9-4 loss Thursday in Colorado, giving the Rockies a sweep of the critical four-game set.  It was an ugly day all around, on and off the field.  Derek Lowe picked an ugly day not to have his good stuff (or even his mediocre or bad stuff -- he was stuffless), and the red-hot Rockies lineup made him pay.  The first-inning, bases-loaded jam he barely escaped was merely a preview to a second inning that got ugly.  Six runs, keyed by a three-run jack from Matt Holliday (his fifth of the series) and a two-run double from Brad Hawpe.  By the time Lowe was done, 85 pitches and three innings in, he was one extremely frustrated right-hander.

After today's 9-4 loss to the Rockies, Jeff Kent expressed, um, how shall I say it ... frustration at the situation in which the Blue find themselves, directing some ire toward the young players on the roster and seemingly to management as well.  All at once, Kent appeared to be pointed, measured and unspecific, and not all of his words were critical.  What portion of his comments is just disappointment over this week's Rocky Mountain Breakdown, which essentially ended the season, remains to be seen, but now that the issue (heretofore generally kept in-house) is out there, I'm willing to bet the topic won't go away quickly.  After all, it's not like we have a postseason to discuss.  More on this tomorrow.

-- BK 

On Sept. 3, the Blue were a scant 2.5 games behind the Padres in the race for the wild card and looked like they might get it together in time to make a late-season run reminiscent of '06. 

Didn't happen.

After putting themselves in a position that required great baseball, the Dodgers over the last week have gone downhill fast enough to make Franz Klammer jealous, officially scuttling a first half that showed a lot of promise and generally mocking all those rosy predictions made by folks like myself back in April.  (As if to drive the point home, they just dropped the final game of their four-game set in Colorado, 9-4.)  Like any good disaster film, L.A. has found a lot of different ways for things to go wrong.  An offense that withers with men in scoring position.  Starters folding, relievers providing none.  But one line of frustration for Dodger fans has remained constant -- that directed at Grady Little.  Today, in his Daily News column, Steve Dilbeck joined the chorus, voicing many of the criticisms fans have expressed on this site.  Later, Jon Weisman of SI.com (and the high-quality Dodger Thoughts website) added his two cents on the managerial situation.   

With their fourth straight loss, this time 6-5 to Colorado on Wednesday night, the Dodgers essentially (if they hadn't already, of course) sealed the non-deal on the '07 season.  San Diego and Arizona both won, leaving the Blue 6.5 games behind the Snakes and 5.5 back of the Pads ... with Colorado and Philly in between.  If the '07 Dodgers were a racehorse ... well, let's just say a visit to the Elmer's folk wouldn't be out of line. 

Wednesday's loss had a ring of recent and season-long familiarity to it.  The big blow came in the eighth, when Colorado outfielder Brad Hawpe went yard off Jonathan Broxton -- that's the ring of recent familiarity part -- to give the Rockies their winning margin.  What's happening depends on who you ask.  Regardless, Broxton says he'll keep taking the ball until the season is over ... but given that Brox says he's not quite right physically (understandable after 80 appearances), should anyone give it to him?   Of course, you can make a solid argument that Broxton should never have had to pitch.  Despite a box that shows six Dodgers with multiple hits, L.A. was only 5-22 with runners in scoring position, missing opportunity after opportunity to make a laugher out of the game.  That, more than anything, will look eerily and uncomfortably familiar to fans of the Blue. 

If today's 6-5 loss to the Rockies is part of Grady Little's outside-the-box strategy to lull the rest of the wild-card chasers into a sense of false, careless security (which could easily surface with the Dodgers now five games off the lead), I applaud The Skip for his creativity and pray he's keeping close track of the math involved.  Otherwise, the Blue are looking pretty close to finalizing October vacation plans.

(REMINDER: We'll be on the air Wednesday at noon for our NowLive.com show "Purple, Gold and Blue." Call in or join the chatboard.  Hope you can make it.  UPDATE: Here's the link for the Podcast!)

Technically, it won't happen until Sunday, Sept. 30, against San Francisco.  But it practically came yesterday in Colorado.  "It," of course, being the end of the 2007 season.  By dropping both ends of a doubleheader Tuesday in Colorado -- first 3-1, then a particularly crushing 9-8 defeat -- the Blue gave up a full 1.5 games on San Diego, Philadelphia and (of course) the Rockies in the wild-card race, leaving them tied with Colorado, three games behind the Phillies and 4.5 back of San Diego with 11 games to play.  So not only do the Dodgers have to run the table, they'll need the sort of charity from the teams in front of them that endows scholarships, builds cancer wards and delivers food to far-flung nations. 

Neither option seems likely.

Not gonna lie to y'all.  When David Wells, Jonathon Broxton and Takashi Saito give up home runs in the same game, it's easy to take that as an omen when it comes to the Dodgers' chances of making the postseason.  And when Luis Gonzalez, James Loney and Russell Martin hit home runs in the same game and the Dodgers still lose, it's easy to take that as an omen when it comes to the Dodgers' chances of making the postseason.  Thus, when both events happen over the same nine innings, as was the case in tonight's 8-7 loss to the Rockies, it's REALLY easy to take that as an omen when it comes to the Dodgers' chances of making the postseason.

We're getting near Taps time on the '07 season. 

The Blue dropped the first half of today's doubleheader in Colorado, 3-1.  The story of the game, other than L.A.'s evaporating playoff hopes, was Rockies starter Jeff Francis.  He dominated the Dodgers all afternoon, picking up his 16th win on the strength of a career-high 10 strikeouts.  Ten.  A full dime.  Over a third of the 29 batters he faced over 6.2 innings of one-run ball.   Chad Billingsley did what he could to keep pace.  A broken-bat Corey Sullivan double followed by a Matt Holliday single in the fourth, followed by an encore in the fifth (the latter Helton hit coming off Mark Hendrickson in relief).  In the seventh, Olmedo Saenz lofted a pinch-hit homer to left ... quickly erased by a Rockies run in the bottom half. 

So there you have it.  Twelve games to go, and the Dodgers can afford to lose one, maybe two.  Better not use one up in the nightcap.  More to come.

-- BK

The Dodgers didn't even play Monday, yet it still turned into a minor disaster.  Why?  San Diego 3, Pittsburgh 0.  Philadelphia 13, St. Louis 11.  We warned you that the NL Central is not to be trusted.  So the Blue lose half a game on both and now are a full three games behind the Pads and trail the Phillies by half that.  With 13 to play, the eggheads are pessimistic.   If San Diego is going to get shutout-quality ball from Jack Cassell, as they did yesterday, it's not hard to see why.  Still, the Pads have missed David Wells after perhaps letting finances trump baseball considerations in letting him go.  Boomer is happy to be in L.A., but without a big-time rally over the next two weeks, he may have to return another year to get the ring he wants.  Jeff Kent wouldn't mind some jewelry, either.

The Blue have some vets who can hopefully help carry them home, but it'll take young 'uns like the red-hot James Loney to get there, too.  Loney, of course, is just one of the kids who would be disappointed to see Logan White get hired away.   

The good news is that the Dodgers are, once again, officially playing good baseball.  They've won 13 of 20.  David Wells has stabilized the non-Esteban Loaiza parts of the starting staff.  Nomar is back and seems to be hitting.  Luis Gonzalez has become a fairly productive player again.  James Loney never, ever gets out.  Rafael Furcal is rounding back into good form, while Juan Pierre has rather quietly been in it for a while.

If they had played like this in July and early August, the Dodgers would very likely be leading the wild-card chase, and maybe the NL West, too. 

But unfortunately, they sucked for six weeks or so, and now "good baseball" won't do the trick.  Four of six against the Padres and D-Backs?  Nice, but unless you think the half game they've gained on San Diego since Sept. 3 is awesome, not substantive progress.  And make sure to move to the right lane so Philly can pass safely.  Good baseball is fine when a team is ahead.  One that's behind needs to play in a manner that would befit the end of a Disney movie.  Nothing but guts, nothing but wins.  Last season the Dodgers were essentially forced to win out to make the playoffs, and they got it done.  This year, they'll have to do about the same over their final 13, or golf season will come early for the players.  So today, it's the same question we've been asking, and again it's time to go on record:

Will the Dodgers make the playoffs? 

Short of a series sweep against the Arizona Diamondbacks after a 6-1 loss yesterday afternoon.   Short of the wild-card progress they had hoped to make after taking two of three games in back-to-back critical series.  Short in the run department, which consisted of Raffy Furcal's solo shot and Raffy Furcal's solo shot only, a solid reflection of Snake starter Edgar Gonzalez's efforts.  But they were long on walks, seven of them doled out by starter Esteban Loaiza in a career-high achievement he'd just as soon forget.  Historically speaking, Loaiza's style hasn't been heavy on free passes.  But Loaiza's style also included considerably more control than during his last two Blue outings, where the strike zone apparently had a dome placed around it.  The one time he did place one in a decidedly hittable spot, it resulted in his lone hit allowed, a three-run shot by Chris Snyder.  Will this effort ruin Loaiza's chances to kick off more box scores?  Maybe, but only if Grady Little can find a suitable replacement among the relievers, which may not be a realistic goal this late in the season.

With a four-game winning streak in their pockets and a chance to sweep the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, the Dodgers were hoping to create an avalanche of momentum before heading on the road to Colorado.  Instead, a 6-1 loss puts them not only in need of creating a new string of victories, but despite taking two crucial series they didn't actually make up much ground, since the Phillies and Padres didn't do their part this weekend (or the Mets and Giants, depending on what kind of blame game you play).  Esteban Loaiza technically threw a one-hitter ... except that one hit was a three-run homer by Chris Snyder, and Arizona players were pretty much content to take any of Loaiza's career-high walks allowed in just 4.2 innings.  That inability to work the strike zone was a big reason Loaiza threw just under 100 pitches in a short chunk of time.  "That was the difference in the game.  All the bases on balls," said Grady Little of Loaiza's tough afternoon.

Raffy Furcal went deep on a solo shot, in and of itself a nice achievement, except the empty base paths mirror how the Dodgers went 0-4 with runners in position to cross the plate.  As Poison used to sing, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."  Thorny box scores, too.

That would describe both Derek Lowe's hands and the Dodgers' sense of confidence.  All of a sudden, it's not just the wild card that can be said in the same breath as "Dodgers" and "playoffs."  With their 6-2 win over Arizona on Sunday, the Blue are now only 3.5 games behind the Snakes in the NL West, with four games yet to play against against the D-Backs.  Opportunity knocking?  Saturday, Lowe may have been a little purple in the hand, but he frustrated Arizona until their cheeks were the same shade.  Seven innings, one run, one walk, only four hits.  That'll do it.  Especially when the offense is there.  And Lowe, who hasn't exactly been given the luxury of great run support this season, must have been stoked to start the second with a 4-0 lead.  That courtesy of a James Loney RBI single and Luis Gonzalez three-run bomb. 

But with all due respect to their well-formed arguments (whether presented in hip-hop or animated form), "four" is the magic number for the Dodgers, at least this particular afternoon.  Whether you're talking the four runs scored in the first inning that essentially iced a 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks, Raffy Furcal's four stolen bases, the four hits Derek Lowe allowed over seven innings or the four-game winning streak the Dodgers are currently enjoying, it was a happily quartet-centric day for the Blue. 

The opening frame quickly grew troublesome for the Snakes upon Furcal's leadoff single, converted into a faux-double after the shortstop snagged his first pilfered bag.  Juan Pierre walked, then got moved to third base after the white-hot James Loney singled to left and sent Furcal across the plate.  Then came Luis Gonzalez, who got some revenge on a squad that deemed him too over the hill for its current "direction."  He certainly looked reasonably spry hitting that three-run homer over the right-field wall.  Andre Ethier contributed a solo blast in the sixth inning just for fun, and Furcal scored again one inning later, cobbling together a box score that put the Dodgers within 3.5 games of the NL West crown and a game out of the wild card (with potential to grow even closer, should the Padres falter against San Fran).   

Whenever I see Ron Howard, I always think of a hilarious SNL sketch where Eddie Murphy's character is interviewing the now-Oscar-winning director and keeps referring to him as "Little Opie Cunningham."   That sequence was running through my head a lot this morning because Howard dropped by the clubhouse before the game and kicked it with some of the fellas.  The SoCal native was showing around British actor Michael Sheen, who's starring in Howard's adaptation of the play "Frost/Nixon," with Sheen reprising his role from the Broadway production.  It sounded like this was Sheen's first time at Dodger Stadium, but I overheard him say he caught some Mets action in New York, so he's likely familiar with the game.  Sheen and Howard will be watching the game in a box belonging to some actor named Hanks. 

Never heard of him.

Yeah, I know it wasn't the first game Nomar Garciaparra has played since returning from the DL on Sept. 7.  It was his fourth, and in the previous three he went 1-13 with four strikeouts.  So when Dodger fans tuned in to see Nomar batting fifth behind Jeff Kent, I'd imagine many a dinner was spoiled.  (Collective) Ye of little faith.  (I'd hate to be a guy who wrote in his pregame report that Nomar should have been hitting lower in the order.)   What could have been a red-letter day for fans predisposed to making irate phone calls to postgame call-in shows instead became a Nomar fueled 7-4 win over Arizona on Friday night at the Ravine.  Garciaparra went 3-4 with two runs scored, and his fifth-inning solo blast tied the game at four after the Snakes went ahead in the top of the inning.  All part of a winning effort that required more grinding than a pepper mill.  Nothing about the evening was pretty, from the performance of Brad Penny (4 R, 3ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 103 pitches in only 5 IP) to the glacial pace of play (3:32) to the disappointingly flavorless frosting on Tommy Lasorda's celebratory birthday cake, the remnants of which ended up in the press box. 

One of the little quirks of baseball- and professional sports in general, is that very ofen as games get more important (fair to say at this point, they're all big for the Blue) there's actually less to talk about.  No matter what you ask, it basically comes down to "We have to win."  Add to that a locker room emptier than a screening of Glitter- this despite the fact that with September call ups, the Dodger clubhouse has a population density that rivals Singapore- and you'll understand why I had time to conduct the following experiment.

Players have access to two big tubs of gum- Bazooka regular and Bazooka sugarless.  At least as far as baseball associated gum products go, I'm a Big League Chew man myself, but that's neither here nor there.  It's not uncommon for media types to grab a piece here and there (I know, free gum!).  Heretofore I had always taken the old fashioned wax paper wrapped version, complete with sugar.  But tonight, the shiny wrapped sugarless version caught my eye.  After all, when you're dead and gone, grave robbers will judge you by the quality of your teeth.

I mentioned last night that we had some good postgame audio from David Wells.  A little too much for a postgame report, really.  But it's worth hearing.  You really get an insight into Wells, his attitude, and how he approaches the game.  Click below the jump for the clips.  And if you missed Tim Brown's column on Wells today on Yahoo! Sports, it's worth reading. 

BK

Just two days ago, everyone was writing off the Dodgers for dead after taking a butt-whumping from the Padres in the opening game of a must-take series.  Cut to two days later, a 6-3 win over the Padres, and a Wild Card race deficit now cut down to 1.5 games and the Dodgers are now very much serious runners in a potential photo finish race.  The "Old Man River" showdown between David Wells and Greg Maddux was a decided victory for the former, who just happened to be facing his former squad.  Not that shutting down the folks who fired him provided any motivation for Boomer (FACETIOUS STATEMENT ALERT!!!).  Wells not only out-dueled the future HOF hurler, he helped knock Maddux out of the game, racking two hits in two plate appearances.  Tossed to the baseball scrap heap by San Diego, the hefty lefty is has three winning decisions in three starting attempts for the Dodgers.  From a supposedly washed up vet like Wells to the absurdly locked in youngster like James Loney, it's a hodgepodge of experience contributing towards the winning box score and pulling a Bee Gees special.

Watching David Wells pitch isn't necessarily comfortable.  It seems like every time you look up, a ball is being hit to the track or a threat is brewing.  It wouldn't surprise me if most fans tuned in with a helmet on so when that other shoe drops, it doesn't leave a mark.  But call it cunning, call it guile, or just plain lucky.  But for the third time in four Dodger starts, Wells has given the Blue enough to win.  This time, Wells went five strong innings before tiring in the sixth, but still had enough to propel the Dodgers to a huge 6-3 win over the Padres Thursday night.  Dude even had two hits, the first multi-knock effort of his career.  I, for one, didn't think it would happen, but Wells has given the Dodgers a huge lift.  Enough to get in the playoffs, it remains to be seen.  But we probably wouldn't be having this conversation if he wasn't around

Unfortunately, that's what you people have been saddled with. 

Tonight at the Ravine, 44 year old David Wells will take the mound for the Blue against 41 year old Greg Maddux. Put 'em together, and it's a staggering 85 years worth of pitchers trotting, even if slowly, out to the hill.  That's 595 dog years.  In Maddux, we're talking about a guy who broke into the bigs in 1986, at age 20.  (Interestingly, his first appearance on a Major League field was as a pinch runner, not a pitcher.  Who knew?)  In Wells, we're talking about a guy who could remember where he was on November 22, 1963 when Kennedy was assassinated.  Granted, he was six months old at the time so uncovering said memory would likely require a hypnotist, but still, that's going back a ways.  A pairing with this much mileage may not happen often, but it adds an interesting wrinkle to a monumental game for the Blue.  Win, and they're a mere 1.5 games behind San Diego for the Wild Card.  Lose, and it's back to 3.5, with a crowd in between them and the prize.

And while they may be old, Maddux and Wells are also still dealing.  Maddux, in particular, has been red hot lately.  No walks in his last 54.1 innings.  After a July 13th start in Arizona, his ERA was 4.35.  Now it's 3.68.  A 2.43 August and 2.19 September will do that.  Wells, for his part, has won two of three starts as a Dodger.  Ugly wins, maybe (usually smoke = fire. With Wells, smoke = mirrors), but wins.    

The theoretical victory tonight ain't small potatoes, either.  But without last night's 6-1 win over the Padres, one that pushed the Dodgers 2.5 games outside the Wild Card race, there ain't a rare feat to attempt capitalizing on tonight.  Chad Billingsley got bumped up in the rotation to fill in for a thumb (and mood) addled Derek Lowe, but didn't miss a beat picking up where Lowe might have left off.  He occasionally missed his mark, as evidenced by the juiced bases jams that twice required wriggling out of.  But wriggle Bills did, not letting the pressure of a huge contest spiral his efforts out of control.  For that matter, weren't no jitters displayed by James Loney, who continued his mission of knocking the snot outta the ball.  Between his and Jeff Kent's long balls, the Dodgers found more than enough offense to create a life sustaining box score.

Spend a little time watching James Loney hit, and you get the impression he's going to be a very good Major League hitter someday.  Or more specifically, if you ask Justin Germano and his San Diego mates, Wednesday.  Three hits, three runs scored, two RBIs, and, having apparently morphed into Willie McCovey, his 11th homer of the season.   Yes, another homer, Loney's fifth in his last six games.  The kid's done gone homer happy.  Long ball loco.  Dinger dizzy.  And none too soon.  Loney's two-run blast Wednesday gave the Dodgers some much needed breathing room, turning a 2-1 L.A. lead into a 4-1 cushion that would eventually become a ludicrously critical 6-1 win.  There were encouraging signs before Loney went deep.  The Blue scored their first run when Russell Martin brought home Loney from third with a one-out ground ball to second.  Don't giggle, it seems like the Dodgers haven't converted in a situation like that in a week.  Their second run came on a two-out single from Juan Pierre.   Taking advantage of opportunities, creating others.  That'll win you some games.