With the 2008 season in a current funk, Jon Weisman of the always entertaining (a little too entertaining if you ask us) Dodger Thoughts ponders whether the 2005 Blue (the last regime before Ned Colletti took office) was indeed a superior squad than the current version (which could be the last one overseen by Colletti).  Interesting query, featuring some "blast from the past" fun (Hee-Sop Choi, anyone?). 

Weisman sounds slightly partial to the 2008 boys in Blue.  Agreements or disagreements may be voiced... starting... now.

AK

The Dodgers should lobby Congress to pass a bill decreeing that the Dodgers will be declared winners of all their games, regardless of the actual circumstances.  It's guaranteed to be controversial (and frankly, a somewhat frivolous use of our tax dollars at work), but after watching last night's 2-1 loss to the Nationals.  The frustration keeps on mounting for the Blue, highlighted by a propensity for wasting opportunities laid at their shoes.  In particular, bases loaded/no out scenarios in the fifth and sixth innings. 

The former saw Matt Kemp hit what should have been a double play ball to third, but Jesus Flores' brain cramp allowed Nomar Garciaparra to score L.A.'s lone run.  The latter featured Nomar screeching a line drive to third for an unassisted DP.  Hard luck, for sure (unless you're a member of Washington's squad, who saw the events as rather fortuitous).  But then again, considering the Dodgers doubled the Natty's pleasure four times in all, there's only so much sympathy realistically mustered.  Unless it's specifically for Derek Lowe, of course.  The way he got left out to dry- a situation that's nothing new for Sir Sinker Ball- if you want to cry over his role in the box score, perfectly acceptable. 

Another day, another 2,187 men left on base for the Dodgers, who went down (again) in frustrating fashion (again) thanks to an anemic-when-it-matters offense (again), this time wasting a great, complete game effort from Derek Lowe (no surprise) in losing 2-1 to the Washington Nationals (that's a twist).  LA peppered Nats 3B Ryan Zimmerman repeatedly over the course of the game, and repeatedly came up empty as he turned four DPs, and should have had a fifth that would have erased the Dodgers' only run, which, rather ironically, came in an inning where they didn't get a hit. 

Overall, the Blue are a staggering 4-39 with RISP in their last three games... all losses. 

It looks like Arizona is going to drop another one to San Diego, leaving the Dodgers three games back, but as we've mentioned, it's becoming a numbers game for the Blue at this point.  Each game that passes without a win means they have to play that much better to the end.  Since they hit the road, the Dodgers have shown precious few signs that they can get it done. 

BK

MLB will feature instant replay for home runs starting Thursday. 

The news is a "replay" of the headline.  Get it?

AK

The first draft we were sent didn't have Kent in it, but this one does.  Nomar is back in, batting seventh. 

Kemp 8
Ethier 9
Kent 4
Ramirez 7
Loney 3
Martin 2
Garciaparra 6
Blake 5
Lowe 1

I know this was in Extra! this morning, but when people speak of the Dodgers being tone deaf, completely out of tune with the mood of fans, and has absolutely no sense of timing, today's season ticket news is what they're talking about.

BK 

Today's "Appropriate Theme Music," ladies and gentleman.

Give the Dodgers some credit.  Sure, this time of year- where they're chasing the NL West first place D-Backs, also thankfully scuffling- when wins are at both a premium and a precious commodity.  Meaning you can hardly afford to get swept in a series, much less a four game series, much less a four game series that is meant to hopefully create momentum to be carried into an upcoming weekend's series against those D-Backs.  But not only did the Dodgers opt to get the broom treatment, but they managed to fashion this 5-0 loss in a rare "baker's dozen hits/goose egg in the run column" finish.  Unless, of course, you don't think the most amount of hits in a shutout result since 1928 qualifies as "rare."  Thus, if you want to look at it one way, the Blue's finish line performance was incredibly impressive.

You can't win if you don't score.  Dodgers lose 5-0 in Philadelphia, and if you had to pick a game to serve as a microcosm of the 2008 season, Monday's game is as good a choice as any.  LA banged out 13 hits and drew three walks... and didn't score.  They loaded the bases in the first, had men on first and third in the second, first and second in the fourth, a man on third in the fifth, loaded them again in the seventh, got them to second and third in the eighth, and, just to round things out, had men on first and third in the ninth.  I'm leaving out those boring innings where, like, only one guy got on, because I figure by now you've already popped an artery in your forehead. 

Wow.

BK

Did we mention this was kind of a biggie?  No real surprises in the order, other than perhaps a day off for Nomar.  The Dodgers simply need to get more out of the guys in it. 

Over the last 7 days...

Kemp 8- .192/.222, seven strikeouts, 27 ABs after cutting down considerably on the Ks earlier in the month.
Ethier 9- .142, one extra base hit.
Kent 4
Ramirez 7- .250, 0 RBIs.
Loney 3
Martin 2- .136 BA, .136 OBP.
Blake 5- .200 BA, 0 RBIs. 
Berroa 6- Worried about missing Nomar?  Garciaparra is hitting at a .167 clip over the last week.
Billingsley 1

Those figures help explain why the team has scored a grand total of 15 runs since last Sunday's 7-5 win over Milwaukee.  Their home/road splits aren't encouraging, either. 

For Philly:

Rollins 6
Utley 4
Burrell 7
Howard 3
Victorino 8
Werth 9
Feliz 5
Coste 2
Myers 1

BK

Because they're playing the rather rude hosts for the Dodgers.  A weekend in Liberty Bell Country hasn't just featured losses for the Blue, but stinging ones at that.  Beatdowns by a combined total of fourteens runs on Friday and Saturday.  Then after allowing the Dodgers to take a slim lead into the ninth, the Phils cruelly cried, "Yoinks!," then pulled the rug out from under their opponents to manufacture an eventual 5-2 Dodger loss.  The dirty floodgates first opened up with Jonathon Broxton minding the dam, the big man unable to maintain a 2-1 edge in the ninth's bottom.  After allowing Shane Victorino a lead off single, Broxton- struggling with control even against underwhelming batsmen- retired a pair before surrendering another knock to Pedro Feliz, which scooted Victorino across home and knotted the affair at two a-piece. 

Free baseball for the paying customers.

If it's true that the Dodgers are indeed the heart of LA as the (fairly irritating) song declares, the community might want to break out the shock paddles before the whole system shuts down.  With Saturday afternoon's 9-2 loss to Philadelphia, their fifth in the last seven games, the Dodgers have fallen three games back of the Diamondbacks in the NL West and with 33 games remaining on the schedule are getting dangerously close to territory where the math starts to work against them.  Take this hypothetical: Say Arizona, who also has 33 games left, goes 17-16 over that stretch.  The Dodgers would then need play 20-13 ball to make up the ground.  Should the Snakes crank it up to, say, 19-14, certainly a possibility given the way they're playing now, LA has to go 22-11 to catch them.  And so on.

In short, they'll need a little help and a lot of success in the six head-to-head games remaining on the calendar, but to the extent the Dodgers can help themselves, they need to start this evening with a win against the Phillies.  Hiroki Kuroda, facing Joe Blanton, has to step up and throw a good game.  The Dodgers offense, dormant for the last few days, has to step up and hit.

Obviously it's not over if the Dodgers don't win tonight, even if Arizona wins this afternoon.  But from a practical standpoint, the Blue are in fact running out of time. 

BK