News
Schedule benefits Dodgers in stretch run
Club eyeing second successive National League West title
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
08/03/09 11:00 AM ET
ATLANTA -- The best thing the Dodgers have going for them over the final third of the schedule is, uh, the schedule.While they must play seven more games against the top two teams in the National League Central (St. Louis and the Cubs), they also have 15 more games slated against last-place teams (San Diego, Pittsburgh and Washington).
They still have 15 games against their two closest pursuers in the division -- Wild Card front-runners Colorado and San Francisco -- but also have 10 more games against the D-backs in addition to the five with the Padres.
The Dodgers began August with an eight-game lead in the NL West. Since moving to Los Angeles 51 years ago, they've never led by that much entering August and not finished first. Last year, they began August trailing by two games and finished two games in front.
We know who showed up at last year's Trade Deadline (not just Manny Ramirez, but Casey Blake a few days earlier).
Many fans look more at what didn't happen for the Dodgers at Friday's Deadline (no ace starter) than what did (All-Star reliever George Sherrill), already focused on how the Dodgers will beat a Phillies team in October that now has Cliff Lee after losing a year ago to a Phillies team without him.
General manager Ned Colletti bristles when asked to look that far down the road.
"We have to get there first," he said. "If October shows up and we're still playing, we'll figure it out then. Everybody says we have no No. 1 starter and maybe no real No. 2. We've still won a lot of games. The chemistry of this club is one of the best I've ever been around. Sometimes aces lose games in October."
Colletti remains open to adding a starting pitcher through a waiver deal -- that's how he got Greg Maddux last year -- it's just unlikely to be anyone anywhere near Lee's status.
Besides, the Dodgers might already have an ace in Clayton Kershaw. And there are signs that Opening Day starter Hiroki Kuroda is regaining the form of late last year that earned him the Opening Day start, only for an oblique strain to put him on the shelf for two months.
The Road Ahead | |
| Home games remaining: | 30 |
| Road games remaining: | 27 |
| Games vs. teams over .500: | 26 |
| Key series: | at Giants (Aug. 10-12) |
| vs. Cardinals (Aug. 17-19) | |
| vs. Cubs (Aug. 20-23) | |
| at Rockies (Aug. 25-27) | |
| at Giants (Sept. 11-13) | |
| vs. Giants (Sept. 18-20) | |
| vs. Colorado (Oct. 2-4) | |
The Dodgers' closest pursuers were busy last week. The Giants rebuilt the right side of their infield by adding first baseman Ryan Garko and second baseman Freddy Sanchez, while the Rockies helped their bullpen with former Dodgers lefty Joe Beimel and righty Rafael Betancourt.
The Dodgers added depth to a bullpen taxed by starters that don't pitch deep into games, either because they can't or aren't trusted to by manager Joe Torre. Now Torre has one more experienced arm on which to rely, and the fact that it's left-handed is a bonus.
Perhaps of greater potential concern to the Dodgers than starting pitching is Ramirez's bat, or his hand, or whatever combination of the two is responsible for his current slump.
Since the hand was whacked by a pitch, the bat hasn't whacked pitches it normally whacks. Ramirez insists he's healthy, but while the Dodgers kept things rolling during his 50-game suspension, they wouldn't have won without him last year.
Currently, the Dodgers are getting their power from Andre Ethier, back on pace for the first 30-homer/100-RBI season by a Dodgers outfielder since Shawn Green in 2002.
But Ethier needs some help. With 22 homers, Ethier has as many as Russell Martin (3), James Loney (7) and Blake (12) combined, and they all play positions where power is customarily expected.
If not power, then the Dodgers will need to continue spreading the production throughout the lineup. To that end, at least leadoff man Rafael Furcal appears to be heating up in the second half, as he usually does.
A big second half from Furcal or Martin could mitigate further disappointments from Ramirez.
Then again, maybe the Dodgers will just continue their first-half magic that included 35 wins by one or two runs and 10 wins in extra innings.
"We really have been lucky," Torre said.
Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
