Dodgers on a roll
LOS ANGELES – From Gagne to Garciaparra, Lofton to Mueller, Navarro to Repko, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been socked with injuries to significant players since the season began.
They’ve been forced to use rookies at several positions, and a journeyman pitcher was called up from the minors to join the rotation.
That sounds like another recipe for disaster, just like last year. And it was, to some degree, when the Dodgers lost 17 of their first 29 games. But suddenly, they turned it around three weeks ago, and after a homestand to remember, they’re the hottest team in baseball.
“I’ve been on some teams that have gotten on rolls – this is fun,” pitcher Brett Tomko said after the Dodgers beat Colorado 7-1 Wednesday night to sweep a six-game homestand for the first time in more than 12 years. “You ride a wave, hope you ride it as long as you can.”
The Dodgers have won a season-high seven straight overall, outscoring the opposition 55-12. Fifteen wins in their last 18 have boosted Los Angeles a season-high seven games better than .500 and within a half-game of first-place Arizona in the National League West.
Idle Thursday, the Dodgers begin a six-game road trip tonight in Washington with momentum and confidence.
“We’re playing good baseball right now and getting good results,” first-year manager Grady Little said. “Every time we come to the park, we are expecting to win the ballgame. That’s a good feeling.”
After going 71-91 last season for their second-worst record since moving west from Brooklyn in 1958, the Dodgers cleaned house, with Ned Colletti replacing Paul DePodesta as general manager and Little succeeding Jim Tracy as manager.
Colletti revamped the roster during the off-season, but at least two of the moves didn’t look very good when veteran newcomers Nomar Garciaparra and Kenny Lofton went on the disabled list before playing a game.
A few days later, closer Eric Gagne joined them on the DL, and that was only the beginning. Lofton and Garciaparra returned, but outfielders Ricky Ledee and Jason Repko, third baseman Bill Mueller and catcher Dioner Navarro all sustained injuries this month that landed them on the sideline. An ineffective Odalis Perez was removed from the starting rotation.
When things went wrong last season, the replacements mostly failed. Not so this year, as rookies Andre Ethier, Willy Aybar and Russell Martin were called up from the minors, and have played key roles in the recent hot streak.
Veteran right-hander Aaron Sele, formerly of Seattle, was brought up as well, and has made four solid starts, going 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA.
When the injured players return, the Dodgers will be faced with some difficult decisions.
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” Little said. “It’s not a good problem to have – it’s a great problem to have. We know we’re going to be faced with some tough decisions as time goes on. When the time comes, we’ll make them.”
Outfielder Ethier, third baseman Aybar and catcher Martin are all hitting better than .300, and all have done the job on defense.
Lofton and Garciaparra, who both returned last month, are also .300 hitters, and returnees J.D. Drew and Jeff Kent top the Dodgers in runs batted in.
Many questioned the signing of Garciaparra, a two-time American League batting champion and only 32, but limited significantly by injuries in three of the past five seasons.
Garciaparra was healthy during the two years he played for Little in Boston, batting better than .300 and driving in more than 100 runs. When asked if the Garciaparra he was managing now is playing as well as he was in 2002-03, Little replied: “Yes. Maybe a little better.”
Garciaparra, moved to first base this year, has collected two or more hits in 11 of his last 17 games, and is hitting .375 with 25 runs scored and 30 RBIs in 29 games.
“Right now, everything’s coming together – good pitching, good hitting,” said Rafael Furcal, another newcomer who started slowly but is among the league leaders in runs scored.
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Furcal said. “I believe in my teammates, I believe in myself. You’ve got a lot of veteran players here who know how to play ball.”
And the youngsters?
“It’s like last year in Atlanta, every week they’re bringing up a new guy,” Furcal said. “It’s the same thing here.”
With everything else positive that’s going on, Gagne is expected to return next week, and All-Star infielder Cesar Izturis should be ready to come back next month.