Joe Torre, not Manny Ramirez, holds Dodgers together

If the Los Angeles Dodgers now make the playoffs with Manny Ramirez, many will say Joe Torre managed to reach the postseason again due to superior talent.

Not so fast. Maybe Torre reached the postseason every year with the Yankees due to great talent, but not this time in L.A.

If anything, Torre may have accomplished one of his best managing jobs ever just to keep the Dodgers in the NL West race and be in position to trade for Ramirez.

Consider the odds Torre has faced in his first year with the Dodgers:

The team’s best player, shortstop Rafael Furcal, has been injured since May 5.
Staff pitching ace Brad Penny has been sidelined since June 14.
Closer Takashi Saito has been out since July 12.
L.A.’s top three third basemen were injured when the season began.
Center fielder Andruw Jones is a $36 million bust.
Jason Schmidt may "earn" his $47 million with the Dodgers by recording one win.

Despite it all, Torre has kept the Dodgers in contention in the Weak Weak NL West.

All things considered, that may be nearly as much of an accomplishment as winning four World Series in five years with the greatest talent on earth in New York.

How about those Dodgers?

To quote Mr. Ed, the famous television talking horse of the 1960s: “How about those Dodgers?”

The Los Angeles Dodgers, who have been dead for years, look like they could be very alive in 2008.

Certainly, one week does not a six-month season make, but this team has improved itself immensely and should be gaining on the NL West.

Two additions in particular make the Dodgers a better team this season:

Andruw Jones may still not be hitting, but he’s already winning games with his spectacular defense in center field.

Hiroki Kuroda, the Japanese import pitcher, can throw strikes. He started off 10 straight Padres batters with strikes at one point Friday night; a statistic virtually unheard of in today’s world of pitchers falling behind hitters.

The Dodgers already had fine young players in the likes of catcher Russell Martin, first baseman James Loney and outfielders Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp.

Rafael Furcal is solid at shortstop. Jeff Kent is getting older at second base, but Chin Iung-Hu is already proving to be a man who can spell Kent late in games (and occasionally the starting lineup) to keep Kent fresh. The black hole is still third base; we’ll see what happens when Nomar Garciaparra returns from the disabled list.

The Dodgers have a solid top-four pitching rotation with Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and Kuroda. And it certainly appears Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito have surpassed San Diego’s Heath Bell and Trevor Hoffman as a late-inning relief combination.

Add Manager Joe Torre to the mix and we have a clue for you: Watch out for the Dodgers in 2008!

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Chad Paronto of the Atlanta Braves is stupid.

Make that stupid, stupid, stupid!

With two outs and nobody on base in the sixth inning Monday night, Paronto decided to (seemingly) hit Padres pitcher Chris Young on purpose. Young then went on to score and give San Diego a 4-2 lead, its final margin of victory.

Paronto hit Young in the back of the knee as apparent retaliation for Young throwing a fastball near the head of Andruw Jones, then later hitting Jeff Francoeur. It marked the first time Young has hit a batter this year.

Here’s a clue for Paronto: Don’t hit the pitcher! Not to name names; but get the point across by throwing a pitch behind such players as Adrian Gonzalez or Brian Giles, who are probably going to reach base anyway.

Paronto may or may not have cost his team a potential win. But he did wake up the Padres ... not to mention the fact he fell asleep when it came to the best method of retaliation.