Do Dodgers have enough pitching for playoffs?

The Philadelphia Phillies added Cliff Lee to their pitching staff for the pennant drive.

The Los Angeles Dodgers added … Vicente Padilla and Jon Garland?

Can those two journeymen actually help the Dodgers make a dent in the playoffs?

Maybe so.

After all, on the season-long pitching staff, Randy Wolf could make a good argument as the Dodgers’ top starting pitcher.

And he’s no spring chicken, himself.

The Dodgers certainly were not going to win it all with their former starting staff of Wolf, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw and the injured Hiroki Kuroda.

With the addition of Padilla and Garland, they have two veterans possibly able to at least make a dent in the playoffs.

(Not to mention reliever George Sherrill acquired from the Baltimore Orioles, giving the Dodgers a sorely needed left-hander in the bullpen.)

The Dodgers actually have the best winning percentage in the NL, just ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals and Phillies.

Even so, it’s hard to believe they would have gone very far in the playoffs with their pitching staff the way it was.

Could Garland and/or Padilla make the difference?

We’ll see.

Los Angeles Dodgers are MLB's best team

How about those Dodgers?

Not only do the Los Angeles Dodgers have MLB’s best record (56-32) at the All-Star break; second-place San Francisco in the NL West leads the wild card chase by two games.

Translated: The Dodgers are nine games in front of the competition for a berth in the 2009 playoffs.

This is a team that can be truly characterized as a “team,” since more than one individual is leading the way.

After all, the Dodgers went 29-21 when Manny Ramirez was on his 50-game drug suspension.

Can you imagine the St. Louis Cardinals going 29-21 without Albert Pujols?

Perhaps the best indication of the Dodgers’ depth is that Juan Pierre – Ramirez’s replacement during his suspension – is the team’s No. 4 outfielder. On any other team in the NL West, Pierre would probably be playing everyday and batting leadoff.

If the Dodgers have a weakness, it is their starting rotation’s inability to go deep into the game (they are second in the league in bullpen innings pitched.)

Chad Billingsley has emerged as the ace and proven to be capable of going 7-8 innings. After him, you rarely get more than 5-6 innings out of Hiroki Kuroda, Randy Wolf or Clayton Kershaw.

The Dodgers would love to get American League All-Star starter Roy Halladay as their ace, but the asking price of Billingsley or Kershaw is too high.

So, General Manager Ned Colletti will likely fill the void by adding a relief pitcher.

How does Manager Joe Torre grade his team at this point?

“Incomplete,” he told the Associated Press after Sunday’s 7-4 win vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. “That's the only thing I can give it at this point because the back half, just like in golf the back nine, is the toughest one to play. We're going to have to go out there and continue to live up to ourselves.”

Don’t be surprised if the Dodgers have a Tiger Woods-like back nine.

Los Angeles Dodgers may be MLB's best team

One month does not a season make; but it sure makes the Los Angeles Dodgers look awfully good.

In fact, could the Dodgers be the best team in MLB right now?

They have already set a team record with a 10-0 start at home ... which is quite impressive considering how impressive the Dodgers have been over the past several decades.

Is there any stopping them?

Certainly not in the weak NL West. By August, the Dodgers should be setting up their playoff pitching rotation.

And that's where things could get interesting.

The Dodgers are off to their great start despite Opening Day starter Hiroki Kuroda being injured since Game 1.

Chad Billingsley, the only five-game winner in the NL, looks like a world beater. And the Dodgers will definitely go get an ace before the trading deadline.

It may not seem like much that the Dodgers just swept four games vs. the lowly San Diego Padres. But consider it was the first time LA ever swept a four-game home game series vs. the Padres, who have given the Dodgers fits over the years.

The Dodgers won easily Sunday while resting regulars Manny Ramirez, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake and Russell Martin.

Put it this way: Any team with Blake batting No. 8 must be pretty darn good. He'd be batting No. 5 on numerous teams.

Watch out for those Dodgers!

MLB pitchers not built like they used to be

Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitched a complete game shutout in deciding Game 7 on two days rest in the 1965 World Series.

Mark Fidrych of the Detroit Tigers pitched 24 complete games in 29 starts in 1976.

Randy Jones of the San Diego Padres pitched 25 complete games in the same season.

Yes, it used to be that a starting pitcher was considered to have a successful outing if he pitched a complete game every four days.

Then why is it that now, a pitcher is believed to have done his job if he works six innings every fifth day?

And on top of that, why do so many starting pitchers get injured nowadays?

Consider the staff aces that couldn’t even make it through the second week of the 2009 season without going on the disabled list:

Among them are Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox, Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Then there is World Series MVP Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies, whose first start was pushed back five days due to injury and hasn’t exactly been lighting things up since.

Lone gone are the days of players signing one-year contracts.

But one has to wonder: Would pitchers (and many hitters for that matter) be much more productive if they were paid year-by-year based on what they did the previous season?

Just asking …

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!