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.

Philadelphia Phillies: The rich getting richer?

Are the rich – the Philadelphia Phillies – getting richer, or what?

Don’t forget that these guys are already the defending World Series champions. And don’t forget that they already have World Series MVP Cole Hamels at the top of their pitching rotation.

Now that they didn't get Roy Halladay from Toronto, they have traded for 2008 American League Cy Young winner Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians. (And this, without giving up top young pitching prospects A.J. Happ or Kyle Drabek.)

Can you imagine Hamels and Lee, both left-handers, at the top of your rotation? Wow! Add lefties Jamie Moyer and Happ to this rotation and you truly have a top starting four for the playoffs.

And that’s not to mention Pedro Martinez pitching in the minor leagues for the Phils. If he turns out to be half the Pedro he used to be, what an exclamation point that would be.

Then there’s the Phillies lineup that leads off with Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Jason Werth. Nobody other than the Los Angeles Dodgers comes close to have a better top-six batters in the NL.

Already, the Phillies have a major-league best record of 19-5 in July. And that’s without the pitching help that is on the way.

Now that Lee has wound up in Philadelphia, that could seal the deal on a second straight World Series title.

Roy Halladay could take many teams to World Series

If the Los Angeles Dodgers can trade for Roy Halladay, go ahead and pencil them in for the World Series.

It’s pretty much ditto for the Philadelphia Phillies, Anaheim Angels, Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees.

If you had one game to win in MLB and could pick any pitcher, Halladay would be the guy to take.

But to get Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays before the trading deadline of July 31, any team will have to give plenty to get him.

Would the Dodgers give up 21-year-old pitcher Clayton Kershaw, already called by some the next Sandy Koufax?

Would the Phillies trade young pitching phenom Kyle Drabek, among others?

Do the injury-plagued Angels have enough of a package to offer?

How about the Red Sox trading top young pitching prospect Clay Buchholz?

What kind of a package could the Yankees put together?

It would be surprising to see Toronto trade Halladay within the AL East to New York or Boston. In fact, Red Sox Manager Terry Francona would just as soon see Halladay in the National League … unless he goes to Boston.

Consider Francona’s comments after Halladay pitched a complete-game six-hitter to defeat the Red Sox on Sunday, 3-1.

“I stand by what I said the other day,” Francona joked. “They should have traded him the other day, and to a National League team.”

The Dodgers or Phillies would certainly be OK by that.

Is the Manny Ramirez suspension really 50 games?

Interesting how these 50-game drug suspensions work in MLB.

Manny Ramirez won’t have his “50 games” end until July 3, but he’ll be playing before then.

How?

Under the current MLB contract, the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder can begin a minor-league rehab some 10 games before his 50-game suspension is over.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher J.C. Romero also was able to participate in a rehab before his 50-game suspension ended.

But Romero, who returns this week, had his return date pushed back a bit. Since the Phillies suffered three rainouts, he had to wait an extra three originally schedule games before returning.

The ultimate question is whether these players should be able to begin playing (even in the minors) before their 50-game suspension is up.

Is it really 50 games if they can begin playing after 40 games on the shelf?

You decide.

Florida Marlins do things the right way

You have to give credit to the Florida Marlins for the way they operate.

Not only do they have the lowest payroll in MLB; they also have the best record after two weeks.

And it may not be a fluke.

This is a team built on a MLB-low $36.8-million budget, a wing, a prayer … and with a lot of talent.

Outside of Hanley Ramirez and his 6-year, $70 million contract, the Marlins have very few players in the higher level of MLB payrolls.

Dan Uggla does make $5.35 million this season and Jorge Cantu is at $3.5 million. But after that, the rest of the team is below the MLB average.

And “average” is something that the Marlins are not. In fact, they may be able to challenge the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets in the tough NL East. After all, the San Diego Padres have exposed both of those teams in the past week.

As for the Marlins, they keep rolling along with a seven-game winning streak.

Why? Take a couple of comments made to the Associated Press after Sunday’s 7-4 win at the Washington Nationals.

“When we're down, nobody panics,” Cody Ross said. “We have a feeling we're going to win. It's just a matter of time. That's the way we've approached it the last week or so and it's kind of paid off for us.”

Added Uggla: “It's not just one guy getting the job done. Multiple people are capable of getting the job done.”

When you consider all of the MLB teams trying to buy a pennant, it’s hard not to pull for the Marlins.

Dodgers should be hooting, howling in NLCS

During Game 3 of the 1977 National League Championship Series (NLCS) in Philadelphia, the crowd noise caused Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Burt “Hoot Owl” Hooton to lose control.

He walked three consecutive batters, and couldn’t even make it out of the second inning.

Will the Phillies’ fans again get to the Dodgers when the 2008 NLCS begins Thursday?

Probably not.

There are three main reasons the Dodgers should win:

Joe Torre: He was criticized annually for not getting out of the first round with the New York Yankees. The Yankees didn’t even make the playoffs this year; Torre advanced to Round 2. Advantage: Torre.

Manny Ramirez: He stopped playing for the Boston Red Sox but can’t stop playing for the Dodgers. Don’t expect him to stop now. Advantage: Manny.

Greg Maddux. OK, he’s only 2-5 with the Dodgers. But do you see how the LA pitchers – especially the younger ones – immediately go to Maddux when they come out of a game?

The Dodgers’ fourth advantage is a somewhat healthy Rafael Furcal at shortstop. He may not be the .357 hitter he was before being injured in May, but his mere presence at the top of the batting order makes the Dodgers better.

NLCS: Advantage, Dodgers.

Stick a fork in Padres?

The Padres is dead.

(Hopefully, we’re only saying that with tongue in cheek.)

We all know this team couldn’t hit if it faced Double-A pitching.

But now, it’s obvious that the pitching staff is becoming burned out from carrying the team all season.

Or did you not watch the last three losses against the Fighting Phillies of Philadelphia?

Starting pitchers Justin Germano, David Wells and Jake Peavy allowed 15 runs in 15 2/3 innings. They were only bottomed-out by a bullpen that gave up 13 runs in 11 1/3 innings.

The Padres are also gaining a reputation around the National League for excessive whining.

For instance, the Padres kept complaining yesterday (and rightfully so) that some Phillies’ batters did not have their back foot in the batter’s box. That made television announcers Harry Kalas, Chris Wheeler and Gary Matthews on CW Philadelphia laugh aloud and wonder why the Padres were not complaining about this Thursday when Chris Young was pitching a shutout.

For now, the Padres are a laughingstock. The same thing happened last year when San Diego came out of the All-Star break and was swept by Atlanta by giving up 36 runs in three games.

The Padres were good enough to bounce back last year. This year ...

Fighting Phillies are in town

These types of pitching match-ups don’t come along that often.

It’s All-Star Cole Hamels for Philadelphia vs. All-Star Chris Young for the Padres tonight at Petco Park.

What makes the showdown even more intriguing is that Hamels is a local product from Rancho Bernardo High.

Hamels will be pitching in Petco Park for the second time. He gave up three runs in 5 2-3 innings with no decision in San Diego on July 17, 2006.

“My heart was definitely beating the whole time,” Hamels said afterwards. “I haven't had that excitement in a long time. It was great to pitch in my hometown.”

Hamels (11-4, 3.83 ERA) is one win behind National League leader Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs.

Young (8-3, 1.97), meanwhile, has virtually taken over from Jake Peavy as ace of the Padres.

He leads the majors in ERA and has held the opposition scoreless in five of his last eight starts.

According to the latest odds, the Padres are a 13-10 favorite to win tonight.

Advantage, Young.