We'll See What the Dodgers Are Made Of

This has to be the strangest season on record.  The Dodgers hold a 11.5 game lead in the division standings with fourteen games to play, and few of us are comfortable with post-season prospects with the recent avalanche of injuries coupled with the team's lackluster play.  Just when things seemed to be going great, the Dodgers again find one more additional challenge this year.  We'll see what they are made of in this final stretch of the season.

After getting walloped by the Giants 19-3 on Saturday night there's no other way to say it.  That was an embarassment.  San Francisco scored a Dodger Stadium record 19 runs, the most by an opponent in the 52 year history of the Stadium.  Regardless of the injuries and the weak lineup put out there, there's no excuse for this type of output by a team that we all felt so good about a few short weeks ago.  Who would have figured that the Giants would score more runs than the amount of games they are behind in the standings?

Yes, it was only one game, but these lackluster performances are starting to become a habit, and that's not a good sign when you're about to start playing the best teams in the league in the playoffs.  This is a Dodger team that seriously needs to dig deep and win several more while many of their best sit and heal up.

The latest to join the mounting injury scrap heap is Carl Crawford who exited the game with a recurring back issue, something that will probably sideline him for a week or so.  Added to that is Andre Ethier who is now sporting a walking boot.  Yasiel Puig remains in the lineup, but he's dinged up all over the place, (but continues to play with recklessness-even in a game where they are down 10 + runs).  It was a wise decision for Mattingly to get Puig out of there before he harmed himself anymore as the result of the game was already a foregone conclusion.

Who would have figured the the Dodgers would be counting on Edinson Volquez to right the ship today?   That is the case as the Dodgers close out the home stand, attempting to salvage a split in what has to be considered the San Francisco Giants high point of the season.  The magic number remains at four.