DODGERS - AUGUST OVERVIEW
2nd place in the NL West
77-56, 7 games behind the D’Backs
1st place in NL Wild Card
2.5 game lead over SF, 6.5 game lead over Houston


LAST TWO WEEKS RESULTS (9-3)
8/16: 3-2 win over Mets
8/17: 10-4 win over Mets
8/18: 2-1 win over Mets
8/20: 6-3 loss to Marlins
8/21: 4-3 win over Marlins
8/22: 6-2 win over Marlins
8/23: 4-3 win over Braves
8/24: 4-3 win over Braves
8/25: 7-5 loss to Braves
8/26: 6-3 loss to D'Backs (12 innings)
8/27: 6-1 win over D'Backs
8/28: 1-0 win over D'Backs

The AL and NL West have the hottest teams in baseball right now with Oakland, Arizona and LA all playing great baseball. The Dodgers have won seven straight series. The Dodgers have proved that they are the real deal with series wins over the first place Braves and D'Backs in back to back series.

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Since I've haven't reported in two weeks, I'll take a more broad look at the lineup and rotation with stats from the month of August.

THE LINEUP

Paul Lo Duca (C): .178, 5R, 1HR, 8RBI, .425 OPS
Paul has really struggled in August and may be distracted being the Dodgers player representative. He has been showing signs of life lately. In his last 7 games, Lo Duca has scored 4 runs, hit a homer and driven in 7 runs. Hopefully he can keep up his production for the stretch run.

Eric Karros (1B): .262, 9R, 1HR, 10RBI, .673 OPS
Karros has been about as unproductive as a corner infielder as you can get. He's been hitting in the 6 hole recently and is barely producing. If you take out his 3-run homer against Arizona, he's done even less. His homer on August 27th was his first since July 2nd. Look for Chin-Feng Chen to get some starts in September.

Mark Grudzielanek (2B): .315, 11R, 4HR, 9RBI, .815 OPS
After being the suprising hero of the week in my last article, Grudzielanek has cooled off over the past two weeks. Over the last week, Mark has hit .200 with only one run and no RBI. Don't expect much from him in September after a great August. He also may lose some time to Joe Thurston in September.

Alex Cora (SS): .339, 8R, 1HR, 9RBI, 3SB, .874 OPS
Cora has been a real surprise this season and has won back the starting shortstop job against right-handed pitchers. Cora has got back to a short, compact swing and has been hitting .300 all season and has played solid defense as well. He's worth a look in NL-only leagues if you're desperate at shortstop. Unfortunately, Cora was shaken up against the D'Backs on Tuesday night, see injuries below for his current status.

Cesar Izturis (SS): .297, 8R, 0HR, 2RBI, .721 OPS
Izturis is now starting only against left-handers. While his production has been good against lefties all season long, he carries little fantasy value as the weak part of a shortstop platoon. With Cora out for a few days, Izturis will pick up a few more starts for the week. Over the past week, Izturis is hitting just .188 (3-16).

Adrian Beltre (3B): .326, 15R, 3HR, 11RBI, 2SB, .887 OPS
Beltre has given the Dodgers much needed production from the hot corner. He continues to hit in the 3 hole in front of Shawn Green, which only helps his fantasy value. He's slumped a bit of late as he hasn't homered and has driven in only one run over the past 2 weeks; he has hit .279.

Tyler Houston (1B, 3B): .118, 3R, 0HR, 0RBI, .373 OPS
Houston has been horrible in the month of August. Over the past 2 weeks, Houston is hitting .071 (1-14) with no runs scored and none driven in. With Beltre playing solid ball, don't expect much from Tyler in September. If you have in, drop him.

Marquis Grissom (LF): .313, 17R, 4HR, 14RBI, 1SB, .891 OPS
Grissom has been great since Brian Jordan has been hobbled with a back injury. He hasn't produced much of late though with only 2 RBI over the last week and only 4 over the last 2 weeks. Grissom also struck out 5 times and went 0-6 on August 27th. Grissom is very streaky and is worth a look in NL-only leagues.

Brian Jordan (LF): .250, 0R, 0HR, 3RBI, .546 OPS
Jordan is on the DL (see below). He is not a good option for the rest of the year. He hasn't homered since July 6th. He's eligible to return from the DL on Sept 1.

Dave Roberts (CF): .274, 9R, 0HR, 7RBI, 9SB, .725 OPS
Jim Tracy says that Roberts has been the 3rd most valuable player on the team behind Green and Gagne. He has been a sparkplug at the top of the order all season long. With Jordan out of the lineup, Roberts is also starting against lefties (1-20 on the season); you'd be wise to sit him against the lefties. He continues to get on base and is a great asset if you need steals over the last month.

Shawn Green (RF): .303, 17R, 10HR, 28RBI, 3SB, 1.152 OPS
Green continues to be the MVP of the Dodgers and is on pace to land near his numbers of last season. He currently has 38 homers and 101 RBI. He continues to mash the ball while pitchers have given him few pitches to hit. Since the break, Shawn has walked 32 times while striking out only 24 times. Over the last week, Green has walked 8 times, hit two homers and struck out twice. He's a superstar, enough said.

PITCHING STAFF

SPARKLING STARTERS
26 starts, 8-4, 168.2IP (avg 6.1IP/start), 3.04 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 113K

Hideo Nomo: 1-0, 3.81 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 33K, 33IP
Nomo has answered the call since Brown went down early in the year and has been the most consistent starter on the staff. Nomo has been solid all season and hasn't faded as many suggested. Over his last 3 starts, Nomo is 1-0 but could easily be 3-0. In the last 3 starts, he threw 20 innings allowing 16 hits, 4 runs, 6 walks and 19 strikeouts.

Odalis Perez: 2-1, 2.05 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 27K, 44IP
Perez has pitched brilliantly in the month of August but has only 2 wins to show for it. In his last start against the D'Backs, Perez pitched 8 shutout innings allowing only 5 hits and no walks. He also provided all the offense for the night with his first major league home run. In his 6 August starts, Perez has gone at least 7 innings and has allowed 3 or fewer runs in every start. His 9 day rest at the end of July seems to have worked wonders.

Andy Ashby: 2-0, 1.54 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 19K, 35IP
This is going to sound like a broken record but Ashby could easily have been 5-0 in the month instead of 2-0. Ashby didn't allow a home run in 35 innings in August. In his first start of the month, Ashby threw 7.1 shutout innings but took a no decision. He allowed 3 or few runs in all 5 of his August starts.

Omar Daal: 2-1, 2.60 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 14K, 34.2IP
No my brain isn't on a loop, the Dodgers starting pitching has been brilliant in August. Daal has been the insurance that the Dodgers needed and he has been solid as a starter since Brown hit the DL. In 5 August starts, Daal allowed 2 or few runs in every start. His only loss came in the Gagne ejection debacle against the Reds. Daal has been getting the job done with his soft tossing junk, which is a great contrast between Ashby and Nomo.

Kazuhisa Ishii: 1-2, 6.95 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 20K, 22 IP
Someone had to the goat on the staff and Ishii is the winner by a landslide of Reagan proportions. Ishii could easily be 1-4 for the month and if you haven't noticed Ishii's wildness by now, you're probably not reading enough of my writing. Ishii has won only 1 of his last 8 starts. Over his last 7 starts, Ishii's ERA has ballooned from 3.31 to 4.33. In his last start, he lasted only 1 inning allowing 5 runs on 2 homers to Atlanta. Ishii leads the majors with 100 walks. Ishii will have his next start skipped with an offday tomorrow; whether he stays in the rotation after that remains to be seen. Ishii said, "I think that has something to do with it but that's not the main reason. Everyone at this point is having... some fatigue and I think it's only natural that it affects every player." Stay away from Ishii.

Kevin Brown: 1-0, 6.00 ERA, 2.22 WHIP, 12K, 9IP
While Brown isn't back in the starting five, I think it is inevitable that Brown will be given a shot at the rotation soon enough probably at the expense of Ishii. Brown has pitched in 3 games as a reliever so far and hasn't been very sharp. His last effort against Atlanta was encouraging as Brown struck out 9 in just 4 innings of work. As long as he's healthy, he will back starting before long.

RELIEVERS
9-5, 12 saves, 20HLD, 3.81 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 71IP, 68K

Eric Gagne: 2-1, 10 saves, 3.24 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 25K, 16.2IP
Gagne set the Dodgers save record yesterday with his 45th save of the season, passing Todd Worrell's 44 set in 1996. He did blow 2 saves in the month and has been a bit more human. Gagne is still overpowering and arguably the most valuable closer in the game today.

Paul Shuey: 4-2, 1S, 4HLD, 4.30 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 9K, 14.2IP
After being roughed up in his first 11 appearances with the Dodgers, Shuey has settled in and is giving the Dodgers a very valuable 8th inning bridge to get to Gagne. Shuey hasn't allowed a run over his last 7.2 innings over 5 games, in which he's allowed one hit, 2 walks while striking out 4.

Paul Quantrill: 1-1, 1S, 10HLD, 2.38 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 8K, 11.1IP
Quantrill hasn't been especially good recently as his 1.76 WHIP attests to. He's been bailed out by the other relievers several times.

Jesse Orosco: 0-0, 5HLD, 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 5K, 4IP
What's not to like about a 45-year-old lefty specialist? Orosco can still get the job done and will be the first pitcher with a walker. He loves the game and that's that.

Guillermo Mota: 0-1, 6.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 2K, 3IP
Mota was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to be eligible for the playoff roster. Whether he can pitch well enough remains to be seen.

POTENTIAL SEPTEMBER CALLUPS
With the Dodgers in a tight pennant race, don't expect much impact from any September callups. That could change if there were an injury to a starter, but barring injury, don't expect much playing time for the youngsters in LA.

Chin-Feng Chen (1B): 132G, .284, 85R, 26-2B, 25HR, 81RBI, 55BB, 154SO
Chen's stock has been slipping as he climbed the ranks of minor league ball. He was a 30-30 player back in 99 for Single-A San Bernadino. He was promoted to Double-A San Antonio in 2000, but didn't hit for as much power: .277-6-67-23. In 2001, he started the year back in Single-A but was promoted to Double-A midway through the year. He hit .313 with 17 homers and 50 RBI for Double-A Jacksonville. Despite decent plate discipline, Chen strikes out a lot and his strikeouts have increased every year. This season he's walked 55 times in 132 games and he's struck out 154 times! Not a good sign. Las Vegas is a also a hitters park so you can't expect him to hit that well in the majors, especially in Dodger Stadium. Chen is still only 24 years old, so he still holds a lot of potential. Expect Chen to get a few starts with the weak hitting Eric Karros at first.

Joe Thurston (2B): 132G, .334, 102R, 36-2B, 13-3B, 10HR, 50RBI, 22SB, 25BB, 59SO
Thurston, 22, has caught the eye of the Dodger brass with his strong work ethic and gritty style of play. He's added some power to his offensive arsenal and is considered the Dodgers second baseman of the future. Thurston was the Dodgers' 2000 Minor League Player of the Year. Thurston would be a great 2 hitter for the club and if Grudzielanek struggles in September look for Thurston to get even more playing time.

Bubba Crosby (OF): 73G, .262, 26R, 12-2B, 9HR, 36RBI, 19BB, 47SO
Crosby, 25, was the 23rd overall selection in the 1998 draft after a great career at Rice University which included 25 homers in his senior year. Crosby has battled injury problems in his minor league career but has been healthy for the past couple of seasons. Crosby is a line-drive hitter who uses all fields.

INJURIES

Alex Cora (SS) - Status: Day-to-day
Cora suffered a concussion when his head hit Tony Womack's knee on a head first slide into second base on the 26th. Cora was put on a stretcher and taken off the field in an ambulance for precautionary measures. He's been doing cardio work on a bike and should return over the next few days.

Adrian Beltre (3B) - Status: Active
According to The Los Angeles Daily News, Beltre has been slowed recently by sore hamstrings; however, he is set on playing through the pain. "It's definitely not 100 percent yet, so I have to play smart." He's stolen a couple bases in August so they can't be bothering him too much.

Brian Jordan (OF) - Status: 15-day DL (lower back)
Jordan was placed on the DL retroactive to August 17th and he is eligible to return September 1st. Jordan has been taking indoor batting practice and may be able to return next week. There is definitely a concern that Jordan may not be able to play effectively even if he returns due to the hardnosed style that Jordan is accustomed to. Jordan had the same back problem in 1997. Jolbert Cabrera was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to fill Jordan's roster spot.

Giovanni Carrara (RP) - Status: 15-day DL (right forearm)
Carrara is eligible to return from the DL on August 26th. Carrara has thrown two simulated games and will return to the club when rosters expand on Sept 1st. He admitted that his arm was bothering him in early August more than he let on; perhaps a good excuse as to his August torchings.

A FINAL THOUGHT

Personally, I didn't really want to include any talk of an impending strike in my article because the strike talk makes me sick and frankly I don't want to know anything about it. The ultra-rich owners and multi-millionaire players need to compromise and quit their whining. This is a site for the fans and none of us want to hear this BS, we just want to see our favorite game played on the diamond.

Paul Lo Duca, the Dodgers player representative, has been the only player that I've heard acknowledge the fans (and that was after he was talking strongly of the impending strike). He said, "The fans have been great, and I do apologize. I'm not greedy. I don't want the fans to perceive me that way ... these fans, they've been on a roller coaster for a while, and I can understand their frustration."

Hopefully our frustration and pain won't continue past this Saturday. Play Ball!!!

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Chris Wang
Dodgers Correspondent