DODGERS - 9/20/02
3rd place in the NL West
86-67, 8.5 games behind the D’Backs
2nd place in NL Wild Card, 1 game behind the SF Giants



LAST WEEK'S RESULTS (3-4)
9/13: 5-4 loss to Rockies
9/14: 16-3 win over Rockies
9/15: 5-4 loss to Rockies
9/16: 7-6 win over Giants
9/17: 6-4 loss to Giants
9/18: 7-4 loss to Giants
9/19: 6-3 win over Giants

RECAP
Another tough week for the Dodgers as they now trail in the wild card race by one game to the Giants. The Dodgers started out in Colorado and lost 3 of 4 to the Rockies. They could have easily come out of the series with a split but the bullpen coughed up a late lead. They entered the four game Giants series trailing by a game. It was an hard fought series all the way through and the Dodgers managed a split after dropping games 2 and 3.

9 GAMES TO THE FINISH LINE
The Dodgers finish the season with 7 games against the Padres and 2 against the Rockies. In the past, the Padres have been a thorn in the Dodgers playoff hopes and look to play spoiler over the next 10 days. The Pads lead the season series 7-5. The Dodgers play a 3 game set in Qualcomm starting tonight. The Pads have a 40-38 home record. After an off day, the Dodgers will host the Rockies for 2 games. The Dodgers lead the season series 11-6 but dropped 3 of 4 in Colorado last week. Dodger fans can look to the Rockies 25-50 road record for comfort. To close the season, the Pads come to town for a 4 game set; the Padres have a 24-51 road record. Hopefully the Dodgers can capitalize on the weak road play of both Colorado and San Diego.

The Giants final series:
3 games at Milwaukee (lead series 2-1)
2 games vs San Diego (lead series 12-5)
3 games vs Houston (lead series 2-1)
1 game (make-up) vs Atlanta (series tied 3-3)

PITCHING: BROWN OUT
Kevin Brown, 37, has been shut down for the season after his back didn't respond as well as hoped for after his ugly start in San Francisco. Brown continued to experience back pain and underwent an MRI test and received an epidural injection. Although Brown's condition didn't worsen, manager Jim Tracy said that Brown didn't progress enough "to continue to send him out there." Brown finished the year 3-4 with a 4.81 ERA in only 63.2 innings of work, which is his lowest total since 1988. Brown's health has to a concern going forward as he's been on the DL six times over the last 3 seasons. Hopefully the offseason will allow Brown to rest and be ready for next season.

After a brilliant August, Omar Daal has been crushed in September. In his last three starts, Daal has given up 21 hits and 14 runs in only 10 innings. Daal started game 2 of the Giants series and lasted only 1.2 innings allowing 5 runs on 5 hits. He was leaving the ball up in the zone and Daal can't get away with that when he only throws 85mph.

With Brown and Ishii out for the year, the Dodgers were forced to start Kevin Beirne twice last week. On Friday the 13th, Beirne pitched solidly against the Rockies allowing 2 runs on 7 hits over 5.1 innings. Unfortunately the bullpen couldn't hold the lead and he was stuck with a no decision. His second start came against the Giants and it was a struggle for 4 innings. He allowed 3 runs on 5 hits, one a home run. With an off day Monday, don't expect Beirne to start again this season.

Odalis Perez went 2-0 for the week. He pitched a gem last night in a do or die game for the Dodgers. He threw a complete game against the Giants allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. While Jim Tracy obviously needed to rest his bullpen, I question his logic as Perez ended up throwing 120 pitches; he could have pulled Perez in the 7th or 8th and pitched Perez on short rest next week. We'll see if that decision comes back to haunt them.

What can be said about Nomo? He's been the ace of the Dodgers for much of the season. This week he won game 1 of the Giants series, hurling 6 solid innings for his second win over the rivals in a week. In his last 12 starts, Nomo is 6-0. Jim Tracy has stated that Nomo may pitch on 3 days rest twice over the stretch run as the Dodgers are thin right now and Nomo is getting the job done. I am a bit concerned as Nomo has had high pitch counts over his last 3 starts (122, 132, 113); but unless you have better options, I'd continue to start him.

OFFENSE: JORDAN ON A TEAR
I'll give myself a pat on the back for suggesting that Jordan may be the Dodger hero in September and he has been coming up with big hits all September. This week, Jordan hit .423 with 3 homers and 14 RBI. For the month, Jordan is hitting .308 with 5 homers and 24 RBI. Jordan hit a huge go ahead grand slam in game 1 against the Giants and then hit a base clearing double in game 4.

The Dodger offense had a great week scoring 4 or more runs in all 7 games; however, it was the pitching staff that didn't hold up. In 7 games, the Dodgers hit .316 with 11 homers, 14 doubles and 45 RBI. If they can continue to produce at this level over the final 9 games, they have a good shot at the playoffs.

WHO'S HOT (last 7 days)
Brian Jordan (OF): .423 (11-26), 5R, 4-2B, 3HR, 14RBI, 1.423 OPS
Adrian Beltre (3B): .375 (9-24), 3R, 2-2B, 2HR, 8RBI, 1.108 OPS
Eric Karros (1B): .333 (9-27), 5R, 2-2B, 2HR, 7RBI, 1.029 OPS
Odalis Perez (SP): 2-0, 3.21 ERA, 1.07 WHIP

WHO'S NOT (last 7 days)
Omar Daal (SP): 0-1, 27.00 ERA, 6.67 WHIP
Andy Ashby (SP): 0-1, 10.38 ERA, 2.68 WHIP

Good Luck to the Dodgers over their last 9 games...

I will have a season in review piece up shortly after the season with expectations for the winter ahead...

Chris Wang
Dodgers Correspondent

DODGERS - 9/13/02
2nd place (tie) in the NL West
83-63, 7 games behind the D’Backs
1st place tie in NL Wild Card with SF Giants
4.5 game lead over Houston


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS (2-5)
9/6: 3-2 win over Astros
9/7: 6-1 loss to Astros
9/8: 6-2 loss to Astros
9/9: 6-5 loss to Giants
9/10: 5-2 loss to Giants
9/11: 7-3 win over Giants
9/12: 7-1 loss to Rockies

RECAP
It was a terrible week for the Dodgers, who coughed up their wild card lead to the Giants. The Dodgers lost consecutive series to the Astros and Giants after winning 9 straight series. Right now the team looks flat and is really struggling with all aspects of their game. The starting pitching is hurting and the staff as a whole gave up 30 runs in their 5 losses for the week. The offense struggled as they scored only 21 runs for the entire week.

WEEK AHEAD
This week could decide the NL wild card winner as the Dodgers host the Giants for a 4 game set beginning on Monday night. The Dodgers haven't fared well against the Giants at home this season as they were swept in LA to open the season and are just 1-5 for the season. The Dodgers hope to have some momentum going into the series as they hope to wake up their bats in the hitter friendly Coors Field. Their offense certainly needs the jolt.

ISHII OUT FOR THE YEAR... STARTING STAFF UNRAVELLING
In the rubber match of the Houston series, Kazuhisa Ishii was struck in the forehead by a Brian Hunter line drive in the 3rd inning. It was a frightening scene as the ball hit Ishii so hard that it bounced back into foul ground by home plate. Ishii had to be taken off the field in an ambulance and he was later diagnosed with a concussion and skull fracture. He needed surgery to remove bone chips from his nasal passage and needless to say Ishii is out for the year. He will be released from the hospital today and is expected to make a full recovery. Ishii finishes the year 14-10 with a 4.27 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 154 innings.

Andy Ashby had his Tuesday start scratched after suffering a blister on his middle finger. It's not exactly clear how this will effect Ashby's pitching performance but Ashby is confident that he will be able to pitch Sunday against the Rockies. He said, "There's no reason I shouldn't be able to pitch Sunday unless it swells up or I stick (the finger) in something I shouldn't." Ashby was hit hard in his last 2 starts allowing 10 runs in just 8 innings of work.

Though the Dodgers wanted to take it slow with Kevin Brown, the injuries to Ashby and Ishii forced their hand and Brown made his first start since May 26th against the Giants. Brown clearly isn't the ace that he once was and he allowed 5 runs in 5 innings of work. He was very erratic and allowed the first 4 Giants to reach base in the first. Brown's velocity isn't where you'd expect it to be if he were at full strength. The team elected not to take Brown on the Colorado leg of the road trip as he received a cortisone injection in his back. I wouldn't recommend Brown for the home stretch, but I hope that he can pull out a miracle as he will face the Giants in game 1 this week.
***UPDATE*** 9/16 - Brown has been shut down for the season. His back hasn't responded to treatment and remains stiff. The team has decided that it would be best for Brown to shut it down for the year.

Kevin Beirne, 28, will make his second major league start tonight against the Rockies. Beirne made his only other start for the White Sox in 2000. Beirne has been effective in relief thus far for the Dodgers as he is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in 9 games.

After a brilliant August, Omar Daal struggled in both his starts in the week. Daal lost both his starts for the week allowing 9 runs in just 8.1 innings. He was pounded for 16 hits. Daal will get the Giants in his only start this week. He's pitched well against them this season going 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA in 17.1 innings. Hopefully Omar can right his ship for the wild card battle.

Hideo Nomo proved himself the ace as he salvaged the final game of the Giants series by striking out 8 in 6.2 innings for his 14 win of the season. Nomo has been the staff ace this season after struggling with his control early in the season. In his last 23 starts, Nomo is 12-1 and the team is 19-4 in those starts. Jim Tracy said, "You've heard the word warrior used with this guy... I don't know where this club would be without the presence of Hideo Nomo.

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE ADRIAN BELTRE... AND OFFENSE IN GENERAL?
There's no question that Adrian Beltre has helped Shawn Green carry the Dodger offense in the second half; but suddenly Beltre has gone ice cold. In the last eight games, Beltre is just 1-31 (.032) with 1 run, 1 walk and 9 strikeouts. The numbers pretty much tell the whole story as he looks totally lost at the plate. He's swinging at everything and looks totally overmatched right now. Definitely bench Beltre until he shows that he can wait for his pitch.

So who will be the hero for the Dodgers over the home stretch? If he can stay healthy, it just may be Brian Jordan. Last year, Jordan drove a stake through the Mets hearts with game winning homers in back to back nights with just a week to go in the season. Jordan had a solid week going 7-26 with a homer and 8 RBI, the team had only 20 in total.

WHO'S HOT (last 7 days)
Shawn Green: .280 (7-25), 6R, 2HR, 2RBI, 3BB, 7K, 1SB
Brian Jordan: .269 (7-26), 2R, 1HR, 8RBI, 2BB, 6K
Hideo Nomo: 1-0, 2.63 ERA, 13.2IP, 11H, 11BB, 16K

WHO'S NOT (last 7 days)
The offense: .218 (47-216), 21 R, 3HR, 20RBI
Adrian Beltre: .037 (1-27), 1R, 0RBI, 8K
Dave Roberts: .166 (3-18), 1R, 2BB, 4SB
Omar Daal: 0-2, 9.72 ERA, 8.1IP, 16H, 5BB, 6K
Kevin Brown: 0-1, 7.50 ERA, 6IP, 6H, 2BB, 4K


WELCOME CHEN TO THE MAJORS
On September 9th, Chin-Feng Chen, 24, became the first Taiwanese player on a major league roster. Chen was promoted after the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s were eliminated from the playoffs. In 137 games this season, Chen hit .284 with 26 homers and 84 RBI. Chen could be the future replacement for Eric Karros though Chen still needs to develop better plate discipline as he struck out 160 times in just 137 games this year.

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Chris Wang
Dodgers Correspondent

If you have read this article, please leave me a comment of any kind. Just curious to know if there's anybody out there....

DODGERS - 9/5/02
2nd place in the NL West
81-58, 5 games behind the D’Backs
1st place in NL Wild Card
2.5 game lead over SF, 8 game lead over Houston


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS (4-2)
8/30: 8-4 loss to Astros
8/31: 4-0 win over Astros
9/1: 2-1 win over Astros
9/2: 19-1 win over D'Backs
9/3: 3-2 win over D'Backs
9/4: 7-1 loss to D'Backs

RECAP
The Dodgers continued their solid play with series wins over two playoff contenders. The Dodgers have now won 9 straight series and continue to win behind strong starting pitching. Odalis Perez, Kaz Ishii, Omar Daal and Hideo Nomo went a perfect 4-0 in 4 starts. They combined for 25 innings allowing only 1 run on 13 hits and 8 walks while striking out 20. Andy Ashby took both losses for the week as he pitched poorly after a string of 6 quality starts. He lasted only 3 innings against the Astros and was tagged for 2 homers in the first inning against the D'Backs.

Offensively, it's basically been the same story for the entire second half. Adrian Beltre and Shawn Green continue to provide the bulk of the offense for the Dodgers. The potent duo combined to go .360 with 11 runs, 5 homers and 13 RBI for the week. Green has been even better in the second half as he's cut down on his strikeouts and increased his walk rate while not degrading his power numbers. In 51 games after the break, Green has 33 walks and only 28 strikeouts.

The Dodgers had one of their biggest offesive outburts ever in a 19-1 destruction of the D'Backs in game 1 of the series. Green and Brian Jordan started the offense with back-to-back homers in the second inning. The Dodgers pounded out 24 hits (5 homers), matching the most since they moved to Los Angeles 44 years ago. The game became such a laugher that Mark Grace pitched the ninth inning and he was more effective than starter Rick Helling. Grace retired the first two Dodgers that he faced before serving up catcher David Ross's first major league homer.

BROWN vs ISHII

Ishii earned himself another turn in the rotation with one of his best performances of the year against Arizona. Ishii was pitching on 8 days rest and threw 5.1 innings of shutout baseball. He was bailed out of a bases loaded, 1 out jam by Kevin Brown and Jesse Orosco, who each struck out a batter. Ishii has owned the D'Backs this season going 3-0 in 3 starts with a 0.95 ERA. Ishii's next start comes against the Astros, whom he hasn't faced yet this season.

Brown has struggled since returning from the DL and Jim Tracy has said that he wants Brown to increase his arm strength before returning to the starting rotation. He has looked sharper in his last couple of appearances.

On a local radio show, the host was in favor of going with what got the Dodgers this far; but to me that doesn't make sense if Ishii continues to be as wild as he has been. Ishii's 1.55 WHIP is just plain awful. In my mind, if the Dodgers make the playoffs, they will have to consider going with Brown, who is one of the best big game pitchers in the game.

WHO'S HOT (last 7 days)
Adrian Beltre (3B): .384 (10-26), 8R, 3HR, 9RBI, 1SB, 1.230 OPS
Shawn Green (RF): .333 (8-24), 3R, 2HR, 4RBI, 1.026 OPS
Paul Lo Duca (C): .300 (6-20), 3R, 4-2B, 2RBI, .833 OPS
Odalis Perez (SP): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 2H, 2BB, 5K
Omar Daal (SP): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.2 IP, 2H, 2BB, 3K
Kazuhisa Ishii (SP): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.1 IP, 4H, 2BB, 4K
Hideo Nomo (SP): 1-0, 1.28 ERA, 7 IP, 5H, 2BB, 8K

WHO'S NOT (last 7 days)
Dave Roberts (CF): .083 (1-12), 2R, 1SB, .166 OPS
Marquis Grissom (OF): .150 (3-20), 3R, 0RBI, .340 OPS
Mark Grudzielanek (2B): .166 (3-18), 2R, 1RBI, 1SB, .323 OPS
Eric Karros (1B): .187 (3-16), 1R, 2RBI, 1SB, .527 OPS
Andy Ashby (SP): 0-2, 5.62 ERA, 8 IP, 12H, 4BB, 6K, 2HR
Kevin Brown (RP): 0-0, 6.23 ERA, 4.1 IP, 5H, 2BB, 4K, 2HR

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SEPTEMBER 1ST ROSTER MOVES

BACK FROM TRAINERS TABLE
Brian Jordan: activated from DL (back)
Jordan finally returned from the DL but didn't have a very good week. He hit only .153 in 5 games, but did hit his first homer since July 6th. Unfortuntately Jordan aggravated his lower back strain scaling the fence trying to catch Matt Williams's homer on September 4th. He expects to be back in the lineup on Friday but Jordan is a risky fantasy proposition for the rest of the season as back injuries tend to linger.

Giavanni Carrara: activated from DL (forearm)
Carrara could have been activated earlier but the Dodgers wanted to rest him as much as possible and also have flexibility for their playoff roster. Carrara pitched well upon his return throwing 3 shutout innings allowing only 1 hit and 2 walks.

Jeff Reboulet: activated from DL (back)
Reboulet has been ready to come off the DL for weeks but the Dodger preferred to go with Mike Kinkade, who has hit .375 in 40 at-bats. Reboulet is a non factor in the fantasy world.

FROM LAS VEGAS TO THE SHOW

Joe Thurston (2B): 136G .334 106R 29-2B 13-3B 12HR 55RBI 22SB
Thurston, 22, is considered the second baseman of the future for the Dodgers. I'd expect him to get a shot at the starting job come next spring. He's a hard nosed player with a strong work ethic. However with the Dodgers in the thick of a pennant race, don't expect Thurston to get many at-bats unless Grudzielanek gets injured. Thurston made his debut in the Arizona rout but went 0-2 with a strikeout.

Wilkin Ruan (OF): 40G .327 18R 7-2B 3-3B 0HR 29RBI 12SB
Ruan, 23, gives the Dodgers a great pinch hitting option in September. The guy can fly and he has great instincts on the bases. This year in the minors, Ruan has stolen 35 bases while being caught only 3 times. Ruan made his debut against Houston as a pinch runner. On Sept 2nd, he collect his first major league hit off of the D'Backs Eddie Oropesa. In the same inning he hit his first double and drove in a pair of runs.

Dave Ross (C): 92G .297 48R 16-2B 15HR 68RBI
Ross, 25, was called up in July when Chad Kreuter made a trip to the DL. Ross will be the team's third catcher and provides some pop of the bench. He hit his first major league homer off Mark Grace, yes the first baseman, on September 2nd.

Jeff Williams (RP): 56G 6-4 28sv 2.60ERA 79.2IP 80H 3HR 22BB 75SO
The Dodgers hope that Williams, 30, can provide another reliable left handed arm out of the pen to go with Jesse Orosco. Williams was up earlier in the year and has been hit extremely hard in 5 appearances. In his last game against the D'Backs, Williams allowed 1 run on 1 hit and 3 walks while striking out 2.

Kevin Beirne (SP): 22GS 10-3 4.15ERA 125.2IP 129H 41BB 88SO
Beirne was first called up in August to serve as a right-handed long man out of the pen. He was sent down on August 27th so that Guillermo Mota would be eligible for postseason play. He has been pretty effective in 7 games with a 2.61 ERA.

THE RACE TO THE FINISH

The Dodgers hold their playoff fate in their own hands for the most part, unless the Giants go on an Oakland type run from here on out. So here's a quick look at the Dodgers remaining games (win-loss record) and who they face.

Houston Astros (2-1), 3 games
A big series for Houston as they trail the Dodgers by 8 games in the wild card. Houston needs a sweep to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Dodgers took 2 of 3 from the Astros in Houston last week. The Dodgers will face Saarloos and Hernandez, who they defeated last week, as well as staff ace Roy Oswalt.

SF Giants (5-7), 7 games
These teams have split 6 games after the break and the wild card could be decided within the next two weeks as these teams will play 7 times. The first 3 games are in Pac Bell and then the following 4 are in Chavez Ravine.

Colorado Rockies (10-3), 6 games
The Dodgers have owned the Rockies this season but haven't faced them since June. Odalis Perez has dominated the Rockies going 2-0 in 3 starts while allowing only a .165 batting average.

SD Padres(5-7),7 games
The Dodgers play the Padres in 7 of their last 9 games as the Padres will look to be a spoiler. The Padres will play only the D'Backs, Giants and Dodgers for the rest of the season. The Padres have won 4 of the 5 from the Dodgers since the break.

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Chris Wang
Dodgers Correspondent