LA Begins Crucial 7 game Stretch Against Rivals

If the Dodgers feel like making up ground on the two teams ahead of them in the NL West, whom happen to be their biggest rivals, now is as good a time as any.  The Blue Crew currently sit 7 games back of NL West leader San Diego and 3.5 games back of the Wild-Card leading Giants of San Francisco.  They’ll have a chance to inflict direct damage on their competitors beginning tonight as they stroll into the bay for a three game set.  After that, the Padres head to Chavez Ravine for four.

Tonight won’t exactly be easy.  The Dodgers will throw out their resident fifth starter of the week, Carlos Monasterios, against the two-time defending Cy Young known as “the freak.”  Ironically, it was Tim Lincecum whom the Dodgers last had success against offensively by tagging the right-hander for 5 runs in 4.2 innings, yet we all know that saying about how lightning usually doesn’t strike….well I’ll try not to go there.  If there’s a sliver of hope tonight, it’s that Monasterios threw really well in his last start (5 shutout innings) before succumbing to injury.

Unfortunately, the acquisition of the mighty Scott Podsednik didn’t jump start the offense in his debut as we all expected last night (just wanted to see if you were paying attention).  Whether the Dodgers make another move will be determined in less than 20 hours when the deadline of the baseball trading season arrives.  Don’t expect anything flashy, ladies and gentleman.

In the meantime, let’s hope the team understands the significance of the next several games and plays with a collective sense of urgency.