Getting nervous in Dodgertown

Penny winds up on the DL. Dreifort is done for the season. Gagne loses two games.

The last few seasons, Dodgers fans would hope only to see the team flounder as the season nears the end.

Is it happening again?

The starting rotation right now is Perez, Weaver, Lima, Alvarez and Ishii.

Perez has been hard luck all season with lots of good outings but little run support.

Weaver, after initially struggling, has settled into a pretty reliable starter.

Lima and Alvarez aren't power pitchers but they are hitting their spots and have done way better than expected.

Ishii has been going downhill for a few months now. Fans are clamoring for a change in the #5 spot. It might be time to bring in the middle relievers to tag team a start and have one of them go for 3-5 innings. Perhaps Carrara or Sanchez or Dessens.

Offensively, the Dodger bats are doing much more than last year. Finley has been a plus. But Penny remains to be seen as he is on the DL and Mota's departure has left the bullpen in a shambles. Prior to the trade, the bullpen hardly ever lost leads. Since the trade, the bullpen has lost more leads in the last month than the whole of the season prior.

Dreifort has struggled of late and the reason is now known, ACL. Poor guy, he has had so many injuries the last few years. He was supposed to take Mota's spot as the 8th inning guy. Now, he is done for the season and possibly for a career. Who gets the 8th inning set-up spot? Tracy should hand the ball to either wily vet Carrara or young fireballer Brazoban.

Gagne has lost two games. It just goes to show you how amazing the streak was. It takes so little for an inning to go wrong. In the loss the other night to the Marlins, he struggled but almost got out of the jam and was one strike and one out away from getting the save but then a hit to the gap cleared the bases. And last night, again, if there is no passed ball, maybe things are different? Callers to post-game Dodger talk are saying Gagne's velocity on the gun is down. It is now in the low-to mid-90s instead of the usual mid- to high-90s. It could be fatigue physically or psychologically or both.

DePodesta took a risk. He was hoping Finley would bring some extra offense and he has. Penny would be that extra starter and that remains to be seen. He was counting on the bullpen to have been deep enough to absorb the loss of Mota and that appears to have been a mistaken calculation.

If Penny comes back and is as advertized then that is two pluses versus one minus and the Dodgers have a better shot at the post-season and in the post-season. As it is now, it is a wash and maybe a net loss if the bullpen doesn't find a new combination of pitchers and roles.