Sports: Of local interest

It looks like Gagne will return to the DL when Jeff Kent comes off the DL.

It is the smart and safe move. If Gagne is ever to return to anything near the form he had before, he has to heal more fully. He does have a bull-headed hockey mindset so wiser minds will have to tell him otherwise.

Anyway, between Saito and Baez, the Dodgers can manage to close games out. However, some of the set-up has been shaky. Hamulak and Beimel have occasionally been the arson squad igniting rallies. Broxton has improved over last year it might be too much to expect the youngster to be the main bridge to Saito and Baez.

Meanwhile, Dodger starting pitching is solid with Lowe, Penny and Sele. However, Tomko has been terrible and Seo and Perez are having a contest on who can do worse given the opportunity to be the fifth starter.

Dodgers started off poorly, got on a hot streak and are now settling into .500 ball which is about what people expected. The Dodgers seized the NL West lead because the D'backs are now in a prolonged slump.

Then over in the AL West, the Angels have raced to the bottom. I was at the game last Sunday as they dropped a third loss to the Mariners thus getting swept in the series.

Team USA soccer flopped today resulting in the Coach Arena ripping the team in public.