The Dodgers are only a game out of first place at the All-Star break, no small feat considering that they're three games under .500 and are one of the lowest-scoring teams in baseball.
"We haven't played our best baseball yet," pitcher Chad Billingsley said.
At least they're hoping that's the case.
Playing with any semblance of consistency has been a challenge for these Dodgers, who field a lineup consisting largely of players in their early- to mid-20s. Most of the team's veterans have under-performed or landed on the disabled list -- or, in some cases, both.
In the penultimate game of the first half of the season, the Dodgers suffered what could turn out to be a back-breaking loss, as closer Takashi Saito walked off the mound with what turned out to be a sprained ligament in his elbow. Like leading hitter Rafael Furcal, Saito will be out until at least late August.
Andruw Jones, who was signed to a $36.2-million contract this winter to provide the Dodgers with a big bat in the middle of the order, was hitting .165 through May 23 and underwent knee surgery.
Juan Pierre was put on the DL for the first time in his career and he remains sidelined along with Brad Penny, who hasn't looked like himself for most of the season because of shoulder problems that he said started in spring training.
Of the everyday veteran positions players, only Jeff Kent has managed to avoid the disabled list -- and even he has been frequently rested to avoid overburdening a stiff back.
Manager Joe Torre, who signed a $13-million deal in November to replace Grady Little as manager, has admitted that earning the trust of the team's highly touted nucleus of young players hasn't been easy.
"You can tell youngsters, if you ever have children, 'Don't play with matches,' but until they burn themselves, they're not going to necessarily know what you're talking about," Torre said.
The Dodgers will be replacing hitting coach Mike Easler with Don Mattingly when they resume playing on Friday in Arizona, and Torre said he hoped Mattingly's gentle demeanor would make some of his players more receptive to the message that the coaching staff has been trying to deliver.
But Torre also said that there's no substitute for experience.
"That's something you can't rush," he said. "You can't force that. Batting practice doesn't help you. You have to come out here and play the game and be able to make adjustments as you go along."
