Vicente Padilla

Beggars can't be choosers -- which is probably the best way to sum up the Dodgers' decision to sign former All-Star right-hander Vicente Padilla . Padilla was released by the Texas Rangers on Monday and then cleared waivers before the Dodgers offered him a minor league contract and a chance to return to the National League. Texas is responsible for the remainder of Padilla's $12-million salary as well as the $1.75-million option on his buyout for next season, leaving the Dodgers to pay only a prorated portion of the major league minimum, which comes to about $100,000.

Vicente Padilla needs surgery to repair a bulging disk in his neck, possibly ending the relief pitcher's season, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said Monday. Padilla was expected to have the operation Thursday and his return "just depends on how he comes out" of the procedure, Mattingly said. Asked whether the Nicaraguan right-hander could be out for the season, Mattingly replied, "Definitely I think we're looking at an extended period of time … it's not one of those two-, three-week deals.

With their season on the line, the Dodgers will send their $100,000 pitcher to the mound for Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. Manager Joe Torre announced on Monday that Vicente Padilla would be moved ahead of Clayton Kershaw in the rotation and start the Dodgers' next game, which will be played on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park. Signed by the Dodgers in August for a prorated share of the major league minimum, Padilla has allowed only one run in 14 1/3 innings over his two starts this postseason.

Reporting from Cincinnati What's next? The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding into left field? Right when it appeared as if the Dodgers were starting to regain their health, they were hit with another wave of potentially devastating reports out of the trainer's room. Starting pitcher Jon Garland is headed to the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. The only reason he wasn't officially moved there Friday was that his anticipated replacement on the active roster, reliever Vicente Padilla, had to remain sidelined because of neck pain.

The Dodgers aren't hitting and their bullpen is falling apart. Their disabled list includes three of their starting position players. But at least their rotation was stable. Until Wednesday. That was when an MRI exam revealed a bulging disk in the neck of Vicente Padilla , which will land him on the 15-day disabled list Friday. Padilla was visibly frustrated, saying, "We're not winning and I can't do anything to help the team. " The trip to the disabled list will be Padilla's second of the season.

Manna from heaven -- thank you, thank you, Vicente Padilla . Oh, how I've missed the days when the Dodgers' clubhouse was stocked with grumps, malcontents and losers, even missing the miserable likes of Kevin Brown, Jeff Kent and so many other undesirables. Things have gone so badly around here I've found myself shaking hands with players, learning rap and making the case, on occasion, that a Dodgers GM is doing a good job. It's enough to put someone out of the writing business, but then Padilla just drops out of the sky, a problem child by baseball standards and a Dodgers disaster in the making -- beginning with the very first interview.

Vicente Padilla, who revived his career in the Dodgers' run to the National League Championship Series, was treated for a minor self-inflicted gunshot wound in his right leg at a hospital in his native Nicaragua on Tuesday, his agent Adam Katz said. Katz described the incident as a "hunting accident," saying that Padilla was grazed in his right thigh by a bullet. Katz said that Padilla spent 30 to 40 minutes at a hospital and was discharged. "He's fine," Katz said. News reports out of Nicaragua stated that Padilla was hurt at a shooting range.

The sky was falling. The Four Horsemen were on their way. The Dodgers couldn't hit. On the days they could, they often couldn't pitch. The result was that they couldn't win. A return to the National League West solved everything. The Dodgers completed a mood-altering three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with an 8-2 victory Wednesday, as Vicente Padilla pitched a seven-inning gem, shortstop Rafael Furcal continued his weeklong tear and center fielder Matt Kemp started to climb out of Manager Joe Torre's doghouse by smacking his 13th home run. "It was great, it was great," Torre said.

If there was any benefit of being down by a couple of runs with two innings to play, it was that it afforded the Dodgers the chance to call Chad Billingsley out of the bullpen for some on-field therapy to reshape his dented confidence. So much for that idea. After getting a couple of easy outs to start the eighth inning, Billingsley served up a towering home run to Aaron Rowand and gave up another run in the ninth, sealing the Dodgers' 8-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

With Chad Billingsley questionable for his next start Wednesday in San Francisco and with the Dodgers unsettled on a permanent fifth starter, Manager Joe Torre said Sunday the team continues to look outside the organization for help. "They're looking," Torre said of the front office. "We talked about the waiver wire. There is a possibility that something can happen." Among the possibilities is right-hander Vicente Padilla , a former All-Star who the Rangers designated for assignment Friday despite an 8-6 record in 18 starts.

With Jonathan Broxton already on the disabled list, the Dodgers went into their game Wednesday uncertain of the status of stand-in closer Vicente Padilla . They knew Padilla couldn't pitch for a second consecutive day because of stiffness in his forearm, but not much beyond that. Padilla, who underwent forearm surgery in spring training to release a nerve that was trapped in muscle, was examined by team physician Neal ElAttrache on Tuesday night. He was expected to receive a second opinion Wednesday.

It was evident in the third inning that Clayton Kershaw, at least early on, was not entirely on his game when he served up four consecutive balls and walked the opposing pitcher, Joe Saunders. But Kershaw then settled down and turned in a gem Friday night, throwing seven scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks and striking out 11 batters. Kershaw left with a 4-0 lead, which Dodgers relievers Matt Guerrier and Vicente Padilla nearly squandered. But the Dodgers held on to edge the Diamondbacks, 4-3, in the opener of their three-game series at Dodger Stadium, handing Arizona its fifth consecutive loss.

Reporting from Pittsburgh — The Dodgers reverted to their usual low-scoring form Wednesday night, but so did the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hiroki Kuroda blanked the Pirates over seven innings in a 2-0 victory for the Dodgers at PNC Park on Wednesday night, limiting the opposition to three hits. "He was pretty good tonight, huh?" Manager Don Mattingly said. "That was huge. " That was particularly true because the Dodgers were short-handed in the bullpen, as Hong-Chih Kuo was placed on the disabled list and Blake Hawksworth was unavailable because of a mild groin strain.

Reporting from Miami Manager Don Mattingly made it clear Tuesday that Jonathan Broxton was the Dodgers' full-time closer. But when the speculation about Broxton's role resurfaced a day later, Mattingly did little to dispel suspicions that the team would switch to a closer by committee. Questions about Broxton's role were raised again because Vicente Padilla closed the Dodgers' 10-inning, 5-4 victory over the Florida Marlins. Mattingly reiterated that Broxton was still the Dodgers' closer and explained that the right-hander was available only in an emergency situation because he felt "barky.

Reporting from Chicago Vicente Padilla said he didn't know what to expect. The game he pitched on Saturday was his first of the season. The relief appearance was his second of the last 10 seasons. On the two-month anniversary of an operation that freed a nerve that was entrapped in one of the deep muscles of his forearm, Padilla pitched a perfect sixth inning in the Dodgers' 10-8 defeat to the Chicago Cubs. The previous day, he said he was uncertain how long it would take for him to warm up in the bullpen.

Teams in Asia didn't want him. The Dodgers? Now, they might need him. Only months removed from being told by clubs in South Korea and Japan that they wouldn't offer him a contract, it appears that Tim Redding could be the Dodgers' fifth starter at the beginning of the regular season. "I'm not counting on anything yet," Redding said. "But I'm getting close. " Mindful that Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla are recovering from injuries that could make them unavailable when the fifth spot in the rotation comes up for the first time April 12, Redding has started exploring housing options in Los Angeles.

Friday was feeding day for Larry the Boa, the infant snake housed in the Dodgers' clubhouse. Four days removed from his last meal, Larry unhinged his jaw and swallowed whole a frozen mouse purchased for him by clubhouse manager Mitch Poole. A crowd of curious players looked on, some pointing, some laughing, some wondering if the small serpent was overfed. So the reptile was sated. But the third base coach after whom the snake was named was a figuratively famished man that night, as Larry Bowa saw only one of his players run by him and score in a 6-1 defeat by the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium.

Having led the Dodgers to their most important victory of the regular season, Clayton Kershaw now gets the chance to notch his team's biggest win of the playoffs. The 21-year-old left-hander will start Game 1 of the National League Championship Series today at Dodger Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies. Kershaw said Manager Joe Torre informed him of his decision Tuesday during a phone call from Arizona, where Torre was watching Hiroki Kuroda pitch in a simulated game.

Reporting from Phoenix ? Vicente Padilla was sent to Los Angeles on Tuesday to undergo an MRI examination on his elbow after experiencing similar symptoms to what he felt when he was sidelined by nerve problems for almost two months early last season. The Dodgers are expected to have results by Wednesday. The opening-day starter last season, Padilla was expected to start the year as a long man out of the bullpen. He also was seen as a potential starter or closer. When Padilla landed on the disabled list last April, he was unable to bend his arm. His condition is nowhere near as severe at this time, but the Dodgers had him examined by team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache as a precaution.