Argh. It always seems harder to go that long and get a loss. Of course, it's not lost on any sabermetricians that what beat us was the mighty walk. Let's hope it's not lost on the Dodgers.
So that's it, then. The Dodgers basically lack the pitching to get things done. It's seems as if the Dodgers have two choices: stick with what they have and hope that the hitting can carry them through the season, keeping all the youth and hoping for better days down the road, or make some moves and bring in some pitching. I should be clear that, by "pitching," I don't mean another fifth starter. Russ Ortiz isn't going to help. What we need is a pitcher that's better than aqny we have, so everyone can move down a slot in the rotation. That is extremely unlikely to happen.
What might happen? Well, Billingsley might fill the third spot in the rotation, if our excellent luck holds. Then, if no help is on the way, I think you have to do with Perez what we're already doing with Furcal: plug him in there on a regular basis and hope that, over the long run, his long-term form will hold. That would leave us with an average major league pitcher in the fourth spot in the rotation. that should be enough to win the division if the hitting holds. As for the post-season, the top three starters will get most if not all of the starts. It's not great, but it's better than losing.