Hong-Chih Kuo's injury has officially knocked him out of the race for the fifth spot in the Dodgers rotation, leaving Brett Tomko and Mark Hendrickson as the favorites to take the slot.
Even though I loathe Brett Tomko, getting a 4.75 ERA out of the fifth starter isn't the worst thing in the world. However, with a very questionable offense, the Dodgers need their rotation to keep them in contention this season. Can a rotation consisting of Jason Schmidt, Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Randy Wolf and Brett Tomko really carry a team? You need more than "not the worst thing in the world" if you're looking at a specific aspect of the team as a huge strength.
You know, that Billingsley guy is supposed to be pretty good, why not give him a shot at the job?
In other news:
Jason Repko will miss at least half the season with a ligament separation in his hamstring. While I won't miss his bat, it does leave the Dodgers without a decent pinch running option. Wilson Valdez stole 26 bases in the minors last year, but was caught 17 times, so he doesn't count. While this will probably only make a difference in a couple games, the Dodgers do lose a little versatility.