Q. The Dodgers have won 5 straight games, should we get excited?

A. Conventional wisdom would say yes as the Dodgers have had winning streaks before but they were only three games and always consisted of offense and Matt Kemp carrying them. This time it’s been pitching (Kershaw has 2 of the 5 wins), and Kemp only broke out on the 15th but in the previous 4 games the rest of them team helped to carry the Dodgers to victory.

So I would say that yes, you can get a little excited. They’re only 9 games below .500 and 11.5 back of San Francisco so there’s a possibility with a strong 2nd half that they can compete for the playoffs. I feel that the Dodgers bullpen is finally starting to solidify itself after a hectic first half, the position players and the line up is finally starting to gel, Mattingly is coming into his own as a manager and the players are starting to understand how he is as a manger.

Q. How long will this Frank McCourt thing last?

A. That’s the scary part, no one really knows. It could end next week when the judge rules that Major League Baseball’s loan is better for the Dodgers financial future than the one Frank McCourt took out and baseball fully takes the Dodgers over because of Article VIII, Section 4(l) of the Major League Baseball Constitution

Sec. 4. Involuntary Termination. The rights, privileges and other property rights of a Major League Club hereunder and under any other Baseball-related agreement may be terminated (i) in the event of contraction, pursuant to Article
Section 2 (b) (1), or (ii) involuntarily, with the approval of three-fourths of all Major League Clubs, if the Club in question shall do or suffer any of the following:

(l) Make an assignment for the benefit of its creditors or file a voluntary petition in bankruptcy, or if a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy is appointed for the properties and assets of the Club, or if reorganization proceedings in bankruptcy are instituted by or against the Club.

Or it could take longer if McCourt finds a way to just make things take longer. Either way Frank is done and hopefully either Mark Cuban or the group led by Hershiser and Garvey takes over.

Q. Where will Matt Kemp’s season rank among All Time Dodger players?

A. The season’s not over man! He could easily tank and only hit 30 home runs, doubtful as it may be, but if he continues on his current pace and gets .300, 40 HR’s, 110 RbI’s and 40 SB, I will have to come out and say that it was the best all around season by any Dodger ever and will definitely rank among the best seasons of any player.

Q. Will Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Clayton Kershaw still be Dodgers if somehow Frank McCourt keeps the team?

That’s a hard one and one I know a lot of fans are worried about, especially with the years that they are having or have had. Kemp and Kershaw could easily fetch $20 mil on the open market and Ethier $10+ and with McCourt already struggling to make payroll this year, if he somehow doesn’t get an infusion of cash from somewhere, how would he be able to afford these players? So I have to say there’s a good chance at least one or two of them wouldn’t still be Dodgers by 2013 either by trade or free agency.

Q. Last question, will the Dodgers be a contender anytime soon?

A. Definitely, heck I think they could be contenders this year! The season isn’t over yet, it’s only been 93 games and there are 69 left. The Dodgers have 42 wins and 51 losses, and they could turn it around and at least compete and get some momentum going into next year. They may not make the playoffs, especially since the San Francisco Giants are playing at the same pace last year when they won 92 and in order for the Dodgers to do that, they’d have to win as many games in 69 as they last in 93 (50) even though it’s possible, I don’t think it’s probable.

Now, 2012 is another story, depending on what Colletti does in the off-season, the Dodgers can definitely be players. I’m not sure what they’ll do with James Loney but since it seems that he’s found his pre-2010 bat, it might be hard to let him go. If the Dodgers could eat least find a LF and a 3B with power, leaving James Loney at 1B wouldn’t be that much of an issue, especially since he’s one of the better defensive 1B in the league. Sure he’s not spectacular and his sabermetrics at 1B aren’t great but how many times have you said “crap, Loney screwed up” over “great play Loney!” I rest my case.

If you or anyone else has any questions you’d like answered next week, e-mail me at DodgersCentral@live.com and you may just be featured in the next Blue Genie article!

Matt Kemp walked, got a head and scored a run in 3 at-bats.

Clayton Kershaw pitched a scoreless 5th inning, striking out David Ortiz, getting Robinson Cano and Alex Avila (who?) to ground out to first.

and Andre Ethier pinch hitting for Carlos Beltran in the bottom of the 5th drove in Rickie Weeks with a single to right after Week stole second base off rookie Angle closer Jordan Walden.

With the way the Los Angeles Dodgers have played in the 1st half, they may not make the World Series but they sure helped to represent the National League well.

Then to cap it all off, the Dodgers pulled off a huge shocker and actually made a trade for someone with talent!

The Dodgers traded for Juan Rivera for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Juan Rivera is an ex Anaheim Angel (I refuse to call them the L, L,  well you know what they call themselves) and someone who I always felt would be good for the Dodgers.

He’s not the greatest of talents but he’s solid. He hits for good power, especially against lefties. Is a decent fielder (way better than Thames) and can play first, left-field, right-field and even a little center if needed.

This was a great traded for the Dodgers and fills a need and a hole in the line up. While he’s only hit .212 vs right handers this year and .312 vs left, he can still play in there if Tony Gwynn Jr stops channeling his father.

All in all, it was finally a day that we as Dodger fans can feel good about our team.

Lots of great things to take from this game, but here are a few things I just wanted to point out.

• Andre Ethier‘s hit streak is extended to 28 games.

Everyone’s calling it “half way to 56″ I think that’s just undue pressure on Ethier, although he can definitely handle it. I just want to call it what it is, a great dang distraction in the midst of the turmoil surrounding Bud Selig and Frank McCourt.

• Juan Uribe continues his hot hitting.

He may be hitting .247 but since Major League Baseball announced that they’d be putting someone in charge of the day to day operations of the Dodgers, he’s been hitting .379 with 3 HR’s with 12 RBI’s in 9 games helping to carry this team along with Andre Ethier. It seems the off-season investment was more than just taking him away from the Giants, he’s been huge.

• Bullpen threw 19 pitches in 2 innings.

First Vicente Padilla came in, threw 11 pitches and 10 for strikes without giving up a hit then Jonathan Broxton of all people came in, threw 8 pitches 7 for strikes and struck out one.

Now, this isn’t that big of a deal for Padilla, he’s always worked quick and thrown strikes but for the Ox Broxton that’s huge.

So, how significant is this? In his last five games he’s thrown, 20, 27, 19, 28 and 25 pitches and has either given up a hit or a walk in each of those, which has been one of his biggest issues. The last game he came in and didn’t give up either a hit or walk he threw 9 pitches and this was way back on April 1st versus the San Francisco Giants.

Broxton is at his best when he throws less than 20 pitches. Last season before he threw 48 pitches against the Yankees, he only threw 20 or more pitches in an outing 7 times and 10 times after that game, and this year he’s already done that 5 times.

So hopefully this is the beginning of a turn around for Broxton because I’d love to see him succeed, when he’s on, he’s one of the best in the league.

I actually do believe a healthy Manny could really jumpstart this offense. No matter what anyone says, the guy can still hit. He might be a huge headache, and his outfield play is always comical, but his bat in the lineup will automatically make the Dodgers offense better. However, I don’t know if your gonna see this guy healthy this year, and since the Dodgers won’t trade him- you have to play him and hope for the best.

If the Dodgers could consistently get people on base in front of the big boys, (Manny, Ethier, Kemp) that’s going to allow these guys to drive them in. Manny is an RBI machine. He’s always been one.  If you could somehow motivate this guy to play- he could definitely carry the offense for 2 weeks, and hopefully cut into the lead by September 1st. I’m still believing that it would be best to try and trade some of the teams assets- but since I’m not in charge- all I can do is state my case, and see if the Dodgers start playing some good baseball.

[picappgallerysingle id="9443667"]It’s hard to put a “must win” in front of a game in early August. Unfortunately, this is as big as it gets. You’re playing the division leader, and after losing game 1 at home- you HAVE to come back in game 2 and get it done. Another loss is another missed opportunity from getting back into it. Ted Lilly makes his Los Angeles Dodgers debut tonight and hopefully he’ll continue to pitch at a high level. After coming over from the Chicago Cubs, Lilly is going to be counted on to be that grizzly veteran and help right the sinking ship. That’s a lot to ask of anyone, but luckily Lilly has the heart of a lion and can go out and get it done.

The offense is going to need to pick it up. They’re not scoring enough runs to do any damage and the rotation isn’t going to go out and shut everyone down. Andre Ethier returns tonight after his wife gave birth, and Manny might not be far behind if he’s not traded. Rafael Furcal has been a blessing this season and has played like he’s 5 years younger. It’s nice to see him healthy. Outside of that, the offense has been kind of blah. Russell Martin needs to start hitting. Matt Kemp needs to continue to hit. James Loney needs to find more gaps and do more damange with runners on base, but most importantly? This team needs to get back to playing mistake free baseball. Too many mental errors are leading to runs given up, and preventing runs from scoring. The fundamentals are key, and if you fail to execute against a fundamental team like the Padres- things aren’t going to go well.

So here’s to Lilly’s debut- hopefully it’s a good one.

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John Ely (3-2), who grew up in suburban Homewood, Ill., held the Cubs to only four hits in 7 1-3 innings in his return home, but a late-inning mishap by right-fielder Xavier Paul, filling in for an injured Ethier, may have cost L.A. the game, as the Cubs won 8 of the last 11.

The score was 0-0 in the bottom of the eighth when Cubs utility player Mike Fontenot (filling in for Jeff Baker, who left with an apparent vision problem) led off the inning with a triple down the right-field line, which was misplayed by Paul. Fontenot scored two batters later on a one-out, RBI-double down the line by Tyler Colvin, who went to third when Paul again had trouble picking up the ball. 

It’s always an adventure in the Wrigley outfield.

Both players entered the line-up in the eighth as part of a double switch in which reliever Sean Marshall replaced the starter Ted Lilly, both of which combined with closer Carlos Marmol to hold the Dodgers scoreless.

The streaking Casey Blake led the Dodger offense with two more hits, going 15 for his last 34 plate apperances, but despite out-hitting the Cubs, Los Angeles couldn’t come through when it counted, leaving 15 men on-base.

With the Dodgers down 1-0, Manny came in to pinch-hit with a runner on and one-out in the ninth, but struck out on a Marmol slider out of the zone. Not even veteran Garrett Anderson could come through, striking out to end the game and wasting Ely’s finest outing in his young Dodger career.

A White Sox fan growing up, Ely was drafted by the Southsiders and spent three years in their system before he was dealt to the Dodgers as part of the Juan Pierre trade in December. He got called up on April 28 has been an integral part of the Dodger rotation ever since.

The good news for the Dodgers offense is the probable return of Andre Ethier. According to Yahoo Sports, Ethier, who’s been out with a broken right pinky finger, could return from the 15-day disabled list as early as Monday. Manager Joe Torre said he’s scheduled to play for Triple-A Albuquerque this weekend and take Sunday off.

The Blue Crew will travel to Colorado for a weekend series with the surging Rockies, who’ve won their last five-straight. One thing’s for sure, if the Dodgers hit like they did against the Cubs, they won’t stand a chance on the road against Ubaldo Jimenez and the rest of the Rockies’ pitching staff. Time to bring the bats, boys.

They did it all behind a rejuvenated offense and the arm of Hiroki Kuroda (5-1), who won his fifth game in his last six decisions. Kuroda completed six innings allowing three runs and seven hits and striking out two. The Dodger bullpen (Belisario, Kuo and Troncoso) pitched another shutout, giving up only one hit in three innings.

Dodger pitching is a big reason why they’ve won nine-in-a-row; the Dodgers’ staff hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a game during the streak, an ERA of 1.89, and the bullpen hasn’t allowed an earned run in the last six contests.

Meanwhile, the Dodger offense have averaged 5.6 runs during this streak, even with their leading slugger missing the last four games.

Casey Blake led the attack last night with three hits, including two RBI and his fourth homer of the season. Manny Ramirez and James Loney each batted in two runs as well and Jamey Carroll added a sacrifice fly in the fourth, which was more than enough to beat the lowly Houston Astros (who, besides Carlos Lee, have the league’s worst offense).

The Dodgers are streaking in all the right places in the month of May. Russell Martin added a single in the fifth to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, one more than his previous best in 2007.

The offense could have taken a severe hit, though, as they found out they may be without Silver Slugger Andre Ethier for as long as six weeks. Ethier, who leads the league with a .392 average and 38 RBIs, went on the DL for the first time in his five-year career just hours before the sellout crowd received his bobblehead.

The right-fielder was placed on the 15-day after sustaining a fractured bone in his right pinkie Saturday while taking swings in the indoor batting cage at San Diego’s Petco Park.

Even with the recent string of injuries, the Dodgers have managed to win 11 of their last 12. The Blue Crew currently stands one game back in the division, and they have a chance to pull into a first-place tie in the NL West with the visiting San Diego Padres coming to Chavez Ravine tonight.

In a story from MLB.com, the Dodgers are expected to place Andre Ethier on the 15-day disabled list today, three days after he fractured a bone in his right pinkie during batting practice Sunday.

Unfortunately for Dodger fans, the move is expected to be made tonight, which is Andre Ethier Bobblehead Night at Dodger Stadium.

Ethier sustained the injury while taking swings in the indoor batting cage when he pinched his right pinkie against his bat. He took a few more swings during batting practice before telling hitting coach Don Mattingly about the problem.

There’s still no confirmation from the team, but according to an interview on KABC radio, the club’s flagship station, general manager Ned Colletti indicated the move was likely to happen.

Ethier’s finger was placed in a splint Sunday with the hope he would still be able play through it, but indications are that the Dodger staff will allow the injury to heal rather than risk further injury. Ethier had complained that the finger affected both his ability to hit and throw.

Before the injury, the Dodger slugger was leading the NL in all three Triple Crown categories, batting .392 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs. According to MLB.com, he also led the majors with a May average of .490, a slugging percentage of.980 slugging and 19 RBIs.

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Last night’s performance marks 84 consecutive batters Ely has faced without allowing a walk—the longest current streak in the majors. The right-hander. who turned 24-years-old last Thursday, hurled eight K’s in his fourth career start and allowed only five hits in seven strong innings, six days after beating Arizona for his first big league victory.

The Astros got on the board quickly with Lance Berkman’s RBI single in the top of the first, but the Blue Crew came back with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. After two singles by Reed Johnson and Matt Kemp and a walk to Manny, James Loney hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score a run, and then and Casey Blake cleared the bases with a two-run double scoring Manny and Kemp, who ran through third-base coach Larry Bowa’s stop sign to score his MLB-leading 33rd run.

The Dodgers made it 4-1 in the fourth when DeWitt tripled off the glove of right fielder Hunter Pence. scoring on shortstop Jamey Carroll’s sacrifice fly. DeWitt then drove in the final two runs with another triple, making him the first Dodger with two triples in a game since Rafael Furcal on June 13, 2007. He finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI (Source: Yahoo Sports).

The Astros got a run back in the fifth, but Ely and the Dodger bullpen shut-out the struggling Houston offense the rest of the way as they continued their longest winning-streak in almost four years.

Ely, acquired (with Jon Link) from the Chicago White Sox in a trade for Juan Pierre,  has given up only three walks and racked up 25 strikeouts through his first four outings, and if he continues to throw fireballs, he’ll earn a definite starting spot in the Dodger rotation.

The win boasts the white-hot Dodgers (21-17) 13th in their last 16 games, the latter of which were without slugger Andre Ethier who missed his third straight game with a small fracture in his right pinky. Ethier currently leads the majors in batting average (.392), RBIs (38) and tied for the NL lead in home runs with 11. The Dodgers are expected to place the outfielder on the disabled list sometime today.

With the first-place Padres playing San Francisco again tonight, the Dodgers have a chance to pull within one game of the division. They currently stand two games back.

Tonight Los Angeles will go their most solid starter of late, Hiroki Kuroda (4-1, 2.66), against Bud Norris and a Houston team that’s averaged 2.6 runs and hit .216 while dropping 15 of 20. The Astros (13-25), losers of four straight, are last in the majors in batting average (.227) and runs (112).

[picappgallerysingle id="8647564"]Without slugger Andre Ethier, the Dodgers managed only two hits this afternoon, but that turned out to be enough as Russ singled in shortstop Jamey Carroll for the ballgame’s only run in the top of the sixth.

Then Jonathan Broxton shut the door with a perfect ninth and his third save of the series–seventh-out-of-nine chances on the season. The win marks the Dodgers 12th in the last 15 games.

But it was the right-handed Billingsley that was the hero today. On the mound Bills (4-2) posted six strikeouts in 7 and 1/3, allowing only four hits and one walk, as he finished the week with the ace-like command we’ve come to expect from the 25-year-old.

That’s impressive enough, but he did his job at the plate, too. After Carroll drew a lead-off walk the sixth inning, Bills dropped down a sacrifice bunt which later turned into a run off Martin’s single to center. That’s what I call paying the Bills.

Manager Joe Torre initially wanted to give Martin the day off after he caught back-to-back games this weekend (Martin has also started every game this month), but he figured it would be tough to give Martin, Casey Blake and Manny Ramirez the day off without having Ethier in the lineup.

It turned out to be a wise choice indeed, Joe. Russell Martin continues to be one of the Dodgers’ most reliable bats hitting safely in the last 11 games dating back to May 5 against the Brewers. During that span he’s batting .304 with two home-runs, seven RBI and seven runs-scored.

This afternoon’s win marks the first time this season the Dodgers have swept back-to-back divisional series. After entering the weekend with a three-and-a-half game lead, the Padres’ margin atop the NL West is down to a half game over the San Francisco Giants, who travel to San Diego for a two-game series starting Monday night.

The Dodgers are two games back in the division as they return home to Chavez Ravine to take on the Houston Astros (13-24) tomorrow night @ 10:10 EDT .