What will it take for the Dodgers to score a run?

I’ll give Grady Little some credit in tweaking the lineup a little in Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to the Reds. Juan Pierre was the leadoff batter with Rafael Furcal hitting second. Andre Ethier was put in the fifth spot, and Luis Gonzalez was given the night off.

But that’s about all the credit I’ll give him for now.

Something that absolutely confuses me is why Jeff Kent wasn’t told to bunt with runners of first and third with one out in the fourth inning. I know that Kent has the ability to rip a double, but with the Dodgers struggling to score why not go with that approach?

Or how about in the eighth inning when James Loney led off the inning with a double? Matt Kemp ended up lining out sharply to second which doubled off Loney. Why not have Kemp bunt Loney over to third?

I brought this up before, and now it has become very evident: The Dodgers have no identity. They really want to play Weaver Ball relying on three-run homers despite the fact they don’t have the personnel to pull this off.

Grady Little is no Earl Weaver, and this Dodger team is not a 1970s Baltimore Orioles team.

So as I don’t completely beat down the Dodgers, at least their pitching is not a complete liability. Chad Billingsley did a good job pitching although he was struggling a little in locating his pitches. You have to hand it to the pitching staff though. They only gave up one run on eight hits. So good for them.

Rumor has it Little has threatened the veterans on the team by saying he would field only the youngsters if things don’t change. This should make for quite an interesting 49 games to say the very least.

On July 30, the Dodgers were tied with the D-Backs for first place in the NL West. Just a mere nine days later the Dodgers have backed into fourth place, five games back of the D-Backs.

So let me rephrase my opening question. How will the Dodgers score their next run?

Graphic produced and dusted off by moi