The Answer is Ely

The Dodgers have finally found a suitable fifth starter.

Despite a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the Cubs earlier today, rookie John Ely has pitched his way into the Dodgers' starting rotation. Since his shaky debut against the Mets in New York, Ely has been brilliant for a team in desperate need of consistent starting pitching. He has arguably been the Dodgers' most consistent starter over the past three weeks - up until today's start, he had won three straight decisions and now has not allowed more than two runs in his last five starts. His ERA sits at a cool 3.00, and his presence has stabilized the starting rotation for the Dodgers. With Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw (who also lost a heartbreaker Tuesday night) pitching at a high level as well, the Dodgers will be around to stay in the NL West. An important series with the Rockies takes place this weekend before the Dodgers return home for their longest homestand of the season.

But a few more observations on this series with the Cubs - sticking with pitching, Jeff Weaver has been very good out of the bullpen this year. He's certainly one of the more reliable arms in that pen. Hopefully the addition of Justin Miller today will give Joe Torre another viable option in the late innings (he is Ramon Ortiz's replacement, sianara!). Meanwhile, on the hitting side, Casey Blake has really been turning it up lately. It's nice to see him and James Loney contributing in the lineup. Blake has hit four home runs in the last two weeks, which is big for the Dodgers, especially with Manny not hitting them like he used to, Ethier out, and Kemp slouching a bit. But the Dodgers really miss Ethier's bat. Before this series, they were averaging about 4 runs a game without him, whereas with him they were averaging over 5. After the two shutouts courtesy of the Cubs, that first average surely decreased. A return on Monday is the hope at this point, and that's going to be huge for the Dodgers. They're still only two games behind San Diego, assuming San Diego loses tonight, which is certainly no guarantee, and probably not even likely. Still, the Dodgers have to think they're right where they want to be as we wrap up the first two months of this 2010 season.