More double play woes for Dodgers

The losing streak for the Dodgers has now hit 5 games as they bowed down to the Washington Nationals, 2-1. Arizona Diamondbacks lost as well (does anybody even want to win this division?), so the lead is still 3 games for them.

Bet you'll be shocked to hear that the Dodgers had plenty of chances to score, yet threw each and every one of them in the garbage. That's what they do best - blow one opportunity after another. In all, they hit into 4 double plays and left 10 men on base. Yup, definitely not surprised.

So let's take a closer look at this one. Nomar Garciaparra hit into a DP to end the 2nd, Matt Kemp hit into one to end the 3rd, and Russell Martin hit into one to end the 8th. I think they should try reverse psychology - they should TRY to hit into double plays, and instead they may actually get a hit. Worth a shot.

My favorite inning of them all was the 6th. Here's the rundown: Manny Ramirez led off with a double. James Loney singled for runners on 1st and 3rd. Martin reached on a fielder's choice, and the bases were loaded with no outs. How did the Dodgers take advantage of this golden opportunity? Well, Nomar lined into a DP, and after an intentional pass to Casey Blake to load the bases again, Derek Lowe struck out.

By my count, that meant the Dodgers actually had the bases loaded TWICE in the same inning, and got ZERO runs. That's so pathetic, I don't even need to say anything else.

Lowe was great again, pitching a complete game, but gets the L. He went 8 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. There's really not a whole lot else he could do, yet this team just refuses to do jack crap at the plate for him, so his record is now 10-11 with a 3.81 ERA. I wouldn't blame him one bit if he wants to leave at the end of this year. He deserves so much better.

As for the lineup, Kemp and Andre Ethier went a combined 0-10 in the first 2 spots. Nice. Jeff Kent was a blistering 1-4. Boy, he sure has sucked since that old sack of crap decided to whine about Vin Scully. Nomar was 0-3 and is now hitting .152 in August. I take back what I said before about how he can still hit. He sucks.

Manny was 3-4, yet scored no runs. Great support around him as usual.

Now here's the funny thing: Arizona certainly isn't seizing the opportunity to take this division, so it's still within striking distance. I think Major League Baseball should revoke the West's ability to place a team in the playoffs. This division is a complete joke and the laughingstock of baseball.

Now it's up to Greg Maddux to break the losing streak, and considering he's the one that started it last Friday, it would be ideal for him to do so. There's still 2 games left before the 3 game set with Arizona, so these are big. Maybe someone will actually hit a home run tonight! Well, I can dream...