Another nail in the coffin

As if the Dodgers weren't dead enough, getting blanked by the Giants was just the latest setback in a season full of them.

The Dodgers had absolutely zero answers for Jonathan Sanchez, and the Giants used another two-run homer from Juan Uribe to get the win, 3-0. The Padres have now lost 10 straight, so amazingly, the Giants are only one game in back of the NL West lead. The Dodgers? Blah, who cares?

There weren't many highlights considering there were as many hits as innings (nine, not six like Little League). When there were highlights, they all belonged to the Giants.

It started in the second. The red-hot Buster Posey walked with one out and went to second on a wild pitch from Hiroki Kuroda. Jose Guillen singled to center to put runners on the corners. A sac-fly RBI Pablo Sandoval made it 1-0, though Andre Ethier's throw to home was very close, just a bit too late.

The score stayed as is until the seventh. Sandoval singled leading off. Uribe had yet to record an official at-bat as he was intentionally walked twice to get to Sanchez earlier in the game. When he did get a chance to swing, he made it count. A two-run homer into left put the score at 3-0.

Sergio Romo took over in the eighth and got the Dodgers in order. Brian Wilson struck out the first two in the ninth before Mike Fontenot made a diving catch off of Kemp's weak liner to end the game. It was Wilson's 40th save.

Kuroda did all he could, but when your offense does jack squat to back you up, any mistake will be huge. Unfortunately, the offense was so bad, that even without Uribe's blast, the Dodgers still would have lost on Sandoval's sac-fly. Kuroda ended up going eight innings for six hits, three runs, three walks, and eight strikeouts. He fell to 10-12.

The bats managed three lousy hits: two singles by Ryan Theriot and Rod Barajas, and a double by Jamey Carroll. Casey Blake drew a walk. James Loney was beaned. And that would be it. So if you're counting, that's five baserunners the entire game. Sanchez is a pretty good pitcher, but the Dodgers made him look like the combination of Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, and Randy Johnson.

The so-called "heart" of the batting order of Ethier and Kemp went a combined 0-for-8 with six strikeouts. That's just pathetic. Even for two guys who are slumping, that's still pretty sad. Ethier did hit .305 in August, but Kemp just continues to embarrass himself at the plate more and more each game. He's now down to .251 with a .311 OBP.

I think Kemp should get the Jonathan Broxton treatment. Joe Torre said after Saturday's game that Broxton would no longer be put in closing situations (good move, though about a month too late). Kemp should never hit in the cleanup spot. He's nothing more than a strikeout waiting to happen these days. Put him low in the order or don't put him in there at all.

With the Albuquerque season ending, the Dodgers will be bringing up Chin-lung Hu, Josh Lindsay, and Russell Mitchell, among a couple of other pitchers. At this point, I'd love to see them get a chance to swing the bat. It's not like they can do any worse than some of the clowns in there now.

Who knows, maybe the Dodgers will find a spark in one of these guys for next year. It's worth a shot anyway. Lindsay and Mitchell have great numbers and deserve an opportunity, and Hu can finally show if he's the long-term replacement for Furcal. Let the guys go and see what they can do.

Ahead for the Dodgers is a three-game set in San Diego. Labor Day should be a good matchup with Vicente Padilla coming off the DL to face Mat Latos. The Padres are desperate for a win, so let's see if the Dodgers can keep the losing streak alive, or if they're just what the doctor ordered to get back on track.