Bullpen hands one away

Coming into this season, the Dodgers thought they had the best late-game combination in the majors. George Sherrill would get through the eighth, bridging the gap to Jonathan Broxton in the ninth.

Four runs given up in the eighth inning today is truly symbolic to just how much of a flop those two have been.

Chad Billingsley was fantastic, but it was washed away in the end as the Diamondbacks teed off on the Dodgers' horrible bullpen to take the win, 5-4. It was a new low even for the Dodgers, who have had plenty this year.

Simply put, this season cannot end soon enough.

Before the mess happened late in the game, both Billingsley and Joe Saunders put up blanks through four innings. The Dodgers did put two men on in each of the third and fourth, but came up empty both times. Not a surprise at all considering the Dodgers wouldn't be the Dodgers had they actually come through in those spots.

Believe it or not, the Dodgers did put together a two-out rally to score the game's first runs in the fifth. Ryan Theriot bunted his way on base. Matt Kemp followed with a single for two on. James Loney scored them both with a two-run double, making it 2-0.

Miguel Montero led off with a triple in the bottom of the frame, though it should have never been more than a single. A dying fly ball landed in front of Johnson in right, then bounced by him. How in the world that was scored a triple and not a single with an error is beyond me. Actually I do know - the game was in Arizona. Connor Gillespie's sac-fly RBI made it 2-1.

In the sixth, Rod Barajas hit a ground rule double with one out. Billingsley "helped himself out" (overused cliche for when a pitcher gets a hit) by singling. The problem was that Barajas couldn't score because he's painfully slow. Right on cue, Rafael Furcal grounded into an inning ending double play.

Barajas made sure to make his next hit count in the eighth. Russell Mitchell singled with one out. Johnson grounded out, but Mitchell made it to second. Barajas then belted a two-run shot to give the Dodgers what appeared to be a comfortable 4-1 lead at the time.

We should have all known better, as the Dodgers once again found a way to make an easy win into a painful loss. Billingsley got yanked for Andre Ethier to pinch-hit in the eighth, and Ethier grounded out. That meant it was bullpen time. And it also meant a long half inning.

The bottom of the eighth started off fine, as Ronald Belisario got Augie Ojeda grounding out to first. Joe Torre then went with the lefty Sherrill against Stephen Drew, who ended up walking. That was the start of the downfall.

Tony Abreu stepped in, someone who never grabbed the chance to be the everyday second baseman when he was with the Dodgers. He didn't deserve it either because he sucked. So of course that meant he launched a two-run homer to cut the lead to 4-3.

Kelly Johnson kept it going with a single. Who would Torre bring in? Yup, Broxton. And how did Broxton do on his first pitch? Oh, it was only a two-run bomb from Chris Young to give the Diamondbacks a 5-4 lead. Not only was it predictable, it was laughable. That's what Broxton's season has come down to - one big joke.

Juan Gutierrez worked around a single by Kemp in the ninth to get the save.

When the Dodgers sit down after the season and look for how they can improve, their first move needs to be getting rid Sherrill and Broxton. Sherrill has a 7.08 ERA this season, and Broxton has a 6.65 ERA since the All-Star break. They're simply way too unreliable to trust anymore. Do the right thing and dump these clowns by any means necessary.

People will surely point out the past successes of these two, especially Broxton, for reasons to keep them. I say, "Who cares?" They've bombed so badly this season, there's no way they've earned their way back into town. Pull the plug and don't look back.

Billingsley deserved a much better fate, but plenty of starting pitchers have said that, only to watch blown save after blown save. He lasted seven innings for four hits, one run, one walk, and 13 strikeouts. That many strikeouts, only one run allowed, and it's a no-decision. Un-freakin'-believable.

The Dodgers now have to go into Colorado for three to begin the last week of the season (mercifully). The Rockies have stumbled lately to fall 4 1/2 back in the NL West and four in back of the Wild Card. Playing the Dodgers must feel like an early Christmas present to them. Ted Lilly will start it, and either Sherrill, Broxton, or most likely both will blow it.