It looks like next week will signal the return of Hong-Chih Kuo and Ronald Belisario. And boy, can the Dodgers' poor bullpen use them.
Kuo threw for one inning in a rehab start at Single-A Inland Empire on Thursday, and felt really good coming out of it. He even played catch on Friday, a positive sign that his arm is feeling strong.
Belisario is still at Camelback Ranch in Arizona, and he threw a couple innings on Friday. That was his third appearance thus far. Since he's on the restricted list, he's not eligible for a rehab appearance in the minors. That wouldn't happen anyway since he's out of options, and there's no way the Dodgers would risk losing him to another team.
As I've said all season long, the bullpen is just lost without them. Basically, there's Jonathan Broxton, Ramon Troncoso, and nobody else. My guess is that Ramon Ortiz and Russ Ortiz will be designated for assignment, though Carlos Monasterios could as well.
Either way, both Kuo and Belisario would jump into late-inning roles, as George Sherrill just continues to be ineffective, to put it nicely. Sherrill has a given up six runs in 3 1/3 innings, good for a 16.20 ERA, worst on the team. Oh ya, and seven walks. Not good.
The Dodgers travel east next week with three-game series against the Reds, Nationals, and Mets.
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