Dodgers Diaries

Sunday was Blogger Night at Dodger Stadium, a now annual occasion on which the Dodgers thank their loyal followers (myself included) for writing so diligently about the team’s exploits. I and about a dozen other bloggers had the opportunity to see the game from the corporate level, and also to interview GM Ned Colletti.

Colletti said he doesn’t read any of the blogs or any of the newspaper coverage of the team. “If I have to learn about my team from media accounts, I’m not doing my job,” he said. But he spent close to an hour taking our questions on subjects ranging from future Dodgers to Matt Kemp’s recent woes to the pleasant surprise that has been John Ely. There were no earth-shaking revelations in his comments; perhaps the most revealing part of the evening was when he refused to answer a question about whether beleaguered George Sherrill might accept a minor league assignment to work on his mechanics.

Colletti said a starting pitcher is still the team’s top priority going into the trading deadline, though a reliever is probably more likely. He’s disappointed in the team’s play so far, especially the slow start. But he’s optimistic that the Dodgers can catch the Padres. He’s still concerned that Russell Martin has stagnated in his development: “He plays the toughest position, and if one part of his game is off, it affects the others,” Colletti said.

The GM is still high on Blake DeWitt. “He’s never going to win a gold glove or a silver slugger award,” said Colletti, but he likes DeWitt’s character and his approach to the game.

Colletti also said he was wary about Vicente Padilla, but was willing to give him a chance. One slip-up and he would cut the Nicaraguan without giving him a second look. Padilla promised not to be a bad egg, and so far has not been one. “He’s one of the hardest workers on the team,” said Colletti. After the 2009 campaign, he decided to re-sign Padilla. “After hunting season,” he said, to laughs.

The game itself was less memorable. John Ely got hit. Not hard, but often. The Marlins scored two runs on four successive singles in the third, and chased Ely when opposing pitcher Nate Robertson drove in another run with a hard single up the middle. The Dodgers rallied back, narrowing the gap to 6-4 on a Rafael Furcal homer, and then closing within a run when James Loney drove in Andre Ethier with a double. But they just couldn’t dig out of the hole Ely had created.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL