Dodgers Diaries

Juan Uribe has apparently spent some of the $21 million the Dodgers lavished upon him two winters ago to purchase the naked pictures of Ned Colletti previously held by Mark Sweeney and Garret Anderson. How else to explain Uribe’s continued presence on the 2012 Dodgers?

One had to assume the rotund infielder’s days were numbered at the All-Star break, when his batting average fell below the Mendoza line. Or two weeks later, when the Dodgers acquired Hanley Ramirez to play the two positions for which Uribe is marginally qualified.

Or yesterday, when the Dodgers needed to clear space to bring back the slightly less disappointing infielder Adam Kennedy. Yet somehow, Uribe managed to upend the grim reaper’s chess board, as Jerry Sands was sent back to Albuquerque just four days after being recalled.

What the hell was that all about? You bring a guy up for four days? Did somebody need frequent flyer miles?

So Uribe continues to provide veteran leadership in the locker room, while playing just five innings since Ramirez’s arrival. In essence, the Dodgers are playing a man short because they’re unwilling to eat the approximately $10 million Uribe is still owed through the end of 2013.

If they really didn’t mind going with a 24-man roster, couldn’t the Dodgers at least let Matt Treanor go to London to watch his wife win an Olympic gold medal?

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

It’s getting to the point where I don’t want to see the Dodgers enter the 9th inning with a one- or two-run lead because I know the remainder of my evening is going to be so depressing. Even on those rare occasions when Broxton does convert a save situation, it’s usually some roller coaster ride of an outing that makes me think, “Geez, what would he do if he were facing decent hitters.”

Sure, he was besieged by some bad defense. If Jamey Carroll comes up with that 26-hopper, the game’s over. And if Jerry Sands doesn’t come in before going back on the last ball, we’re in extra innings. But it’s always something. If you blow three strikes past Emilio Bonifacio instead of standing around on the mound thinking about what you’re going to throw, we’re talking about an otherwise happy evening.

We’re talking about Jerry Sands’ three hits. Ivan DeJesus’s two hits. James Loney finally gets an RBI, gift-wrapped as it was by the infield being in. We’re talking about Andre Ethier’s 22-game hitting streak. And we’re talking about another dominating performance by Jon Garland, who went seven strong before being lifted for Vicente Padilla (why was that, by the way).

It’s April, and there’s plenty of time to sort things out. For Broxton and for the rest of the Dodger pen. If it’s me, I’m holding auditions. By June, the team might actually need a reliable closer.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

Call it coincidence, but the Dodgers have won five of the six games since rookie Jerry Sands entered the lineup last Sunday. Sands, the guy the team didn’t want to block by acquiring a free-agent left fielder, has not exactly lit the world on fire; he went 0-4 in Friday’s 12-2 shellacking of the Cubs, lowering his average to .111. But he’s injected an enthusiasm that seemed lacking from the team in the first two weeks.

You could also give the credit to Chad Billingsley, who played the role of stopper after even ace Clayton Kershaw faltered against St. Louis, throwing 8.0 shutout innings Sunday. That started a turn through the order in which every Dodger starter threw at least seven innings and gave up no more than two earned runs. Billingsley wasn’t quite as good in Friday’s game, scattering 7 hits over 6.1 innings and allowing 2 runs. But he didn’t’ need to be; the game was a laugher after the third inning.

Or, of course, maybe it’s the stewardship of major league baseball. The Dodgers have posted their first three-game winning streak of the season since Frank McCourt got a babysitter. Whatever the reason, it’s encouraging to see this team score some runs and put up good pitching performances.

I’m not sure why Casey Coleman, the Cubs starter, is in the big leagues. His mechanics look terrible, as though he prefers to pitch out of the stretch. That’s something he did a lot of in this 2.2 innings of work.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL