After last night's heartbreaking 6-5 loss (I thought Manny would break out of his slump for sure and get that walkoff hit), I realized that if this Dodgers team has a weakness, it is the bench. Juan Pierre has been great all year, but he's not exactly a game changer, as witnessed by him pinch-hitting in the 9th last night and sacrificing Orlando Hudson to second. Mark Loretta has an OPS of .604 on the year (and only .433 since June 1st!), and Juan Castro and Brad Ausmus are not exactly offensive juggernauts.

I long for the days of the "Killer Tomato" Olmedo Saenz, who would come in as a pinch hitter and had the possibility to change the game with one swing of the bat. Even after Olmedo, the Dodgers still had pretty good options off the bench in recent years like Nomar, Wilson Betemit, or even Delwyn Young (who was traded to the Pirates for a bag of baseballs), who could provide some power. It's not a terrible bench, but it could be a lot better. Colletti is probably not going to be able to trade for a power bench guy, so this is probably what the bench will be come playoff time, unless Xavier Paul, who looked pretty good in his first stint with the Dodgers, can make a comeback from his staph infection. Still, it would be nice to have a guy like Matt Stai- (I can't even type that terrible name), as a pinch-hit option in the playoffs.