Top 5 Reasons This Losing Streak Should End Tommorrow Night

1. Jeff Kent should be back playing tomorrow.
2. The Dodgers have a rest day today.
3. The Reds really suck.
4. The Dodgers offense produces about as many runs per game as the Reds and...
   
5. Reds pitching sucks significantly more than the Dodgers.

The difference between the offenses is a measly .12 runs per game. The pitching is another story with a gap of .73 runs per game.

One of the things that surprised me when I looked at the Reds is the power Brandon Phillips has. Bad thing for his team is that his stats are kind of empty after that as he doesn't walk, strikes out a lot, and as a result just doesn't get on base very much. Still pretty valuable since he plays second base.

Another thing that surprised looking at stats is that Nomar is finally hitting in the last 30 days by posting a .389 obp .325 avg and .513 slugging percentage (Betemit was still slightly better, but with a much smaller number of at bats.). Hopefully this really is a result of a correction of his swing so his recent performance offensively continues.

The other thing I noticed about Nomar while watching the string of losses is how long it takes Nomar to get rid of the ball to initiate double plays. He is extremely slow, taking about 2-3 seconds to get rid of the ball after fielding a ball to him. He hits the ball into the glove before getting rid of it even if he barehands the ball. Then there is the slinging throwing motion Nomar has that wastes a little more time. As a result, poor Ramon Martinez is trying to compensate by really stretching out his neighborhood but still failing to get the runner at first. Many innings that should have ended were extended and more runs are scored on the dodgers. I fear this is really going to hurt the dodgers defensively even more than the weak outfield arms already do down the stretch.

Tony Abreu would really help better as the utility infielder if he can get healthy. If not, Hu needs the call to help man second should Kent continue to be unable to play. I think the dodgers would also do well to spell Nomar with LaRoche. I never thought I'd be saying this but the dodgers need another infielder right now and September callups cannot come soon enough for both the pitching staff as well as the infield.

Let's all hope the losing ends tonight.