Dodgers’ current bullpen a matter of price is right

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The bullpen is an unreliable mess and people act like they’re surprised. Next shock: Larry King gets divorce.

Come on, this is bargain-basement time in the bullpen. Relief help from the discarded.

The Dodgers currently have three relievers who came to spring training as non-roster invitees (Jeff Weaver, Ramon Ortiz and Russ Ortiz) and one who was a Rule 5 draftee (Carlos Monasterios).

Normally you might go into spring hoping one of these guys emerges and makes your opening day roster. The Dodgers have four, though Weaver was pretty much expected to make the club.

Dodgers’ fans were spoiled by last year’s success, when the bullpen ERA of 3.14 was the best in baseball. Its current 5.96 ERA is a world apart.

The day after the Dodgers won their home opener, manager Joe Torre was still understandably moaning about his troubled bullpen.

‘Right now we just need to get our bullpen straightened out,’ Torre said. ‘We need to have an idea when we go down, what to expect. And right now we’re not sure. We feel the ability is there, we just need to get a better result.’’

It could be as simple as the Dodgers are missing two key relievers, Hong-Chih Kuo and Ronald Belisario.

Or it could be as simple as you get what you pay for.

Monasterios is making $400,000, Russ Ortiz $650,000, Weaver $800,000 and Ramon Ortiz $1 million. Ramon Troncoso earns $416,000.

The only guys down there making any real baseball money are George Sherrill at $4.5 million and Jonathan Broxton at $4 million. And right now, Sherrill can’t be counted on to throw consecutive strikes to your grandmother.

Go to the bullpen budget bin and you can’t honestly be too shocked when it can’t duplicate last season’s results.

Help, the Dodgers hope, is on its way.

Kuo (sore elbow) is scheduled to throw 20 pitches in the first inning of Thursday’s Single-A game in San Bernardino. Torre said that if he comes out of it OK, he’ll probably return and throw again Sunday. He could be activated for the next trip, which starts Tuesday in Cincinnati.

Belisario, who missed almost all of spring training with visa issues, is still at extended camp in Phoenix. Torre said he’ll also have to make some minor-league appearances before being called up.

‘He needs to be able to throw strikes, otherwise we’d be in the same scenario with him that we are with the other guys,’ Torre said.

Hey, but at least they’re a bargain.

-- Steve Dilbeck