Dodgers Getting Old Fire Back

Cause and effect? Milton Bradley gets kicked out of a minor league game and the Dodgers book him on a flight to La Guardia. He will be activated from the disabled list today.

Front office officials insisted the ejection had nothing to do with the decision to end Bradley’s rehabilitation assignment, and there is every reason to believe them.

The fiery outfielder is coming back sooner than expected because the Dodgers understand the importance of every game leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.

Winning today and Sunday might prompt General Manager Paul DePodesta to make a blockbuster deal, especially after the Bradley-less Dodgers won their third in a row by beating the New York Mets, 6-5, Friday night at Shea Stadium to pull within 5 1/2 games of reeling San Diego.

The victory -- the 400th of Manager Jim Tracy’s career -- was the product of staples and surprises.

The tried-and-true included Jeff Kent’s 17th home run, which produced the first run. The Dodgers led, 6-0, after four innings behind the pitching of another veteran they count upon for consistency, right-hander Jeff Weaver.

However, Weaver (8-8) also has a penchant for giving up home runs, and he surrendered a two-run shot to Doug Mientkiewicz in the fifth and a three-run shot to Carlos Beltran in the sixth that cut the lead to 6-5.

Then came the unexpected contributions. First baseman Hee-Seop Choi made three outstanding plays on ground balls, including a game-ending backhand stab of a shot down the line by Miguel Cairo.

The hot-and-cold Dodger bullpen sizzled like the live meringue music that kept an announced sellout crowd of 50,273 in their seats long after the game ended. Duaner Sanchez allowed two hits but no runs in the seventh, Wilson Alvarez and Steve Schmoll combined to get through the eighth, and Yhency Brazoban notched his 18th save with a spotless ninth, setting a team record for saves in a season by a rookie.

The most significant milestone belonged to Tracy, who is 400-344 (.538) since becoming manager in 2001. Even though his winning percentage has taken a beating lately, it is better than all but five Dodger managers -- William McGunnigle (.667), Charlie Dressen (.637), Burt Shotton (.598), Leo Durocher (.560) and Walter Alston (.558).

Tracy ranks sixth in victories behind Alston, Tom Lasorda, Wilbert Robinson, Durocher and Ned Hanlon. He credited his coaches and players with enabling him to reach the milestone.

“I’d like to think I’ll have a lot more,” he said. “When I started there was a lot of sentiment that someone else would be sitting in this chair before I got to 50.”

This victory could have been less stressful had the Dodgers hit better with runners on base. They had 15 hits, including two doubles by Choi, a double and two singles by Ricky Ledee and two singles, two RBIs and two stolen bases by Jayson Werth.

It almost seemed as if they didn’t miss Bradley, who has been out since May 29 because of a torn ligament in his right ring finger. But, of course, they do.

The Dodgers were 26-23 when he was injured and are 18-29 since. Other players, most notably closer Eric Gagne and outfielder J.D. Drew, also have been lost to injury, but getting Bradley’s bat back in the middle of the lineup will be crucial.

The decision to activate him was made late in the day and Bradley barely had time to drive from Colorado Springs -- where the Las Vegas team was staying -- to Denver and catch a redeye flight.

Tracy will talk to Bradley before deciding whether to start him today. No one told the players Bradley was on his way.

“Is he coming?” shortstop Cesar Izturis said.

“I hadn’t heard anything. If he does, that will help our hitting. We’ll welcome him, that’s for sure.”