Dodgers Sinking in the West

Barry Bonds, McCovey Cove and Hooters. It was as much Americana as a Taiwanese rookie left-hander could take in one day.

Hong-Chih Kuo stood in the Dodger clubhouse Sunday, sheepishly explaining the pitch Barry Bonds had knocked out of SBC Park. But Kuo was less embarrassed about the pitch than the orange hot pants and tight Hooters shirt he was wearing.

Rookie hazing and Bonds raking. Welcome to the big leagues, kid.

“I tried not to throw it down the middle,” he said. “I was just trying to finish my job.”

Several teammates were trying to suppress laughs. Kuo and 10 other Dodger rookies had to wear the waitress outfits until they reached the hotel in Phoenix on Sunday night.

The Dodgers are looking for any reason to smile because catching San Diego in the National League West is out of the question, especially after losing to the San Francisco Giants for the third day in a row, this time by a 5-3 score.

The Hooter-wear, which has become something of a tradition, at least took their minds off the fact they will finish with a losing record for the first time since 1999.

Kuo, who was making his second appearance, might remember this game longer than most of his teammates do. Bonds, leading off the eighth, was the only batter he faced, and his homer provided the Giants (69-80) with their last run.

Thrusting a young pitcher into a late-inning pressure situation, then hoping that too much psychological damage doesn’t result runs contrary to Dodger Manager Jim Tracy’s instincts.

But this season he has had little choice. So the fact that all four Dodger relievers used in a close game were rookies was not a surprise.

Tracy said before the game that Kuo would not face Bonds, but there he was, challenging the Giant slugger with a full-count fastball. When it splashed down, it became Bonds’ 32nd homer in McCovey Cove and 705th of his career.

Had the score been tied, Tracy would not have used Kuo, whose earned-run average jumped from 54.00 to 81.00.

“There’s only one guy in all of baseball who could have hit that pitch and hit it fair,” Tracy said. “The kid doesn’t have to feel bad about it. He’ll learn and grow from that.”

Tracy’s preference is to bring along rookies slowly, using them in non-pressure situations until they have gained some confidence. But when starter Elmer Dessens tired after four innings because he normally pitches in relief, Tracy looked at a lineup card that had six rookies listed as bullpen options.

D.J. Houlton pitched a scoreless fifth and the Dodgers tied the score, 3-3, in the sixth, although they squandered an opportunity to take the lead. They had four hits and a hit batsman in the inning, but a double play erased one runner and Mike Edwards was thrown out at the plate to end the inning after pinch-hitter Brian Myrow’s single.

Experience is only a matter of degree in the Dodger bullpen. Rookie Franquelis Osoria (0-1) has made 18 appearances, but he was summoned, and gave up a home run to Mike Matheny in the sixth.

Another rookie reliever Tracy wants to nurture, Jonathan Broxton, will join the Dodgers (67-82) today. Broxton was first recalled from double A on July 29 and the Dodgers hoped that he could step into a key setup role. He faltered, giving up at least one run in six of his eight appearances and needing 185 pitches to log 7 2/3 innings.

He was sent down Aug. 22 and helped Jacksonville win the Southern League championship as their closer.

“We’ll try to keep him out of harm’s way,” Tracy said.