Confidence Is Slowly Growing

Forty-one games into the season, the Dodgers feel something like a football team trailing by only a couple of points after one quarter despite committing several turnovers and missing a short field goal.

They’ve blown several large leads and dropped 10 of 16 one-run games, yet are two games behind the first-place San Diego Padres in a tight National League West Division.

“We’ve lost a lot of close games we could have won,” pitcher Brett Tomko said. “Take some of those and flip them around and we’re five games in front.”

After visiting every rival in the division, the Dodgers are in awe of no one.

“I’m very confident about where we are and how we fit in,” infielder Olmedo Saenz said. “We have a good team, and when we get a few guys back who are injured, we’ll be better.”

Said Manager Grady Little: “With all the things we’ve been through, to be where we are at this point in the season is all right. I’m convinced the best part of our season is still in front of us.”

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The butt of jokes since last season, the West has emerged as the strongest division in the NL primarily because none of its teams are off to a poor start. All five are over .500.

Entering the interleague portion of the schedule, West teams are a combined 109-95 and have a 58-44 record against the rest of the NL. The Central is 60-60 outside its division and the East is only 40-56.

“There is so much criticism about how bad the division is, but it’s not turning out that way,” Tomko said. “There are a lot of good ballclubs and no really weak ones like in years past.”

The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks, who lost 385 games the last two years, have winning records.

“Nobody is going to fade away and nobody is going to run away,” Saenz said.

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Catcher Dioner Navarro is eligible to come off the disabled list Saturday but isn’t close to being activated because he cannot swing a bat without pain. Navarro has a bruised right wrist as a result of a foul tip. Rookie Russell Martin is batting .294 in 11 games after going four for 11 in three games at Colorado. The Dodgers do not plan to send Martin back to triple A when Navarro is healthy.