35-year old righty Chan Ho Park appeared to be toast when he arrived in spring training. But, he not only made the Dodgers’ pitching staff but he’s a big reason why they are in first place. He has pitched in 51 games (5 starts) for the Dodgers this season and he is 4-3 with 2 saves, a 2.99 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The reason most thought that Park was done was because of how poorly he pitched from 2002-2007 with the Padres, Rangers and Mets. In those years, Park pitched in 113 games (91 starts) and he was 33-34 with a 5.74 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Park appears to have found a home in the same city in which his major league career started and the Dodgers couldn’t be happier with him.

Chad Billingsley has been the best starting pitcher for the Dodgers all season long. He has pitched in 32 games (30 starts) for the Dodgers this season and he is 15-10 with a 3.02 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. With better run support earlier in the season Billingsley would have more wins and less losses, but his numbers are still pretty good. He has also whiffed 189 batters in 188 innings for the Dodgers which shows how nasty his stuff has been in 2008.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won 9 of their last 10 games to overtake the D-Backs by 4.5 games in the National League West. Ramirez has been one of the biggest reasons for the Dodgers’ surge as he has ripped the ball since getting off of the plane in LA after the trade with the Red Sox. Ramirez has played in 39 games for the Dodgers this season and he is 55 for 139 (.396 avg, 1.248 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 14 homers and 41 RBIs.

The Dodgers have placed Andruw Jones on the 60-day disabled list with right knee soreness ending his season. Jones played in 75 games for the Dodgers this season and he was 33 for 209 (.158 avg, .505 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 3 homers and 14 RBIs. He also whiffed a stunning 76 times this season which was pathetic. This was officially the worst free agent signing over last winter as it seems like Jones might have had some helpers in his past career as he looked pretty weak this season.

The Dodgers have lost starting 2B Jeff Kent for the remainder of the season after he underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. Kent played in 117 games for the Dodgers this season and he was 119 for 432 (.275 avg, .734 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 11 homers and 57 RBIs. Rookie Blake DeWitt has been called up and he has taken over Jeff Kent’s old spot as the starting 2B for the Dodgers. So far, DeWitt has hit really well since being recalled from the minors. He played in 7 games for the Dodgers since his promotion and he is 6 for 19 (.316 avg) with 2 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs.