4 in a row.

After taking 3 of 4 from Houston on the road and another great game by Chad Billingsley, the Dodgers returned to the west coast to take the series opener against the Giants in San Francisco. Andre Ethier has been the man lately by homering in three consecutive games including an absolutely mammoth shot against the Astros on Wednesday that ended up in the right field upper deck. Overall, the bats have come alive this week and have scored 5 runs or more in three of the last four wins. This article was posted yesterday on dodgers.com and it didn't make me feel real excited about future possibilities. Why go back on a philosophy that seems to be coming together for the sake of one position player? Sure, we could use the help at shortstop, but why sacrifice the future of the team? If they end up going through with a trade it's almost certainty that Furcal won't be re-signed for next year. This looks to be another in a long line of disappointing trades the Dodgers have made in the last few years going back to the ridiculously retarded Paul LoDuca trade in 2004. Let's hope Nomar can make this a non-issue and stays healthy and plays well enough that a trade won't be necessary. And speaking of stupid trades, that deal with Tampa a couple of years ago looks better everyday. We sure could use Edwin Jackson in the rotation right about now.

Well, you certainly don't see this everyday.

Actually, the last time it happened was 16 years ago. The Dodgers won tonight 1-0 without scoring a single hit. That's almost unheard of. The funny part is that Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo, who pitched for the Angels, won't get credit for the no hitter because MLB rules state an official no-hit game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a no-hit game, a batter may reach base via a walk, an error, a hit by pitch, a passed ball or wild pitch on strike three, or catcher's interference. So, there you have it. You won't find me shedding a tear that's for sure. As for the good guys, Chad Billingsley continues to churn out excellent starts and lead this depleted starting rotation. He's easily starting to become my favorite pitcher and turning out to be a real leader on this team. If any team is looking to trade for him they better be prepared to give up a lot in exchange. I'm looking forward to him pitching in a Dodger uniform for many years to come and hopefully some championships to go with it.