James Loney has been crushing the ball this month for the Dodgers.

Series of the Week – Early Edition
Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians, Monday through Wednesday

Sadly, to kick off the week, this is the only series where both teams are in contention. The Tigers are five games back of the Indians as of this writing, but the Tigers are looking more at the Wild Card, where they trail the Yankees by 2.5 games. Still, the Tigers need to win, and keep winning, if they are going to keep pace. The Yankees have a much easier time with the Orioles this week, so the Tigers have their work cut out for them.

The Tigers send the well-rested Kenny Rogers (3-2, 4.50) to the mound to open the series for them. Rogers had a full week off to rest his sore elbow, but he would probably rather have had a few more days off, or returned a day early, rather than have to head in to his house of horrors, Jacobs Field. In 18 appearances at the Jake in his career, Rogers has a career ERA of 6.09.

The Indians counter with Paul Byrd (15-6, 4.34), who might be the least impressive 15-win winner ever. Byrd has been extremely good about preventing free bases, with just 25 walks allowed this season in 174 innings. However, he needs to be that stingy, as he is very much hittable, with a .293 batting average against.

The hitter to watch for the Tigers is Brandon Inge. Why Inge? Well, it has been a disappointing season for Inge, with just 14 home runs this year after 27 last year, and his .242 batting average is his lowest as a third baseman, but he has been hot of late. Over his last ten games, Inge is hitting .313 with two home runs, five RBI, and six runs scored. At least he picked the right time of year to start hitting.

For the Indians, our spotlight is on Kenny Lofton. Brought in for his veteran leadership, his bat is also looking quite veteran of late, as he is wearing down as the season goes on. Over his last ten games, Lofton is hitting .222 with no homers, four RBI, and five runs. The Indians need Lofton producing more than he currently is if they are going to stave off a late run from the Tigers and instead challenge for the best record in the game.

Series of the Week – Weekend Edition
Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks, Friday through Sunday

The Dodgers are still in the hunt for the division, although that time is quickly running out. The Diamondbacks are looking to hold on to their first division since 2002. No team in the National League has more wins at home than the Diamondbacks, and the Dodgers are barely over .500 on the road, so the odds do not favor the Dodgers.

The tentative starters for this series opener are Livan Hernandez (10-10, 4.86) and Esteban Loaiza (1-1, 7.84). Anyone that was expecting the very early success Loaiza had this year in his two outings with the Athletics to continue with the Dodgers was deluding themselves – Loaiza has been a mediocre at best pitcher throughout his career, with at most two respectable seasons in a 12 year career under his belt. Expecting even a respectable game out of Loaiza on Friday against a team looking to nail down the best record in the league would be a mistake. As for Hernandez, he has been bad month/good month all season, with solid months in April, May, and August, with truly horrible performances in June and July. Unfortunately, we are now scheduled for one of his bad months, and he is 1-1 with a 6.88 ERA in his three starts, only one of which was a quality start, and that was barely. This could very easily be an offensive slugfest here in this one, especially in the hitter-friendly Chase Field.

There has been no post-contract extension letdown for Eric Byrnes, who is hitting .306 with two home runs, ten RBI, twelve runs, and seven stolen bases (in seven attempts) in 49 at-bats this month.  For the year, Byrnes is hitting .292 with 45 stolen bases, 21 home runs, 82 RBI, and 95 runs. I cannot think of a fantasy owner out there that would not like Carl Crawford-like production out of an outfielder that likely went far cheaper than Crawford.

The Dodgers hopes of making the playoffs ride not on the veterans that they stacked the team with, but instead the youngsters that the Dodgers have been forced to play. The leader there has been James Loney, whose bat forced him into the lineup, and a .426 batting average in September, with five home runs, nineteen RBI, and twelve runs scored.