Dodgers still putting rotation together

LOS ANGELES - The Dodgers held a closed workout. A steady rain, rare in Southern California, pushed the players inside. It came out later that one of the most recognizable members of the team with the National League's best record was absent.

That would be manager Joe Torre. Along with pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, Torre went to the Arizona Instructional League to watch lefthander Hiroki Kuroda pitch. And what they saw there could have a big impact on the outcome of the National League Championship Series against the Phillies that begins tomorrow night at Dodger Stadium.

Kuroda was not on the active roster when Los Angeles swept the St. Louis Cardinals. He went on the disabled list with a concussion after being hit in the head by a line drive on Aug. 15. He didn't make his final start of the season because of a sore neck.

It won't be announced until today whether Kuroda will be activated for the NLCS. But Torre hinted strongly that he expects to have him available, probably to pitch Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park, after he sailed through five innings in Arizona.

"I was comfortable watching him," said the manager who has taken his team to the postseason for 14 straight seasons. "His command was surprisingly good. He only needed about 50 pitches, so we had to have him throw in the bullpen after he was done. We'll see how he comes out of it, but there's probably a chance he'll be on the roster."

Here's why that matters to the Phillies: Kuroda made one start against them this season. He pitched six shutout innings. Since signing with the Dodgers in 2008, he has made three starts against the Phils and is 1-0 with an 0.95 earned run average.

And that's only part of the story.

Torre hasn't announced his pitching plans for the series, but it's almost a given that lefthanders Clayton Kershaw and former Phillie Randy Wolf will start Games 1 and 2, although not necessarily in that order.

That probably means another ex-Phil, righthander Vicente Padilla, would start Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday night.

If Kuroda is good to go, that means righthander Chad Billingsley is in the bullpen. Billingsley made the All-Star team this season, but was 3-8 with a 5.21 earned run average from June 19 to the end of the season. He also was winless in his last seven starts.

It doesn't take a baseball genius to figure out that the Dodgers pose a tougher challenge for the Phillies with Kuroda in the rotation and Billingsley in the bullpen.