The Dodgers made it official Monday: Knuckleball pitcher Charlie Haeger was placed on the 15-day disabled list and rookie right-hander John Ely was recalled from triple-A Albuquerque and will start Tuesday.

The changes, disclosed in game notes the Dodgers provided ahead of Monday night's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, came one day after Haeger and the Dodgers had said Haeger was having a problem with his right heel. The Dodgers said Monday that he has plantar fasciitis, a swelling of tissue in the heel.

The timing of his injury was fortuitous for the Dodgers, who had been unsure which of their pitchers would start Tuesday.

Haeger survived only five batters in his last start and is 0-4 with an 8.49 earned run average. Ely, meanwhile, allowed only one earned run in 6 2/3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers last week in only his second major-league start. But he was sent back to the minors to make room for reliever Jeff Weaver, who came off the disabled list.

Ely is scheduled to face Arizona's Dan Haren (4-1) in the second game of the Dodgers' three-game series with the Diamondbacks.

-- Jim Peltz in Phoenix

Photo: Dodgers pitcher John Ely delivers Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium. Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Mike Piazza wants to go into the Hall of Fame as a Met.

Really?

Tommy Lasorda’s godson wants to have a Mets’ cap on his bust? He wants to spurn the team that took a flier on him as a 62nd-round draft pick and groomed into the most fear-hitting catcher of his era?

Apparently the fallout from News Corp.’s ridiculous May trade of Piazza to the Marlins continues.

Piazza was one of the most popular Dodgers of the last 20 years. His idiotic trade -- it was actually engineered by News Corp. executives Peter Chernin and Chase Carey, and not general manager Fred Claire -- would cause organizational struggles for the next five years.

Now certainly Piazza had some great years with the Mets. He actually was a Met one season longer. And it should be noted that he’s an East Coast guy, born and raised in Pennsylvania.

But Piazza had most of his finest years with the Dodgers. He was the National League Rookie of the Year as a Dodger. For six consecutive years, he was an All-Star and won the Silver Slugger with the Dodgers. Twice he finished second for the N.L. MVP with the Dodgers.

Is it so provincial to think of him first as Dodger? I don’t think so. Certainly, most of his still-loyal fans in L.A. wouldn’t think so.

Yet  in the end, what matters is not so much what Piazza wants or L.A. fans think. The final decision will be made by the Hall itself. He becomes eligible in 2013.

Like many a star, Piazza was discovered in Los Angeles. It’s where he burst upon the baseball scene. And the way he should ultimately be remembered.

-- Steve Dilbeck

If you’re Joe Torre, would you want to come back to this organization next season?

I don’t think so. Not the way things currently stand, anyway. Either as manager or front office executive.

Torre has accomplished too much and been around too long to spend his final years in baseball helping lead an organization financially hampered by owners who seem more intent on having their pillows fluffed every night than fielding a winning baseball team.

The Dodgers are in financial limbo while Frank and Jamie McCourt go through their ugly little divorce.

Torre will be 70 in July. He doesn’t need all this at this point in his career. He’s in to win. And if owners aren’t willing to supply him the necessary parts (see: Dodgers rotation), then despite previous comments, he could easily be moving on.

Now before you assume that would probably mean retirement, check out this video report from Fox baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal.

Rosenthal, previously a veteran baseball scribe for the Baltimore Sun, said unnamed friends of Torre have told him if the ownership situation with the Dodgers doesn’t improve, Torre likely won't be back. Rosenthal speculated that the Mets, Cubs or Braves could be interested in his services.

Not exactly what anyone had in mind when Torre arrived here three seasons ago.

Torre has talked of possibly managing the Dodgers one more year before moving into an unspecified front-office position with the Dodgers.

But if the team payroll is declining and the chances of capturing another championship are dwindling, why would he come back?

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Joe Torre hugs Frank McCourt after being announced as the Dodgers' manager in 2007. Credit: Los Angeles Times.

And that’s what a great starting pitching performance looks like.

Dominating. Frustrating and heartbreaking to an opponent. Completely uplifting to your own team.

Clayton Kershaw, who had been about as bad as he’d ever been in his last start, was about as good as he’s ever been this afternoon in the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

This had not been a great start to 2010 for Kershaw, who entered the afternoon game with a 1-2 record and 4.99 earned-run average in his first six starts.

For a pitcher of so much talent, of so much promise, it had to be frustrating. Particularly given the Dodgers’ poor start this season and their inability to count on their rotation.

Then he got off to a puzzling first inning Sunday, loading the bases on a pair of walks and a bunt single. In that inning alone, he threw 30 pitches.

Nothing to indicate what was to come.

Kershaw would allow only two other baserunners his next seven innings, one an infield single and the other a walk. He struck out nine. It was like the pitcher from the first inning never existed.

Matched against Colorado’s sensational Ubaldo Jimenez, it made for a classic pitching duel. Jimenez threw the franchise's first no-hitter earlier this season and entered the game 6-0.

That’s not something you would expect the Dodgers to come out on top of this season, but Kershaw was completely dominant.

At age 22, he showed again why many consider him a pitching superstar in the waiting.

He is still young and prone to being erratic -- he gave up seven runs in only 1 1/3 innings of his last start -- but his ability is unquestioned.

And for a team ending a homestand at 6-4 and trying hard to believe in its rotation, so was his timing.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw works during the second inning against the Rockies on Sunday. Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press

Oh, it was a heel problem.

That's what manager Joe Torre was implying prior to Sunday's game, that the reason Charlie Haeger couldn't get a single out before getting lifted Saturday night was because his foot was bothering him.

The quote below is courtesy of Dodgers public relations and is represented as generally what Torre said:

"Charlie has been getting work on his heel. We'll see what that's about. It's the right heel. I'm going to talk to our trainers and see what we've got."

Do I really need to comment on this?

Just understand this: The Dodgers can't call up right-hander John Ely, just sent down on Friday, for 10 days unless a pitcher is placed on the disabled list.

It seems a tad too transparent. I don't have any problem with the Dodgers working the system, just more that they would try to use Haeger's heel as an excuse for his horrible outing.

It's not Torre's fault that his pitching options are so poor -- that goes up the food chain to general manager Ned Colletti and then to owner Frank McCourt.

But it was Torre, likely with significant input from Colletti, who elected to start Haeger again and send down Ely. Now they have a problem of their own making.

Both in the short term, and down the road. Opening Day starter Vicente Padilla (elbow) is not expected back for a month. And even then, the Dodgers can hardly count on season-long health for the entire rotation.

Torre on the rotation, and via the team PR: "Where is the starting pitching help going to come from? When you have a good year, you don't know where … but different people make contributions.

"You are always concerned that you don't have enough pitching. We lost our Opening Day starter. We have to find a way to figure it out and hang around.

"I can't concern myself with moves down the road. That doesn't help me today or tomorrow. We need to stay competitive and not lose our composure."

As opposed to losing confident in the rotation.

-- Steve Dilbeck

The Dodgers have a leadoff problem.

And for another week or so, they have no real answer. What’s one more small problem?

With Rafael Furcal on the disabled list and Manny Ramirez back in the lineup Saturday, the Dodgers had no one who approached a typical leadoff hitter.

So Joe Torre flipped a coin between Russell Martin and Jamey Carroll … and up came his catcher!

When Furcal joined Manny on the disabled list, the Dodgers used Manny’s left-field replacement as their leadoff hitter -- either Reed Johnson or Xavier Paul.

But when Manny came off the DL and started Saturday, that player was gone, and there was no one who really resembled a leadoff hitter to bat first.

Martin went 1-for-4 with a single, before leaving the game after seven innings of the Dodgers’ 8-0 loss to the Rockies.

Neither Martin nor Carroll are exactly base-stealing threats. Each has one stolen base this season. Martin did steal 21 bases in 2007 but stole only 11 last season and then made a point of adding bulk this past offseason.

The Dodgers will have to make do until Furcal recovers from his strained left hamstring. The first game he would be eligible to play would be Friday in San Diego. That means a minimum of another four games with Martin or Carroll leading off.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Can we now please end this ridiculous Charlie Haeger experiment?

That was utterly embarrassing. Problem was, the Dodgers deserved it. Deserved every single ball, walk and hit Haeger gave up in his cameo performance.

They sent John Ely back to minors and kept Haeger because Haeger is out of options and were worried he would be claimed?

Right now his mother wouldn’t claim him. And if another team did claim him, so what? It isn’t like the Dodgers would be losing some hot prospect.

Haeger is now 0-4 with an 8.49 ERA on the young season. There’s a certain consistency there.

This is Haeger’s third team at age 26. For his career, he’s 2-7 with a 6.25 ERA. There’s a certain consistency there, too.

He faced five batters Saturday and gave up a single, three consecutive walks and a triple. He left without recording a single out. That’s the first time that’s happened to a Dodger starter in almost 22 years.

After Ramon Ortiz, that other invaluable hurler they’re so afraid of losing, followed and immediately gave up a two-run homer, the Dodgers were down 6-0 before half the crowd had given Frank McCourt their $15 for parking.

The Dodgers were on their way to an 8-0 loss to the Rockies. So much for that excitement over the return of Manny Ramirez.

You can rightly blame the pitching depth’s dire straits -- and the team’s unwillingness in the offseason to acquire a front-line starter -- for Haeger being in this situation to begin with.

But it’s not like Saturday’s outcome was a shock, just the swiftness of it. Joe Torre elected to put Haeger back in the rotation. His options are admittedly bleak, but any are better than Haeger.

Carlos Monasterios remains a serious gamble, but I’ll take that over rolling Haeger out there again. Monasterios is the tentative starter for Tuesday.

Won’t you come home, John Ely, won’t you come home?

The Dodgers need to designate Haeger for assignment, call Ely back and start him Tuesday. There’s an off-day on Thursday, so they can skip Haeger’s next turn and then decide if they want to go with Monasterios or figure out another option.

The problem is, once a pitcher is sent down to the minors, he can't be recalled for 10 days. Unless another pitcher is placed on the disabled list. After the game, Torre was talking about how Haeger didn't seem right and implied something might be physically wrong. Umm.

There are a lot of unknowns involved with Ely and Monasterios, and that could go very bad, but right now that beats a known quality like Haeger. That’s already gone bad.

--Steve Dilbeck

It’s a compliment. Really, full-blown flattery. The kind of thing most young players would be honored to hear.

Yet somehow when it’s said of  Dodgers first baseman James Loney, it can feel almost backhanded:

James Loney plays like Mark Grace.

That would be Mark Grace, career .303 hitter, a three-time All-Star who finished with 2,445 hits and more than 500 doubles in 16 major league seasons.

That’s not lavish praise of the highest order?

"I like it," Loney said. "A good, all-around player. A long career for him. Got a few Gold Gloves. Almost 2,500 hits. That’s pretty amazing."

Absolutely without question. Except  . . . Grace had very little power. He averaged 10.7 home runs a year and never hit more than 17 in a season.

And that’s less a complaint about Loney than simply a perceived shortcoming. Corner players are traditionally power hitters. They're supposed to hover around 30 home runs a season.

Loney seems unfazed by it all. Few players appear so comfortable with themselves as Loney.

"It’s not necessarily how many you hit, but when you get a big hit," he said. "If you help your team win, that’s what people are really going to remember. Did you step up at the right times and produce enough?"

Manny Ramirez is coming! Manny Ramirez is coming!

Can he pitch?

He is, of course, a position player. A very important position player, granted, but I don’t think he’s going to shut down the Rockies’ lineup.

Which is what the Dodgers really need right now. They need guys they can count on to throw heat, change speeds, buckle knees, throw strikes and get outs.

What they are sending out Saturday to meet the Rockies is knuckleballer Charlie Haeger, he of the 0-3 record and 6.56 ERA.

While Manny was on the disabled list for two weeks with his strained calf, the Dodgers went 6-8. The Dodgers averaged 6.1 runs in their last seven games, so it’s not offense that has been the big problem.

The Dodgers lack consistent, quality starting pitching. Friday they sent out their most reliable starter, Hiroki Kuroda, and he suffered something of an off night.

"Kuroda wasn’t at his best tonight, but he battled,’’ Dodgers manager Joe Torre said Friday.

Kuroda went 5 1/3 innings, allowing the five runs (four earned) on nine hits and a career-high five walks (two intentional).

And that is the Dodgers’ best and most consistent starter.

Ramirez was activated after Friday’s victory and will be back in left field Saturday night. He has an unquestioned positive ripple effect on the lineup. After all my questioning of batting Matt Kemp second, he clearly gets better pitches hitting in front of Andre Ethier and Ramirez.

Kemp’s little bloop triple that drove in the winning run Friday was his first RBI in 15 games.

"I forgot what it felt like to get an RBI," Kemp said.

The Dodgers are a better offensive team with Manny, particularly the Manny who was batting .415 before injuring his leg.

Now if he could only pitch …

-- Steve Dilbeck

John Ely isn’t the only young player who has performed well and is headed back to the minors.

Outfielder Xavier Paul was optioned back to triple-A Albuquerque on Friday after the Dodgers' 6-5 victory over the Rockies as the Dodgers activated Manny Ramirez.

Paul led off the last two games for the Dodgers, both victories.

Paul went one-for-three Friday with a walk. He doubled and scored to lead off the fifth. Thursday night, he went two-for-four with two runs and an RBI.

Yet just when it looked as if Paul is starting to get comfortable at the plate, his ticket was being punched for Albuquerque.

"Once he gets a handle on himself, he has a chance," said Manager Joe Torre. "There’s just a certain attitude about the way he plays the game. His ability is starting to set in now. He’s pretty cool at the plate. He doesn’t really get overly excited."

Paul, 25, made a nice, running catch Thursday, but struggled on a couple of plays in left on Friday. He still has some rough edges to work off in the field.

"He’s doing a better job in the outfield," Torre said. "He’s a big leaguer; the thing now, is having an opportunity to have a place for him. You certainly don’t like young players on the bench and have them sort of not use their skills."

Paul hit .276 in nine games for the Dodgers since being called up to replace Ramirez. Like Ely, however, he figures to be back.

"He needs to play every day," Torre said.

-- Steve Dilbeck