Once he was this great find, this surprising sensation who had unexpectedly made himself a valuable part of one of baseball’s best bullpens.

Then … what?

Ramon Troncoso still looked the part of a great, young, right-handed reliever early in 2010. Then it began to slip away, and he has struggled ever since to find himself.

Even after a strong start this spring, he could not keep it going. And on Sunday, he was optioned back to the minors.

This hardly means the end for the 28-year-old Dominican, but he will once again have to try to right himself at triple-A Albuquerque, something he could never truly do there last season (5.73 ERA, 1.55 WHIP).

There had been concern that Joe Torre had gone to him too often last April (15 appearances in a 21-game stretch, though only 13 innings) and worn him out.

Then Troncoso had started so well this spring (no earned runs in his first 4 1/3 innings), it appeared he was back on track. Some already gushed he had made the team.

But in his last five appearances, he gave up six earned runs (10.80 ERA) and was once again headed back to the minors.

Since the Dodgers released Ron Mahay and optioned Travis Schlichting back to the minors Saturday, the final bullpen spot will apparently come down to left-hander Scott Elbert or right-hander Lance Cormier.

The Dodgers would prefer to have Elbert as a second lefty in the bullpen, but after an encouraging stretch he gave up three runs in one-third of an inning Saturday and now has a 7.50 ERA this spring.

In eight innings this spring, Cormier has a 2.25 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Love is a many-splendored thing, unless Joe Torre was going all goo-goo eyed over you in the bullpen.

Sometimes, that qualified as tough love. If Torre loved you, he tended to use you. And sometimes, too much.

Troncoso had been an unexpected delight in 2009, appearing in 73 games and posting a 2.72 ERA and even picking up six saves. The Dodgers assumed it would be more of the same last year, and things began well enough.

But Troncoso appeared in 14 of their first 20 games last April and began to slip. By the end of June his ERA was up to 5.45 and his confidence was shaken. He looked worn out. He was soon sent back to the minors, where he would spend the bulk of the next two months.

Troncoso entered this spring almost as an afterthought. The bullpen looked packed, with maybe one opening that hardly appeared earmarked for the 28-year-old.

But an injury to Vicente Padilla and Ronald Belisario’s latest AWOL routine have presented an opportunity, and Troncoso appears set on making the most of it.

Manager Don Mattingly and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt told ESPN/LA’s Tony Jackson that last season Troncoso became reluctant to use the sinker that had been so effective for him in the past.

This spring he has retired 10 of his 11 batters and at least in the early going has been impressive. His ability to pitch more than one inning could help him jump back into the Dodgers’ bullpen picture.

"His role would be to kind of fit in the middle [ahead of] whoever you have setting up," Mattingly told Jackson. "He is a guy who is going to have to pitch multiple innings."

Also on the Web:

-- The Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth takes a great look at ex-Dodger Greg Goosen, whose death last week was almost typically overshadowed by that of Duke Snider’s passing.

-- In the New York Times, ex-Dodger pitcher Ralph Branca gives a moving first-person account of Snider and how he stood up for Jackie Robinson.

-- The Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin writes that commissioner Bud Selig is again speaking volumes while refusing to comment on Frank McCourt’s ownership difficulties while aiding troubled Mets owner Fred Wilpon.

-- Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan profiles ace-in-the-making Clayton Kershaw, also taking another look at his off-season trip to Africa.

-- More from Passan: He writes that Dodgers reliever Travis Schlichting has the greatest mullet in the history of mankind, or at least baseball.

-- The Post-Gazette’s Ron Musselman writes that ex-Dodger James McDonald is thrilled to have a set role in the Pirates' rotation, where he is tentatively scheduled in the No. 3 spot.

-- TrueBlueLA’s Phil Gurnee profiles left-hander Scott Elbert, off to a slow start in Arizona.

-- More from LAT's Shaikin: Will the Dodgers let Matt Kemp run free on the bases this season, even if he’s the cleanup hitter?

-- Orange County Register travel editor Gary Warner takes a look a the Dodgers’ semi-new home in Phoenix and likes it.

-- The N.Y. Times' Ben Shpigel writes that catcher Russell Martin and right-hander Phil Hughes are bonding over their love of hockey.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Ramon Troncoso in 2010. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA

File this under the department of What Else Can Go Wrong?

For the slumping Dodgers it’s another day, another … what?

Before Thursday’s game against the Colorado Rockies, the Dodgers announced right-hander Vicente Padilla had been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a bulging disc in his neck. [Updated, 7:47 p.m.: The Dodgers have not officially placed Padilla on the disabled list, but they are expected to at some point following Thursday's game against the Rockies.]

"It’s like that other shoe hitting the floor," said Manager Joe Torre.

Padilla had been brilliant through a recent seven-game stretch (4-1, 1.13 earned-run average), but in his last two starts that the Dodgers now say he was suffering from the neck and left shoulder pain, he stumbled to 1-1 with an 11.57 ERA.

Trainer Stan Conte said Padilla had an MRI on Thursday and the injury is not believed serious.

"It’s not a real big bulge and it’s not pressing on a nerve," Conte said.

Conte said the injury is not expected to require surgery. Padilla is scheduled to have an epidural Friday.

Torre said rookie Carlos Monasterios would start in Padilla’s place Friday against the Cincinnati Reds unless he’s needed in long relief Thursday.

Torre said when he informed the right-hander of his options, he said: "That’s good either way."

The Dodgers plan to call right-handed reliever Travis Schlichting back up from triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, unless Monasterios pitches Thursday.

Then who would start Friday?

"I don’t know," Torre said. "Maybe another quick move to get somebody else here."

Previously this season with the Dodgers, Schlichting was 1-0 with a 2.86 ERA in 13 games.

Earlier Padilla, 32, missed almost two months at the beginning of the season with a nerve problem in elbow.

This injury is not considered as serious.

"He’s not going to pitch with it again," Torre said. "He’ll miss a start, maybe two. I’m not saying it’s going to be the rest of the year, but we have to give it a chance to quiet down."

-- Steve Dilbeck

This time, strong starting pitching wasn’t enough for the Dodgers.

Vicente Padilla (pictured at right) gave them a third consecutive outstanding start, but was outpitched by the Mets’ Johan Santana. All that before the Dodgers bullpen imploded.

So the Dodgers' mini-winning streak was snapped at two, the Mets rolling on to a 6-1 victory Friday that returned the Dodgers to six games behind the San Diego Padres in the National League West.

There was little more that Padilla could have done. Save for one pitch to Ike Davis, he was just as masterful as starters Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda had been before him.

Padilla went seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. Fifty-five of his 77 pitchers were strikes. During one stretch, he retired 17 consecutive Mets.

Padilla (4-3) was simply continuing his recent string of strong outings. In his last six starts, he has a 1.30 earned-run average.

The Mets, however, got to him for an unearned run in the first.

Jose Reyes led off the game with a double. Luis Castillo was able to beat out a bunt for a single to put runners on the corners.

Padilla struck out Angel Pagan and David Wright, but on the latter Castillo took off for second. When catcher Russell Martin fired to second, Reyes broke for home.

Martin’s throw was on line and Pagan would have been out for an inning-ending double play … except Dodgers second baseman Blake DeWitt dropped the ball for an error.

There was nothing unearned about the Mets’ second run. Padilla tried to throw one of those slow, looping curveballs past Davis and the first baseman waited patiently and rocketed it into the left-field pavilion for his 14th home run.

With Mets outfielders making a series of outstanding catches, Santana had the game in control for New York.

Like Padilla, Santana (8-5) wasn’t messing around, consistently throwing strikes. He gave up one run on five hits in his seven innings. Of his 98 pitches, 74 were strikes.

The only run the Dodgers scratched together off Santana came in the fifth when Martin led off with a double, advanced to second on a DeWitt groundout and scored on Jamey Carroll’s flyout to shallow right.

After the starters called it a night with the Mets clinging to a 2-1 lead, New York broke the game open against the Dodgers' bullpen.

Manager Joe Torre utilized four different relievers, all of whom struggled. Jeff Weaver walked two and James McDonald allowed a sacrifice fly and an intentional walk.

New left-handed specialist Jack Taschner then looked a lot like the old left-handed specialist (George Sherrill), walking the left-handed Davis.

Travis Schlichting’s first pitch was then lined by Jason Bay for a bases-clearing double.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

In their never-ending quest to determine a fifth starter, the Dodgers are going back to rookie Carlos Monasterios for the third time this season.

If at first you don’t succeed ...

The currently very cozy bullpen is getting a minor makeover, with more to come, and probably soon.

Even with Reed Johnson's lack of progress, the Dodgers decided to go at least one more game without calling up another outfielder for Thursday's game against the New York Mets.

When the Dodgers sent catcher A.J. Ellis to triple-A Albuquerque on Wednesday, instead of calling up another bat, they brought up left-handed reliever Jack Taschner.

Manager Joe Torre said Taschner will take over George Sherrill’s role as the late-inning left-hander.

"He'll take on the left-handed specialist role at this point," Torre said. "We’ll use Sherrill earlier in the game and put Tas in the spot that [Sherrill] has been in until we get George to have enough good outings where he's confident knowing what's coming out and we are too.

"But we have to wait for that to happen. Up until that time, I think we need to use Taschner wherever it's called for later in the game."

Read: Sherrill was officially demoted.

The addition of Taschner on Wednesday left the Dodgers with 13 pitchers, and a bloated bullpen of eight relievers.

If the Dodgers can get through another game with a relatively unscathed bullpen, they probably would call up another right-handed bat, preferably an outfielder, by Friday.

"We certainly don't want to be at 13," Torre said. "Right now we'll stay there just until the bullpen stabilizes itself.

"I think it's realistic that in the next couple of days, we'll go back to 12."

Complicating the situation is Johnson, who is eligible to come off the disabled list Friday with a lower back strain, not progressing.

"We have no date right now for Reed Johnson," Torre said. "He's sort of stagnated there. It was getting better, getting better, but it’s not improving now. He’s not going backward, but he's not improving. He's probably going to be another week or so."

And then he probably will need to go on a rehabilitation assignment.

With Monasterios (3-2, 3.61 earned-run average) moving back to the rotation, James McDonald remains a middle reliever. McDonald has only started this season -- 12 games at Albuquerque and his outing Monday against the Giants in which he struggled (four runs on nine hits in five innings).

McDonald failed as the fifth starter at the beginning of last season, though he later found some success as a reliever. Torre, however, said the latest move doesn't mean that the Dodgers have determined that McDonald's future is as a reliever.

"Not necessarily," Torre said. "He was fine with it when we talked it. When you get at this level, you pretty much have to do what we need for the good of the team. At this point and time, I think that's where he's going to best serve us. He’s pretty durable, and he can come out of the bullpen and strike somebody out."

Somebody, however, will have to be sent down when the Dodgers call up a bat this weekend. If Taschner is now a late-inning guy, then the options are Travis Schlichting, Justin Miller (out of options) or McDonald.

And right now, with the lack of rotation depth, I'd rather have McDonald starting at Albuquerque.

Of course, other relievers could be called up (Kenley Jansen?) and the nonwaiver trading deadline is only a week away.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Just when things were almost approaching -- yawn -- ordinary in these little Dodgers-Giants affairs, along came Tuesday night.

There were hit batters and ejections, raised tempers and acting managerial stumbles, not to mention a dramatic 7-5 comeback by the Giants that ultimately extended the Dodgers' losing streak to six games.

Rivalry renewed, or at least refreshed.

After an almost routine Giants victory the previous night, Tuesday was tense and unexpected, full of history and grudges and pitches with intent and one big comeback.

Unexpected, like the Dodgers chasing Giants ace Tim Lincecum with their five runs in just 4 2/3 innings.

The Dodgers let it be known early this wasn’t going to be a typical Lincecum night. They opened the scoring in the first on an Xavier Paul double and an Andre Ethier two-run homer.

The Dodgers made it a 5-1 game in the third with a single by Blake DeWitt and a double by Casey Blake each driving in a run.

And then things got interesting.

(First some quick background: The two teams met here on April 16, Matt Kemp hitting a home run against Todd Wellemeyer and then getting buzzed with a Wellemeyer fastball at the head in his next at-bat. Vicente Padilla later hit Aaron Rowan with a pitch that broke two of his cheek bones and sent him to the disabled list.)

So with one out in the bottom of the fifth Tuesday, Lincecum throws an inside pitch to Kemp that had him bailing out of the batter's box. The next pitch hit Kemp in the ribs.

OK, boys and girls, today we momentarily take pause from the grieving for the lost St. Louis weekend to offer this brief quiz:

Joe Torre currently has seven relievers in his bullpen -- how many does he actually trust?

His bullpen boys are Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, Jeff Weaver, Carlos Monasterios, Justin Miller, George Sherrill and Travis Schlichting.

Come on, how many?

OK, despite blowing Sunday’s game, Broxton is an obvious choice. Kuo has yet to allow a hit to a left-handed hitter, so he’s in. Weaver has been more reliable than not.

And that about ends that.

That’s right, we’re going with the correct answer: three.

Oh, the pain. A year ago, the best bullpen in baseball. Now, tilting toward disaster.
 
How could this be? Let us count the reasons, again sticking with three:

1) Ronald Belisario had visa problems because of a DUI arrest, showed up the last week of spring training, joined the team late and then posted a 7.20 ERA in his first 16 appearances.

Then he got it together and had a 1.31 ERA over his next 19 appearances, only to disappear and be placed on the restricted list. Turns out, he’s in a rehab facility, and I don’t mean the kind that helps sore shoulders.

2) Ramon Troncoso, a workhorse middle reliever last season who owned a 2.72 ERA in 73 games, started the season decently and then went into a serious downward spiral.

Unable to get him untracked, the Dodgers finally sent him and his 5.15 ERA to triple-A Albuquerque to work on his mechanics. In his first five games for the Isotopes, he is 0-2 with a 2.84 ERA.

3) And then there is the unexplained mystery of George Sherrill, who was nothing short of sensational last season for the Dodgers (0.65 ERA) and nothing even close to that this season (7.17 ERA).

Finally at a loss as to how to get Sherrill to rediscover his form, the Dodgers placed him on outright waivers. He could clear Monday and then be asked to take a trip to Albuquerque. He could refuse and become a free agent, but he has the rest of that $4.5-million contract to consider.

This is a trio of key, reliable relievers for the Dodgers last season. Now, they’re out of the equation.

In their stead are rookies Monasterios and Schlichting and the journeyman Miller. And the Dodgers don’t want to use Kuo, because of four elbow surgeries, on consecutive days.

It makes for a lot of unpredictable nights in the bullpen. And days like Sunday, when Kuo and Weaver had already pitched the day before and Torre did not want to go back to them.

So he pushes Broxton, and it blows up. The depth just isn’t there, and unless most of the disappointing trio return to form or outside help is brought in, there could be a lot more games like Sunday's.

Who would you trust in that bullpen?

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Jonathan Broxton walks off the field after giving up a walk-off single to St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Holliday on Sunday. Credit: Jeff Roberson / Associated Press.

And here you were, just starting to get a tad comfy with the Dodgers rotation.

That’s one of the things about baseball, today’s strong starting five can quickly turn into four reliable starters … and now what?

John Elyhas found a way to shorten his name, or at least eliminate that Elymania part.

There was plenty of understated excitement when Ely unexpectedly burst upon the scene, going 3-2 with a 2.54 ERA in his first seven starts.

Alas, Ely went 1-5 with a 7.49 ERA in his next seven starts, the latest trouble leading to the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the Cubs on Saturday afternoon.

For the second consecutive start, Ely could not pitch out of the third inning. He left after allowing six runs on five hits, three walks and a hit batter in just 2 1/3 innings.

Overall he is now 4-7 with a 4.63 ERA. He is pitching like someone who needs to be replaced, though there remains no one remotely obvious to replace him in the rotation, either here or at triple-A Albuquerque.

Ely only found himself in the Dodgers rotation because they had been in such dire straits to begin with. Ely had never pitched above double-A before this season.

There’s still no one down in Albuquerque pitching particularly well. Unless you’re all geared up for Charlie Haeger, Take Four.

Ely recorded a scoreless first, and then did nothing but struggle.

He gave up a run-scoring single to Starlin Castro in the second, which was immediately followed by a Geovany Soto two-run homer.

He got one out in the third, followed by two singles, a hit batter and a walk to force in a run. Which ended his afternoon.

Travis Schlichting followed, allowed a pair of singles and Ely was tagged for six earned runs.

That pretty much took the air out of Dodger Stadium. The rest of the warm afternoon seemed labored and made for one of the more dull games of the first half.

The Dodgers just couldn’t get much going against Cubs starter Tom Gorzelanny (4-5), who held the Dodgers scoreless until the fifth. And even then, the Dodgers needed a couple of breaks.

Xavier Paul was ruled safe on a close play at first, though replays showed Gorzelanny just beat him covering the bag.

Rafael Furcal singled and then Andre Ethier blooped a hit to left that was played awkwardly by Alfonso Soriano. The ball bounced past him for a hit to score Paul and was scooped up by Marlon Byrd.

Byrd fired to third to try to nab Furcal, but no one was there. Furcal scored on the error.

Ethier also singled in a run in the ninth.

Still, the Dodgers were left not only with a loss but with a seeming hole in their rotation. And maybe just a bit more pressure on general manager Ned Colletti to land another starter.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Now for today’s Ronald Belisario update:

There is no update.

"I know nothing other than what I gave you [Wednesday]," said Dodgers Manager Joe Torre.

And he gave the media nothing Wednesday, saying he was not told the circumstances that led to the hard-throwing right-hander being placed on the restricted list.

One day later, still no news. Not from the organization, not from any media outlets and not from the players, who seemed as mystified as anyone.

Torre claimed he not only did not know the personal reasons that led to Belisario being placed on the restricted list, and but perhaps more importantly, he had no idea how long the right-hander would be out.

"I’m looking at it as an injury right now,’’ he said. "He’s on the DL as far as I’m concerned. I’m assuming that if and when the time comes that changes, somebody will let me know that.

"It gives us an opportunity to look at [Travis] Schlichting, who’s certainly intriguing. …  Something bad for somebody is something good for somebody else. Here’s a kid when I sent him out in spring training, he kind of caught me off guard saying he thought he could help this club. I thought it was one of those no-brainer, spring-training send-downs. He didn’t give me any static, he just voiced his opinion respectfully.

"And that was interesting. Every time he’s come up, he’s shown us pretty much what we knew was there. He hasn’t disappointed us up here. He’s been very, very interesting."

Schlichting is 1-0 with an 0.79 in five games with the Dodgers.

Torre said Jeff Weaver would be his swing reliever, going either early or late  in the game.

Meanwhile, Belisario remains out and without explanation.

-- Steve Dilbeck

The mystery of Ronald Belisario.

It deepened Wednesday when the Dodgers put their right-handed reliever on the restricted list.

They said it was for "personal reasons." And that’s all they said. All manager Joe Torre or vice president of communications Josh Rawitch said they even knew.

Not whether it was a family or legal or any other kind of issue. Not if he’ll be gone a day or two, or a month.

"I can’t answer because I don’t know," Torre said. "I have not been told, maybe so I can’t answer your questions."

Which is too bad, because now speculation will fly unabated. If it were simply a family issue, the Dodgers would normally announce that.

So the organization’s lack of openness -- which could be warranted for very different reasons -- will naturally lead to media outlets dusting off last summer’s news when he was arrested in Pasadena for driving under the influence.

That was partially responsible for Belisario showing up a month late from Venezuela to spring training, at which time the Dodgers also placed him on the restricted list while he remained behind in Arizona to get in shape.

His DUI was resolved in March when he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving.

Belisario was ultimately activated on April 21, and has appeared in 35 games with a 1-1 record and 3.79 ERA. If not exactly like last season when he owned a 2.04 ERA, he had still worked himself back into a valuable, late-inning spot in the bullpen’s rotation.

"This takes a big chunk out of it," Torre said. "Especially the fact that he was pretty much a seventh- eighth- ninth-inning guy. Hopefully (Travis) Schlichting can pick up some of the slack."

The rookie Schlichting was likely headed back to triple-A Albuquerque to make room for Carlos Monasterios, who was activated Wednesday, until the mystery of Belisario unfolded.

Torre said Belisario had been nothing but a good citizen since his return in April.
"He hasn’t been an issue," he said. "No disciplinary stuff has gone on. He’s been here for us every day.

"I had no hint of this, and had no conversation regarding this with him."

Torre said he had been warned after Tuesday’s game by general manager Ned Colletti that something was brewing with Belisario.

Now, he said, the Dodgers just have to march on and wait to see what happens with the hard-throwing Belisario.

"We don’t have him," Torre said. "It’s like an injury. You can’t take time to get back on your feet, you have to do it right now."

-- Steve Dilbeck

The gifts came from everywhere, off hands and gloves, from an umpire’s mistake and a center fielder’s failed attempt at a Willie Mays catch.

Gifts so numerous that even when the Dodgers did a Keystone Kops routine on the bases, it did not matter one iota.

The Diamondbacks were in such a giving mood Saturday, the Dodgers scored six runs in an absolutely ridiculous second inning and not one was earned.

The Dodgers weren’t about to re-gift, either, rolling to an 14-1 victory over the Diamondbacks that showed newbie manager Kirk Gibson how the other half lives.

With Clayton Kershaw throwing blanks, it was all way too much for the deflated Diamondbacks, who committed five errors in the first three innings. They finished with a team-record six errors, three by ex-Dodger Tony Abreu.

The game turned in the second, beginning with an innocent single by James Loney.

Which was about the end of anything routine. Casey Blake followed with a bouncer to first baseman Rusty Ryal, who made a nice stop and then dropped the ball and threw it away for an error.

Xavier Paul, just called up when Manny Ramirez was placed on the disabled list, then walked to load the bases on three balls when home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman lost track of the count.

Struggling Russell Martin struck out, but Blake DeWitt singled to score one. Kershaw then hit a bouncer to Abreu that possibly could have been a double play, except he dropped it for an error.

Hot-hitting Rafael Furcal -- who has multiple hits in seven consecutive games -- sent a drive to deep center. Chris Young ran straight back and tried to make a Mays-esque over-the-head catch, but dropped it.

Two more scored, not that the fun was done. Kershaw, who had rounded second, apparently thought Young made the catch and starting running back to first. Where he was promptly passed on the bases by the sprinting Furcal, who was immediately out.

Matt Kemp then homered to score two more, and it was 6-0 Dodgers.

The Dodgers added one more unearned run when the Diamondbacks committed errors on three consecutive plays. Those Diamondbacks, generous to a fault.

The Dodgers finally added a couple of earned runs off Rodrigo Lopez in the fourth when both Furcal and Andre Ethier hit solo home runs.

They scored two more in the fifth on a DeWitt single and a throwing error by Abreu.

And on it went. They scored three more in the sixth, two on a Paul single and one on a Martin sacrifice fly. Yes, things were so crazy, even Martin drove in a run.

Meanwhile, Kershaw (8-4) kept turning the Diamondbacks away. He threw 5 2/3 shut-out innings, allowing four hits and two walks, while striking out eight. He did, however, throw 105 pitches.

Travis Schlichting, just called up Saturday to replace Ramon Troncoso, threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Jonathan Broxton lost the shutout in the ninth when he gave up a solo home run to Mark Reynolds, the first homer he's allowed this season.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Matt Kemp points to the sky after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning. Credit: Rick Scuteri / Associated Press.

Life without Manny Ramirez, Part II … in a continuing series?

The Dodgers gave in and placed Manny and his sore hamstring on the disabled list prior to Saturday’s game.

With the All-Star break looming, he’ll only have to miss nine more games. And since he doesn’t normally play in day games, he’ll likely miss only  seven.

Manager Joe Torre to reporters in Phoenix: "In talking to the doctors, there seemed a remote chance he'd be ready by Tuesday or Wednesday, [but] there's no reason to gamble with this. He's eligible for the first day after the break. He might go on rehab somewhere during the break."

Ramirez previously went on the 15-day disabled list April 23 with a sore calf. During his absence, the Dodgers went 6-8.

That time, as they did Saturday, they called up outfielder Xavier Paul from triple-A Albuquerque. Paul was in the lineup in left Saturday, batting sixth. He’s hit .281 in 57 at-bats with the Dodgers.

Ramirez,  however, was not the only move made by the Dodgers Saturday, and not the most surprising.

The Dodgers also optioned right-hander Ramon Troncoso to Albuquerque and called back up Travis Schlichting.

The surprising part of the Troncoso move was simply its timing. He’s been something of a mess for two months now (6.46 ERA) and has been death with inherited runners.

Friday against the Diamondbacks, however, he threw two shut-out innings without allowing a hit or walk.

Torre to reporters: "We all know that he's capable of pitching well. We just want him to work on his mechanics where his release point is consistent."

George Sherrill is also a mess, of course, and Justin Miller isn’t exactly wowing anyone. They, unlike Troncoso, are out of options.

Troncoso figures to be back shortly, after getting a tad of rest and, hopefully, performing well at Albuquerque.

This is Schlichting's second stint with the Dodgers. He is unscored upon in 7 2/3 innings.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Manny Ramirez. Credit: Christian Petersen / Getty Images