Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is only partly to blame for the Dodgers lackluster performance this season.

Everyone, including the official Dodgers fan Facebook page, Dodgers Nation, is saying they heard someone say that word is Don Mattingly is on the verge of a pink slip.

I can’t say that I’m so happy with his performance as manager this season, but I can say that not everything that’s wrong with the Dodgers can be laid at his doorstep.

It’s not his fault that so many players have gotten hurt, for starters.

It’s not his fault that Ronald Belisario seems to be in the game only for the paycheck.

And it’s not his fault Brandon League can’t pitch his way out of a paper bag.

It’s not even his fault that he’s forced to use those two guys in close games because the other relievers (most of whom have proven reliable in the past) are failing this year.

I don’t know what’s wrong with the Dodgers, exactly, other than they can’t seem to bat worth a damn on a regular basis, their starting pitchers are sabotaged by shoddy relief, and there’s not that spark of chemistry that there once was before the money started rolling in.

Maybe that’s the key: Money changes everything. But it’s only for the better when you are one of the payees.

Cappy did his part yesterday. Where was everybody else?

It’s been said Connie Mack once theorized that pitching is 75% of baseball. Well, Dodger starter Chris Capuano did just great with his 75% of yesterday’s game, but the offense didn’t even show up, and unfortunately, Kenley Jansen did.

As far as I can tell, there isn’t one reliable arm in the Dodger bullpen. Ronald Belisario doesn’t give a crap, Brandon League is inconsistent, Javy Guerra doesn’t have what he did last year, and now, Mr. Dependable Kenley Jansen, once so unhittable, cannot be counted on to hold a small lead. What the hell are we to do?

Of course, it would be really helpful if Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier could hit a home run every once in a while.

Too many walks. Giving too many free runners. And we’ve got to catch the baseball. That’s all there is to it. You’ve got to catch the baseball.”
— Don Mattingly

That’s pretty basic, and I guess my former fave Luis Cruz and one of my new faves, Carl Crawford, kind of forgot about that yesterday. Their errors cost the Dodgers three runs, the difference in the game. I’m thinking Cruz might not be around too much longer.

However, there’s plenty more blame for this loss to go around. Starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu couldn’t get out the leadoff man to save his life, and he walked five Braves. Then Paco Rodriguez came in and loaded the bases before serving up a grand slam to Justin Upton that landed somewhere among the hot dogs on the concourse past left field.

It’s a shame, too, because offensively we were pretty good. We got 10 hits, which is Steve Lyons’ magic number for winning. That new guy, Scott Van Slyke — filling in for right-fielder Andre Ethier against left-handed Braves pitcher Paul Maholm — hit two home runs. And Nick Punto went two-for-four.

I read somewhere that the Braves, in yesterday’s game, finally had the offense they had been aiming for — all their strongest hitters back after stints on the D.L. Ironically, the Dodgers’ best offense is coming from guys filling in for injured teammates.

But today is another game, Chris Capuano on the mound. We gotta keep the faith.

Right?