DODGERS NOTEBOOK: TRACY LIMITED BY BULLPEN'S STRUGGLES.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Like a man entering a gunfight with a starter's pistol, Dodger manager Jim Tracy knows he is a bit overmatched when he looks out toward his bullpen in the late innings these days.

It's not just Eric Gagne's absence that has caused a problem, although Gagne's season-ending elbow injury certainly created a void that hasn't been filled. The Dodgers' problems are summed up by the fact that their two most reliable relievers are rookie Steve Schmoll and second-year man Duaner Sanchez.

The bullpen, once an unquestioned strength, is now the area Tracy points to when asked to summarize the difference between last year's Dodgers, 24 games over .500, and this year's team, 12 games under .500.

``I think that has a lot to do with it, maybe everything to do with it,'' Tracy said.

At various points last season, Tracy could turn to Guillermo Mota (2.14 ERA), Giovanni Carrara (2.18), Gagne (2.19), Yhency Brazoban (2.48) or Sanchez (3.38) with confidence in the late innings.

Some of those pieces are still in place, but Carrara (4.78), Brazoban (6.46) and Sanchez (3.86) haven't been nearly as effective, and Tracy's other options are Schmoll (5.22) and Jonathan Broxton (10.12).

It seemed a bit curious, then, that the Dodgers' only trade has been to acquire an outfielder, Jose Cruz Jr., but general manager Paul DePodesta said he considers the bullpen's struggles to be cyclical in nature.

``There was a time earlier this year when our starters weren't doing as well as we thought they could, and now they're doing terrific,'' DePodesta said. ``There was a time when we led the National League in runs scored, and then we lost some guys and started struggling.

``There's been times when our bullpen has been our strength, and now they have struggled recently. So rather than point to one particular area, I think it's just part of the ebb and flow of the season.''

The flip side to the struggles, DePodesta said, is that young guys such as Brazoban (25), Broxton (21), Schmoll (25) and Sanchez (25) are getting experience by pitching significant innings in the majors.

``Not only are we going to be better in a year because of it, we're going to be better next week because of it,'' DePodesta said. ``We've got some guys who are getting some incredibly valuable experience.''

--Pick six: Six Dodger prospects will play in the Arizona Fall League, a six-team developmental league that runs in October and November, as members of the Scottsdale Scorpions.

Pitchers Chad Billingsley, Edwin Jackson and Greg Miller and infielders Tony Abreu and Andy LaRoche, all of whom play for Double-A Jacksonville, and outfielder Matt Kemp, who plays for Single-A Vero Beach, will represent the Dodgers.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com