TIME TO STOP WATCHING AND START MOVING, NED.

Byline: MATT MCHALE BASEBALL

Jason Isringhausen was struggling throughout the ninth inning Friday night.

He also appeared to be sending a message to Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti.

The Cardinals closer's slumped shoulders seemed to be saying, ''I have nothing tonight, and your team still can't beat me. Time to pull the trigger.''

The Dodgers had runners at first and second, with one out and Izzy was well into a 27-pitch inning.

Cardinals Gold Glove third baseman Scott Rolen even let one skid by him on a potential game-ending double play.

One batter later, it was over, a 2-0 loss that was the Dodgers' eighth in nine games. Of course, they lost no ground in the National League West. No one ever does.

But on a team that always talks about its tradition, this was a game they would have won in the good old days. This was a game they should have won Friday night.

The Dodgers need to take the July 31 trade deadline seriously.

The kids have gotten them this far, but the team has no one to show them the rest of the way.

August baseball is hard enough with games in the first 16 days and just one day off in the first 22.

September is 31 days without breathing.

Team leader Jeff Kent has been banged up all year. He suddenly looks 38. And his contract extension looks bad.

J.D. Drew went down Friday night after getting struck on his right knee, the knee that made a lot of people question the $55-million deal the Dodgers gave him before last season.

Kenny Lofton is batting .326 in July, but at age 39 does he have two months left in those hamstrings?

Right now, any deal for a big name player like Barry Zito, Bobby Abreu and Alfonso Soriano will cost the Dodgers Russell Martin, Andre Ethier or Jonathan Broxton, so that is unlikely.

The Phillies want the other team to pick up the remaining $31 million on Abreu's contract. But as the deadline nears, expect the asking prices to drop.

The A's lead the American League West and want a front-line pitcher to replace Zito. Chad Billingsley comes to mind, but again the Dodgers will pass. Zito also will be a free agent and could be tough to sign. The New York Mets appear to be the front-runner for Zito. They were ready to put outfield prospect Lastings Milledge into a deal for Abreu, but have balked at the guaranteed money.

Unlike past years when pitching was too scarce to make a trade, there are big names available.

The Chicago Cubs' Greg Maddux and the Washington Nationals' Livan Hernandez have playoff resumes. Javier Vazquez, the player who killed a huge three-way deal 18 months ago with the Dodgers, New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks, also is back on the block. Of that group, only Hernandez can help a team.

Zito would help the most, but Boston third baseman Mike Lowell, who played the majority of his career in the NL, might be the top long shot. Former Dodger Adrian Beltre is available, but no one is going to take on that contract.

The Dodgers can point to many reasons to do nothing. At the top is keeping the nucleus of youngsters intact. The Dodgers also could win this division without making a move. Despite the recent slide, they entered Saturday only 3 1/2 games back. NL West division leader SanDiego has been maintaining a slim lead, despite a fragile starting rotation. The Padres' Jake Peavy and Chan Ho Park are getting lit up, and Woody Williams and Shawn Estes have been hurt.

The Colorado Rockies look like they have hit the wall and Arizona seems much farther back than the standings would suggest. The SanFrancisco Giants have Barry Bonds, for better and for worse. Adding Shea Hillenbrand could be the steal of the trading season. A bad guy in one clubhouse can become an MVP in another, just with a little more playing time.

Then, of course, there is money. The Dodgers are leading the NL in attendance. With kids filling the roster in the next few years, the payroll could drop to $70 million.

Speaking of them, Joel Guzman and Andy LaRoche are on the way and Matt Kemp should be starting in center next season. And don't give up on James Loney just yet.

But now is not the time to count prospects. It is time to pull away from the pack.

Jason Isringhausen will be watching, Ned. So will the rest of us.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 7 boxes

Photo:

(1) Oakland A's ace Barry Zito (USC) is an addition the Dodgers could use, but the price could be too high for them.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

(2) Tony Gwynn

Box:

(1) THEY SAID IT

(2) WHO'S HOT

(3) WHO'S COLD

(4) ROOKIE WATCH

(5) DAILY NEWS/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

(6) SERIES OF THE WEEK

(7) NOTES