When do the Dodgers start winning now?

Two hits off a rookie pitcher Wednesday, no runs, outscored in Dodger Stadium 19-4 in three straight losses to Arizona, and no wonder fans picked "Livin' on a Prayer" to be played in the eighth inning.

So much for the sight of Magic energizing the guys.

The Dodgers began the season 21-5 in Dodger Stadium, have gone 8-18 there since, and the feeling around here is things are looking up.

But as I sat here watching Barney Fife pitch for the Dodgers, a day after Chris Capuano and two days after Aaron Harang both reverted to career form, I thought back to something Magic said.

"We don't want to win next year. We want to win now."

For starters, maybe he shouldn't come to Dodger Stadium again. The Dodgers are 0-3 since he returned and 0-2 since he spoke to the team.

OK, so kudos to the Dodgers for getting Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino and a couple of relievers who didn't look very good Wednesday.

Ramirez and Victorino were a combined 0 for 6, but they still beat the alternative of Juan Uribe and whoever in left.

But what about a starting pitcher and all those names linked to the Dodgers leading up to the trading deadline, most notably Ryan Dempster?

Maybe Dempster wasn't the right guy, maybe nothing more than a two-month rental, but he would have been starting this game rather than Barney, who lasted 4 1/3 innings.

The Dodgers decided not to surrender one of their top two pitching prospects to improve their rotation.

Fine, maybe Dempster and everyone else was too pricey. But then how does someone say, "We don't want to win next year. We want to win now"?

The Dodgers spruced up their offensive attack, but I asked Manager Don Mattingly if the Dodgers were still at risk of falling short because they failed to improve their rotation.

"I still think it's a concern," he said, wondering out loud whether Capuano and Harang can pitch as well as they have, given their track records.

As shaky a proposition as that might be, the Dodgers are also counting heavily on the return of Ted Lilly, a slow-pitch softball pitcher in the making who hasn't pitched since May 23.

When I told Lilly the Dodgers were counting on his return I thought he was going to curl into a ball at my feet.

"I can't tell the future," quaked Lilly. "I've thrown 25 pitches so far [in the minor leagues]."

When I asked whether he was at least pain-free, he said, "I'd like to feel better than I do."

I passed on the encouraging news to Mattingly.

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