Rafael Furcal News

Defense wins championships in baseball, too, and as the game gets more statistically complex and experts look beyond the obvious acts of hitting and pitching, great glovework becomes more and more important.

Infielders Juan Castro and Mark Loretta and reliever Will Ohman filed for free agency Monday, leaving Jason Schmidt as the only Dodgers player eligible for free agency yet to file.

The Dodgers had an exceptional season, but as management so delicately put it, a below-average final week.

THE NUMBERS don't add up. The Dodgers scored no runs against Phillies starters in Games 2 and 3 of the National League Championship Series.

Reporting from Philadelphia - The games were played so long ago that many of the players in the Dodgers clubhouse say they don't think they'll be of any significance in the coming days.

Of course L.A. Times writer T.J. Simers had something nasty to say about Philadelphia fans after the Phillies took a 3 games to 1 lead over the Dodgers.

PHILADELPHIA - A year ago, the Phillies followed Cole Hamels into the World Series and on to the championship.

There have been some spectacular, high-tension, bone-rattling moments thus far in the National League Championship Series.

The Dodgers have reached an agreement on a multiyear contract extension with General Manager Ned Colletti.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in pursuit of the franchise's first pennant since 1988.

Some of the highs and lows of watching Dodgers-Phillies Game 1: Say hey TBS play-by-play man Chip Caray began with, "As Yogi Berra would say, Deja vu all over again." Because the Dodgers were playing the Phillies, same as last year.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Pedro Martinez throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning of Game 2 of Major League Baseball's NLCS playoff series in Los Angeles on Oct.

Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal dives but comes up short on a single by Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins in the seventh inning in Game 1 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium on Thursday.

All the Phillies wanted from Cole Hamels was a decent performance. They weren't asking for an ace-like performance that they got from Hamels time after time in the postseason in 2008.

It was exhilarating exactly one year ago today when the Phillies celebrated on the Dodger Stadium field last October, after Cole Hamels once again dominated the Dodgers lineup and helped the Phillies advance to their first World Series since 1993.

Reporting from St. Louis - When the first of the champagne bottles were uncorked in the visiting clubhouse at Busch Stadium on Saturday night, Rafael Furcal had his arms wrapped around a stocky, middle-aged man.

Andre Ethier's home run Thursday was the Dodgers' 22nd in the playoffs since Mike Davis' crowning blast in Game 5 of the 1988 World Series.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Andre Ethier, right, is congratulated at home by teammate Rafael Furcal after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning in Game 3 of the National League division baseball series against the St.

Rafael Furcal shrugged his shoulders to his ears, hoping to lessen the chill from the ice bucket being dumped over his head.

You've heard about all the Dodgers in-season acquisitions and the impact they've made on their playoff run.