Michael Ventre

Brad Penny got spanked Friday night against the Angels. He went from ace to joker in five-plus innings. His ERA almost doubled, from 1.39 to 2.54. On a team renowned for its decades-long pitching mojo, Penny was the gold standard for the Los Angeles Dodgers during this young season, until gold plummeted in a 9-1 market correction in Anaheim.

It was his worst effort thus far in 2007. He gave up eight hits and eight runs, and he hadn’t given up eight earned runs in his previous eight starts combined. He fell to 5-1 and, to his credit, didn’t throw a volcanic tantrum when lifted by manager Grady Little. He simply took the loss calmly and sauntered into the dugout, sparing the Gatorade cooler and the bat rack.

That is a significant departure from Penny’s usual schtick. But the Dodgers hope that’s not the only area that is different in 2007.

Last year, he had the best first half of his career at 10-2 with a 2.92 ERA, which earned him the nod as the National League’s starter for the All-Star Game, his first appearance in the Midseason Classic. As Dodgers watchers are quick to mention, if there were such a thing as the postseason All-Star Game, Penny wouldn’t have been allowed into the park. In the second half of 2006, he faded, going 6-7 with a 6.25 ERA.

That led to all sorts of Hot Stove flare-ups. He was mentioned in a possible deal with the Red Sox that would have brought Manny Ramirez to Chavez Ravine.  Because of his volatility, he was on the block, especially after the Dodgers made it clear they were going hard after Jason Schmidt, one of the few prizes in the free-agent market.

If he stayed, the Dodgers reportedly were considering the idea of using him as a closer in the event that Takashi Saito couldn’t get the job done.

After his second half of 2006, the phrase “a Penny for your thoughts” became a trade proposal.

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There are always hypotheses for why well-laid plans fail. Penny suggested his second-half slump had to do with scrapping a split-fingered changeup he had developed at midseason because he was worried about physical fallout. Explained Penny to the L.A. Times’ Steve Henson in February: “It’s hard on the arm and I shied away from it. Then I had trouble with my curve for a while, so I was out there throwing one pitch. It’s tough to get by just with your fastball.”

But each spring brings new hope for battered hurlers, and 2007 was no exception. Penny got off to a hot start without his hot head. Now all he has to do is maintain his good first-half habit but add an equally admirable second half to it, thus forming one whole pitching season worthy of a No. 1 starter.

Early on, an argument could be made that Penny is the key to the Dodgers’ entire season. The Dodgers desperately needed their pitching staff to sparkle because they made no major moves in the offseason to acquire a marquee slugger, other than fading outfielder Luis Gonzalez. Content to try and conjure runs out of thin air, they relied on veterans such as Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kemp, with help from Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre. Then they had to hope catcher Russell Martin continues to show signs of his star potential.

The good news thus far is that the Dodgers are hitting better than anyone probably expected. They’re coming off a miserable weekend in which they were swept by the Angels in the Freeway Series, yet they still have a batting average of .262, good for sixth in the National League.

Among the pleasant surprises is Martin’s .314 average and 32 RBI, and Furcal’s .306 average, including a recent sizzling stretch in which he had four hits in three straight games and raised his batting average by 87 points.

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