Brazoban Is Still Waiting On a Call

ATLANTA —  As if suffering the indignity of losing his job as the Dodger closer wasn’t bad enough, Yhency Brazoban arrived at the Turner Field visitors clubhouse Tuesday to find his first name misspelled as “Yhancy.”

And while it only takes a magic marker to fix the name, it appears it will take much more for Brazoban to regain his former job as the rookie right-hander still has not been called on to warm up during a game since his demotion Thursday.

“His fastball command is very important and utilizing his off-speed [pitches] ... it’s going to happen,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “We’ve got to have him. You can’t ignore the fact that this is a guy who ... has had 25 save opportunities and [converted] 21 of them.”

Nor can you ignore that in non-save situations, Brazoban has an earned-run average of 10.98, compared to a 3.08 ERA in save situations.

And while Tracy said there was a “discussion” of getting Brazoban ready during Friday night’s 10-inning victory over the New York Mets, Tracy hopes to utilize Brazoban in the sixth or seventh inning during the trip.

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Jose Cruz Jr. didn’t just hit the ground running when he reported to the Dodgers last week after being acquired in a trade with the Boston Red Sox.

“I landed on my face,” Cruz said.

Cruz struck out five times in his first six at-bats with the Dodgers and is hitless in his first eight at-bats. But he was referring to his whirlwind and pseudo-vagabond existence -- from July 30 through Aug. 9, he was with three teams -- Arizona, Boston and the Dodgers.

“The first couple of days, flying from time zone to time zone, I’ve never flown that much in my life,” Cruz said. “I’ve just been out of it mentally.... I have to be ready for the next time I’m out there.”

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In three starts with triple-A Las Vegas, right-hander Scott Erickson is 0-3 with a 7.94 ERA.

“Each start has gotten better, and that’s a good sign,” Erickson, who was designated for assignment and then outrighted by the Dodgers to the 51s after going 1-4 with a 6.02 ERA in 19 games, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I kind of went the wrong direction and [the Dodgers] told me to come down here and try to get back on track.”