Dodgers 4, Astros 1 — the lowdown on Furcal

He will have a disc in his lower back partially removed in a procedure known as a mirco-discectomy (say that three times quickly). As stated earlier, he will miss at least eight more weeks, putting him on track for a possible return in last August. But frankly, at this point, it’s tough to imagine him playing again this year — not because I don’t think he will, but just because it’s so far down the road that it’s hard to even think about right now. What all of this means, of course, is that Ned Colletti basically HAS to find another everyday SS, and don’t think the other GMs around the league don’t know that. That means they will have ALL the leverage in any trade talks with the Dodgers, which probably means the club has to give up at least one of its valued prospects — unless, of course, Ned ultimately decides there isn’t another SS out there worth doing that for, and the Dodgers go with a Nomar/Maza/Berroa combo for the rest of the year. Hey, it’s working so far. They might be 40-44, but they also appeared on the verge of moving within 1 1/2 of the Snakes after the Brewers took a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth.