Padilla still floatilla

LOS ANGELES -- Vicente Padilla has managed to turn a forgetful season into a year to remember.

The hard-throwing Nicaraguan will start Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Cardinals on Saturday in St. Louis against Joel Pineiro.

""I'm really happy. I'm grateful for the opportunity," Padilla said. "It feels good to know they have confidence in me in this game."

He's been quite a pickup for the boys in blue. Since joining the Dodgers in August, Padilla is 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA in seven starts. He was released by the Rangers because they believed he no longer fit in with the club.

He's seems to be a perfect fit for Los Angeles.
 
"This is a second life that I have been given and I'm grateful for it," Padilla said. "The Cardinals are a good team but we are a good team, too. It's close. Whoever has the best series will win."

Dodgers manager Joe Torre chose Padilla over Chad Billingsley, who will pitch in Game 4 if necessary. Maybe this is part of the reason: last year, Billingsley went 1-2 with an 8.49 ERA in three postseason starts.

The fact that Padilla struck out 10 in five innings Sunday didn't hurt his case.

"Here we are in the postseason and  Padilla to me has been throwing the ball really well," Torre said. "It really wasn't a big differential in probably matchup stuff which is what we look at a lot. But I was probably just a little more comfortable with where Padilla is right now, and I know Billingsley is getting there otherwise he wouldn't even be considered for No. 4 if I didn't think I was more comfortable watching him. "

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti was asked by a reporter if he thought Padilla would be starting for his club in the playoffs on the day he signed him.The GM answered the question with a straight-face.

"I didn't think we were going to the playoffs the day we signed Padilla. I didn't think we were going to the playoffs until the day in Pittsburgh about a week ago," Colletti said. "He's pitched well. He's won almost 100 games in the big leagues. Not everybody does that. He's pitched well for us so you never know what's going to happen, you never know who you're going to need or when you're going to need him. So part of our plan all year long is to have enough to get us through whatever we needed. And if it meant having Padilla it was adding Padilla."

As for Padilla, he said he's going to try to treat Saturday's matchup as just another game. Yes, he knows it's a big game but said he is not going to freak out about it.
 

Why would he?

"Pressure doesn't help anybody. Why feel pressure?," he said. "You do the work to prepare and you go do the job. You can't control anything but working hard and preparing. You try to do more than you can and things go wrong."