Is there any doubt the Dodgers are for real?

If so, it could be gone by the end of this week's series against the Diamondbacks. Hideo Nomo not only beat Randy Johnson in Monday night's opener, but he did it in style. Nomo and Eric Gagne combined for a shutout.

This was no sleight of hand, either. It was typical of an amazing pitching performance turned in by a pitching staff that was rebuilt under difficult conditions by rookie general manager Dan Evans.

	Kazuhisa Ishii leads the Dodgers with 11 wins and has a 3.52 ERA in 16 starts.

Take a bow, Dan.

Here's an amazing factoid about the first-place Dodgers: Their current starting rotation includes none of their top seven starters from a season ago. Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort are disabled. Chan Ho Park, Terry Adams and James Baldwin left after 2001 as free agents. Luke Prokopec was traded. And Gagne was converted into an All-Star closer.

Here's an amazing stat that explains why Los Angeles is in first place: The pitchers Evans acquired, All-Star Odalis Perez, Kazuhisa Ishii, Omar Daal, Paul Quantrill and Nomo are 35-18 with a combined 3.19 earned run average; the ones he let go are 15-22 with a 4.96 ERA. Those are executive of the year numbers.

The performance by Evans is even more remarkable considering what a difficult situation he inherited from his predecessor Kevin Malone, who signed off on a $105-million deal for Brown, a $55-million deal for Dreifort and a $22.5-million deal for Andy Ashby.

Those contracts left him little chance to re-sign Park, which is turning out to be a blessing. The Dodgers chose not to pursue any of the top free agents last winter, which forced Evans to be creative. His efforts wound up with a tremendous signing in Ishii, the Japanese lefty, and an important trade with Atlanta.

Although the deal was criticized at the time, it now appears a master stroke by Evans to get Perez and Brian Jordan for Gary Sheffield. Manager Jim Tracy's life has been much easier without having to worry about Sheffield's mood swings and Perez has bloomed into the front-line starter it appeared he might be before he underwent Tommy John surgery in 1999.

Perez earned his way onto the All-Star team by winning nine games, including two one-hitters, while compiling a 2.56 ERA after 17 starts. His .210 opponents' batting average is the best in the NL.

Ishii probably would have landed on the NL All-Star team, if not for Perez. He has been almost as good, going 11-4 with a 3.52 ERA. Tracy says Ishii's shown "an uncanny ability to be able to (escape jams).''

There's concern Ishii won't be as fortunate in the second half if he continues to allow 1.6 baserunners per inning -- the big problem is the 61 walks he's issued in 94 2/3 innings -- but pitching coach Jim Colborn is working with him on a few adjustments in his delivery.

"There's a lot of moving parts," Colborn said. "You might describe it as violent. It isn't exactly simple."

Nomo, who was signed to a deal for two years and an option (worth $13.75 guaranteed that goes to $20.25 if the 2004 option is exercised) after leading the American League in strikeouts last year, has been exactly what Evans figured he would be -- a solid, middle-of-the-rotation starter who can put up zeroes with his best stuff and still be effective without it.

Evans took on a $5 million salary when he took Daal from the Phillies last winter. That seemed extravagant at the time, but has proven necessary with Brown probably out for the season after undergoing back surgery. The addition of Daal also made it easier to move Gagne into the closer's void created by the retirement of Jeff Shaw.

Gagne, who was second on the staff with 24 starts a year ago, has been Tracy's anchor. He earned his 30th save on Monday, putting him on track to shatter Todd Worrell's club record of 44 saves.

Gagne is holding opponents to a .155 batting average and has a ridiculous strikeout-to-walk ratio of 15-1. It goes to 20-1 if you don't count one intentional walk.

"The stuff he's featuring now is the best stuff I've ever seen," Dodgers right fielder Shawn Green said. "He's throwing a 97-mph fastball wherever he wants it. He could hit a gnat right now. It's incredible to watch, and fun to play behind. I'm glad I don't have to face him."

Pitching wins. The Dodgers have always known that. Even without Brown and Dreifort, they are proving that you can still find pitching if you look in enough places.

Spotlight: Twins left-hander J.C. Romero
Nobody asked us, and it may be too late by the time this appears, but here's the perfect guy to replace Pedro Martinez on the AL All-Star team.

	J.C. Romero Relief pitcher Minnesota Twins Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM IP W-L BB SO ERA 46 46.2 4-1 15 48 1.74

A surprisingly effective bullpen is the biggest reason the Twins have been among baseball's pleasant surprises, and Romero's set-up work has almost as much to do with the success as Eddie Guardado's performance in the closer's role. Why not send them both to Miller Park?

Romero picked up a right-place, right-time win Monday night in Oakland. He's 4-1 with a 1.74 ERA and is on pace to appear in 90 games. He's holding opponents to a .224 batting average and is leading the majors with 18 holds.

After honoring set-up men by taking Paul Quantrill, Mike Stanton and Jeff Nelson to last year's All-Star Game in Seattle, none have been selected this time around. It will be no surprise if Joe Torre gives the spot to Roger Clemens or Mike Mussina, but the fair thing to do is to reward the year's best grunt, which would be either Romero or Baltimore's Buddy Groom.

New face: Astros catcher/first baseman Alan Zinter
Zinter, 34, has hit 213 homers in his professional career. But until Monday night, he had never hit one in a big-league game. His two-run homer off Cincinnati's Scott Williamson came in his 4,706th professional at-bat, but only his sixth in the major leagues.

"As soon as I knew it was going out, I floated around the bases,'' Zinter told the Houston Chronicle. "I don't even know if I touched all the bases. It was beautiful. Beautiful. Awesome.''

Zinter, a former first-round pick of the Mets in 1989, was given his first trip to the big leagues on June 17. After hitting 11 homers in 60 games with Triple-A New Orleans, he was promoted to add pop to Houston's bench. The homer is his only hit in six at-bats, all as a pinch hitter.

Team to watch: Montreal Expos
Five days after being acquired from Cleveland, Bartolo Colon makes his National League debut on Tuesday night in Atlanta. He had best be terrific because so far all his move to Montreal has done is cost him a spot in the All-Star Game.

The Expos, who were 6½ games behind the Braves when they made the Colon deal, dropped two out of three in Toronto this past weekend and then lost the opener of a three-game series in Atlanta. They had fallen to 9½ games out through Monday.

What about the wild card, you ask? At the time of the Colon trade, Montreal was tied for third in the wild-card standings, five games behind Arizona. They've since fallen to fourth -- six games behind the Diamondbacks, four behind the Giants and two behind the Reds.

If this trend continues, Montreal would figure to only be a pit stop for Colon. But moving Colon and other productive veterans elsewhere is problematic for a team being run by Major League Baseball.

Could MLB sign off on a deal that sends Colon to St. Louis or Cincinnati, which might tip the scales in the NL Central? Could it move him to the Yankees or Red Sox? General manager Omar Minaya has insisted all along that he has freedom to operate as he sees fit, but the fallout from a Montreal fire sale could create some very hard feelings.

Regardless of whether the Expos emerge as a strong factor in playoff races, it won't be surprising if their roster is essentially frozen at the trading deadline. That might not be the worst thing as it has the look of a team that might just make a real run at the Braves in 2003, assuming it is relocated, not contracted.

Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com.