Hi, welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and I thought the new bullpen was going to fix these problems.

This seems familiar

Jim Johnson made his Dodgers debut on Sunday. Johnson is a guy who only gave up two homers all season and had a 61% groundball rate. So, Don Mattingly brings him in to start the eighth inning with a 2-1 lead. Johnson promptly gives up a home run to Kole Calhoun to tie the score.

I'm beginning to think there is a feng shui problem in the Dodgers bullpen. I think it would be easier to put the Dodger bullpen on a Lazy Susan and rotate it each day depending on how the vibes are than to actually get some pitchers who don't aggravate my ulcer in there. How does stuff like this keep happening?

OK, deep breath. It's only one game. No need to panic yet. After all, the Dodgers went on to win, 5-3, thanks to two homers by Andre Ethier. But really, Andrew Friedman, if you are reading this, please look into that feng shui thing.

Good news

The Dodgers swept the Angels, have won four in a row and have a three-game lead over the Giants in the NL West. They also have the fourth-best record in baseball and are headed to Philadelphia, home to one of the worst teams in baseball, for a three-game series starting Tuesday night. Why has it seemed like such a struggle, though?

Welcome, Mat

Mat Latos made his Dodgers debut on Sunday and pitched six strong innings, giving up one run and four hits. Mike Bolsinger is probably sitting in Oklahoma City saying, "I could have done that."

Super Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw now has a 37-inning scoreless inning streak after pitching eight shutout innings against the Angels on Saturday. In his last six starts, he is 4-1 with a 0.38 ERA (dropping his season ERA from 3.33 to 2.37) in 48 innings. He has struck out 61 and walked only three. He has hit a batter, though, so he really needs to work on that.

Your trade reactions

I got several emails from readers with their trade deadline thoughts, and it was about 95% positive. A sampling:

Todd Edwards: For anyone upset over not getting a Price or Hamels or..., consider what other teams expected in return. Clearly they'd require the gems LA has. For that reason the Dodgers did well with their acquisitions and what they traded. I feel sorry for Bolsinger, who is a sort of aberration, but immensely worthwhile. I hope he gets a fair shake.

Mike Dudnikov: Well I think the Dodgers front office has finally done something useful and intelligent. They seem to have addressed the rotation and bullpen, and not parted with any really important parts. The only real loss is [Hector] Olivera, who was probably overrated, and in any case is replaced by the Braves’ top prospect [Jose] Peraza, who plays second, a position probably harder to fill for us, and Peraza is almost 10 years younger. Plus it seems Olivera is mostly an offense only player with a questionable arm.

Brian Beer: I like the trades, they can only make the team stronger. As to whether the Dodgers are a good enough team to win anything in the postseason? Sadly, I am a bit less convinced as each day passes.

Defense matters

Some Dodgers fans were unhappy when the Dodgers dumped Hanley Ramirez and Dee Gordon (more so Gordon than Ramirez) in the off-season and replaced them with Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick. But the Dodgers defense has gone from bottom five in the majors to top five. Steve Dilbeck breaks it down for you here.

Joc still needs help

Mattingly gave the slumping Joc Pederson two days off before putting him back in the lineup Sunday. Pederson went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts, and since July 1, he is hitting .161 with 35 strikeouts in 93 at-bats. It may be time to consider sending him to the minors for a couple of weeks to get his head on straight.

This week in Dodgers history

Aug. 5, 1969: Pittsburgh's Willie Stargell becomes the first player to hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium, hitting one over the right-field pavilion in an 11-3 Pirates victory.

Aug. 8, 1957: Walter O'Malley announces that the Dodgers will leave Brooklyn and play in Los Angeles next season.

Aug. 9, 1975: Davey Lopes steals his 32nd consecutive base, breaking Max Carey's 1922 major-league record. Lopes held the record until it was surpassed by Vince Coleman in 1989.

And finally

Most of the experts agree that the Dodgers were one of the big winners on trade deadline day. Here's one example. And another. And another.

Have a comment or something you'd like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter: @latimeshouston.