Casey Blake tries to turn his -- and Dodgers’ -- season around

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Casey Blake sat slumped over, staring into his locker. He was transfixed, his mind overflowing with the wrong kind of information. If eyes could bore a hole, he would have left a crater in the Dodgers’ clubhouse.

Blake had just bounced into a game-ending double play in a one-run loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He had not been hitting well in a while. And his team was a disappointing fourth in the National League West and running out of time.

‘It was all those things,’ Blake said the next day. ‘Just a combination of things. Obviously you don’t like ending a game on a double play. We need to stage some comebacks in those types of games. It seems like the last couple of years we were usually able to do that.

‘The way I’ve been playing at the plate, I felt like I rolled over a good pitch to hit. I was frustrated there ... and the loss.’

That clubhouse stare into places unseen was a week ago Friday. In the five games that Blake has played since, he is eight for 21 with two home runs, eight runs batted in and six runs, raising his average from .247 to .254.

Perhaps not too coincidentally, the Dodgers have won four consecutive games, capped by Friday’s victory via his grand slam.

Still, this has not been Blake’s most memorable season. His power game has tailed off. Last year he had a .468 slugging percentage; this year it’s down to .416. With 14 home runs, he could be headed toward his lowest total since he made it to the majors full time in 2003 with the Cleveland Indians at age 29.

‘It’s been a struggle,’ Blake said. ‘It’s part of my frustration. I know I’m better than a .240-whatever hitter. I have been my whole career. When you’re not doing things night in and night out to help the team, it’s frustrating. I try to do everything within my power to help this team. Even if I’m not swinging the bat well, I try to help out in other ways.

‘Usually I get on kind of a roll and get going, and if I had any kind of a hole built for myself, I can usually climb out of it and keep my head above water. Then at the end of the year you look back and I’ve had a pretty good season.

‘It’s been tough this year.’

Corner position players typically provide power. Still, his 14 home runs are third on the team and his 56 RBIs are fourth.

And for whatever grief he gets from fans who expect more production from a third baseman, absolutely no one is harder on Blake than Blake.

‘He’s not gifted with a lot of the ability that maybe of the other players have,’ Manager Joe Torre said. ‘Everything he gets, he has to work for -- evidenced by how long it took him to get to the big leagues.

‘But he never stopped trying, never gave up. That’s not going to leave him. But the fact that we’re losing has certainly piled on how much he feels responsible for.’

Torre said that last week, before Blake started hinting at a strong finish.

Part of Blake’s anguish is knowing he cannot be certain how many more finishes he has. He turned 37 on Monday. He is signed through next season, but after that there are no guarantees.

His future?

‘Probably not the Hall of Fame,’ he said. ‘I don’t know. I’m pretty hard on myself and I know I’m getting older, but the way my swing feels, I still feel like I can be productive. I still feel like I can have one of my best years.

‘It’s not a whole lot of fun when you’re not playing the way you’re capable -- the team and personally.’

Not nearly as fun as four-game winning streaks and feeling like the postseason remains a possibility.

-- Steve Dilbeck