How long can the Dodgers wait for Juan Uribe and Rafael Furcal?

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I mean, other than 2014 in the case of Uribe.

These are currently the Dodgers’ table-setters, though the crumbs they’re leaving behind couldn’t nourish a rat.

Both were having a miserable season anyway, but they’ve approached nonexistence since returning from the disabled list.

Uribe came back from a strained hip flexor June 6 and has hit .189 with one home run and seven RBIs since. Sadly, his average isn’t much off the .220 he was hitting before the injury.

And that production looks almost lofty compared with Furcal, who has hit .097 without an extra-base hit since returning July 3 from his latest injury. The injury-prone Furcal is batting .175 on the season.

Last season, Furcal was an All-Star. Last season, Uribe had a career year in leading the Giants to their unexpected World Series title.

This season, Furcal has missed 68 of the Dodgers’ 95 games and has struggled to find anything close to a rhythm. This season, Uribe is threatening to become Ned Colletti’s biggest free-agent bust since Andruw Jones.

Furcal is in the last year of his contract and has prospect Dee Gordon waiting in the wings. The Dodgers have a $12-million option on him for next season they won’t touch.

Uribe is a different problem, signed for two more years. A three-year deal for Uribe was trouble from the outset, but the problem was that there were precious few free-agent power options on the market and that drove his price up.

Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles have performed well in the infield without power, but Uribe is running out of time for this season if the Dodgers are even going to entertain the thought of a miraculous comeback. RELATED:

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Even for this year’s Dodgers, getting to the playoffs is not beyond belief

-- Steve Dilbeck