Just when the Dodgers are purring along, here comes Rafael Furcal

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Rafael Furcal comes back Friday. Wonder if the Dodgers can still win.

Perhaps you noticed, but the Dodgers have been on something of a roll of late. They’ve won four consecutive games and six of their last seven.

They went 9-6 with little Jamey Carroll starting at shortstop for Furcal. They’re 4-1 since Manny Ramirez returned and Russell Martin moved into Furcal’s leadoff spot.

Now the Dodgers are going to interrupt this smooth-running machine to add Furcal? The guy who went 0-for-4 in a pair of rehab starts at Single-A San Bernardino? Sounds pretty risky. He probably should come down with plantar fasciitis.

Of course, Furcal was off to an All-Star-caliber start before straining his hamstring. He was batting .309 with a .378 on-base percentage.

Not bad, but Carroll hit .308 while subbing for Furcal and has a .382 on-base percentage. I’m telling you, this is a risky move.

Carroll is not the most impressive physical specimen. He’s 5-9 and slight. Not particularly fast. Has modest range. Zero power.

But he earned converts with his steady play at shortstop and better-than-expected contributions offensively. He did what a utility guy is supposed to do.

Martin also chipped in adequately as a leadoff hitter. He hit in all five games from the leadoff spot, scoring eight runs. He hit .286 and added four RBI. He has an eight-game hitting streak going overall.

Considering that Furcal is a more dynamic fielder than Carroll, has much greater speed and more power, and is a more ideal leadoff hitter (eight steals in nine attempts) than Martin, the Dodgers have to be more than satisfied with the way they chicken-wired their way through things without Furcal.

Now he’s back and just has to make sure the Dodgers keep winning. Or that plantar fasciitis might prove contagious.

-- Steve Dilbeck