"Reliever Jeff Weaver was sent home from Wednesday's practice with flu-like symptoms, the third Dodgers player this week to fall ill with a bug on the eve of Thursday's National League Championship Series opener (5:07 p.m. PT on TBS) against the Phillies.

Of course, there are worse places to be sent than home. Chad Billingsley, who would have started Game 4 of the NL Division Series if there had been one, has been sent to the bullpen.

Jon Garland, not used in the first round as a long reliever, has been sent to baseball Siberia -- told he will be left off the roster entirely for the best-of-seven rematch with the Phils.

The demotions of Billingsley and Garland are fallout from the rapid recovery of Hiroki Kuroda from a herniated disk in his neck. Kuroda, left off the NLDS roster for the series against St. Louis, passed an Instructional League test with manager Joe Torre and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt watching and will start Game 3 in Philadelphia.

That triggered a chain reaction that claimed Billingsley, the team's leading winner this year, and Garland, who won three games after being acquired at the Trade Deadline.

They weren't the only Dodgers pitchers dealing with a demotion. Randy Wolf, the Game 1 starter in the first round, won't start until Game 4 this time. The former Phillies southpaw went 6-1 down the stretch and led the Dodgers in starts and innings pitched this year, but apparently his 3 2/3-inning start in Game 1 carried more weight with Torre.

"I'm not the one to ask," Wolf said when asked why he thought he was bumped by Clayton Kershaw for the Game 1 nod. "I feel like I have an opportunity in Game 4 to help out the club. I'm happy for Kershaw. He's battled, he's pitched better than his record shows. He's a great kid and I'm excited to watch him pitch tomorrow. He has a great future -- he's a shining star for the organization."

As Torre pointed out, however, at least Wolf gets a start.

"He's one of four. That's pretty special," said Torre. "Being on the roster is special. This is not the time of year to get caught up in what class you're in."

Billingsley took that advice. Even though he has led the club in wins the past two years, he scuffled some in September with a mechanical flaw. And for those with long memories, he was pushed around by the Phillies in two NLCS losses last year. But he wasn't complaining. "