Tonight’s lineup: Nomar plays 3B NOW

I guess Grady decided for whatever reason to move Nomar to 3B tonight instead of waiting until he has four days to work out there. We’ll have our pregame with Grady in about 45 minutes, hopefully, so I’ll ask him why then. Also, Nomar has been dropped to sixth in the order, with Martin third, Probably has something to do with the fact that after missing three games with an illness, Nomar came back last night and went 0 for 5 and is not 2 for his past 16. Also, he still has just one home run this year, that coming way back on April 16 at Arizona. Hardly the power production you want from a No. 3 hitter.

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
C Martin
2B Kent
LF Gonzo
3B Nomar
1B Loney
RF Ethier
RH Billingsley

Also, there has been a change to the D-backs rotation. Randy Johnson will pitch on Thursday against Randy Wolf, Livan Hernandez is out. The Unit threw a simulated game yesterday and was deemed ready to go. Too bad for the Dodgers — unless, of course, they beat him. Let’s face it, he ain’t what he used to be. … The Pi Beta Phi convention is over at the Westin and has been replaced by something called Expo ’07. I’m not sure what kind of Expo it is, but I can tell you that so far, none of the attendees looks anything like a Pi Phi, past or present. And, this group has taken up almost every parking space at the hotel. Had to park at least 200 yards from the front door, and it’s 117 degrees here today.

Dodgers 8, D-backs 1

Actress Eliza Dushku greeted the National League’s first 10-game winner, who also happens to be her boyfriend, with a huge smile in a service tunnel outside the Dodgers clubhouse. Some guys have all the luck. Brad Penny went eight innings for the first time this season, allowing only a run on four hits. This after manager Grady Little pushed him back a day so he could pitch in this game, which had much more significance in the NL West than Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay, when Hong-Chih Kuo pitched in Penny’s stead and the Dodgers got pounded 9-4. “I wasn’t feeling too good about (the decision) yesterday,” Little said, “but it turned out pretty good tonight.” It always seems to when the Dodgers play the Snakes. They have beaten Arizona five of six now, including all three at Chase Field. And offensively, the Dodgers now have 99 hits in 10 games since Eddie Murray was ousted. I asked Bill Mueller before the game if he was enjoying the role, and he said he definitely was. I then asked if he is warming up to the possibility of doing it long-term, and while he didn’t answer directly, he clearly backed off on his enthusiasm. So this is a long way from being resolved. But the improvement is already undeniable. Oh, and Manny Mota has been helping Mueller get acclimated, too, as well as helping him communicate with the Spanish-speaking players and even helping him find ways to get his points across to the English-speaking players. Even though the Dodgers are 5-5 since the change, the offense clealry is on a roll. … Russ Martin’s lead over Paul Lo Duca in All-Star voting is down to 110,000, but there are only three days left before the polls close. That makes Martin close to a lock, and Penny will undoubtedly be there with him. The Dodgers should be well-represented this year, which will make all those San Franciscans in attendance boo even louder. … Dodgers go to 43-33 and pull within a half-game of the Snakes. Pods and Giants are still playing, 3-3 bottom 11. Pods will pull even with Arizona if they win and stay a game back if they lose. … Speaking of some guys having all the luck, I’m heading back to the Westin now. The Pi-Phis are waiting. Not waiting for ME, necessarily, but they’re still waiting.

Bye-bye billionaire

Matt White, who came to be known in spring training as the Billionaire for the nationwide fame he received when news outlets everywhere began to pick up the story of the billion dollars’ worth of rock that was sitting underneath the piece of real estate he bought from a relative in Massachusetts, has been granted his release. White is expected to sign with a Japanese club, although we aren’t quite sure which one, in the coming days. Nice guy, and I hope he does well over there. … Brad Penny dodged a couple of bullets early, but he just gave up two two-out hits, including a double by Chris Young, to put the Snakes on top. The Dodgers haven’t done much against Micah Owings. They had runners on first and second with none out in the third after Owings hit Penny, who was trying to sacrifice, but the slumping (and not entirely healthy) Rafael Furcal GIDP’s, and Juan Pierre grounded out. D-backs 1, Dodgers 0, bottom 4

Nomar to 3B starting Friday

Nomar Garciaparra is moving from first to third base to make room for James Loney. The move is in response not only to the fact Loney is hitting well enough to play every day, but also to the fact neither Wilson Betemit nor Tony Abreu has hit well enough to nail down the everyday third base job. Grady approached Nomar about the switch yesterday, and, according to both Grady and Nomar, Nomar immediately agreed. Grady said Nomar might still occasionally see some action at 1B, but he was VERY committed to Nomar becoming the primary 3B. Nomar will take grounders at third before all four games of the Arizona series, then probably start there for the first time on Friday night against San Diego. He last played 3B during his season and a half with the Chicago Cubs (2004-05). This time, he has five days to make the transition. That time, he had one day — the day he was traded to the Cubs by Boston, with whom he had always played shortstop.