July 2007 Archives

My last consecutive-games streak was 448 games. This one was two games. A combination of a splitting, nauseating headache (gone now, thanks to Excedrin for Migraines), the usual deafening sound system of Dodger Stadium, a crowded press box where one too many people were squeezed into the area where I usually sit and a bad case of claustrophobia, I opted to take all the Grady and Ned quotes I had and, about 10 minutes before first pitch, head for the hacienda. Rich Hammond was covering the game anyway, and I was only doing the trade story, so it all worked out. ... By the way, Proctor will join the team tomorrow. They called up Delwyn Young to take Betemit's spot, and a pitcher will be sent down tomorrow to clear a roster spot for Proctor. ... That's it for tonight, at least from me. Hasta manana.

The Dodgers have re-acquired right-hander reliever Scott Proctor from the New York Yankees for third baseman Wilson Betemit. Proctor, 30, is tied for the American League lead with 54 appearances and led the A.L. with 83 appearances last season. He is 2-5 with a 3.81 ERA this season and has allowed just nine of 31 inherited runners to score.
Proctor will bolster a Dodgers' bullpen that has been overworked for much of the past month because of too many short outings by the team's starting rotation.
The Dodgers acquired Betemit from Atlanta last July 28, and he wound up hitting nine home runs for them down the stretch last season while getting most of the starts at third base. But he got off to a slow start this year and was relegated to the bench when Nomar Garciaparra was moved to third base to make room for James Loney at first. He was hitting .231 with 10 homers and 26 RBI. He had struck out 49 times in 156 at-bats.

Bill Robinson, the Dodgers' roving minor league hitting coordinator for the past two seasons, passed away on Sunday at the age of 64. No details are known at this time, but I'm working on it. He was a really, really nice guy and a credit to the organization. He also had a major hand in the development of guys like James Loney and Matt Kemp, and he will be missed. It was only a few weeks ago that we were all speculating on whether he would be the guy to replace Eddie Murray as the big-league hitting coach when Murray inevitably got fired, which he did on June 14. The club went with Bill Mueller instead, and it turned out to be the right move as the offense instantly turned things around, but Robinson was the big-league hitting coach for two World Series-winning teams, the 1986 Mets and the 2003 Marlins. A sad day in the organization.

Billingsley wound up throwing 114 of them in 4 1/3 innings, which is one more than he threw in his previous career high 11 days ago against Philly when he went a full five. He went to three-ball counts on nine batters. Eric Hull, who took over for Billingsley, got two quick outs to start the sixth, then walked Jeff Baker. That led to a three-run inning for the Rockies that put this one to bed early and sent a message to the Dodgers that they are going to have to scratch and claw for every victory in this division. Andre Ethier led off the seventh with a double, but Wilson Betemit then stepped in to pinch hit for Seanez. Shockingly, he struck out on three pitches. ... Snakes are down by six, but it's early. Pods are going to win to pull within a half-game, and the Rox are going to pull within 3 1/2. This is now, officially, a four-team race. ... Rockies 7, Dodgers 2, top 7

Chad Billingsley has reverted to his old self, throwing too many pitches. He walked the opposing pitcher, Ubaldo Jimenez, to load the bases with two outs in the fourth, but after a visit from pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, Billingsley managed to pitch his way out of that mess by getting Willy Taveras to fly to center. Billingsley gave up a solo homer to Yorvit Torrealba and a two-run shot to Matt Holliday, all in the third inning. Dodgers put runners on the corners with none out in the fourth and managed to get all of one run out of it, on a sac fly by Nomar. Furcal drew a two-out walk in the fifth, but for reasons known only to Juan Pierre, Pierre then tried to bunt his way on and failed. He seems to try that at least once a game, and it ALMOST NEVER works. Either he needs to work on his bunting, or he needs to SWING THE BAT. ... Rockies 3, Dodgers 1, bottom 5

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

The rotation the rest of the week is as follows: Penny on Tuesday, Hendrickson Wed., Tomko Thurs, Billingsley Friday and Lowe Saturday. Lowe still hasn't thrown off a mound, but Grady said Lowe has felt so good throwing off flat ground that they're confident he is ready to go. And Penny's cramps are apparently only an issue when he runs to cover first or on a batted ball, so they'll send him back out and watch him closely. Still no date set for Randy Wolf's next rehab outing because he still has stiffness in his shoulder. Grady admitted that it can be termed a setback. No telling when this guy is going to be back.

This one was over before it started. Rockies had their ace going. Dodgers had Tomko. Boys fall to 57-47 and into a first-place tie with AZ, 1 1/2 ahead of the Pods and 4 1/2 ahead of the Rox.

Tomko settled in and shut out the Rockies on three hits from the third through the sixth. But the Dodgers blew a potentially big seventh after Ethier's RBI single got them within three runs and left runners on the corners with one out. Lieberthal popped up in foul territory, and Russ Martin, hitting for Tomko, popped up in fair territory. Seanez in now. Rockies 5, Dodgers 2, bottom 7

As the Dodgers jogged off the field at the end of the second inning, a Dodgers fan in the mezzanine, just to the right of the press box, stood up and yelled as loudly as he could, ``Tomko, you (stink). You're a disgrace to the blue.'' Well, that's a matter of opinion, I guess. But at least the guy had some supportive data. Tomko walked the first batter in each of the first two innings and would have walked the leadoff man in the third, too, if plate umpire Doug Eddings hadn't given him a break and rung up Todd Helton on a 3-2 pitch that was clearly low. Ryan Spilborghs, who walked to lead off the first, scored on a two-run homer by Matt Holliday. Brad Hawpe, who walked to lead off the second, scored on a two-run homer by Troy Tulowitzki. Tomko then got ahead of Spilborghs 0-2, threw him two balls, then gave up an RBI single to center. Kent just drove in the Dodgers' first run with an RBI single off Jeff Francis, extending Kent's major-league-best on-base streak to 37 games. Rockies 5, Dodgers 1, middle 4

Russell Martin is NOT starting tonight. ``Lieberthal was ready to go,'' Grady said. ``I think two days for Russ and another one on Monday might get him right back to where he needs to be (with his stiff lower back). I see a different look on his face today (after not playing Friday).'' ... Also, D-Lowe's bullpen session was pushed back a day because the off-day made it less urgent that he start as scheduled on Tuesday, even though Grady hasn't officially ruled him out of that game. Lowe did throw in a pitching motion off flat ground and said he felt ``100 times better than yesterday.'' ... Still no news on Randy Wolf, but you can take it to the bank he'll do at least one more rehab start.

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
1B Saenz
2B Kent
3B Nomar
RF Kemp
LF Ethier
C Lieberthal
RH Tomko

Saenz got a big cake from his teammates congratulating him on his first start since June 23, when he DH'd at Tampa Bay, and his first start in the field since June 1, when he played 1B. The cake was decorated with three plastic ballplayer figures, one at each base, and the one at 1B had a picture of Saenz's face glued to the head.

It's been a pretty nice day here, but the forecast calls for another big storm to come through later this afternoon. If that happens, I don't think they would have any other choice but to play a doubleheader tomorrow. It was coming down in sheets yesterday, and frankly, I'm not sure why they waited until 8 o'clock local time to call the game. ... There is some band playing on the field right now, I guess just a warmup, because there is nobody in the park 3 1/2 hours before game time. Other than that, not much news so far.

First rainout of the year. It'll be made up sometime on the Dodgers visit here in September, probably on the 17th when both teams are off, but no date has been set yet. Tomko and Billingsley were pushed back a day, which might push Hendrickson, who has been the scheduled Sunday starter, out of the rotation. Rockies are skipping Fogg, who would have been tonight's starter, and staying with their scheduled Sat (Jeff Francis) and Sun (Ubaldo Jimenez) starters. D-backs are pounding the Braves, so will probably move within a game of first, and Pods are pounding the 'Stros, so probably will move within 1 1/2. See ya tomorrow

The tarp is still on the field, 44 minutes after the game was to begin. It has been raining like crazy all afternoon, and we're supposed to get an update at 8:15 local time (7:15 California time). Too early to make a call at this point. It's still raining, but this field has a GREAT drainage system. It's a thing to behold if you ever get a chance to watch it work. ... D-Lowe's injury is to his hip, not his groin, and it looks like he might get pushed back a day or two in the rotation, but the injury isn't serious. He'll try to throw off a mound tomorrow. Meanwhile, it's fairly apparent that Wolf is going to need at last one more rehab start. ... More when I know more.

Loney moves into the three hole, with Gonzo dropping to fifth. Could have something to do with the fact Gonzo is a career 1 for 16 against Josh Fogg, although that to me would seem like more of a reason to play Ethier and Kemp in the same game.

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
1B Loney
2B Kent -- 7-11, 2 HR, 4 RBI on trip
LF Gonzo
3B Nomar
RF Ethier
C Lieberthal
RH Tomko

By the way, Jorge Martin of the Dodgers PR staff, who is in charge of editing and putting together that Dodgers Magazine that they sell at the stadium and apparently has WAY too much time on his hands, ran the numbers and came up with this stat: 488 consecutive regular season games attended by yours truly until last night, when my favorite airline had a rare hiccup that resulted in me getting to town too late to get to the game. The streak went from 7/11/04 vs. the Cardinals to 7/25/07 at the Astros.

Greetings from the greatest city on Earth. There. I said it. With apologies to the Big Apple, La-la Land, the City by the Bay, and the towns of Chi and Bean, noplace beats the Mile High City, and I wish I had appreciated it more during the five years that I lived here (1995-2000), when I spent way too much time complaining about all the snow (I pretty much hate snow). While this wasn't home for me, of all the places I have lived, it was the one place where I felt the most AT home. A LARGE percentage of the population here (at least two-thirds) moved here from some other part of the country, with a lot of them from the South like me. At one time, and this might still be true, it had the highest per capita percentage of college grads of any city in America. And then, there is this other thing ... there are three women who I will always consider the loves of my life. Two of them, I dated while living here, and while I am no longer in contact with either one, I often think of them when I am in town. I hope they are doing well, and I'm sure they went farther in life than they ever could have if they had stayed with me. My daughter, who is 16, can't stand it here, but I think that's just an example of familiarity breeding contempt, as she has lived in Colorado continuously since she was four months old. She can't wait to graduate high school, at which point she plans to go to college out of state and never return. One day, though, she'll look back and appreciate this place for what it is. Seven years after leaving for Cincinnati and my first real beat job, I know I do. ... Oh, one other personal note, and then I promise I'll keep it baseball-related the rest of the night. Congrats to my cousin, Joe Wilson, who is getting married this weekend to a fellow U.S. Marine named Emily (I am embarrassed to say I never got her last name) in her hometown of Thackerville, Okla. Sorry I can't be there for the nuptials, but I wish them both the best -- and I also thank them both, from the bottom of my heart, for their service to country.

... but no, I'm not at the game. Had airline problems getting here today, so we hired a guy named Paul Willis, whom I used to work with at the Rocky Mountain News back in the late '90s, to cover the game for us tonight. I'll be back at it tomorrow. The news on D-Lowe was no news at all, with the MRI results not known yet, apparently. And Randy Wolf was with the club, but no decision has been made yet on whether he'll need a second rehab start. I have the game on in my hotel room. Dodgers are leading 5-3, bottom 7, but it is starting to smell like a game that might get away. Meanwhile, I'm going to relax the rest of the evening. See you tomorrow.

Turns out he was NOT loafing it up the line on that 9-3 groundout. He was running as hard as he could run -- on the left groin he had injured warming up for his relief appearance on Sunday against the Mets. Yet another example of the fallout of this team's overworked bullpen. He'll have an MRI tomorrow morning in Denver, after which more will be known about his condition. He says it only hurts when he lands while pitching. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have lost six of eight since winning their first four out of the break, and this would be a devastating loss if D-Lowe is out for a long period. We'll see. Good night.

We never did get an in-game medical report on D-Lowe, but it's the first thing that will be asked after the game. Dodgers drop two of three to a team that was 14 games under .500 coming into this series and miss a golden opportunity to gain ground on the Pods, who remain a game back in the NL West. Dodgers fall to 56-46.

The game stayed tied for about 7.5 seconds. As soon as the line dance ended, D.J. Houlton started Carlos Lee 2-0, and Lee put the next one on the railroad tracks. The guess here is this one is over. The way the Dodgers are hitting tonight, one run is about all they're going to be able to muster. ... After the home run, Grady pulled a double switch, bringing in Joe Beimel and Nomar at 3B. Betemit was taken out of the game. Now why would you want to take Wilson Betemit out of the game? ... Astros 2, Dodgers 1, bottom 7

He actually might have gone city block if the roof had been open. Well, not really, because the ball hit a beam supporting the light standard in left field. But he sure gave it quite a ride, to the point that Carlos Lee didn't even turn around to watch it. Nice greeting for Stros reliever Chad Qualls, who had just come into the game and was facing his first batter. ... By the way, since the last time we were here, way back in April of '06, they have turned the foul poles into gigantic Chick-fil-A ads, with a picture of a cow's head, clad in an Astros cap, with the words ``Eat More Fowl'' going vertically down each pole. Get it? Fowl. Hahahahahahahahaha. Real knee slapper there. The letters (and the cow's head) all extend into fair territory, though, so at least there is no confusion on the part of the umpires if they have to make fair/foul -- or, excuse me, fair/fowl -- calls. ... Betemit just grounded into a force play that was almost a GIDP. Loney then GIDP'd to end the inning. Betemit is 0 for 3 and hasn't hit a ball out of the infield -- and Grady says he is leaning toward starting him at 2B tomorrow night. ... Seventh-inning stretch, time for them to play Deep in the Heart of Texas while the girls in the pink shirts, black shorts and black cowboy hats line dance on top of the dugout. ... Dodgers 1, Astros 1, middle 7

He apparently hurt himself when he had to accelerate -- something he wouldn't have had to do if he had run hard out of the box -- trying to avoid getting thrown out at first on what should have been a gimme single to right -- something he wasn't able to avoid. Not only did he suffer that colossal embarrassment, but he also had to leave the game after throwing four pitches in the bottom of the inning. He responded when he got to the dugout by heaving his glove against a wall in disgust, right in front of a TV camera with the red light on. Dodgers have run themselves into two outs tonight, including Kent getting thrown out at second trying to stretch a single in the second inning. If Lowe misses significant time, it could force the front office's hand before next week's trading deadline. Now, the Dodgers might have to give up a couple of their top prospects to get another starting pitcher. Well, the evening is certainly going well for the boys so far. ... Astros 1, Dodgers 0, bottom 5

I thought for sure I had seen Albers listed as a lefty -- although after watching Betemit predictably whiff with runners on first and second and two outs to end the fourth, I'm still not sure why he is in the lineup -- or on the team, for that matter. Dodgers are 0 for 5 with four strikeouts tonight with RISP. Nice situational hitting. Astros 1, Dodgers 0, middle 4

Dodgers got a leadoff triple from Loney in the third, but he got no farther. Matt Kemp, who for all his potential is still very much a work in progress, needed to do nothing more than put the ball in play to get Loney home with the Astros infield playing halfway. Instead, he appeared from this angle to be trying to hit the ball into the next zip code. He struck out, of course, as did Derek Lowe, who was on deck at the time. Rafael Furcal then grounded weakly to second -- albeit after a prolonged at-bat that got Matt Albers to 52 pitches for the game -- to strand Loney. D-Lowe, meanwhile, was working on a perfect game until Eric Muson got him for a one-out homer in the bottom of the third. Typical Lowe start, so far: zero offensive support and just enough mistakes -- one, in this case -- to cost himself the game. Astros 1, Dodgers 0, top 4

Betemit is playing in place of Nomar against Matt Albers. He has his average all the way up to .250 (7 for 28), with two doubles, a homer and two RBI, against lefties. Betemit might play 2B tomorrow night against Rodrigo Lopez. It would be his first start of the season at the position, which he played a lot in the minors.

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
C Martin
2B Kent
LF Gonzo
3B Betemit
1B Loney
RF Kemp
RH Lowe

Also, I am Rick Monday's pregame radio guest tonight (already recorded it), so if you want to hear my words of wisdom, turn to KFWB 980-AM.

There was some computer glitch that wouldn't allow me onto the web site last night, so no blogging. Looks like it is all fixed now, though, so back to normal -- even though there isn't a lot of news for this early in the day. I do have this little tidbit, though, from the Dodgers' game notes: In the 12 games since the All-Star break, the Dodgers led the N.L. in hits (147) while ranking second in runs (76), RBI (72), average (.324) and on-base percentage (.377), with the Phillies leading in all those categories. The Dodgers are tied for first with four triples and tied for second with 25 doubles, while ranking third in slugging percentage (.485). Not that any of that helped them last night, when they fell back into their old, freeswinging habits against Jason Jennings, who hadn't beaten an N.L. club all year. The Dodgers made five outs in five pitches over one stretch between the third and fourth innings. That can't continue if they hope to have success the rest of the way.

Second verse, same as the first

SS Furcal -- 6gm hit streak (11-29), 11-27 vs. Jason Jennings
CF Pierre
C Martin -- 4-28 since sitting out last Tues., but 7-17 vs. Jason Jennings
2B Kent --7gm hit streak and 34gm on-base streak, longest in majors '07
LF Gonzo -- 7-36 vs. Jason Jennings
3B Nomar -- 6gm hit streak (11-25)
1B Loney -- 6gm hit streak (8-25)
RF Ethier -- 2-11 vs. Jennings
LH Hendrickson

Had lunch with Dylan Hernandez and Diamond Leung at Ninfa's, a really good Tex-Mex chain down here that I recommend if you're in the area. We ate at the one in the Galleria food court. I ordered the Texas combo off the lunch menu, only $9.49, and it was way more than I could eat. ... By the way, thanks to Scott Andrews of Baton Rouge, La., (and, like me, a native Arkansan), a Dodgers fan who took the time to stop by the press box yesterday to say hello. It's nice to be reminded once in a while that there are real people out there actually reading what I write, and his great compliments about my coverage of the team made my day. Thanks again, Scott, and I hope you make it to Dodger Stadium one day soon.

The Dodgers almost had their first complete game shutout of the season until Billingsley gave up a two-out single to Mike Lamb in the ninth, followed by a two-run homer by Luke Scott. Still, Bills managed to pitch the club's fourth CG of the year, and the first by anyone other than D-Lowe. This could be the start of something very special for Billingsley. Jeff Kent went 4 for 4 with two doubles, the first of which was career No. 524, moving him past Willie Mays and into second place on the all-time career doubles list. Loney went yard in the eighth, a three-run jack that capped the scoring. Nomar went 3 for 5 and is on an 8-for-18 tear. The Dodgers reached the 100-game mark at 56-44, nine games better than last year's 47-53, after which they went 41-21 the rest of the way. Pods are leading the Rockies 4-1 in the fifth inning.

This might be the best start of his young career, and it's coming against a pretty good lineup. Even when he gets himself into minor trouble, as he did in the fifth by giving up a leadoff single to Eric Munson and then walking Eric Bruntlett, he manages to get out of it. Morgan Ensberg lined out to left, Russ Martin picked Bruntlett off first (on a bad call by Gery Davis that went the Dodgers' way, offsetting another bad call by Davis in the first inning when Juan Pierre clearly beat out a bunt but was called out), and Craig Biggio whiffed. Martin just doubled down the leftfield line, ending his 3 for 26 slide, then scored when Kent doubled off the wall in right-center. Dodgers 5, Astros 0, top 7

His last time out, Chad Billingsley threw a career-high 113 pitches in five innings. Tonight, he has thrown 43 through four innings, and he has given up just two hits without allowing the Astros to get close to scoring. Dodgers have scored a couple of manufactured runs with some good situational hitting and with the help of Astros pitcher Chris Sampson, who threw a wild pitch that allowed Jeff Kent to score from third in the fourth. He also deflected a comebacker from Rafael Furcal in the fifth, leaving neither Sampson nor his teammates any chance of getting Furcal at first, and that hit started a rally that culminated in a tow-run single by Gonzo. Russell Martin is 0 for 3 and now is 3 for 27 since sitting out last Tuesday night's game. Dodgers 4, Astros 0, middle 5

Saito's MRI showed nothing. He will rejoin the team during the game tonight, and there is some hope he will be ready to pitch by tomorrow. He had an injury similar to this in Japan. This one started with pain over a large area of his back and neck, and it has since subsided to a small, localized area. Saito told Grady that was exactly what happened in Japan, and the localization of the pain told him then that he was almost ready to come back. ... They called up Eric Hull, sending Eric Stults out to make room for him. Stults came through for them in a spot start yesterday, and, as Grady said, ``It had nothing to do with his performance.'' Rather, the Dodgers had to have another arm in the pen, so they had to make room for one.

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

Within minutes of me informing Aram Tolegian, who is covering the game for us today, that the Dodgers were about to take their first two-game lead in the NL West since May 19, the Dodgers blew the lead in the ninth, another example of how Jonathan Broxton might not be ready for the closer role. He had trouble throwing strikes throughout the ninth inning, especially after Carlos Delgado reached on that tough play in the first that James Loney perhaps should have made, although it was ruled a hit. The tying run scored on an error by Matt Kemp, who, as good a hitter as he already is, needs a little work in the outfield. The Mets scratched out a run in the 10th off D.J. Houlton. The Dodgers almost scratched one out in the bottom of the 10th off Billy Wagner, but they ended up leaving the tying run on third and the winning run on second when Nomar, who had homered earlier in the game, took a called third strike. By the way, Russell Martin is 3 for 23 since sitting out on Tuesday night. The boys fall to 55-44 and remain one game up on the Pods. Off to Houston in the morning (early). Talk to you when I get there.

Fairly basic. Ethier is playing Stults is pitching

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

Penny went 6 1/3 and became the first Dodgers pitcher to start 12-1 since Phil Regan went 14-1 in 1966. Saito obviously wasn't available again, because he never warmed up in the ninth and Broxton got the final five outs in order, with three strikeouts, after Beltran's homer chased Beimel. Beltran is 6 for 13 for three home runs and a double in the series. All three of his homers have come in the eighth inning. Dodgers go to 55-43. Pods play later. Arizona won and will stay 4 1/2 back. Colorado lost and will fall 5 1/2 back.

Sosa's second time through the order wasn't so good. The boys exploded for five in the fourth, the big blow a three-run jack by Matt Kemp, then added two more in the sixth when Ruben Gotay made a wild relay on what would have been an inning-ending GIDP by Martin. But Beimel just gave up a two-run shot to Carlos Beltran, so this is a long way from being over. Not sure of Saito is available -- Grady says he isn't going to identify his available relievers to the media before the game anymore because it tips off the other team -- but Brox is coming on now to replace Beimel. Dodgers 8, Mets 6, top 8

He walked the leadoff man in the second, and it wound up costing him a two-run inning. He got two quick outs in the third, but Carlos Beltran got him for a two-out single, and David Wright followed with a homer to right-center. Mets haven't had a hit since, and the Dodgers got a run back in the third when Penny doubled and scored on Juan Pierre's single, extending Pierre's hitting streak to 14 games. But Jorge Sosa is pitching WELL for the Mets, even better than Oliver Perez last night. ... By the way, another thing I never got into the paper last night was that Mets Jose Valentin, who spent a season with the Dodgers two years ago (most of it on the DL), broke his right tibia when he fouled a ball off his leg last night. ... Mets 4, Dodgers 1, bottom 4

Nomar and Gonzo are sitting, as the boys are going heavily left-handed against Jorge Sosa. Lefties are hitting .256 against him compared to .212. But of the six HRs he has given up, five have been hit by lefties.

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
C Martin
2B Kent
1B Loney
3B Betemit
LF Ethier
RF Kemp
RH Penny

One of the hot rumors of the day, which you likely will read somewhere on the internet, is that the Dodgers are about to trade Wilson Betemit to the Yankees for reliever Scott Proctor. Let me be the first to nip it in the bud, because it ain't going to happen, according to a very reliable source I just spoke with. Although it WAS discussed at one point, it never really got off the ground. ... Forgot to get this in the paper last night, but Jeff Kent has tied Willie Mays for 33rd place on the all-time doubles list with 523 and Yogi Berra for 68th place on the all-time home run list with 358.

From the Dodgers' perspective, this game was lost when Roberto Hernandez came in and allowed the first three batters he faced to reach and score, turning a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 deficit. But don't lose sight of the performance of Oliver Perez. This guy is finally blossoming into the pitcher he was always supposed to be, and as good as the Dodgers have been offensively of late, he took them to school tonight. They got their hits, putting a man on base in six of the eight innings that began with Perez on the mound. But time after time, he came up with big pitches at big times, and the Dodgers were helpless to do much about it. Dodgers went 0 for 8 w/RISP. Hope they're not falling back into old habits. They fell to 54-43 and stayed tied with the Pods, 4 1/2 games ahead of the fading Snakes and the surging Rox.

I wrote in today's paper that the tentative target date for Wolf to return is Aug. 1. Not sure how that happened, but I read the calendar wrong. If he pitches on Wed. at Inland Empire and returns five days later, that would put him on track to return July 31, not Aug. 1. Five days later is actually July 30, but the Dodgers are off that day. My bad.

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

Interesting that six recent former Dodgers took part in this massacre, including Aaron Sele, who was awarded the victory by scorer's discretion because Tom Glavine didn't go the requisite five innings. As bad a night as it was, though, it provided even more evidence of just how bright the Dodgers' future is. James Loney and Matt Kemp, batting seventh and eighth, respectively, took good at-bats all night (well, most of the night). Some of these young kids take at-bats like they have been in the league for 10 years. Meanwhile, Hu and LaRoche continued to sizzle tonight. Vegas beat Portland 14-6 tonight, with Hu going 3 for 4 with a double and LaRoche going 2 for 5 with a home run. ... Dodgers fall to 54-42 and back into a first-place tie with San Diego. This bullpen is in trouble, especially with Tomko going tonight. But Grady did a good job of staying away from Broxton and Saito tonight, and Hendrickson did a good job of eating two innings. Also Roberto Hernandez had a nice Dodgers debut, retiring the Mets in order in the seventh.

Lineup is fairly basic, with Kemp playing RF against the lefty Glavine. Marlon is in the Mets lineup, playing LF and batting second.

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

Randy Wolf will throw off a mound tomorrow for the first time, but it will be very light and very short just to test his shoulder to see how it responds to throwing off an incline. If that goes well, he'll throw a full bullpen on Sunday (usually about 60 pitches). If THAT goes well, he might start a rehab at Inland Empire on Wednesday, but trainer Stan Conte said that is ``really, really subject to change.'' At any rate, all of this means he won't start a game for the Dodgers until AT LEAST Aug. 1. But at least there is some semblance of a plan now.

The Mets purchased the contract of Marlon Anderson from their Triple-A New Orleans affiliate for tonight's game. They signed him to a minor-league deal shortly after the Dodgers released him last Wednesday. Good news for a really good guy. It was probably the right move for the Dodgers to let him go, but he'll be missed in their clubhouse. The bad news is that to make room for Marlon, the Mets optioned David Newhan, the former Pepperdine standout who lives in Yorba Linda, just in time for them to play a game in his hometown. This can be a cruel business sometimes, especially for David's dad, Ross, a Hall of Fame baseball writer who I'm sure was looking forward to spending some quality time with him

The boys bounced back nicely from last night's humiliation to take two of three. The bullpen, overworked though it may be, was outstanding, with a scoreless inning each from Seanez (the winner), Beimel, Broxton and Saito. The boys go to 54-41. Pods play late.

Billingsley blew the lead as soon as he got it, but Gonzo took Kendrick deep to lead off the sixth and put the Dodgers back in front. This game is now in the hands of the Dodgers' bullpen, which has been horribly overworked of late, but after Rudy Seanez pitched a perfect sixth and Joe Beimel followed with a perfect seventh, the game is perfectly lined up now for Broxton in the eighth and Saito in the ninth. Kemp just led off with a single off Ryan Madson. Dodgers 5, Phillies 4, bottom 7

Dodgers were kind of dead until Betemit and Loney came up with back-to-back singles with one out in the fourth, and Ethier took Kyle Kendrick deep. Furcal and Juan Pierre singled back to back to start the game, and Russell Martin singled in Furcal before Kendrick could record an out, but that rally fizzled when Gonzo lined into a double play. Meanwhile, Billingsley is Billingsley, throwing way too many pitches, but he has a lead now, so we'll see what happens. Dodgers 4, Phillies 3, middle 4

In desperate need of a 12th pitcher, the Dodgers purchased the contract of veteran reliever Roberto Hernandez this morning. To make room, they optioned Tony Abreu to Las Vegas, where he'll play mostly 2B, even though Grady said he'll move around some. This gives the 51s an infield that looks similar to what the Dodgers will sport sometime in the next year or two, with Abreu at second, Hu at short and LaRoche at third. Hernandez will be a middle-innings guy, but at least for now probably can't be counted on for more than an inning. ... I can't remember today's lineup off the top of my head after looking at it on the board downstairs (guess I should have written it down), and the sheet they pass out in the press box hasn't arrived yet, but what I remember is that Kent and Nomar are sitting and Grady went heavily left-handed against Kyle Kendrick, the Phillies' rookie who is holding right-handed batters to a .208 average while lefties are hitting .333 (24-72) against him.

Not a whole lot you can say about this one -- even though I just wrote two stories about it. If you want to read one of them, pony up your 50 cents in the morning. Or just go to dailynews.com in about 39 minutes, and the last one should be posted. Dodgers fall to 53-41 and stay a game ahead of the Pods cause they got pounded too. Bright and early tomorrow. Talk to ya then.

Three batters into the game -- THREE -- after Chase Utley doubled to drive in Shane Victorino and give the Phillies a 1-0 lead, the boos started raining down from the stands. The Dodgers came into tonight on a season-high five-game winning streak. Mark Hendrickson has pitched well, including two innings on Saturday in San Francisco that saved the Dodgers you-know-whats after they blew a six-run lead. So what were these people booing about? For pete's sake, save the boos until there is REALLY a reason to boo (fill in your own punch line here). Is every run scored by the opposing team worthy of catcalls? ... Anyway, Shane Victorino, whom the Dodgers (previous regime) let get away in the 2004 Rule 5 draft and who has 11 homers and 37 RBI this season s the Phillies' everyday RF, just tripled in two more runs. Hendrickson has gutted his way through to this point, but he doesn't appear to have much. Might have something to do with the fact he threw a side session and then two innings in that game Saturday. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have no runs and one hit off a J.D. Durbin, a guy who came in with a 13.50 ERA and who has been waived three different times this season by three different clubs. Oh, and he also is 2 for 2 against Hendrickson. Phillies 5, Dodgers 0, top 4

Martin is sitting, partly because tomorrow is an early day game (12:10) and partly because he didn't get as much of an All-Star break as everybody else. Lieberthal didn't get another balloon delivery like he did to celebrate the last time he started, but as Grady said, ``Whoever is buying those balloons won't go broke if they do it every single start (by Lieberthal).''

SS Furcal 5-gm hitting streak (10-24)
CF Pierre 9-gm hitting streak (17-43)
1B Loney 6-gm hitting streak (11-25)
2B Kent
LF Gonzo
3B Nomar
RF Kemp
C Lieberthal
LH Hendrickson

We heard for years about Loney's defense. Well, we're seeing it firsthand now, and it's every bit as good as it was always supposed to be. Sure, there was that little lapse in the first inning on Saturday when he muffed that throw from Furcal. But that didn't even lead to a run, and he ended up saving that game with that diving play to rob Kevin Frandsen in the 10th. He also might have saved the previous night's game when he made that diving stop to rob Bonds, because that was still a close game that the Dodgers wound up blowing open. And tonight, he made several tough plays, most notable that reaction play to his right in the second inning, when he was holding Pat Burrell on, to rob Greg Dobbs of a hit and turn it into a 3-6-1 GIDP. ... This team appears to be coming together, and they are playing their best ball of the season right now. They have won five in a row for the first time and have moved 13 games over .500 (53-40) for the first time. And Furcal and Pierre are finally beginning to form that formidable duo at the top that they were always supposed to, which creates a trickle-down effect all the way through the lineup. They need to get Randy Wolf back and probably need to add another starting pitcher at the trade deadline, which might not happen. But they already have the best record in the N.L. and are beginning to look like the kind of team that can play deep into October. A lot can happen between now and then, but right now, there isn't much to criticize -- other than Penny's snippy attitude when a reporter (NOT me) asked him the very legitimate question after the game of whether it was important for him to get off to a good start in the second half this year because he was so bad in the second half last year. ... Dodgers stay a game in front of the Pods. Nighty-night.

... for Camille Johnston, the Dodgers' Senior VP of Communications, who became engaged on Tuesday to Mark Miller. He did it the old-fashioned way, asking her dad for permission first, then formally proposed to her on the beach. Camille is the person one local columnist affectionately refers to as the Tipper Gore lady, because she was Mrs. Gore's communications director during Al Gore's last couple of years as Vice President and during his 2000 presidential campaign. She was hired by the Dodgers in October 2005, just a couple of weeks before Ned Colletti was named GM, and I have often said those two moves marked the turning point of the McCourts' ownership of the club. The product on the field improved almost immediately, and the franchise's public image got the makeover it so desperately needed. ... The Dodgers scratched out three runs in an impressive first inning that showed what can happen when Furcal and Pierre both get on base back to back. Jeff Kent hit a three-run homer in the third. Penny isn't dominating, but so far, he is good enough. Dodgers 6, Phillies 1, end 4

Gonzo is sitting so Kemp and Ethier can play together -- and also because Gonzo is 0 for 13 against Jamie Moyer. Even though Grady doesn't seem to put that much importance on batter-pitcher matchups, that one is tough to ignore. Gonzo also went 2-12 in San Fran and thus could probably use a day off -- and the Dodgers could definitely use a night of Ethier, who went 6-10 in SF and is hitting .295 overall, and Kemp, who was 5-8 and hitting .380 overall, in the lineup at the same time. Nomar, who went 1-10 in SF, is in the lineup. Betemit, who went 4-6 with a double and a HR in the one game he started in SF, is not.

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

Also, Wolf played catch again, but said he still has no timetable for getting on a mound. Grady still won't say Wolf will need a rehab, but it would be tough to put him back into the rotation without at least one rehab start because of the risk of him aggravating the injury and then being lost for another two weeks. He has a mild setback in a rehab start, you just back him off and maybe it doesn't take two weeks to get him back because you haven't activated him and he hasn't appeared in a major league game. Just my two cents' worth, which is about ALL it is worth. Speaking of worth, Jayson Werth is on the Phillies' DL and apparently not on the trip because no one I have asked has seen him. More bad luck for one of the all-time good guys.

The Phillies got their milestone defeat out of the way yesterday so it's not an issue coming into this series. The Dodgers haven't played that well against these guys in recent years, especially at home, but the boys are hot right now, so we'll see what happens. ... One final Barry Bonds note, in response to his postgame comments yesterday and the completely classless way in which they were delivered: I agree, he IS an embarrassment to the, uhhhhh, &#$% uniform (not to mention to humanity in general), and HE should go away. ... A hearty thank you goes out to Delta Air Lines, which, as I have mentioned before on this blog, is basically the only airline I fly. They have FINALLY added nonstops from LAX to all the NL West cities, so I no longer have to fly through their Salt Lake City hub to go to San Francisco, Phoenix and Denver (sounds ridiculous, I know, but if any of you are elite-level frequent fliers, you understand). The nonstops are these tiny little regional jets that are so small there is only one seat on the left side of the cabin (two on the right), and all the overhead bins are on the right because the left is too narrow. But that's a small price to pay for the convenience. I left SFO at 6:30 this morning and was walking into my house at 9:15. Reminded me of when I was covering the Reds (Cincy is a Delta hub), and they would play a weekend series at Milwaukee, St. Louis, Pittsburgh or Chicago, and I would board a dawn flight on Monday and be home (and usually napping) by 8:30 or 9. It's a wonderful thing.

You hate to say this when he stands on the brink of breaking Henry Aaron's all-time record (eventually), but Barry Bonds simply doesn't strike fear in the hearts of pitchers or opposing managers the way he once did. He came to the plate 10 times during this series when he could have either tied a game, put the Giants ahead or, in two cases, even given them a walkoff victory with career HR No. 752. And yet, he finished the series 0 for 12 with three walks, three Ks and three GIDPs. To me, the three walks are the most telling. Not one of them went into the books as intentional, and I honestly don't think the Dodgers were pitching around him in any of them, either -- not even yesterday's walk to lead off the ninth inning against Saito, who ended up paying for it when Bonds came around to score the tying run. As usual, his Barryn-ness is the runaway major-league leader in walks with 94, but only 30 of them have been intentional. And while both those numbers put him well ahead of last year's pace of 115/38, the more appropriate comparison is to 2004, when he set the all-time, single-season records for both with 232/120. He isn't going to come anywhere NEAR that this year, and no one even pays any attention anymore to the rubber chickens they hang on the wall down the rightfield line here. The Giants play a three-game set at Dodger Stadium starting July 31. If this keeps up, Bonds may still be sitting on 751 when he gets to town.

Broxton pitched into, then out of, a big jam in the eighth inning, getting Dave Roberts to strike out swinging after a long at-bat, and Saito didn't come close to blowing this one. Visiting club has now won all nine games in this storied rivalry this season, and the boys have now won 11 in a row at AT&T. His Barry-ness popped to short to end the game and went 0 for 12 with 3 walks in the series. Dodgers go to 52-40, matching their season high 12 games above .500. Pods are beating the Snakes 4-0, top 8

Matt Kemp is 3 for 3 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored. His last hit, leading off the sixth inning, sparked a two-run rally immediately after the Giants had tied it in their half of the fifth. Rafael Furcal tripled to score Kemp, and Juan Pierre executed a perfect suicide squeeze to score Pierre. Tomko is done. He pitched five innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits with a couple of walks. All in all, it could have been worse. Whether it was enough that Grady will let him pitch on Friday night in front of the home fans, who might be more hostile to Tomko than the fans up here, remains to be seen. ... Giants have something cooking against Eric Stults, runners on first and second and one out for Ray Durham with his Barry-ness on deck. Bonds is now 0 for 10 for the series. Durham just flied to right, bringing up Bonds. Beimel coming in to face him. ... Dodgers 5, Giants 3, bottom 7

Dodgers have stranded six runners and gone 2 for 8 with RISP, Jeff Kent has committed a costly error that led to two unearned runs, and Brett Tomko not only gave up those two runs, a walk and two hits in a 30-pitch first-inning but also has laid down two really bad bunts, even though one of them led to a run when Giants pitcher Noah Lowry interfered with Matt Kemp running down the third-base line. Lowry, meanwhile, has already issued three walks and committed one of the Giants' three errors. Oh, and the Giants have just two hits, both in the first inning, against Tomko. And even the umpires are having a bad day. First-base ump Marvin Hudson called Juan Pierre safe at first on a bunt play in the first inning even though Pierre clearly went onto the grass in foul territory to avoid the tag from first baseman Ryan Klesko. ... Dodgers 3, Giants 2, top 5

Tsao went back on the DL today with the same right shoulder strain that sidelined him from May 23 to June 29. D.J. Houlton came up to take his place. This does NOT appear to be an injury of convenience because the Dodgers needed a roster spot, even though they did because they needed another pitcher. But it does solve that problem. Tsao said he felt the discomfort when he was warming up yesterday, but that it went away after he got stretched out. He didn't feel it again until after the game. But even if he didn't feel it while he was pitching, it probably had something to do with his bad outing, in which he walked a batter, hit a batter, gave up a grand slam to Randy Winn and failed to finish one inning when Grady needed him to go two. ... Houlton is in the pen for now.

Nomar is back in today.

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

Grady said Abreu was NOT injured. He was subbed out of the game because Grady wanted Tsao, whom he put in Abreu's spot in the order, to go two innings and thus didn't want to have to pinch hit for him. Obviously, that didn't happen because Tsao only went two-thirds before giving up that salami to Randy Winn. ... As for Andy LaRoche, Ned said he is having back issues again (nothing serious) and is day to day.

The boys should have won this game several times, and then they should have lost it several times. In the end, they managed to pull it out when Furcal brought Loney home with a sac fly in the 12th. Rudy Seanez took care of the Giants in the bottom half, and the Dodgers went to 51-40 on the season. Pods play tonight at the Snakes. If AZ wins, Dodgers are alone in first place by a game. If San Diego wins, Dodgers and Pods stay tied, but the Snakes fall 3 1/2 back.

Saito blew his second save in a row, dating to eight days ago. He walked Bonds to lead off the ninth, then gave up a two-out, RBI single to Pedro Feliz, and we are heading to the 10th. Hendrickson, who is supposed to start on Tuesday, is warming up now, apparently to pitch the bottom of this inning. Loney leading off against Brad Hennessey, who also pitched the ninth. Dodgers 7, Giants 7, top 10

They're celebrating the 40th anniversary of the so-called Summer of Love here today, the whole Haight-Ashbury thing and all that, and the fans received tie-dyed Giants T-shirts as they came in. Like a lot of the flower children who came to San Francisco that summer, I don't remember much of 1967, either. Except that I actually have an excuse, because I had just been born that January. ... The boys exploded for six in the fifth, a rally started by a nice, opp-field homer by Betemit and capped off with a three-run blast by Kent. It was their sixth six-run inning of the season and second in less than 24 hours. Kent drove in another run in the seventh with a two-out single. His Barry-ness, meanwhile, just took a called third strike from Joe Beimel and is 0 for 4 in the game, 0 for 6 in the series. Looks like the Dodgers are going to make it 10 in a row at AT&T. ... Dodgers 7, Giants 2, middle 7

Barry Bonds GIDP'd on the first pitch with runners on the corners and one out in the first. It was his third GIDP of this series already. But we have since learned, by reading dodgerthoughts.com (which cited baseball-reference.com) and through confirming it with the Giants PR staff, that last night was the first time since July 4, 1991 that his Barry-ness GIDP's twice in the same game. Sixteen years. Unbelievable. ... There is a guy sitting not too far in front of the press box wearing a bright orange T-shirt, and on the back is a cartoon drawing of Osama bin Laden wearing a turban with the Dodgers cap logo on it. The shirt reads, ``bin Laden is a Dodger fan.'' ... Not much action so far. His Barry-ness just struck out, letting Wilson Betemit off the hook after Betemit failed to catch a very catchable foul pop on a 3-2 pitch. ... Dodgers 0, Giants 0, bottom 4

This despite the fact he is hitting .440 lifetime (11-25) with a homer and five RBI against Matt Morris. Betemit is 0 for 3. Hmmm.

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

He has had multiple hits in each of his pst three games and five times in his past six games. During that stretch, he is hitting .414 (12 for 29). He also leads the majors with 11 sacrifice hits, but some of those were due to charitable scoring on plays when he obviously was bunting for a hit. Last night was one of those occasions. On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of a guy NOT getting sacrifice credit when he bunts, is thrown out at first and advances the runner. You shouldn't be penalized for not intentionally making an out. ... I have been here for almost a week now, and I have been asked for money by approximately 52 different panhandlers during that time (that's just a guess). Wonder if I could add the money I have given them to my expense report. Oh, wait, never mind. In order to do that, I would have had to actually GIVE them some money, which I am proud to say I haven't done. Not once. ... James Adkins, the Dodgers' sandwich pick in this year's draft, made his pro debut for Single-A Great Lakes last night, pitching a scoreless first inning in which he struck out two batters. That's an unusually high level for a recent draft pick. College draftees usually go to the Pioneer League. First-rounder Chris Withrow also pitched a scoreless inning in the Gulf Coast League and has yet to allow an earned run.

Martin appears to be fine after getting whacked on the left forearm by that pitch from Pat Misch in the seventh inning, but Grady says they'll re-examine him tomorrow morning before deciding whether to play him or not. Russ said it hit muscle and flesh instead of bone, and he DID play another two innings and got a key double in that six-run ninth before giving way to Lieberthal in the bottom of the inning. ... They juggled the rotation yet again before the game because Penny's blister continues to be an issue. For now, he is slated to pitch on Monday, not today as originally planned. Blisters have a tendency to seem like nothing major when they first occur, but to then linger and keep recurring over time until they cause a pitcher to miss starts or even leave starts early, and then you have a big problem. But we'll see how it goes. ... Dodgers have now won nine in a row in this park, dating to last August, and the visiting team has won all seven games between the Dodgers and the Jints this year. And the six-run ninth inning by the Dodgers was their fifth six-run inning this season. They haven't scored more than six in an inning this year. ... Dodgers go to 50-40 and pull even with the Pods. See ya bright and early for the 12:55 Fox game.

Now there is a couple of words you didn't often read in the same sentence during the first half. But the boys had a GREAT third inning that began with an eight-pitch at-bat by Andre Ethier, who worked the count full, fouled off a 3-2 pitch, then dumped a leadoff single just in front of Dave Roberts. Although Billingsley failed to bunt him over, Rafael Furcal singled after another lengthy at-bat, and Ethier scored on Juan Pierre's single. Although Furcal got hung up between second and third on that play, he wisely engaged Roberts long enough to allow Pierre to scoot into second, from which he subsequently scored when Bengie Molina threw the ball up the leftfield line as Pierre was trying to steal third. Billingsley got himself into the usual Billingsley-type trouble in the first inning, walking Ray Durham to put runners on first and second with one out for his Barry-ness. But Bonds GIDP'd to end the inning, and Billingsley has more or less cruised ever since, retiring seven of eight. Dodgers 2, Giants 0, top 4

Abreu and Kemp have been cleared to go full speed, but neither is in the lineup against Matt Cain.

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

Tomko held court with us for several minutes in the clubhouse just now, admitting that the past few weeks have been ``miserable.'' Said he is taking Sunday's start on its own merits, hoping he can go at least five innings, but is expecting nothing beyond that. He also said he can't see himself in a long relief role next season for the Dodgers or any other club. As for his recent struggles, he said. ``It's pretty obvious how it has been going and how the fans have reacted. It wears on you. It hasn't been an easy situation. I feel like I have been throwing the ball decently and just getting poor results, so it's tough. I don't have a defined role in the bullpen. I just get in when the situation warrants or to eat up an inning or a couple. It has been a tough month and a half.''

Day Two of the accidental vacation was equally relaxing. Spent most of the day in Santa Cruz. Was beautiful up there. I had never been there in the daytime. Had a bad dining experience, at Gilbert's Seafood House on the Santa Cruz Wharf, and I won't bore you with the details except to say the food was bad and the service was even worse. But other than that, it was a very enjoyable afternoon. But today, it is back to work, and I must say that I feel refreshed and ready for action. ... In Grady's defense, he really had no other option than Tomko to temporarily fill Wolf's rotation spot. And I'm not surprised he juggled the rotation so Tomko starts here on Sunday instead of at home on Monday or Tuesday. Not sure what Grady's reasoning was, but it might have had something to do with not wanting to subject Tomko to the incessant booing that was sure to greet him at Dodger Stadium, where the fans now boo him the minute he jogs out of the bullpen. Hey, it's only one start. ... Brian Sabean, the Giants GM, just got an extension through 2009 with a club option for 2010. Congrats to him. Giants are having a down year, but they have enough good, young talent that they're not going to stay down for long. ... The boys took early BP today and had a pretty good turnout. Looks like they were anxious to get back to work, too. ... It's a perfect day in San Francisco, no clouds, and you can see a blimp floating in the distance over the Bay. And it's almost hot here, certainly warmer than any day since I got here late Sunday night. Should be a great weekend.

So I DID have to work a little yesterday. A couple of items came up, with Marlon Anderson being released and Sergio Garcia being suspended. But that was dispensed with fairly early, and I had the afternoon to myself. Went down to Fisherman's Wharf with a friend. The walk there from the Westin St. Francis and back is challenging, but good for the heart. It begins with a STEEP uphill climb for about four blocks, then a gradual decline to the wharf, which is about three miles away. Took a boat tour from the wharf out around Alcatraz and then to the Golden Gate Bridge, where we circled back, then had dinner at some tiki bar kind of place where the very chatty waitress told us she had moved to San Francisco, sight unseen, from Montana last November with a boyfriend she had met back in Missoula when he wandered into the bar/grill where she was waitressing. ``What was he doing in Missoula?'' my friend asked her, meaning was he there on business, etc. ``Eating a burger and reading a book,'' the waitress said, rather innocently. Sounds like the starting point for a screenplay to me. Not sure what we're going to do today. But, proving once again that you can't take the baseball writer out of the boy, I have already starting thinking about ideas for notes for tomorrow night's second-half opener. That's all for today. The next time you hear from me will be tomorrow afternoon from AT&T Park.

This is the notebook I just filed for tomorrow's paper

By Tony Jackson
Staff Writer
SAN FRANCISCO -- Sergio Garcia, a utility infielder for the Dodgers' Triple-A Las Vegas affiliate who was not on the 40-man roster, has been suspended for 100 games for his second violation of baseball's Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
Garcia, 27, reportedly tested positive for stanozolol. He previously had been suspended for 50 games for testing positive for an illegal substance in 2005.
The suspension will put him out of action for the rest of this season.
``It's something where he just has to serve his 100 days,'' Dodgers player development director DeJon Watson said. ``He has to go home and make a decision whether he wants to continue his career. He has played well, but it raises the question of whether what we have been seeing talent-wise and numbers-wise is real or fake.''
Garcia, a Paramount High School graduate who played at Cerritos Community College before moving on to the University of Oklahoma and later Arizona State University, was hitting .292 for the 51s, with 15 doubles, eight home runs and 33 RBI. He had a .355 on-base percentage and had drawn 25 walks while striking out just 39 times in 250 at-bats.
``We're going to put him through all the proper channels,'' Watson said. ``He has spoken with Bruce Kipper (who directs the Dodgers' Employee Assistance Program), and he'll just try to plan out his winter and his future and see if this is really what he wants to do.''
The Dodgers signed Garcia as a non-drafted free agent in 2002, after he hit .336 with 16 stolen bases as a senior at ASU. He had spent time this season at second, third and shortstop and also in left field, and he had an outside chance at a September callup.
But all that is moot, now.

Anderson gone: Dodgers infielder Marlon Anderson, who was designated for assignment on June 29 to clear a roster spot for pitcher Chin-hui Tsao, has cleared waivers and been released by the club less than a year after he was acquired from the Washington Nationals. He is now free to sign with any other club.
Anderson hit .231 for the Dodgers this season. He was designated just 11 days after he was activated following a two-month stay on the disabled list after he underwent right elbow surgery in early May.
Although he was with the club for less than a year, Anderson became a footnote in Dodgers history last Sept. 18. He came to the plate in the ninth inning that night against San Diego's Trevor Hoffman and tied the game with the Dodgers' fourth consecutive home run -- following blasts by Jeff Kent, J.D. Drew and Russell Martin. The Dodgers went on to win 11-10 on Nomar Garciaparra's two-run walkoff blast in the 10th.

Another example of why, no matter how much MLB officials try to intensify this thing by making it determine homefield advantage in the World Series, the players still don't take it that seriously. Last night, in the third inning, Jose Reyes led off with a little grounder to third that hit the lip where the grass meets the dirt and caromed way off into foul territory up the line, leaving A-Rod helpless to do anything about it except chase it down, by which time the speedy Reyes had legged out an infield double. The TV cameras then showed a closeup of Reyes, who was laughing about the play, and you could see Brian Roberts in the background, also laughing. In the old days, when this game really was about pride, you would NEVER see players laughing on the field. It was just like a regular season game, and players took it that seriously. It reminded me of the moment in Cleveland in 1997 when Larry Walker, facing Randy Johnson, took off his batting helmet and put it on backward and moved over into the right-handed batter's box. Or the time Torii Hunter robbed Barry Bonds of a home run with an over-the-wall catch in Milwaukee in 2002, and Bonds, on his way to the outfield, grabbed Hunter by the waist and lifted him off the ground. The modern-day player, for whatever reason, seems to want to turn this thing into a meaningless, funfilled exhibition, along the same lines as the NBA and NHL All-Star Games. The days of Pete Rose plowing into Ray Fosse are over. Some people might think that's a good thing. I happen to think it's a bad thing.

Russell Martin went 0 for 3, not hitting a ball out of the infield, but he did get to tag A-Rod trying to score from second on a two-out single in the fourth inning. Penny and Saito pitched a perfect inning apiece, Penny needing just seven pitches to do it. Now, they all get to relax for a couple of days before getting back to the business of trying to catch the Padres. ... You didn't really think Aaron Rowand was going to come through there, did you? Silly believers. The N.L. was NEVER going to win this game. It might never win ANY All-Star Game, from now until the end of time. The rough timeline is this: '60s, '70s and early '80s, the N.L. was far superior, won almost EVERY All-Star Game and about half the World Series, culminating in four straight Series wins from 1979-82. Beginning in 1983, the A.L. began to reverse the trend, finally winning an All-Star Game (even though it wouldn't win another one until 1986) and starting a stretch of three straight World Series wins (the N.L. hasn't won even TWO straight Series since then). By the early '90s, the A.L. clearly was the better league and had begun to dominate. A decade later, it was like the A.L. was on a different level entirely, and the N.L. was just a sad imitation. And now ... well, now it's like the major leagues versus Double-A. Another decade, and the gap will widen further. ... So what is the reason for this chasm? Two things, in my humble opinion. First, it's the DH, which from the moment it was adopted in 1973 was always destined to eventually lead to A.L. domination. It has evolved to the point that almost EVERY A.L. team has a full-time DH who is a legit, middle-of-the-order power threat. And while that might not explain how the A.L. wins All-Star Games where the DH isn't used, it does speak to an overall philosophy of building lineups with more power. The other reason is that N.L. clubs just scout differently. They just don't put the same premium, in scouting and drafting, on offense. A.L. clubs are built around OFFENSE. Strangely enough, it is because of that, I believe, that they also tend to have superior pitching, because you have to be a superior pitcher to even survive in that league. ... It all adds up to frustration for N.L. fans like myself, and frustration eventually gives way to resignation, and resignation gives way to a belief that this is never going to end. ... I might not blog for the next couple of days. Thanks to the schedule makers, who did me the EXTREME favor of having the Dodgers open the second half in the same city where the All-Star Game is held, but had them not doing so until Friday, I have the next two days to do nothing but relax in one of the greatest cities on earth. I got a rental car, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Might go up to Napa. Might go to Sonoma. Might go to Santa Cruz. Might just walk around the city. Might do nothing but sit in my hotel room and watch TV. But whatever I do, it's not going to involve so much as thinking about baseball. Hey, we all need a mental break once in a while, don't we?

Deciding not to wait for the media shuttle that didn't seem like it was ever coming -- and having been warned by the very friendly, very helpful media-shuttle coordinator that the buses were taking about 35 minutes to get over here anyway with all the street closures -- Carter Gaddis and I decided to walk to the park. Turned out to be the right decision. Took us exactly a half-hour to get here -- and thank God for the invention of roller bags -- and then it took us almost that long again just to get in because they were funneling the media through one metal detector when theere were two adjacent metal detectors that were being reserved for the two or three stadium employees that showed up every 10 minutes or so. But that's another story. ... Selig addressed the annual summer meeting of the BBWAA this morning, saying he hadn't decided whether he would attend Barry Bonds' record-breaking game. Selig made that statement at approx. 11:15 a.m. At 11:56 a.m., a report was posted on si.com -- a report that didn't cite any sources -- claiming that Selig had decided to attend. An MLB official later said to ignore that report because it was inaccurate. ... Selig also said he plans in the next few weeks to name the next two or three All-Star Game sites, meaning 2010, 2011 and maybe 2012 because 2008 (Yankee Stadium) and 2009 (Busch Stadium) have already been awarded. The Angels and Dodgers are both bidding for one of those, but the Angels probably have a better shot because their stadium has been renovated in the past decade, while Dodger Stadium, picturesque though it is, is probably inadequate in its present form to host an event of this magnitude. Last All-Star Game held there was in 1980. Frank McCourt has a lot of plans to upgrade the facility in the coming years, so there IS hope. Of course, they might want to add a few more elevators (OK, that's it, I promise, no more harping on that). ... The N.L. squad is taking BP right now, in their hideous black BP jerseys, soon to be followed by the A.L. in their hideous orange BP jerseys. Thankfully, each player will don his own club's jersey for the actual game, as always. But I'm sure these awful orange and black monstrosities will show up on the bodies of fans at ballparks all around the majors the rest of this season. ... Two and a half hours to game time.

American
CF Ichiro
SS Jeter
1B Ortiz
3B A-Rod
RF Vlad
LF Ordonez
C Pudge
2B Polanco
RH Haren

National
SS Reyes
LF Bonds
CF Beltran
RF Junior
3B Wright
1B Fielder
C Martin
2B Utley
RH Peavy

Congrats to Vladdy for winning the HR Derby, but that event is just excruciating to watch. WAY too many commercial breaks, WAY too long and WAY too much Chris Berman. ... At the media session, where they put players from the same time at adjacent tables, I couldn't help noticing that Russell Martin wore a nice jacket over a dress shirt that had sleeves long enough to extend past the jacket sleeves and reveal cufflinks. For a guy who had never been to one of these before, it was a veteran move that had to make a good impression on a national media contingent, much of which had never met or seen him before. Brad Penny, on the other hand, seated at the table next to Russ, wore ... a backward baseball cap. Niiiiiice. ... The press box TVs, which are muted because people are still working, are showing ESPN's The Bronx is Burning. I'm wondering if they're going to replay the episode throughout the week. From what I can tell, watching the silent pictures, it looks really well done. John Turturro is almost a dead ringer for Billy Martin. ... Another good thing about West Coast All-Star Games: the workday ends early enough for a night out. Don't have to be anywhere until 11 tomorrow, when there is a national meeting of the BBWAA that Bud Selig will speak at. ... Oh, one more addendum to my rant from yesterday about the incident with the elevator, the Marlins player and his family and the handful of media members who were told, in so many words, that they weren't worthy of being on an elevator with a Marlins player and his family and thus had to wait for the next one. One of the Florida writers who were there was on my flight up here last night. While sitting in the gate area at LAX, he told me his version of the story. Turns out that when the elevator stopped and picked up the player and his family, there was a stadium employee ALREADY ON THE ELEVATOR after boarding on a different floor. Security then told him HE HAD TO GET OFF THE ELEVATOR because the player was getting on. The more details of this story that come to light, the more ridiculous the Dodgers look. Unbelievable.

This is my ninth All-Star Game, but my first in California, and it is already one of my favorites -- other than the fact there is simpl too much orange everywhere. The weather is perfect, except for being a little chilly, I was fortunate enough to get into the Westin St. Francis, the MLB headquarters hotel, while most of my fellow scribes are sequestered at the designated media hotels down the street (it helped that I'm staying through the weekend with the Dodgers). I was assigned Seat No. 49 in the main press box, four seats from the end in the second row, between my good friends Bill Shaikin from the Times and Carter Gaddis from the Tampa Tribune (I also sat next to Carter last year in Pittsburgh), and directly behind Jack Etkin, one of my mentors back when I first started covering baseball for the Rocky Mountain News. This is a great event for writers, even though we all complain about what a pain in the rear it is to get access to players because there is so much media. It's a little like a fraternity convention, with the BBWAA the fraternity. I get to see some of my friends every series that the Dodgers play, but here, I get to see nearly ALL of them, from all over the country, so that's really cool. ... The HR Derby is less than an hour away. Good thing about a West Coast All-Star Game is that, for TV reasons, it takes place in the twilight, with much of the field still bathed in sunlight during the Derby and the game. The AL is taking batting practice right now wearing their hideous orange BP jerseys. The NL is wearing black versions of the same ones. You'll see both if you tune in to the Derby tonight. More to come later.

I just learned of something that took place LONG after last night's game that illustrates yet again everything that is wrong with Dodger Stadium and the people who run it. You have seen me complain on this blog before about the ballpark elevators, and the ridiculous policies with which they are run that allow the players priority over every other form of humanity that attempts to ride them. Well, this, in my opinion, is the all-timer (and NO, it does NOT involve me, so it isn't me whining on my own behalf). Last night, well after the last paying customer had left the building, a handful of beat writers (both Florida and Los Angeles) packed up their laptops and prepared to leave at the end of a long day. So they walk out the back of the press box to the elevators and push the button. While they are waiting, a Marlins player walks up with his family (not sure what they were doing on Level 5, as the players enter/exit the park on Level 8 and the clubhouses are on Level 1, but whatever). So when the doors open, the player gets on with his family. The reporters -- who, just like the player, are doing nothing more than leaving work at the end of the day -- then attempt to board behind the player and his family. No dice. The elevator operator informs them that they are not allowed to board with the player and his family. The door closes, and the writers wait some more. The moral of this story: Obviously, the geniuses who run Dodger Stadium do not believe major-league ballplayers should have to breathe the same oxygen as the great unwashed (ie., you and me). If an incident like this isn't an embarrassment to the organization, then frankly, that says a LOT about the organization

Kemp is day to day with a mild strain of his right hamstring. The guess here is he'll be back by Friday night, but we'll see. Ethier had a good day coming in behind Kejmp, going 2 for 3 with a walk and a three-run homer that put the game on ice in the second inning. Russell Martin had a GREAT day, going 3 for 4 with a walk and a two-run homer. Stults and Tsao combined to hold the Fish to a run on three hits over the final four innings. Dodgers finish the first half 49-40, which is better than last year's 46-42. Have to wait for the night game between the Braves and Pods to see if the boys go into the break one or two games out of first place. But the good news is that the D-back finally appear to be dropping off, leaving this a two-team race for now. But the bad news is that even if the Snakes don't slither back into the race, the Rockies might. They are playing WELL, and the Dodgers still have 13 head-to-head games (six home, seven away) with them in the second half, compared to nine with the D-backs (six-three) and six with the Pods (three-three). I'm off to the Midsummer Classic this evening. I'll touch base from there tomorrow.

The Dodgers handed Mark Hendrickson an 8-0 lead after two innings, which allowed him to simply settle in and throw strikes, which in turn allowed him to get through five strong innings on just 72 pitches. Even though they will go into All-Star break having lost four of their past five, this one victory will change the outlook dramatically, at least from a psychological standpoint. Matt Kemp left the game after the first inning with a hamstring injury he suffered running out an infield single, but the injury doesn't appear serious. Dodgers 9, Marlins 3, middle 6

His day off was postponed last night by Abreu's lower abdominal strain, but he's out today. Abreu still out, too, no word yet on whether he'll be ready by Friday's second-half opener.

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
C Martin
LF Gonzo
3B Nomar
1B Loney
RF Kemp
2B Martinez
LH Hendrickson

Hendrickson retired the Fish in order in the first, a lazy fly ball by Hanley Ramirez and whiffed Uggla and Cabrera. Looks like he's on. Grady isn't expecting more than four innings or so, but if he keeps this up, he might go five or six. Marlins 0, Dodgers 0, middle 1

A little bird just told me that Ramon Martinez is coming off the disabled list and will be in the lineup today (hey, anything to try to get this offense jumpstarted, huh?). To make room, the club is optioning D.J. Houlton back to Las Vegas, leaving them with an 11-man staff on the final day before the break. I wouldn't be shocked, though, if they go back to 12 before long, because they begin the second half with games on 17 straight days. Houlton gave up a couple of bombs in his three appearances since coming up, but he is a much, much better pitcher than he was two years ago, when he was last up here.

Hanley Ramirez just led off the seventh with his third double of the game and scored on Dan Uggla's single, putting the Fish back up by three runs. For some reason, Uggla then tried to score from first on a single by Miguel Cabrera and was easily thrown out. Best hope for the Dodgers now is to avoid the three-game sweep with what probably will be a bullpen day tomorrow, with Hendrickson starting and going as long as he can. Dodgers will fall two back of the Pods, their biggest deficit since June 30. Oh, James Loney just muffed a pickoff throw from Russell Martin, allowing Cabrera to score. This is probably my last post of the evening. I got a lot to do, and this one's over anyway. Marlins 5, Dodgers 1, top 7

He was pitching really, really well through three innings before giving up a bomb to Miguel Cabrera with one out in the fourth, followed by a single to Mike Jacobs and a long, two-run shot to Josh Willingham -- the same guy who beat the Dodgers with a three-run walkoff job against Lowe back on May 10, the day Lowe shut out the Marlins for eight innings. Sergio Mitre, who threw eight shutout innings for the Fish in that game, has thrown three more in this one. The Dodgers to runners to first and second with two outs in the second, but, as usual, failed to come through. Marlins 3, Dodgers 0, top 4

Tony Abreu was starting at second base, but he, in the words of Grady, ``isn't feeling good.'' Grady said he didn't know if that meant illness or injury. Ethier is in right field while Kemp sits against Sergio Mitre.

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

Hendrickson appears to be the leading candidate to pitch tomorrow on short rest because he only went five innings and 77 pitches on Thursday. If D-Lowe goes long tonight, that would save the pen for tomorrow, so even if Hendrickson goes short, the game would be covered. The All-Star break officially begins with the final out of tomorrow's game, so that's like hitting the reset button on the pitching staff. All in all, it's not as bad as it might seem -- that is, IF, D-Lowe gives them innings tonight.

That roster move so many of you have been pining for hasn't happened yet. Not to say it won't happen today, because it might. But my guess is it won't, and that stems from the whole Jason Schmidt thing. While I disagree with that reasoning, I can understand it. The fact is, there is at least the perception, for now anyway, that the Dodgers blew more than $15 million on Schmidt, or at least that's what I keep reading because that is what his salary would be for this year if you averaged out his three-year, $47M contract. Well, the fact is, they only wasted $12.5M on Schmidt because that is his salary for this year (the contract is heavily backloaded), and the other fact is, if this guy comes back from surgery and pitches well for the Dodgers the next two years, that still could turn out to be a good sign. But because of this faulty perception -- and I have heard hints and whispers that owner Frank McCourt SHARES this faulty perception -- that Schmidt is already a bust, there is a hesitance to ``waste'' any more money, such as the approx. $3M the Dodgers would have to eat were they to release everyone's favorite whipping boy right now (that includes the approx. $2M left on his '07 salary and the $1M buyout on his $1M mutual option for next year). So don't hold your breath, because I don't think this move is forthcoming. Then again, they could announce it in the next hour, for all I know. You know how I am at predicting stuff.

OK, I typed up a nice long blog on this game and attempted to post it, but it doesn't appear that it went up for some reason. Anyway, I'm not typing the whole thing again just because of some system glitch that was out of my control. Besides, it was the same old story. Too many runners left on base (again), Tomko can't get out of an inning without at least one run scoring (again), and the Dodgers lose (again). Good night.

The inning just kept going from there. Gonzo doubled off the centerfield wall to score Kent and put the Dodgers in front. Nomar then hit a lazy fly ball to right field, so most of the Marlins started walking toward the dugout. But Jeremy Hermida tried to catch the ball one-handed (that's the way these youngsters all seem to do it these days), and dropped it. That allowed Gonzo to score before Kemp, the ninth man to bat in the inning, struck out. After D.J. Houlton then walked the leadoff man in the sixth, Jeff Kent and Rafael Furcal turned one of the prettiest double plays ever on Miguel Olivo. Kent scooped it and dished to Furcal, who in one motion made a barehand catch and throw as he leaped over a sliding Hermida. Pods still losing. ... Dodgers 5, Marlins 3, middle 6

So I spoke too soon. Russell Martin just tied the game with a two-run homer after Pierre drove in Tony Abreu, who had drawn a leadoff walk from Dontrelle. Dontrelle appeared to hit the wall pretty quickly. Abreu was hit third walk in a span of six batters, and this time, it cost him. Kent just hit one where they ain't, a bloop single to shallow right on the heels of Martin's homer. This one is starting to get interesting. Marlins 3, Dodgers 3, bottom 5

Willis is fairly unhittable tonight, which means this one might have been over from the moment Hanley Ramirez hit Chad Billingsley's second pitch of the game into the front row in left-center. The Dodgers have hit just two balls out of the infield, both in the first inning. Willis has recorded eight groundouts and three K's. And although he showed a minor chink in his armor by walking two batters in the fourth, the Dodgers did what they do best -- leave the bases loaded. The good news is that it looks like the Pods are going to lose and the D-backs already did. But the Dodgers are done for tonight. ... Marlins 3, Dodgers 0, end 4

Joe Beimel is back and ready to go. The lineup is fairly normal, but James Loney is sitting, possibly because he is 3 for 22, and Nomar is back at 1B

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

Sorry about the light blogging tonight. Internet went down several times at the stadium. To sum it up quickly (it's late and I want to get out of here), Brad Penny and Tim Hudson didn't come close to measuring up to their usual standards, and they were both gone after four innings, by which time it was 6-6 and it had taken an hour and a half just to get to that point. But the bullpens restored calm. The Braves bullpen restored calm better than the Dodgers' did, and Chipper Jones hit two homers late. Dodgers left 11 runners on, six of them in scoring position, which is becoming a common refrain. They split the series, fall to 48-38 and remain a game behind the Pods. See ya tomorrow

Randy Wolf has an impingement -- pinching, in layman's terms -- in his left shoulder and won't throw until after the All-Star break, but this is a short-term thing, even if no one was willing to say he should be back as soon as he becomes eligible on July 19. Beimel, meanwhile, is out of the hospital and will rejoin the team tomorrow night, when he is expected to be available to pitch.

Here's the lineup:

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

Not to knock Dodgers fans, but something took place tonight that really bothered me. Well, maybe that's a little strong. It didn't really bother me, but it struck me as strange. Given a menu of three alleged Fourth of July songs they could hear played in the middle of the eighth inning, the crowd cheered the loudest for Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA. I honestly don't remember what the other two choices were. But here's the thing: that song isn't a patriotic, Fourth of July song. It's a Vietnam War protest song (which, incidentally, was released about a decade after we pulled out of that war). There is absolutely nothing patriotic about it. Remember the embarrassment the Reagan campaign suffered in 1984 after it used that song at several of its whistle stops, and the Boss came out himself and publicly said something like, "Hey, that isn't a flag-waving song?'' Not that the Boss should have HAD to come out and say that, because all you have to do is LISTEN TO THE LYRICS. I suppose the real question here is not why did the fans cheer the loudest for this song, but why was this song even included as one of the choices? ... I take Mr. Tomko to task pretty harshly in tomorrow's paper, and I'm sure there will be repercussions when I enter the clubhouse tomorrow. But this guy just continues to prove that he can't be trusted in key situations with the game on the line. OK, maybe the ball Francoeur hit could have been caught -- not SHOULD have been, mind you, but COULD have been. And maybe then the whole inning turns out differently. But the ball was still smoked. Tomko has now given up at least a run in each of the past four innings he has pitched (two runs in three of them). No way the Dodgers pick up his option for next season. It will be interesting to see what kind of a free-agent market there is for him this coming winter. ... Matt Kemp seemed slightly annoyed when I asked him after the game if he would have been better served to see some pitches in that sixth-inning at-bat, when he GIDP'd on the first pitch after a four-pitch walk to Nomar with the bases loaded and none out. His answer was a short, ``I just saw a pitch that was good to hit, and I just missed it.'' Grady had a different answer, conceding that Kemp is a young player who just got overanxious in that situation. This guy is going to be a superstar, and that day isn't that far off. But in order to get there, he has to learn the harsh lessons when they come up, and I'm sure someone on the staff will make sure this one sinks in. The good news is, wasted at-bats like that haven't seemed to happen nearly as often, with anyone on the club, since Bill Mueller replaced Eddie Murray as hitting coach. ... Dodgers fall to 48-37 and a game behind the Pods. Happy Fourth of July everyone.

Matt Kemp, who for all his talent is not quite a finished product, just took a horrendous at-bat that sucked the life out of a potential big inning for the Dodgers. Peter Moylan had just come on for the Braves and immediately walkd Nomar on four pitches to load the bases with none out. So, with Moylan clearly struggling to throw strikes, what did Kemp do? Why, swing at the first pitch, of course. Not only did he swing at it, he rolled it to short for an easy GIDP. A run scored on the play, but that was all the Dodgers got in the inning, and Chin-hui Tsao gave it back by throwing a gopher ball to Andruw Jones the very next inning. Of course, the blame can't all be placed on Kemp. Going back to the sixth inning, the Dodgers trailed just 2-1, when Grady saw fit to bring in ... yes, Brett Tomko. And you know what happens when Grady brings in Brett Tomko. He faced five batters, with four of them reaching. He gave up two runs, three hits and a walk. And, of course, he didn't make it through the inning. You have to wonder, especially with a couple of pitchers on the DL who are eventually going to come off the DL, whether this guy is going to end up DFA'd. Right now, he is bringing NOTHING to this team. Braves 5, Dodgers 2, middle 7

If this game gets any more exciting, ummmm, I might actually wake up. As it is, the two clubs have combined to strand six runners in the first three innings, including four in scoring position, and the Dodgers left them loaded in the second when Rafael Furcal took a called third strike to end the inning. On the good side, Hendrickson is pitching extremely well and had retired 10 of 11 until two guys reached with two outs here in the fourth. But he just got out of that when Brian McCann lined one right into Nomar's glove. Braves 0, Dodgers 0, middle 4

Lefty Joe Beimel went to the hospital after last night's game with heart palpitations and remains there now. It isn't thought to be serious, and there is an outside chance he will be available to pitch tomorrow night. ... Meanwhile, Beimel and Wolf aren't the only ailing lefties. Hong-Chih Kuo, who was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday, never got there. He has been placed on the major-league disabled list (15-day) with irritation in his elbow that isn't thought to be related to his two Tommy John surgeries.

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
C Martin
2B Kent
1B Loney
3B Nomar
RF Kemp
LF Ethier
LH Hendrickson

By the way, if you go to rickmonday.com, which is Rick Monday's official web site, you can click on the illustration on the opening page and see a film clip of Rick rescuing the American flag from those two would-be flag burners, followed by an interview with Rick about the episode. It's an interesting production that is worth checking out if you have time. ... Oh, and there still is no starter for Sunday. Grady said he is going to wait and see how he uses his bullpen between now and then and that he won't announce a Sunday starter until after Saturday's game. Said the candidates are Houlton, Stults and Tomko. The smart money is on Houlton.

The MRI isn't supposed to happen until tomorrow, but there was no reason not to DL him now if he isn't going to pitch for two weeks anyway. My guess is Stults will be a long reliever (he was supposed to start tonight for Las Vegas) and Houlton will take Wolf's rotation spot until he returns.

Looks like Wolf is headed to the DL with shoulder soreness. He'll have an MRI on Thursday. Even if it isn't serious, he's going to miss one start, and with the All-Star break coming up and the likelihood he'll be pushed to the back of the rotation after the break, there is no reason not to DL him. Houlton probably starts the first-half finale on Sunday against the Fish, but we haven't been told that yet. ... Dodgers go to 48-36, first time all year they have been 12 over .500, and pull even with the Padres

The Dodgers will pass the 175 million mark in all-time franchise home attendance tonight. The actual 175 millionth fan will be selected to do some on-field stuff before the game. That immediately reminded me of Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch, who was convinced he was bad luck to the rest of the family until they took him to Universal Studios and Oliver, the last of the Bradys to pass through the turnstile, became the 1 millionth visitor in the history of Universal and thus the family got a whole bunch of prizes and stuff. ... Anyway, here's tonight's lineup:

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
1B Loney
2B Kent
LF Gonzo
RF Kemp
3B Betemit
C Lieberthal -- yes, Lieberthal
LH Wolf

To commemorate Lieberthal's first start behind the plate since June 24, teammates Luis Gonzalez and Olmedo Saenz had about two dozen balloons, two of which had ``congratulations'' printed on them, delivered to Lieberthal's locker. The balloons were waiting there when Lieberthal arrived at the park today.

I'm a day late with this, and it has nothing to do with the Dodgers, but if you'll indulge me a personal aside ... I would like to wish a happy birthday to my late grandfather, Mr. Barney Hawkins Sr., who would have turned 100 yesterday. He died when I was in high school, but he is still missed. He was known to all of his grandchildren, for reasons I have never quite figured out, as Pop. It is from him that I get my Native American heritage (he was full, my mom is half, and I am one-fourth). I wish he would have lived long enough that my daughter could have known him. My other grandfather, Arthur Edward Jackson, who was killed by a drunk driver when I was 9, would have turned 100 later this year, too. ... Perfect day at the yard. Should be a nice crowd tonight, especially since most of the world doesn't have to work tomorrow.

Lost in the shuffle of another superb performance by Russell Martin (four hits, extending his hitting streak to 12 games) and Matt Kemp (towering two-run homer that turned into the game-winning hit and traveled 436 feet) is the fact that Joe Beimel continues to come through in key situations. This time, he needed a helping hand from Jeff Kent, who dived to his left to rob Jarrod Saltalamacchia (thankfully, he doesn't play for the Dodgers, so I don't have to type his name on a regular basis) of a two-run single and end the inning. Beimel has now inherited 25 baserunners this season. Two of them have scored. Two. He also has retired the first batter in 30 of his 41 appearances. This guy pitches in a role that hardly gets noticed -- unless, of course, he blows a game, in which case we would all be at his locker immediately afterward wanting to know what went wrong. But suffice to say, he is one of the Dodgers' MVPs for the first half -- even if he did look ridiculous striking out against John Smoltz in his first plate appearance of the season in the bottom of the sixth, when he looked about as comfortable standing at the plate in a batting helmet as, well ... I don't know, he just didn't look comfortable. ... Dodgers go to 46-35 and stay a game behind the Pods. The Snakes fell to 2 1/2 back.

The Dodgers entered tonight having stranded the third-most baserunners in the National League, and they haven't stopped since. They have stranded five in three innings against John Smoltz, including two at third base. Meanwhile, D-Lowe has thrown at least 18 pitches in each inning and doesn't look like he is going to be around for long. Brian McCann struck out to lead off the second, but not before making Lowe throw 13 pitches just to him. Braves 1, Dodgers 0, top 4

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

Grady just announced it. Wouldn't say what will happen beyond this year, but this will take Billy to the end of his last playing contract. Mueller replaced Eddie Murray, who was fired on June 14, on an interim basis. ``Our total approach has been different,'' Grady said. ``We're seeing more pitches, our on-base percentage has been better. I don't know how much of that you can attribute to one person, because a lot of personal responsibility goes to the players.'' We may or may not get Billy after BP and after the hitters' meeting that follows BP.

It's official now. Martin was voted in by the fans to start, outpolling Lo Duca by almost 300,000 votes. Penny was voted in on the players' ballot. And Saito was chosen by La Russa, even though Grady decided not to put in a call to La Russa on his behalf because he decided Saito's numbers spoke for themselves. Congrats to all three.

Although the embargo has yet to be lifted, mlb.com is reporting that Brad Penny and Takashi Saito also are on the team. Dodgers go to 46-36 and move within a game of the Pods. Gotta run

TBS just reported that Russell Martin will be the starting catcher for the NL. More to come

Apparently, there was a long rain delay in the Braves game today, which delayed TBS' All-Star selection show by an hour. We have been told who is on the team, but we are STRICTLY prohibited from reporting it until that show actually goes off the air (it seems TBS has paid MLB boo-koos of money -- I know, I spelled that incorrectly, it's actually boucoup -- to have exclusive rights to be the first to announce the rosters). But believe me, I have it all typed up, so as soon as we get the go-ahead, I'll hit the POST key. If you want to know before that, tune to TBS. Like, RIGHT NOW.

The Dodgers finally got a perfect example, maybe the first one all year, of what it was supposed to mean to have Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre at the top of their lineup. With two outs in the third, Furcal singled to drive in the first run of the game, then stole second. Pierre singled to drive in Furcal, then stole second. Martin singled to drive in Pierre. The result: a big inning, sparked by the table setters. ... I just looked it up. It just the second time this year that Furcal/Pierre singled back-to-back, stole second back-to-back and scored back-to-back. But the previous time came in a six-run inning on May 13 against the Reds, and neither one scored from second. Each one went to third on the next batter's hit (Furcal on Pierre's) and later were driven in by someone else. Kemp just homered in the fourth. Dodgers 4, Padres 0, bottom 4

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
C Martin -- 10gm hitting streak (15-45)
LF Gonzo
3B Nomar -- 5-9 first two games of series
1B Loney
RF Kemp
2B Abreu
RH Billingsley

By the way, Milton Bradley is NOT in the Padres lineup. But another former Dodger, Hiram Bocachica, is, in place of Brian Giles in RF. ... By the way, the Dodgers' Gulf Coast League affiliate, comprised mostly of high school players taken in this year's draft, is 9-0 after yesterday's 6-5 win over the Mets. Fourth-round pick Andrew Lambo has two home runs already. Left fielder Alfredo Silverio, in his fourth season with the organization but his first playing outside the Dominican Summer League, is hitting .455.

Had an interesting conversation with a Dodgers player yesterday -- I won't say which one, because the conversation was casual and off the record, but there was nothing especially controversial anyway. I was interviewing him for a freelance piece on the songs the players select to have played at the stadium when they come to bat or come into the game to pitch, but didn't need him for long, so the interview was brief. But after that, we just talked for a few minutes, privately, and we got around to the subject of how Dodger Stadium (this relates to the music) should be more intimidating for visiting teams. This is, after all, sort of the Yankee Stadium of the National League, the place with all the history and such. I have seen a handful of games at Yankee Stadium (about 14), all of them in the playoffs or World Series, and none since 2003. So I don't know if it's this way for the regular season. But during the postseason, they would always play Welcome to the Jungle by Guns 'N Roses, the same song the Dodgers used to play for Eric Gagne's entrance in the ninth inning, only the Yankees would play it (at earsplitting decibel levels) when the starting pitcher was warming up for the first inning, setting the tone right from the start. Yankee Stadium is an intimidating place for visiting teams to play. Dodger Stadium should be the same way. It's already the loudest place in the league when there is a large enough crowd and that crowd gets sufficiently fired up during late-inning rallies -- especially now that the Cardinals have moved out of old Busch Stadium, which was enclosed and held in the noise, to new Busch Stadium, which is open in the outfield and thus allows the noise to float off into the atmosphere. But as much as I love Nancy Bea on the organ -- and no, I don't think she should be fazed out entirely or even cut back any more than she already has been -- the Dodgers should come up with some edge, heavy-metal song for the start of the game. This particular player suggested Paradise City, another tune by Guns 'N Roses. If Welcome to the Jungle is about New York (I'm not sure it is, but it might have something to do with the so-called concrete jungle), then Paradise City would be the L.A. equivalent. Or at least that was this player's reasoning was, and I agreed with it wholeheartedly, whether it was sound or not. There are certain teams who, when they go into Yankee Stadium, you fully expect them to get swept (Tampa Bay, K.C., etc.), and it's not a surprise when they win two of three, it's a surprise when they win ONE of three. Dodger Stadium should have that same aura about it. But I remember coming in here with other teams I have covered (Rockies, Reds), and it just never did. It has always just felt like this pleasant place, with this beautiful, SoCal backdrop and this laidback organ music and all that. Just a thought. Anyone agree? Or disagree?