Houlton sent packing

D.J. Houlton was optioned to Las Vegas to make room for Mark Sweeney, meaning the Dodgers are carrying 11 pitchers now. … When I got to my room at the Westin, I noticed that the cover of the St. Louis 2007 Convention and Visitors Guide features a great shot of Albert Pujols appearing to take Brad Penny downtown in a game here last year. Several of the fans have raised their arms in triumph, and Kenny Lofton (remember him?) is on a dead sprint toward the centerfield wall. Well, never wanting to be accused of not doing my homework, I checked the box score on retrosheet.org and discovered that Pujols didn’t homer off Penny in that game. It was one of two doubles off the centerfield wall. But if the publishers wanted to make it look like Prince Albert was going yard, they did a good job of it.