May 2008 Archives

Most of you saw the game, so I won't go into unnecessary details. Broxton had no explanation for his implosion. ``I haven't seen it, so I can't tell you,'' he said. ``I just got hit around. You're going to get beat sometimes.'' ... Dylan Hernandez, Diamond Leung and I got a few minutes with Ned Colletti in the tunnel after the game. Said he might be getting close to acquiring a veteran utility infielder who could better plug the gap while Furcal is out, or if Furcal is out again later in the season. He also pointed out that the Dodgers aren't getting blown out, that they were a hit or two or a pitch or two away from winning all four of the games they have lost on what is thus far a 1-4 trip and then pointed out that the Dodgers are a young team that hasn't figured out how to win yet. ``We're still in the process of doing it,'' he said. ``It's not like you're going to go to sleep Thursday night and wake up Friday and it's there.'' ... Dodgers fall to 27-28. Season is one-third over. Yes, it's a long season. But no, it's not early anymore. Snakes play later, but as Ned also pointed out, ``We can't worry about Arizona, Colorado, San Diego or San Francisco. We have to worry about the Dodgers, first and foremost. We have to get better..''

The only thing we learned this morning was what we already strongly suspected, that Gary Bennett DID spend a lot of time working on his throwing back to the mound while he was in extended spring training this week ostensibly to rehab his foot. Torre said he got good reports, that Bennett seems to have made huge strides in overcoming the problem.

Anyway, took this one from my room this morning, this is looking down Seventh Avenue toward Times Square. Sorry about the glare, but you can only do what you can do. And it's a gloomy, gray day here anyway.

100_0107[1]

The Dodgers went 6 for 9 w/RISP. That's one fewer hit w/RISP than they had gotten in their eight previous games combined. A BUNCH of hits to the right side by right-handed hitters, a very promising sign for an offense that might be about to get untracked. ... Clayton Kershaw struggled mightily, walking three consecutive batters at one point and coughing up leads of 3-0 and 4-3. He was gone with two outs in the fourth. But Chan Ho Park saved the day for the Dodgers, holding the Mets sufficiently at bay over the next 3 1/3 until the Dodgers could put together a five-run eighth inning off Pedro Feliciano and a horrendously inept Aaron Heilman. Heilman, who now has a 6.67 ERA left the field to a deafening chorus of boos, but the crowd saved some of those boos for manager Willie Randolph, who left the field moments later after handing the ball to reliever Scott Shoeneweis. ... Dodgers reach the one-third mark with a 27-27 record, which if my math is correct puts them on pace to finish 81-81. Snakes are tied 2-2 in the sixth, but they're playing the Nationals, so ...

Been a crazy day, sorry I haven't posted yet. What we found out is the Furcal WON'T be ready to return on Monday, but he is still improving, so it shouldn't be TOO much longer. Here's the lineup

LF Pierre
CF Kemp
2B Kent
1B Loney
C Martin
RF Ethier
3B DeWitt
SS Maza
LH Kershaw

Penny wasn't himself yet again, and it was too much for the Dodgers to overcome as they suffered their fourth consecutive loss and fell below .500 at 26-27. This team has some serious problems going forward, including a staff ace who is fighting himself and a lineup that still can't come up with anything that even remotely resembles clutch hitting. Kershaw goes tomorrow night.

This is Shea, as I see it tonight in row one of the press box. I still am not quite sure how to actually make it come up as part of the post, but if you'll click below, you should see it.

100_0105[1]

We don't have it yet, but we know he's in it because Joe told us. Still no update on Furcal. And Schmidt is going to throw his fourth rehab for Single-A Inland Empire on Saturday, which is significant because it comes after the standard four days' rest, the first time he has made back-to-back starts on regular rest as opposed to standard rest. The time constraints of his rehab (30 days) are such that he probably only has two more starts, and one club official said Schmidt could jump all the way to 75 pitches this time even though he has yet to throw more than 45. Torre said as long as Schmidt gets up to 85 before he returns, he could throw 100 when he does return. Still anybody's guess as to how they're going to fit him into the rotation when the time comes.

That allows me to segue seamlessly from my last blog post of yesterday into my first blog post of today, because I am now ACTUALLY IN A TOILET. Or at least I'm in a big bowl that smells like somebody puked in it, a place the locals fondly refer to as Shea Stadium. The sad part is, you can see this soaring edifice going up beyond the outfield where the Mets are going to move next year, after they finally take a wrecking ball to this place, and it's just tantalizing, so close you can almost reach out and touch it, but so far away in terms of time. I'll try to post a photo of it sometime during this four-game series. My boss has suggested, after I posted that shot of downtown Chicago yesterday, that you, the readers, might be interested in a series of photos showing my vantage point from the press box in every major-league park I visit. I actually think that's a great idea -- and no, I'm not just being a corporate brown noser, I ACTUALLY DO think that's great idea. Here's the problem: I'm not the most technically advanced person in the world, and even posting that Chicago photo required a couple of phone conversations with the head techster back at the office, a super cool dude named Ryan Garfat, who had to go in and size and fix the photo the way I wanted it. So I'm going to have to figure this out before I start posting photos on a regular basis, so bear with me.

The Cubs outscored the Dodgers 8-3 in this series. That would be a pretty good spanking if it happened in one game. But I'm not going to excuse the boys by telling you they were in every game, because the fact of the matter is, when you score one run a game, you're never really in any of them. Russell Martin made some candid comments after the game that I didn't get into the paper, and frankly, I'm not going to waste a bunch of time transcribing them here, either, because it's almost midnight here and I have a 6 a.m. flight. But in a nutshell, what he said was what we all already know, that you can't expect your pitchers to win 1-0 every night and that you can't expect to be very successful scoring one run a game. That said, though, Saito's blown save in the ninth had nothing to do with a lack of offense. One-run leads in the ninth inning -- whether it's 1-0, 4-3 or 100-99 -- are what Saito is paid to protect, and this time, he didn't get it done. He was, however, a standup guy with the media afterward, and while that probably means nothing to the average fan, it says a lot about him as a guy. ... I knew for three days there was something different about Wrigley Field, something I couldn't quite put my finger on, and someone finally told me before the game what it was. They flattened the field over the winter, taking away the crown that I guess had been there since the place opened in 1914. This was the last park in baseball that still had a crowned field, which obviously was for drainage purposes, and according the Cubs media guide, it was 14 inches high at its peak just in front of second base. Last winter, they installed a state-of-the-art drainage system that actually sucks the water underground and eventually dumps it into the city's sewer system. You can definitely tell the difference from field level, but the field actually looks MUCH nicer even from the press box. For a 95-year-old park, this place is remarkably well-preserved and even somewhat modern-looking. If you're a baseball fan and you have never been here, it is definitely worth the trip. Just a truly special place in every way.

Rafael Furcal will see Dr. Watkins tomorrow, after which we should have a much better idea of whether he is likely to return by the start of the homestand on Monday. For now, he is said to be improving. ... Joe Torre said he hopes Jeff Kent will be available to pinch hit tonight. Said he probably could have gotten himself ready to start, but there was a question as to whether he could have stuck around for nine innings. My guess -- and I'm no medical expert, believe me -- is that getting out of this chilly weather will do wonders for him. ... Tony Abreu had season-ending surgery today, and the fact that ISN'T the lead item to this blog post should tell you where he stands in this organization. Anyway, they hope he can be back in time for winter ball back in the Dominican. ... By the way, earlier this week I posted a glowing recommendation for a burrito joint just down the street from Wrigley Field. Well, I got the name wrong. It's El Burrito Mexicano. It is NOT La Burrito Mexicana, as I originally posted. But my recommendation still stands.

In all my travels, rarely do I get a room with a great view, and that's with platinum status. This trip to Chicago was one of the few exceptions, and at the risk of sounding like one of those annoying people who want you to look at their boring vacation photos, I thought I would share this shot I took from my room earlier this afternoon. It's a spectacular day here, a little chilly still, but much nicer than yesterday, without a cloud in the sky.

They play a song here after every Cubs victory that, if you can believe this, is EVEN WORSE than Go Dodgers Go. And the worst part of all is, people here ACTUALLY SING ALONG TO IT. Dodgers went 1 for 5 w/RISP and, for the fourth time in their past five games, scored either one run or zero runs. This time, it wasn't the surging Ryan Dempster who shut them down. This time, it was Sean Gallagher, who started the season in the bullpen and came into this one with a 5.68 ERA. Tough to win that way. ... Jeff Kent woke up with a stiff back. Maybe it was the Westin Heavenly Bed. Guess it's a good thing I'm at the Sheraton this time. Anyway, he thought he could play, but it tightened up on him again during BP. He's day to day -- but then, you may recall, so was Furcal. ... Fukudome went 1 for 2 with a walk against Kuroda, then hit a backbreaking, RBI double off Broxton in the seventh, all of which will be duly noted by just about every Japanese media outlet you can possibly think of, and even by several that you can't. ... Can't believe every paper in Louisiana didn't send a reporter here to cover this historic game, what with Danny Ardoin, Juan Pierre, Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot all in the starting lineup of one team or the other. ... Boys fall to 26-25. Snakes play later.

He is suffering from lower-back spasms. Again, not sure how serious it is -- probably not very -- but we'll find out after the game.

Don't know why yet, but will update when I do. Here's the new lineup

LF Pierre
SS Maza
RF Ethier
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
2B Hu
C Ardoin
RH Kuroda

A longstanding running among writers and medical personnel all over baseball is that whenever a player has surgery, they always report afterward that the guy had ``successful'' surgery, and then somebody invariably says, ``What would unsuccessful surgery have been?'' and then the trainer invariably says, ``Unsuccessful surgery would have been if the patient died.'' Well, Andruw Jones is very much alive after undergoing arthroscopic surgery earlier today in L.A., but he is still going to miss four to six weeks. And no, before you ask, they did NOT throw in a free liposuction. ... Jason Schmidt went 3 1/3 for Inland Empire last night, throwing 45 pitches, 32 of which were strikes. He did allow three runs (two earned), but nobody cares about that. His velocity topped out at 91, and Joe Torre said today that it might be into next year before Schmidt hits his old, pre-surgery velocity. ... Nothing new on Furcal except that Joe said he has been given no reason to think Furcal will be ready in time for the start of the homestand.

Here's the lineup, with Danny Ardoin in it

LF Pierre
SS Maza
RF Ethier
2B Kent
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
C Ardoin
RH Kuroda

Allegedly, today's high here was 55. But the wind chill has made it feel much colder than that pretty much all day. We're talking bone-chilling cold, and I'm sure it's going to get a lot colder after the sun goes down. It is against that setting that Kosuke Fukudome will face Hiroki Kuroda for the first time in the United States. It also is against that setting that the Dodgers will try to get a few hits in key situations for a change. ... Clayton Kershaw is throwing his side session right now (3:04 p.m. local time). ... There is a big Miller Lite billboard atop one of the buildings across the street on Sheffield, next to the building with the Eamus Catulii sign, that I'm told changes with every series to show some clever slogan relating to the city of the visiting team. For this series, it says, Our People Will Toast Your People. Kind of funny, I guess, if you really use your imagination. It's a play on the whole, shallow Hollywood thing. You know, have your people call my people. ... Lasorda is supposed to be here to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the seventh-inning stretch tonight.

The Dodgers went 2 for 17 w/RISP. They are now 5 for 46 in their past five games, three of which were losses, two of which were losses by margins of one and two runs. Today, they loaded the bases with one out in both the sixth and eighth innings and didn't score either time. Each time, it was strikeout, flyout, end of inning. Chad Billingsley continued his recent surge and pitched well enough to win, but didn't. ... Unless Russell Martin talks his way into the starting lineup, something he has been known to try to do on occasion -- or unless Martin plays 3B, which is certainly possible -- Danny Ardoin will make his major-league debut behind the plate tomorrow night. ... BTW, one of my favorite things about Wrigley Field is this hole-in-the-wall burrito joint just up the street. It's close enough that you can walk there an hour before the game, grab a burrito to go and be back in the press box, all in about 15 minutes. These things are HUMONGOUS, and they only cost about $5.40. As we used to say back home in Arkansas, they are some mighty good eatin'. Anyway, if you're ever here, it's called La Burrito Mexicana, and it's a block east of Wrigley on Addison, just past the El tracks. And really, who when they think of Wrigley Field doesn;t instantly think of burritos? ... Boys fall to 26-24 and miss another chance to gain ground on the Snakes, who also lost. The margin remains 3 1/2.

Maza is 7 for 14 since his callup, so Joe said he wanted to go with offense early in hopes the club will put itself in position to go with defense late (i.e., have a lead), in which case Hu will be inserted at SS for Maza. Meanwhile, Loney is hitless in his past 12 ABs, so Mark Sweeney -- who, coincidentally, is hitless in his past 10 ABs -- is playing 1B.

LF Pierre
RF Ethier
C Martin
2B Kent
1B Sweeney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
SS Maza
RH Billingsley

... there is always SOMEBODY who has it worse. On my bleary-eyed drive from O'Hare to Wrigley Field this morning, I passed a Shell station on Addison. The price for basic unleaded: 4.39/gallon. Just something to think about the next time you're at a pump in Los Angeles and feeling outraged over paying 4.09/gallon. Actually, never mind. Go ahead and feel outraged. ... It's a beautiful morning at the Friendly Confines, going to be about 78 degrees today, then drop to 55 tomorrow. Wind appears to be blowing left to right. ... For those who like to listen to the Spanish-language broadcast, Jaime Jarrin is flying solo for this series. Pepe Yniguez stayed back to attend his daughter's college graduation and will join us in New York on Thursday. ... Speaking of broadcasts, I caught The Bucket List on the redeye last night. I'm sure a lot of you have already seen it, but I thought it was outstanding. Anyway, there is a very brief clip early on from a Dodgers broadcast that Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are watching in their hospital room. Best I could figure was that it was from 2006. It was Vin Scully calling a base hit to center by a Giants player, Matt Kemp fielding it and throwing home. Actually, it HAD to be '06, because there was a brief shot of Kemp's back after the play, and he had no name on the back of his jersey. That was only '05 and '06, and Kemp didn't get here until '06. ... I'm heading down to the itty bitty teenie weenie visiting clubhouse they have here. I'll check back a little later.

Ethier's walkoff single (would have been a double if it hadn't been a walkoff) ended the game, the two-game losing streak and the series -- and this seemingly endless three-day stretch of watching Tony La Russa (over)manage. Anyway, the Dodgers actually two TWO hits w/RISP in THE SAME GAME. They are now 2 for 29 over the past four games. But hey, they won, and Kershaw's debut was a smashing success (albeit one with no decision). He struck out seven over six pretty good innings in which he held the Redbirds to two runs on five hits. His next start will come on Friday night at Shea. The bullpen came up big in this one, especially Broxton and Saito, who both had to take on more than their usual share of the load. Brox went 1 2/3, Saito two innings for the win. ... Dodgers go to 26-23 and stay 3 1/2 behind the Snakes. ... On to Chicago. There is a redeye leaving tonight with my name on it.

First, he likes Toby Keith. His intro song as he was warming up in the first inning was How Do You Like Me Now? Second, he starts early. First pitch was officially 1:09 p.m. ... He just started his career by striking out Skip Schumaker on a high fastball.

Here's the lineup

LF Pierre
2B Maza
RF Ethier
C Martin
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
SS Hu
LH Kershaw

Someone ran across this little tidbit this morning: From May 16 through last night, a span of eight games over nine days, the Dodgers have exactly EIGHT extra-base hits. That is last in the majors, and half as much as the next-lowest total, 16 by Arizona (which goes a long way toward explaining why the Dodgers have actually been GAINING ground on the Snakes even though they haven't been hitting well). The Dodgers have scored 26 runs in those eight games, an average of 3.25/game. But over the past three games, during which they have gone 0-21 with RISP, they have scored just six runs. Five of those came in Wednesday night's win over the Reds, and three of THOSE scored on a wild pitch, a passed ball and that play where Johnny Cueto turned around and fired a pickoff throw into the second row behind first base. Another one scored on a well executed suicide squeeze by Chin-lung Hu. And yet somehow, in those eight games beginning May 16, the Dodgers are a respectable 4-4. That could bode well if this offense ever gets untracked -- and if it ever finds a way to stay consistent with Furcal out of the lineup.

The most interesting thing that happened when the Dodgers were batting tonight was that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa made a dizzying array of double switches, leading one to wonder whether he is even capable of making a straight-up, pitcher-for-pitcher pitching change. The other thing you have to wonder is where the Dodgers' offense has gone. The boys are now hitless in their past 21 at-bats w/RISP, and they were never really in this one at any point. Not to put too much pressure on Clayton Kershaw in his big-league debut tomorrow, but it is on his shoulders to prevent the Dodgers from being swept by the Cardinals, a team that has pretty much owned them for at least the five years that I have been on the beat. Beginning with my first year, 2004, the Dodgers are 8-24 against the Redbirds. ... Dodgers fall to 25-23 and remain 3 1/2 behind the Snakes.

it's an arthroscopic procedure, called a debridement, to repair a tear of the medial meniscus (that's cartilage, from what I understand) in his right knee. He'll be out four to six weeks, and while the down time might not help him, it certainly isn't going to hurt him -- or the Dodgers -- given the year he is having. Surgery will be performed by team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Jones was placed on the 15-day DL just before game time. The club will purchase the contract of versatile utility man Terry Tiffee, who is having an outstanding season at Triple-A Las Vegas. To make room for him on the 40, Nomar goes to the 60-day DL, which tells you won't be back ANYTIME soon.

Because there was a misunderstanding between Jeff Kent and Joe Torre that resulted in Kent coming to the park today expecting to play, he has been added back into the lineup. He'll take tomorrow off, then return on Monday at Chicago. ... Rafael Furcal isn't going to Chicago and probably isn't going to New York, either. The main reason is that the flights out and back are long, and they are worried that his back will tighten up. ``I would think he would have to be really, really good and really, really certain before we would put him on a plane (for New York later in the week),'' Dodgers trainer Stan Conte said. ... In an attempt to maximize their viewing audience by having the two largest media markets in the country -- and an obvious attempt to stick it to travel-weary beat writers who have early flights home on Monday morning -- ESPN has picked up next Sunday's game in New York, which means it is now a night game that begins at 8:05 p.m. New York time. Good thing I wasn't planning on flying home that evening.

Pierre. LF
Maza. 2B
Ethier. RF
Martin. C
Loney. 1B
Kemp. CF
DeWitt. 3B
Hu. SS
Penny. P

He will be designated for assignment today. This probably means the end of his time with the Dodgers, unless he 1) clears waivers; 2) isn't traded; and 3) accepts an assignment to the minor leagues. It seems a little farfetched that all three of those things would happen. This is still a decent big-league pitcher with a lot of experience, so I can't imagine there won't be SOME team out there that is interesting in picking him up. ... To make room for Kershaw, whose contract will be purchased later today, the team will option Yhency Brazoban to the Triple-A Las Vegas. The Loaiza move won't open a roster spot because Esteban is on the 15-day disabled list. He is a victim of a roster crunch, more than anything. The Dodgers' 40-man is full, and that means difficult decisions sometimes have to be made.

This is one that may haunt the Dodgers for a long time. Before this season, it would have seemed preposterous to pitch around Delwyn Young to get to Andruw Jones with the game on the line in the bottom of the ninth. But now, the only thing preposterous was the fact Joe Torre sent Jones to the plate with the game on the line, whereupon Jones surprised absolutely no one (except maybe Torre) by striking out to end the game with the tying run on third base. This was Jones' first plate appearance since Sunday, when he struck out three times in four at-bats against the Angels, and he has been utterly lost at the plate all season. He is now hitless in his past eight at-bats, with five strikeouts. ... Anyhoo, that was one of nine hitless at-bats w/RISP for the boys tonight in what became a one-run loss. Sounds a little glaring, don't you think? ... Dodgers fall to 25-22 and drop 3 1/2 behind the Snakes.

All indications are that he will be recalled from Jacksonville Sunday morning and start that day's game against the Cardinals, his major-league debut. The Dodgers begin a 17-day stretch without an off-day tonight, so they'll need a fifth starter at least the next three times through the rotation, the first time that has happened this season. That makes this a good time to call him up and get him started, because he can start on a regular basis without having his routine interrupted. Not sure what will happen after that. He will likely fly to Los Angeles tomorrow. That means Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda will each be pushed back a day, so the Kuroda-Fukudome matchup won't happen until Tuesday.

Both Joe Torre and Stan Conte used the term ``square one,'' but they used it in a positive sense -- as in, Rafael Furcal ISN'T back to square one. But he also isn't close to where he was just 48 hours ago. He woke up yesterday morning with stiffness in his back, so he won't be back tonight and he probably won't be back for at least a few days. Good thing Chin-lung Hu has, in the words of Torre, ``been a lot more comfortable to watch'' these past few games. ... As for Andruw Jones, he feels good and is going to give it a go. He'll come off the bench this weekend, then probably return to the lineup on Monday at Chicago. However, he acknowledged there is a chance his knee problem will return, and he said that if it does, there is ``no doubt'' he will go ahead with the surgery. Conte said there is precedent for a player with this injury making it all the way through the season before getting the surgery. Happened with Doug Mirabelli, who was the Giants' backup catcher one year while Stan was the trainer there.

Here's what's going on, based on the information I have been able to cull from several sources: Clayton Kershaw was pulled after one inning last night because the Dodgers are CONSIDERING calling him up, and that's a decision they aren't necessarily going to make today. As it was put to me, if he had thrown 90-100 pitches, six or seven innings last night, bringing him up wouldn't even be an option. I'm not sure why, as he still would have been perfectly lined up to start on Tuesday at Chicago, the next time the Dodgers need a fifth starter, but it probably has something to do with that 170-inning limit they have Kershaw on for the season. ... Below is the lineup, which doesn't have Rafael Furcal in it. That's the next thing I have to run down, is why he isn't being activated, and if he is, why he isn't in the lineup.

Pierre. LF
Ethier. RF
Martin. C
Kent. 2B
Loney. 1B
Kemp. CF
DeWitt. 3B
Hu. SS
Lowe. P

I have been in PHX all day dealing with a personal matter (buying a piece of property there, but that's a different story for a different day), and only just now getting around to checking my email. But several people, including my editor at Baseball America and a couple of you readers, have let me know that Clayton Kershaw was yanked after striking out two of the first three batters for Double-A Jacksonville tonight. Called Josh Rawitch at 11 p.m., waking him up (for which I apologized profusely), he said I was at least the second person to call him but that he knew nothing about it. Suggested I call Colletti, then realized it was 11 and suggested I NOT call Colletti (I went with his SECOND suggestion), so it might or might not mean Kershaw is on his way. The team doesn't need a fifth starter until Tuesday at Chicago, and Clayton would be perfectly lined up for that. But they already will have to send SOMEONE down tomorrow (probably a pitcher) to make room for Furcal, so I'm not sure how they're going to add Kershaw. Stay tuned.

The wind was blowing so hard during the early innings that the foul poles were swaying, but it finally died down about midway through the game, and now that the game is over, it appears to be kicking back up again. Watching the rightfield foul pole go back and forth reminded me of that walkoff homer Hee Seop Choi hit against the Twins back in 2005 that hit high off the pole. I wondered what would happen if someone hit one to that exact spot tonight while the pole was leaning to the left in the wind, which would have resulted in the ball going BY the pole to the foul side. I wonder what the umpires would have called in that case. ... Anyway, the Dodgers have now swept the Reds at home three years in a row, and one of the Japanese reporters told me that tonight is the first time in major-league history that a Japanese pitcher has gotten the win and another Japanese pitcher has gotten the save in the same game. Kuroda became just the second Dodgers pitcher this season to go eight innings (Derek Lowe vs. SD on April 12), and he held the Reds to two runs on five hits. James Loney homered and now has hit both of the Dodgers' only two home runs in their past seven home games. ... Dodgers go to 25-21 and move within three of the Snakes, the closest they have been to first place since May 7.

He underwent some tests that showed a strained left calf, which we already knew he had. According to Torre, that means, ``we just wait for him to feel better.''

Here's the lineup

LF Pierre
RF Ethier
C Martin
2B Kent
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
SS Hu
RH Kuroda

You may recall that Collins, the former Angels manager, left his position as Dodgers player development director two winters ago to take the Orix job. One of the Japanese reporters who regularly covers the Dodgers just told me that Terry and his bench coach, longtime Dodgers minor-league coach/instructor Jon Debus resigned, along with pitching coach Mike Brown. The Buffaloes had just fallen into fifth place in the six-team Pacific League. Debus was with the club for something like 25 years, with only one of them at the big-league level, when he was Jim Tracy's bullpen coach in 2005.

I asked Torre after the game whether Billingsley can be considered the ace of this staff, especially considering he is the only Dodgers' starter to win during the club's past 16 games (he has done it three times during that stretch) and the only starter to go seven innings during the club's past 17 games (he has done that twice).
As always, Joe gave an interesting, insightful answer.
``I don't want to put that (ace label) on him,'' Torre said. ``His personality is such that he puts enough pressure on himself without thinking he has to be the leader of this staff. Right now, he is taking his turn and giving us reasons to feel good about him, just giving us very solid performances. He had seven strikeouts in the first five innings, but he also made them hit the ball, and that's a really big thing for him.''
Well, whether Chad is an ace pitcher or not, he is routinely delivering ace-worthy performances, and this was just the latest one. He also managed to siphon off Adam Dunn's home run streak at five games by striking him out twice and walking him once -- Dunn did get an infield single off Joe Beimel in the ninth.
Matt Kemp also helped out with a spectacular catch in center field in the fourth inning, robbing Ken Griffey Jr. of extra bases -- the ball would have kicked off the top of the wall, and would NOT have been career HR No. 598.
Dodgers go to 24-21 and move within four games of the Snakes.

There was a lot of talk about Andruw Jones before the game, but there was nothing really new. He feels better today. That's about it. One of you asked about the length of Gary Bennett's recovery, well, the best answer is that no one knows. Stan Conte said the problem with plantar fasciitis, which can be very painful, is that it tends to get worse with activity, so they have to wait until it is completely gone before Bennett really starts rehabbing hard. Loaiza will probably make another rehab start before he comes back. Nomar is undergoing tests as we speak. And Furcal is pushing for a Wednesday return, but club officials are pushing back, saying the safe thing to do would be to wait until Friday.

Here's the lineup

LF Pierre
RF Ethier
C Martin
2B Kent
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
SS Hu
RH Billingsley

In addition to his throwing issues, he is now suffering from plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He has been replaced on the roster by veteran backup Danny Ardoin, who has been on fire of late at Triple-A Las Vegas and had his contract purchased. To get Ardoin onto the 40-man roster, Dodgers had to move Jason Schmidt to the 60-day DL. It won't delay his return at all. I believe he has already been on the 15-day for 60 days, and if he hasn't, he is only two or three days away.

We learned after the game that Andruw Jones had an MRI today, that the MRI showed fluid and torn cartilage in his right knee and that if it isn't better by Thursday or Friday, he'll have arthroscopic surgery that will sideline him, according to what Jones says the doctors told him, for four to five weeks. My experience has been that they usually don't even TALK about surgery unless they're fairly sure it's going to happen. But he is going to get treatment and try to make it work. ... By the way, if you get an early edition of tomorrow's paper, you won't read about Jones, because we didn't know until after the game. But what you will read is a brief synopsis of a rather bizarre situation that took place at Dodger Stadium last week, a story that has been tossed around the rumor mill for several days and was finally confirmed to me tonight by Lon Rosenberg, the Dodgers' VP of stadium operations. Anyway, here's what happened:

Some guy wandered in off the street and somehow found a way to sneak into Dodger Stadium. This was one day last week while the team was on the road. So he gets in and goes unnoticed long enough to sneak down to the clubhouse area, and he finds a full bat boy's uniform, jersey, pants, socks, the whole deal, and actually PUTS IT ON. Then he goes out onto the field and starts running sprints. Well, security finally sees him and approches him and he tells them -- this is the funniest part of all -- that he is a player the Dodgers have just called up from the minors (guess he didn't realize the team was in Milwaukee). So while security officers are trying to confirm a story they're pretty sure isn't true to begin with, the guy tries to make his escape. He takes off running, right out the centerfield gate. Lon said he was quickly caught and arrested.

Dodgers go to 23-21 and pull within five games of the idle Snakes. They win this one on a walkoff, bases-loaded single by Blake DeWitt in the ninth, and have now beaten the team I used to cover seven consecutive times here at Dodger Stadium dating back to 2005, when they split a four-game series.

One of my all-time favorite quotes that I have ever read was from Anita Baker, who was a popular soul singer during the '80s and still performs occasionally, in advance of her singing the anthem before Game 2 of the 2006 World Series in her hometown of Detroit. Someone from the Detroit Free Press caught up with her by phone in her hotel room in Las Vegas, where she was performing before flying to Detroit, and this person asked her to what degree she planned to personalize the anthem. What she said was simple, but incredibly appropo.

``It's not about me. It's about the song.''

That is a statement that should be read, memorized and taken to heart by anyone and everyone who ever sings the anthem at a sporting event -- and especially by whoever that woman was who played it on a violin before tonight's game. It wasn't her fault that the microphone cut out on her early in the song. But it WAS her fault that she added all those contrived flourishes onto the end of it that made the song virtually unrecognizable. Just PLAY/SING THE SONG!!! Don't jazz it up. Don't personalize it. Don't give it any special touches. It's pretty special already.

He finally spoke publicly about it today, and he handled it like a pro's pro. It had to be unpleasant and awkward for him, but he fielded every question from a group of three or four of us and answered every one candidly and patiently. ... anyway, he admitted that he has talked to sports psychologists about the problem and that it seems to be getting better as a result -- at times, anyway. ``Some days are better than others, obviously,'' he said. ... What he did NOT admit is that the two bad throws to first base over the weekend were in any way connected to his difficulty throwing the ball back to the mound, something he says he began experiencing last year. ``That (Friday night) was just a bad throw,'' he said. ``Throwing to bases isn't really something I think about. That one just sailed. Another hitter came up later, and the same thing happened, and I picked up a pitch in the idrt and threw it to first with no problem. I don't think there is a correlation. I just made a bad throw. That is going to happen every now and then.'' ... btw, there has been a lineup change since I posted earlier. Chin-lung Hu is now playing SS and batting eighth, not Maza. No medical issues with Maza, it was just Joe changing his mind.

Pierre, LF
Ethier, RF
Martin, C
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Kemp, CF
DeWitt, 3B
Maza, SS
Penny, p

The Chinese national team took batting practice at Dodger Stadium this afternoon, under the watchful eye of its manager, former Dodgers infielder Jim Lefebvre. Lefebvre said China is still buzzing over this spring's visit by the Dodgers and Padres, even though baseball is still something of a novel sport in a nation where ping pong and basketball rule. ... By the way, I have been remiss in not mentioning this sooner, but Bryan Morris has made a successful return from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent late in 2006 and which kept him out for all of last season. The Dodgers' first-round pick in the 2006 draft, Morris is 3-0 with a 3.98 ERA in eight starts at Single-A Great Lakes. He had a stellar outing yesterday at Dayton, giving up a run on four hits over four innings which striking out seven batters, but he got no decision.

Yesterday was a nice break for the Dodgers from their annual routine of getting their hats handed to them down here, but it didn't last. The Angels are still the kings of SoCal. D-Lowe got tagged for seven earned runs on 10 hits, but after he gave up four in the second -- all of them were earned, according to an official scorer who made a judgement call after a James Loney throwing error -- nothing else mattered much. Dodgers fall to 22-21 and back to 5 1/2 behind the Snakes. ... btw, Esteban Loaiza will begin his minor-league rehab tomorrow at Inland Empire against Lake Elsinore. He'll throw 40-45 pitches. He also becomes eligible to come off the DL tomorrow, so this could be a one-and-done rehab, assuming everything goes well and he recovers from it OK.

Talked to Stan Conte, who wouldn't say exactly what those tests will be, but suffice to say, Nomar has hit a wall. Meanwhile, he is doing an uncanny impersonation of Wally Pipp because Blake DeWitt has forced his way into the N.L. Rookie of the Year race by batting .327 with four homers and 21 RBI in Nomar's absence. ... No plan yet for Schmidt. It's going to depend on how he recovers. He'll do a bullpen either tomorrow or Tuesday, then probably make another rehab start -- probably at Inland Empire again -- sometime during, just before or just after next weekend.

Here's the lineup, with Andruw Jones batting eighth

DH Pierre
LF Ethier
C Martin
2B Kent
1B Loney
RF Kemp
3B DeWitt
CF Jones
SS Hu

Jason Schmidt made his second rehab start fr Single-A Inland Empire last night against Lake Elsinore and did very well, getting 2 1/3 innings out of his allotted 30-45 pitches (he threw 34). He gave up one hit, walked one batter and struck out three. Not sure yet what the next step is. ... D-Lowe goes today on three days' rest for the sixth time in his career and the first since last July 25, when he did it at Houston. In those previous five starts, he is 3-0 with a 3.33 ERA. However, for his career at Angel Stadium, Lowe is 0-3, albeit with a 2,90 ERA, in 11 games. Only four of those were starts, and the fact he has never won here is a bit deceiving because I'm sure those seven relief appearances had to come during those years when he was closing for the Red Sox.

Blake DeWitt went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer -- OK, the TV replays SEEMED to show a fan reaching over and catching the ball before it cleared, but if the umpire says it's a home run, it's a home run -- in a semi-nationally televised game, raising his average to .327. It amazes me that the national media still hasn't picked up on this guy, because he is truly one of the great stories of this baseball season. My guess is it will eventually happen, and sooner rather than later, especially if he keeps playing like this. ... Meanwhile, the Dodgers win a game here for just the second time in the past four seasons -- although it is worth pointing out that they are now 1-0 all-time at Angel Stadium when DeWitt plays (he sat last night). ... Also, a couple of Japanese reporters pointed out after the game (although they weren't certain about this) that this might have been the first time in the history of baseball that a team won a game by using all Asian pitchers (excluding complete games pitched by Asian starters, of course). The cool thing about it is that the three pitchers -- Chan Ho Park (Korea), Hong-Chih Kuo (Chinese Taipei or Taiwan, I keep forgetting which one you're supposed to call it) and Takashi Saito (Japan) -- are not only all Asian, but hail from three different Asian countries. ... Dodgers go to 22-20. ... Snakes are in the top of the first with the Motor City Kitties.

D-Lowe will pitch tomorrow against the Angels, while Penny is scheduled to go on Monday night against the Reds. From what I'm told, Brad experienced some stiffness when he threw his side session on Thursday, so this is just a precaution. ... Officially 98 degrees at game time today. Other than that, perfect day with very little smog. For some reason, there are a lot of empty seats. Not sure if it's a late-arriving crowd or just too hot.

Jeff Kent has two hits in his past 33 at-bats, a fact that would seem to be a lot more alarming when you are 40 than it is when you are, say, 27. But when the subject was brought up during Torre's pregame this morning, Joe seemed to discount the notion that the five-time All-Star and probable Hall of Famer might be nearing the end.
``I have never been that age and doing that,'' Torre said. ``But I am assuming that sometimes, your body doesn't listen to your mind. One thing you see in a lot of sports is that when you get older, I think the number of times you're able to do what you want to do is curtailed somewhat. That's why you try to manage how many games he plays. But I think he can still stand at the plate and believe he is going to do what he can do. I think he can still put up numbers and be a force, but I think it may take a little bit more work for him to do it.''

LF Pierre
RF Ethier
C Martin
1B Loney
DH Sweeney
CF Jones
3B DeWitt
2B Maza
SS Hu

The Dodgers didn't lose this game because Gary Bennett threw the ball away on a strikeout, allowing the first run to score. But needless to say, that play took up a good portion of Joe Torre's postgame media session. More specifically, the topic of how that play might or might not have been related to Bennett's habit of lobbing the ball on a high, slow arc back to the pitcher. Bennett said there was no correlation. ``I just made a bad throw,'' he said. ``It didn't slip. I just threw it away. That's it.'' For that matter, he has insisted since spring training that there is no story behind the way he throws other than that he is trying to save his arm from wear and tear. Well, Torre SEEMED to agree that there was no connection between the bad throw to first and Bennett's never-ending lobs to the mound, pointing to the fact Bennett routinely fires more conventional bullets to the bases on stolen-base attempts and other plays. ``That's the first throw (to a base) that was misguided,'' Torre said. ``But if you watch him throw to third, first and second, it has never been something he has really thought about. He just lets it go.'' However, Joe DID admit after the game something Bennett NEVER HAS admitted, that Bennett throws that way because he isn't confident throwing it the conventional way. Torre also said it's something that ``comes and goes with catchers,'' and that Bennett has been working on it in the bullpen on a regular basis. ... The last-minute musical chairs Torre played with his outfielders just before game time, inserting Pierre into left field, moving Kemp to center and Ethier to right and installing Andruw Jones into the DH spot that was supposed to be Pierre's, was because Jones had a ``catch'' in his back that bothered him when he ran in the outfield but not when he batted. Guess it must have also prevented him from scampering back to first base on that critical play in the fourth inning, when he casually sauntered back to the bag after turning the wrong way despite the fact Angels 1B Casey Kotchman was sprinting toward him with the obvious intention of tagging him. ... Just a personal thought, but Bennett's error and Jones' mental gaffe were just a matter of those players being in the wrong place at the wrong time while wearing the wrong uniform. Specifically, they were Dodgers, playing in a Dodgers-Angels game at Angel Stadium. Someone was destined to screw up, because when the Dodgers come down here, someone always does. They have now lost nine of 10 here since the start of 2005. ... Dodgers fall to 21-20 and 5 1/2 behind the Diamondbacks.

Three days after receiving his injection, Rafael Furcal said his back feels much better, and both he and club officials remain hopeful he will be able to come off the DL as soon as he becomes eligible on Wednesday. He hasn't started baseball activity yet, but he hopes to do so either Sunday or Monday at the latest. Probably won't need a rehab because he hasn't missed enough time to warrant one.

Here's the lineup. DeWitt feels better, but Joe sat him for one more game against the lefty Joe Saunders.

DH Pierre
CF Jones
RF Kemp
2B Kent
3B Martin
1B Loney
LF Ethier
SS Maza
C Bennett

RH Kuroda

Happened about 2 1/2 weeks ago, very much under the radar. He went to extended spring because he hadn't been signed before spring training and hadn't been to spring training with anyone, then reported to Double-A Jacksonville yesterday and made his debut last night, going 2 for 2 with a double and a walk in a 6-2 win over Birmingham. He was signed by assistant GM DeJon Watson for the purpose of filling a roster spot in J-ville, NOT for the purpose of helping out at the big-league level, and no promises were made. That doesn't mean he WON'T be coming to the big leagues, but that isn't the reason he was signed, and he isn't going to Triple-A anytime soon, either. This is strictly a minor-league signing.

Gary Bennett found out 15 minutes before game time that he was starting. He then proceeded to hit a three-run homer off Ben Sheets, his first since last September and his first three RBI of the season, and followed that up with an RBI double off Mitch Stetter in the ninth. Chad Billingsley's pitching line was almost a carbon copy of the one he put up at Florida on April 30, when the Dodgers won 13-1. Just like that game, he pitched seven innings, giving up one run earned on three hits with four walks. The only difference was the strikeouts, as he had eight that day and five this time. Even his pitch count was almost identical, 107 in that game and 105 in this one. But that's just a statistical oddity. The main thing was, he dominated in both games, and he appears to be blossoming now into the pitcher Dodgers officials always knew he could be. ... Dodgers go to 21-19. Snakes host the Rockies tonight.

It was due to lower-back pain, which sounds eerily familiar to a team that is already missing Rafael Furcal. Martin moved to 3B, Bennett now catching. Hu is sitting, allowing Maza to make his first big-league start. Here's the new lineup, and now I don't feel so badly that I never posted the old one.

LF Pierre
CF Jones
RF Ethier
2B Kent
1B Loney
3B Martin
SS Maza
C Bennett
RH Billingsley

Beginning today, the Dodgers -- a team that has been struggling offensively -- will face three starting pitchers who are a combined 16-1. That would be Ben Sheets, Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana. The fourth guy, who is 2-5, is Jered Weaver, whom they'll face on Sunday. I got an email in to Reds PR guy Rob Butcher to see who will pitch for them next week at Dodger Stadium. If it's some combination of Aaron Harang, Edison Volquez and Johnny Cueto, well, it could be a long, frustration stretch for the boys. ... The Brewers are announcing right now that they have signed Ryan Braun to a long-term contract. I believe it's eight years and $45 million, but that's not official. Some of you might be wondering why the Dodgers haven't locked up any of their young players to such deals, but I'm guessing there are a number of reasons why. One of them might be that there are so many of those players that it isn't quite clear where to start, although they probably wouldn't go wrong starting with Russell Martin. ... Roof is closed right now, two hours before game time, but that means nothing. It could be open by first pitch. It's a beautiful, sunny day here, but not supposed to get above 63 degrees, so enjoy the hot weather back home. I can't wait to get there tomorrow.

And thus ends the five-game losing streak. Juan Pierre had the big hit in the ninth, a two-run double to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead. But the biggest at-bat of the night might have been Delwyn Young's pinch-hitting appearance with one out in the ninth, when he worked Guillermo Mota for a seven- or eight-pitch walk (it's almost midnight here, and I'm too tired to look up the exact number). At any rate, that was a GREAT at-bat, even if officially it wasn't an at-bat at all, and it kicked off the Dodgers' three-run, ninth-inning rally to win it. The Dodgers' continued refusal to part with D.Y. because he is out of minor-league options has been somewhat unpopular of late with a few of you who have emailed me about it. But he IS hitting a respectable .292, with a .346 OBP, and he IS 6 for 19 as a pinch hitter. And tonight, they probably don't win the game without him. ... Dodgers go to 20-19 for the season. D-backs won again -- Dodgers should have made up ground when they had the chance -- so the boys stay 4 1/2 back. Ben Sheets tomorrow. He's 4-0 with a 2.53, and the last time he faced the Dodgers at Miller Park was last year's season opener, when the only thing standing between him and a complete-game shutout was a solo home run by Jeff Kent.

Torre says they should be able to get 85-90 pitches out of him. Dodgers won't need a fifth starter after that until May 27 at the Cubs. ... Jason Schmidt will make his second rehab appearance for Inland Empire on Saturday against Lake Elsinore, three innings or 45 pitches whichever comes first. His bullpen today went fine. ... Here's tonight's lineup, with the allegedly more relaxed Andruw Jones in it, batting second:

LF Pierre
CF Jones
RF Kemp
2B Kent
C Martin
1B Loney
3B DeWitt
SS Hu
RH Lowe

His numbers are starting to stack up semi-favorably with those of Kosuke Fukudome, Joey Votto and Geovany Soto. In fact, Blake goes into tonight leading all N.L. rookies in hitting with a .320 average. But of course, those players all have one thing going for them that Blake apparently doesn't -- they're not in danger of being benched or sent back to the minors when some veteran comes off the DL. Still hard for me to imagine DeWitt not playing on an everyday basis even when Nomar does come back.

There are a lot of reasons why the boys lost this game. All the two-out, run-scoring hits given up by Penny. The leadoff walk by Penny of opposing pitcher Carlos Villanueva to start a decisive, three-run fifth for the Brewers. The club's failure to score more than one run after starting the fourth inning with three consecutive hits, including a leadoff triple by James Loney. But the way the game ended is rather baffling to me. How does Juan Pierre pop up on the FIRST PITCH from Eric Gagne immediately after Andruw Jones worked Gagne for a 10-pitch walk? With the tying runs on base? I mean, Gagne has been struggling, blowing five of his first 14 save opps, and he already has thrown 22 pitches in the inning, including 18 just to Martin and Jones. Don't you have to at least take ONE PITCH, maybe even two? But then, what do I know? I've never played this game. Only covered it for 14 years. ... Dodgers fall to 19-19 and slide to 4 1/2 behind the Snakes, who finally won a game.

He really struggled for J-ville last night, for really the first time, when he gave up five runs on five hits over 3 1/3 innings, getting no decision in an eventual 6-5 loss at Mobile. It was his first start back in the rotation after briefly going to the bullpen to help keep his innings down. Saturday's fifth-starter assignment will almost certainly go to either Kuo or Park, with no chance of it going to Kershaw. Torre said, ``To me, it's doubtful.'' I got a more definitive ``no'' from another source within the organization. Torre also pointed out that in the effort to have Kershaw throw no more than 170 innings this season, that has to be projected not through Labor Day, when the minor-league season ends, or through September, when the big-league season ends, but through October and the major-league postseason. ``It would be unfair if we didn't consider October as part of his innings.'' That means they have to be even more conservative with him. So far this season, he has thrown 36 2/3. ... btw, Saito is still unavailable. Torre said he feels better, but remains weak from his illness.

He ran a little bit in the outfield during the early workout today, but the left calf still isn't ready for live game action. ``I felt like I could push it more, so that was good,'' he said. ``I was able to run harder. But at the same time, I couldn't do as much as I wanted to do. There was some tightness and some soreness there, so I had to back off. I did push it to the ceiling, but I still need some time. There is no need to go backward.'' Nomar said he will try some baseball activity -- in layman's terms, that means taking ground balls and possibly batting practice -- tomorrow. ... By the way, I wasn't on the team charter, but a couple of the guys who were told me that the landing was the worst good-weather landing they could remember in years -- ``a three-bouncer,'' as one passenger called it -- and apparently it was so hard that it threw all the luggage in the cargo hold up against the retaining wall so hard that it snapped and jammed the door shut, so it took an hour and a half to get the cargo hold door open to get all the bags off the plane, so the bags didn't arrive at the hotel until really late. ... Anyway, here is tonight's lineup, which doesn't include Andruw Jones for the second game in a row:

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

Greetings from the only city in the National League that doesn't have a Westin. ... Last night, as I was driving the rental car from the airport to the rather shopworn Sheraton Brookfield in Brookfield, Wis., the same hotel where I ALWAYS stay here, I suddenly remember one of my favorite scenes from one of my all-time favorite movies, a little British comedy called Love, Actually, which was released in 2003 and which most of you have probably seen. For those who haven't, it had a huge, ensemble cast and about a dozen different plotlines, some of which intersected and some of which didn't. One of the ones that was just kind of floating out there unattached was this one about this guy named Colin, who had no luck whatsoever with women, so he decides he's going to move to the U.S. on the theory that American women will be impressed by his British accent. So he informs his best buddy in the car one day that ``I'm off in three weeks for a place called ... WISCONSIN!!! Wisconsin babes, HERE COMES COLIN!!!!!'' So the guy lands in Milwaukee, jumps in a cab, says ``Take me to an American bar, ANY American bar,'' and the cabbie obliges. So Colin walks into a bar and orders a Budweiser (which in real life is a huge no-no in Milwaukee, but this was a movie), and he immediately meets these three Wisconsin babes, played by Ivana Milicevic, January Jones and Elisha Cuthbert, and of course, he ends up going home with all of them, and when he gets there, a fourth roommate, played by Shannon Elizabeth, also comes home. ... So the point of this story -- and yes, there is one -- is, NOTHING LIKE THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME IN MILWAUKEE. And I have been coming here for a long, long time. Go figure.

Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal, whose stiff back has been slow to heal, will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 6. Furcal has had an MRI, which shows he has a strained lower back.

Furcal is expected to get a cortisone shot Tuesday.

Utility infielder Luis Maza is expected to be called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to replace Furcal. Maza, who has never played in the majors, is hitting .402 with a home run and 15 RBIs in 33 games. He is 6 for 11 in his past two games for the 51s.

Anyone who couldn't sniff out that the Dodgers were going to blow this one hasn't been watching this team lately -- or, more specifically, since Rafael Furcal has been out. The boys had numerous opportunities to build on their 2-0 and later 3-1 lead. They went 1 for 9 w/RISP. Kuroda flirted with a no-hitter until Hunter Pence pulled one through the left side with two outs in the seventh, and after Kuroda subsequently walked Ty Wigginton and missed with his first pitch to Geoff Blum, Torre pulled him. Beimel then walked the next two to force in a run, and although the Dodgers pushed their lead back to two with an unearned run off former Dodgers pitching prospect Wesley Wright in their half, Jonathan Broxton got lit up -- I mean LIT UP -- in the eighth, giving up six runs on six hits and recording just one out. ... There just doesn't seem to be any in-between with this team. They're either really hot or really not, and they have now lost four in a row. They head to Milwaukee 19-18 and still 3 1/2 behind the Snakes.

He blew through the Lancaster JetHawks, setting them down in order on a fly ball to center and two grounders to short, all while throwing a crisp 12 pitches. Not sure what happens next, but this is definitely a good start to what is expected to be a long rehab assignment.

They can't boo him during the game today, because he isn't in the starting lineup. But they got their chance between the top and bottom of the first inning, when several Dodgers players were shown on the leftfield DodgerVision board, each one individually wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. When Andruw came on to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day, he was, of course, booed. Real nice.

This is unconfirmed, and I'm not really in much of a ciphering mood, so I'm not going to bother to add it all up. But one of the guys on the TV crew told me that Juan Pierre has more games in the majors than the rest of this lineup combined, and if you take Kuroda out of the mix, Pierre makes more money than the other seven position players combined. This is the lineup the Dodgers will use to try to avoid a three-game sweep to the Astros this afternoon:

LF Pierre
RF Ethier
CF Kemp
1B Loney
C Martin
3B DeWitt
2B Young
SS Hu
RH Kuroda

Torre said if Furcal isn't ready by Tuesday, the club will have to consider DL'ing him because right now, the Dodgers are operating with 24 available players.

The boys have now scored two runs in their past 30 innings -- and seven runs in 36 innings since Furcal went down. Tonight, they were held to three hits over seven shutout innings by Chris Sampson, who came in with a 7.96 ERA. It's only a three-game losing streak, but there is cause for alarm. Back problems tend to crop up again and again, and this team had better figure out a way to win without Furcal in the lineup or it's going to be a long season. Oh, and Billingsley got knocked around in the first two innings. He settled in and retired the final nine batters he faced, but by then, the damage was done. The 'Stros got to him for five runs (four earned) on five hits with two walks (one intentional), a hit batter and two wild pitches, all in the first two innings. ... The D-backs lost again tonight, so the Dodgers blew another golden opportunity to gain ground in the standings, so they stay 3 1/2 back. The boys fall to 19-17, and assure themselves of losing a series for the first time since they were swept in Atlanta three weekends ago. Unless Kuroda comes up big tomorrow, they're looking at another sweep here. ... btw, Lance Berkman has now reached safely in 24 of his past 29 plate appearances.

He wasn't able to run without discomfort, so they're going to wait at least another day. Meanwhile, DeWitt moved up to second, behind Pierre

LF Pierre
3B DeWitt
RF Kemp
2B Kent
C Martin
1B Loney
CF Jones
SS Hu
RH Billingsley

Pamela Anderson throwing out the ceremonial first pitch Last night, it was Kristi Yamaguchi. Been a good weekend out here at Chavez Ravine.

This simply isn't the same team without Furcal -- a fact Frank McCourt and Ned Colletti might want to keep in mind heading into the winter, when the shortstop will be a free agent. He might return to the lineup tomorrow, he might not. That will be determined during batting practice. But one that is clear: this lineup misses his presence at the top. The boys went 0 for 9 w/RISP tonight, failing to hit the ball out of the infield in eight of those ABs. D-Lowe was ineffective, giving up six earned runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. And Lance Berkman blew through Dodger Stadium like a hurricane, going 3 for 4 with a double, a two-run homer, two runs scored and a walk. He has now reached safely in 21 of his past 25 plate appearances, and he is batting .625 (20 for 32) through the first five games of the Astros' seven-game trip. ... Dodgers fall to 19-16 and remain 2 1/2 behind the Snakes.

He took batting practice and wanted to play, but Torre decided to keep him out tonight out of fear that he would suffer a setback. But he is getting better, and getting closer to getting back into the lineup. ... Schmidt threw a bullpen yesterday and probably will begin his rehab on Sunday for Single-A Inland Empire at Lancaster.

He takes the roster spot vacated when Loaiza went on the DL a few days ago. Brazoban will pitch in middle relief. The Dodgers don't need a fifth starter until a week from tomorrow, but it's hard to imagine they're going to bring up Kershaw for that. He was just moved to the bullpen at J-ville for a very simple reason: club officials don't want him throwing more than 170 innings this season, no matter where he is, because they don't want to risk injury to his arm at this stage of development. If he is called up, which I believe he will be at some point later this season, that adds at least one more month onto his season (the minor-league season ends on Labor Day). So by putting him in the bullpen now and using him in one-inning increments, that buys the organization time so they don't have to be so careful with him later in the year. For that reason, I can't see them bringing him up next week. But for now, that's just speculation on my part.

If you'll pardon the personal aside ... the world lost a good one today, when my uncle, Bill Chisholm of Henryetta, Okla., died after a brief (much briefer than it was supposed to be) battle with cancer. For logistical reasons, I won't be able to make it back for the funeral, but my thoughts and prayers are with his family. I remember him teaching me how to clean a fish when I was a child. I remember him playing Old Maid with my daughter, who was about 5 at the time, when we arrived at their house one year on Christmas eve. I remember gloating to him when I was 11, after Arkansas creamed Oklahoma in the '78 Orange Bowl, and I remember him being classy enough not to gloat back when the Sooners got their revenge a few years later. I remember the way he helped take care of his in-laws, my grandparents, in their final years. I am thankful to him for all those things, and I am also thankful that he was able to die at home, with his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren at his side, in the same house out in the country where he and my Aunt Sue have lived for as long as I can remember. He is in a better place now, a place where the lake is always stocked, the fish are always biting, and there is always an OU football game on TV.

He has tightness and spasms in his shoulder blade. Corresponding move won't be made until Friday. The move is retroactive to Sunday, the day after he couldn't hold a six-run lead in Colorado and was lifted in the third inning of a game the Dodgers eventually won. This virtually guarantees that Chan Ho Park, who pitched three perfect innings today to save the bullpen, will be the fifth starter the next time the Dodgers need one a week from Saturday at Anaheim.

Brad Penny got absolutely torched, giving up 10 earned runs on 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings. John Maine, on the other hand, had his way with the Dodgers hitters all day. He almost had a complete-game shutout, but Matt Kemp's RBI single with one out in the ninth not only ruined that, but extended Kemp's hitting streak to 12 games. Ex-Dodgers reliever Duaner Sanchez came on to finish it off, and the Dodgers fell to 19-15. Snakes play the Phillies tonight. Dodgers managed just four hits, two of them in that ninth inning rally. Oh, but one of them was a leadoff, pinch-hit double by Andruw Jones, who still got booed as he pulled into second base. Not sure what that was about, unless it was just on general principle. ... Have to make a day trip to PHX tomorrow to take care of some personal business, so I probably won't be posting. See ya Friday.

Congrats to Jerry Turner, the Dodgers' visiting clubhouse manager, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch before today's game in celebration of his 30 years with the club. J.T. started out as a bat boy in 1978 and is one of the truly good guys around here. ... That was actually one of two ceremonial first pitches today. The other one was thrown out by Friday Night Lights star Aimee Teegarden, much to the delight of Dodgers PR staffer Mark Rogoff. Much to the chagrin of Rogoff, she requested Blake DeWitt as her catcher.

Not a big of day games after night games, especially NOON games after night games. But there is plenty of coffee in the press room, so I'm ready to go. Kind of ugly and gray right now, but I'm guessing it'll burn off and turn to sunshine by game time. Some kind of Disney promotion going on here today. ... If the Dodgers win today -- and they have their ace, Brad Penny, pitching against John Maine -- they will have swept three of their past four series and taken two of the three in the other one. It's too early to tell whether this team is really this good or not, but whether they are or they aren't, every one of these wins still counts, and every one of them will come in handy if this team finds itself in a tough fight for a playoff berth down the stretch. ... I'm working on tomorrow's off-day story today. Doug Padilla is covering, and a big welcome to Brent Maranto, an aspiring sportswriter who is here shadowing us today. We'll try not to scare him away from the business.

I have just been informed that the Dodgers radio network picked up a new affiliate tonight in, of all places, Sikeston, Mo. Why would folks in Sikeston, Mo., have any interest in the Dodgers, you ask? Well, it happens to be the hometown of one Blake DeWitt, the Dodgers' rookie 3B who went 3 for 4 with an inside the park home run tonight, is now hitting .317 and is the Dodgers' feel-good story of the year after beginning spring training in minor-league camp. Sikeston already had a Blake DeWitt day earlier this year, and now it has a way of following its hero on a nightly basis.

Blake DeWitt homered again, this time an inside-the-parker, the first by a Dodgers player since Dave Roberts on Aug. 9, 2003. Hong-Chih Kuo relieved an ineffective Kuroda in the fourth inning and went 3 2/3 innings without allowing a hit or a run, matching his career high of eight strikeouts in the process. He now has an 0.46 career ERA against the Mets, although that doesn't include his lone start in the 2006 playoffs when he gave up two earned runs in 4 1/3 and took the loss. But he has now saved the Dodgers' bacon twice in the past four days with his ability to pitch long out of the bullpen and eat innings. ... Dodgers improve to 19-14 with their 10th win in their past 11 games, and they remain three behind the Snakes.

Nothing major this time. Just flip Martin and Loney, Martin now batting fifth and Loney sixth

His back started tightening up on him late in last night's game, then it was tight again when he woke up this morning. Nothing major, but in the words of the Dodgers' always media-friendly trainer, Stan Conte, ``Sometimes you take a day or two (off) to prevent you from losing three or four.'' ... By the way, Schmidt did NOT throw his sim game today because he hasn't yet recovered from his last one in terms of getting rid of the requisite soreness that pitchers always feel after a game, so his rehab assignment is delayed further. And Tony Abreu has been shut down again because of more tightness in his side, which flared up again after he played a game in extended spring. No rehab for him, either. He is shut down for at least three days.

Here's the lineup
LF Pierre
CF Jones
RF Kemp
2B Kent
1B Loney
C Martin
3B DeWitt
SS Hu
RH Kuroda

OK, I believe we (they) are slowly getting all the wrinkles ironed out of this blog to the point that it will soon be fully functional again -- although I know a lot of you have emailed to say you are having trouble commenting, and frankly, I'm still trying to figure out HOW to respond to your comments because I'm not the most computer-literate guy around, and I hope that explains why I haven't been responding much. A handful of you have taken to emailing me, which is also appreciated. However, one piece of advice I would give you when you email me is this: I am much more likely to respond when you limit your correspondence to one question. Between this blog, the newspaper and the mountain of freelance work I do on a daily basis, I do a LOT of typing, and at age 41, I can tell just from feel that I am beginning to develop mild arthritis in at least one of my hands. So email inquiries that I can answer quickly and briefly are much appreciated. And again, thank you all for your patience throughout this past few weeks while the boys back at the office have worked so diligently to fix all of this.

Billingsley pitched a gem, this time not running into any trouble in the fifth or any other innings. He was lifted after issuing a leadoff walk to Luis Castillo in the seventh, but Beimel, Broxton and Saito combined to retire the next nine Mets batters in order to close out the Dodgers' 11th win in their past 14 games, giving them an 18-14 record for the season, and they actually gained another game on the Snakes. The Dodgers are now just three back in the NL West. ... Oh, and did I mention that, um, well, uhhhh, you know ... JUAN PIERRE IS HITTING .324 WITH A .400 ON-BASE PERCENTAGE. ... And, ummmmmm, ya know, uhhhh, you might have noticed that, ummmmmm ... HE HAS STARTED THE PAST FIVE GAMES IN A ROW, AND IS 10 FOR 19 WITH SEVEN RUNS AND THREE RBI IN THOSE GAMES. ... but far be it from me to say I told you so. ... Hasta manana.

To me, what really jumps out at you about his numbers last week was the fact he stole six bases. That represents more than a quarter of his career total, which presently sits at 23. It speaks to the fact the Dodgers are a more aggressive club this season. Matt told me in the clubhouse that he has the green light to steal unless a no-steal sign is on, which intrigued me to the point that I asked Torre in his pregame session who else had the green light. Turns out Kemp, Furcal, Martin, Pierre and Andruw Jones all have the green light, and the rest of the team at least some degree of freedom, as well.
``Paul O'Neill was never on his own, but he would steal 14 or 15 bases a year,'' Torre said. ``If they're giving you something, then we tell all of them to take what the other team gives you.''
Going into tonight, the Dodgers have stolen 32 bases, tying them with the Angels for the second-most in the majors. That puts them well ahead of last year's pace of 137, especially when you consider that 110 of those steals were by three players (Furcal, Pierre and Martin).

Dodgers:

Furcal. SS
Pierre. LF
Kemp. RF
Kent. 2B
Martin. C
Loney. 1B
Jones. CF
DeWitt. 3B
Billingsley. RHP

Here's the release from Dodgers PR:

Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been named Bank of America Presents the National League Player of the Week for the period ending May 4th. Bank of America, the Official Bank of Major League Baseball, is the presenting sponsor of the National League and American League Player of the Week Awards, which reflect Bank of America's long-standing tradition of promoting and recognizing higher standards of accomplishment.
Kemp led the National League with 11 RBI and six stolen bases and tied for the league-lead with 11 hits. The 23-year-old right fielder hit .407 (11-27) with four doubles, seven runs scored, a slugging percentage of .556 and an on-base percentage of .433. On May 2nd at Colorado, Kemp hit two 2-RBI doubles leading the Dodgers to an 11-6 victory and their seventh consecutive win. He recorded four multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games and hit safely in all six games played. This marks the first time that Matt has won weekly honors, and it is the first time that a Dodger has captured this recognition since Andre Ethier won in July 2006.

The eight-game winning streak is history, but this team was going to lose sometime. The nice thing from the Dodgers' perspective is that they can now lose a game without drowning themselves in analysis and self-doubt. This team has suddenly learned how to win. The only flaw to a team consistently working counts is that once in a while, you're going to run into a strike-throwing machine like Aaron Cook was today. Most of the time, though, it's going to be a highly effective weapon, and the boys would be wise to keep doing it. ... Dodgers fall to 17-14. Snakes trail the Mets 2-0 in the fifth.

Furcal. SS
Pierre. LF
Kemp. CF
Loney. 1B
Martin. C
Ethier. RF
DeWitt. 3B
Hu. 2B
Lowe. RHP

It's a perfect day in the Mile High City as the Dodgers go for a perfect road trip, something that is really, really hard to do when you visit more than one city. But the Dodgers managed to do it twice in 2006 (Cincinnati-Florida in August, Colorado-San Francisco to end the season) on their way to the N.L. wild card, so maybe if they can do it today, that will be an omen. Won't be easy, though. Aaron Cook isn't the Rockies' ace, but he is a tough right-hander who has occasionally given the Dodgers fits in the past. ... No lineup yet, but I'm expecting it to be fairly basic. The only real question is who plays in the outfield, but if I were the manager, it would be Pierre, Kemp and Ethier ... maybe for the forseeable future.

The winning streak has reached eight, the longest since the boys won 11 in a row July 28-Aug. 8, 2006. The Snakes won behind Brandon Webb, so the Dodgers stay four back, but their record improved to 17-13, the first time this season they have been four over .500. The amazing thing to watch -- although I must admit, it isn't that much fun for us deadline-conscious reporters who find three-and-a-half-hour games counterproductive to what WE are trying to accomplish -- is the way the Dodgers have suddenly bought into Torre's theory of working counts. They made Jorge De La Rosa throw 36 in the first inning alone tonight, including 17 before he so much as recorded an out. Four of the eight batters the Dodgers sent to the plate in that inning ran the count full. By the time De La Rosa left after four innings, he had thrown 98 pitches and given up nine earned runs. ... James Loney is now hitting .313 with six HRs and 29 RBI for his career against the Rox. ... Derek Lowe and Aaron Cook tomorrow, should be a good matchup. It's tough to sweep a three-game series. It's darn near impossible to sweep two of them from the same team on consecutive weekends. But it's not impossible to win ONE GAME, and that's the attitude the Dodgers have to take into this one.

He'll stay right where he is, at Triple-A Las Vegas. This amounts to a tacit endorsement of rookie 3B Blake DeWitt, a guy who less than three months ago reported to minor-league spring training and now finds himself hitting a respectable .278 in the majors. On the flip side, if you're Andy LaRoche, I would imagine this is a tough pill to swallow. He came to big-league camp with a shot to win the job, got hurt, went on a minor-league rehab and ends up being sent out. When LaRoche suffered that torn UCL in his right thumb on March 7, the prognosis was that he would miss eight to 10 weeks AFTER his surgery, which took place a few days later. He beat that by a few days, coming off the 15-day disabled list eight weeks and one day after the INJURY, not the SURGERY. And you can bet he WILL be in the majors sometime this year.

It was a minor illness that caused him to return early from his trip to the Dominican last week. He spent two or three days at Centinela Hospital, but he is home now. Torre said he spoke with him earlier today and ``he sounded good.'' ... Dodgers last faced Jorge De La Rosa, tonight's Rockies starter, on March 24 in Surprise, Ariz., when he was a member of the Royals. Dodgers lit him up for four earned runs on seven hits over four innings -- and the next time one of my colleagues asks me why I am so meticulous about keeping perfect scorecards at meaningless spring training games, let that be their answer. ... This is the sixth time in their past seven games the Dodgers have faced a lefty. They won the previous five and are 7-3 overall, with Atlanta's Chuck James the last lefty to beat them on April 19.

Guess it's because he didn't get to take a whole game off from catching last night.

Furcal. SS
Pierre. LF
Kemp. RF
Kent. 2B
Martin. 3B
Loney. 1B
Jones. CF
Bennett. C
Loaiza. RHP

The weather is much, much better today, sunny and not what I would call warm, but it's not cold, either. Had a great lunch with my daughter at the Rocky Mountain Diner (18th and Stout downtown if you're ever in the area). Rockies are having early BP right now. Dodgers are nowhere in sight from the press box, except for Juan Pierre, who is sitting in the dugout watching the Rockies take early BP. Still probably going to be chilly after the sun goes down. Dodgers, by the way, haven't won eight in a row since that stretch in 2006 when they won 17 of 18.

I would go into detail, but in typical Coors Field fashion, there is simply too much detail to go into. Three hours and 33 minutes worth of detail, to be exact. All you really need to know is that the Dodgers ran their winning streak to seven games, their longest since they won their last seven in 2006 to capture the wild card. They're now 16-13 and moved within four games of the Snakes in the NL West. ... Someone emailed me the other day wondering whatever happened to Olmedo Saenz. He went to camp with the Mets on a non-roster deal, but I don't think he made the club out of camp. He appears to be out of baseball now. ... Sorry to be so short, but it's almost midnight here, and I still have to drive to Colorado Springs and back to get my daughter, whom I haven't seen in over a month. See ya tomorrow.

This is Joe's way of giving him a night off. Joe said he figured on a night like this, it would be easier to play 3B than to catch, and if anyone would know, it's Joe -- he was a catcher and a third baseman (and an occasional first baseman) during his career. ... Jason Schmidt will do one more simulated game, either Monday or Tuesday, before his rehab. He wants to work on his offspeed pitches and have all his pitches working before he pitches in an actual game, even if it's a Cal League game.

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

He has agreed to sign with Colorado, his agent told me earlier today. He'll still go to Triple-A Colorado Springs for a week or so to get back into the swing of game action (the Dodgers wanted him to do the same thing), but once he comes to the majors, he'll get more playing time with the Rockies than he would have with the Dodgers because of Troy Tulowitzki's injury. I'm disappointed he isn't coming, but I completely understand his reasoning. ... It is COLD here, and gray and gloomy and depressing -- but so far, it isn't snowing. There was some on the ground when I landed this morning, but none has fallen since my arrival. Several players from both teams are on the field doing pre-batting practice stuff, and almost all of them are wearing heavy pullovers and ski caps -- except, that is, for Dodgers bullpen catcher Mike Borzello, who is in a T-shirt and shorts. In fairness to him, though, he just finishe drunning. Now he's taking throws from Derek Lowe, who is playing extreme long toss, catching fungoes hit by Rob Flippo from the leftfield line almost to the rightfield wall and throwing them all the way back to Borzello, who is standing next to Flippo. Not sure why.

For the fourth time in what is now a six-game winning streak, the Dodgers scored the winning run in their last at-bat, this time on a bloop single by Matt Kemp in the ninth that fell near the line in right field and allowed Rafael Furcal to score. The Dodgers scored another on a freak play later in the inning, but that was moot. Saito dominated in the bottom of the ninth, and the Dodgers had their second sweep in a row. They move to 15-13 and within five games of the idle Snakes in the NL West. ... The Juan Castro sweepstakes -- he became a free agent at 10 this morning -- are down to the Dodgers, Padres, Orioles and Rockies, who joined the fray when they lost Troy Tulowitzki, probably for two to three months, with a torn quadriceps tendon he suffered trying to make a play on Wednesday night. Dodgers and Rockies both want Castro to go to Triple-A for a few days because he hasn't played in 10 days and he got only 10 at-bats with the Reds. Padres, from what I understand, are willing to put him on the big-league roster now.

Supposed to snow most of the night tonight in Denver, causing me to wonder 1) am I going to be able to get in there tomorrow, and 2) is it even going to matter because of the likelihood that tomorrow night's game will be postponed. Tomorrow's forecast high is 46 degrees, and a couple of the guys in the traveling party mentioned this morning that they didn't even bring any outerwear on the trip. Not to sound arrogant, but I lived in Denver for five years -- I NEVER go there without outerwear, not even in July. ... For now, though, the Dodgers will get to play a game on another perfect, South Florida afternoon, and there might actually be a crowd here today. There are several groups of youngsters from area schools here, so at least Dolphin Stadium figures to get a rare dose of atmosphere. They're early arrivers, too, or at least one group was. Derek Lowe was doing his running in the stands at about 9:30 this morning, and he had to run through a group of these kids. Funny thing is, they didn't even seem to notice him. ... Juan Castro becomes a free agent in less than three hours. I'm guessing this matter gets resolved fairly quickly, although that doesn't necessarily mean it will be resolved today. Rarely in the history of the game has a backup infielder had so much leverage. But I know this guy, having covered him in Cincinnati, and he is one of the all-time good dudes. I'm sure he'll land on his feet, and nobody deserves it more than he does.