August 2008 Archives

You're not supposed to be happy at the end of a 2-8 road trip. But then, you're not supposed to beat Dan Haren and Brandon Webb, on their own turf no less, on back-to-back nights. Because the Dodgers did the latter, they are entitled to do the former. They are right back in this thing, folks, and if they have a good showing against the Snakes at home this coming weekend, it'll be time to buckle your seatbelts -- and maybe even to head down to BevMo to see how much champagne costs. Dodgers go to 67-70 and now trail the Snakes by 2 1/2. But the one thing the boys simply can't afford is to get tripped up by the Pods. Three-game series starts tomorrow night (5:10 p.m.) at Chavez Ravine. See you there.

The guys coming off the DL are Andruw Jones, Delwyn Young and Scott Proctor. The guys being recalled are Jason Repko, Chin-lung Hu, James McDonald and, of course, Clayton Kershaw, who will pitch on Tuesday night against the Pods as if he had never left. The guy getting his contract purchased is A.J. Ellis, and there already is an open 40-man spot waiting for him to fill it. That's all, folks. Rafael Furcal and Takashi Saito might be added later, but for now, the Dodgers will start September with 33 guys. Xavier Paul is NOT getting a callup despite having a good year at Vegas and despite being on the 40-man. Outfield is too crowded already, and there wouldn't be any playing time for him. I realize that raises the question of why Repko is coming up, but I honestly don't have an answer for that at this point. ... Nomar out again tonight, and Torre hinted that Angel Berroa's recent performance -- he is 7 for 18 over the past six games in which he has registered an at-bat -- could warrant more playing time. However, Joe seemed to indicate that Nomar is still his primary shortstop because of his ability to hit in the clutch. ... Jeff Kent's MRI is happening today, but we won't know the results until tomorrow.

Below is a press release the Dodgers sent out last week about the quick success of the Dodgers Trolley, which beginning tomorrow night and through the weeklong homestand will feature certain former Dodgers riding the bus with fans. They're all listed below. I still don't really get the connection between the Dodgers Trolley and Marrakesh Express, a song by Crosby, Stills and Nash that the Dodgers play every night when they're advertising the Trolley on the leftfield video board -- and a song that someone just informed me isn't really about a train trip at all but instead is about another kind of trip that was popular in the 1960s. But after looking it up on that inter-web thingy that all the kids are using these days, what I learned was that the Marrakesh Express WAS actually a popular train ride that many hippies took back in the day. What they did when they got to Marrakesh, well, we can only imagine.

But I digress. Here's the release:

The Dodgers Trolley has accommodated more than 30,000 boardings in its first month of operation and will now feature Dodgers legends on some of the rides. Created by the City of Los Angeles as a first step to meeting the demand for public transportation to the stadium, the free service, launched on July 25, has shuttled fans each of the last two homestands between Union Station and Dodger Stadium. The buses ride 90 minutes before every home game and conclude one hour after the game ends.
During the Dodgers' upcoming homestand Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda and other former Dodgers will ride with fans. Among those scheduled are Rudy Law (Tuesday, Sept. 2), Kenny Landreaux (Wednesday, Sept. 3), Bobby Castillo (Friday, Sept. 5) and Lasorda (Sunday, Sept. 7).
Union Station is the central transit hub for Southern California, with rail lines extending to Long Beach, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, Simi Valley, the San Fernando Valley, the South Bay and the San Gabriel Valley, as well as other areas.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa led the first Dodgers Trolley on July 25 and reiterated his commitment to creating convenient, fast, and affordable options for fans traveling to Dodger Stadium.
``We're really excited that at this time of high gas prices that the Dodgers and the City of Los Angeles have provided an opportunity to get people on the trolley, give them an opportunity to beat the traffic, beat the high gas prices, and get to a Dodger game and eat a Dodger Dog,'' said Villaraigosa.
Mayor Villaraigosa was joined on the first shuttle by City Councilmember Ed P. Reyes and Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who serves as the Chair of the City's Transportation Committee.
The Dodgers Trolley is the leading topic among fans providing feedback to the club through fanfeedback@ladodgers.com.
``I really enjoy taking the Dodger Trolley service from Union Station,'' said Dodger fan Vicki Addley of West Hills. ``I save money on gas and parking. The best bonus is that I do not have to drive in traffic before the game. It has really added to my Dodger game experience.''
``I thought that it was on time, comfortable, quick, not too crowded, and very convenient,'' said Trisha Addicks, who took the shuttle during a visit from Atlanta, GA. ``If the Dodgers had beaten the Rockies, it would have been a perfect evening. Even with the loss, it was a great experience.''
``We are pleased that Dodger fans have left their vehicles at home, traveled on the region's public transit system, and taken advantage of the service,'' said Senior Vice President Howard Sunkin. ``Clearly this pilot program demonstrates an overwhelming need for a comprehensive public transit plan for Dodger Stadium.''
The shuttle route, which is less than two miles, connects with regional MTA bus and rail services, including the MTA Red, Purple, and Gold Lines. Metrolink and Amtrak services are available on day games. The trolley makes two stops as it travels along Sunset Blvd. on its way to Dodger Stadium. At Figueroa St., the shuttle connects with MTA Lines 2, 4, 55, 60; Metro Limited Lines 302, 304 and 355; as well as Metro Rapid Line 704. This stop allows passengers on LADOT's DASH Lincoln Heights/Chinatown service to easily connect to the stadium. The second stop at Marion Ave. connects the shuttle service with MTA Lines 2 and 4 arriving from the west. The return trip includes all of the same stops.
Fans interested in mapping routes to Union Station from their homes and taking advantage of the free Dodgers Trolley can visit the official Dodgers website at www.dodgers.com/trolley.

The eight-game losing streak, the longest by a Joe Torre-managed team since the 1982 Atlanta Braves, is over, Don't overlook tonight's contribution from Hong-Chih Kuo, who was dazzling. He struck out five of the seven batters he faced after entering with a man on second, a run in and nobody out in relief of Chad Billingsley in the eighth. That saved the Dodgers from having to use any other relievers. ... By the way, Billingsley won't start again until next Saturday against the Snakes because Derek Lowe, who pitches tonight, will go Friday night on normal rest because of the off-day Thursday. ... Manny Ramirez reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances before grounding out in the ninth inning. Remarkably, this is the first time in his 16-year career that he has had back-to-back, four-hit games. ... Dodgers go to 66-70 and pull within 3 1/2 of the Snakes.

Joe Torre said before the game that although Jason Schmidt is going to make another rehab appearance in the Las Vegas season finale on Monday, he isn't going to pitch for the Dodgers this year. He will rejoin the club after Monday and maybe do some simulated games, or he may pitch some games in the Arizona Instructional League this fall. His velocity was mostly in the high 80s last night against Colorado Springs, when he pitched one inning. ... Andruw Jones is back in Los Angeles seeing Dr. ElAttrache because his leg is still bothering him, but he is expected to rejoin the Dodgers and be activated in time for the homestand opener on Monday against the Pods. ... The list of players the Dodgers plan to activate or call up from the minors on Monday just keeps getting longer. It now includes Jones, Scott Proctor, Chin-lung Hu, A.J. Ellis, Delwyn Young, James McDonald, Eric Stults and Clayton Kershaw. There could be others. ... I talked with DeJon Watson before the game about Greg Miller, and he says the organization is still firmly committed to him. ``Yes, we are still committed to Greg Miller,'' he said. ``We will exhause all our energy to get him back on track and to where he needs to be, with a repeatable delivery that he can sustain.''

This isn't necessarily a career-ending injury, but given that he probably was going to retire anyway, given that he has been playing with this degenerative tear in the cartilage of his left knee for about a month knowing all the while it could tear more severely at any time (and probably would, eventually, and that appears to be exactly what happened), and given that this is a wear-and-tear injury that is fairly normal for a 40-year-old guy trying to play baseball on an everyday basis for six months, it seems unlikely that he'll return.
``Knowing him, I can't say that for sure,'' Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.
Indeed, Kent is known for his durability, his scrappiness and his willingness to play hurt. But he was said to be in excruciating pain when he came out of the game last night. He is back in Los Angeles now awaiting an MRI that will hopefully be done either tonight or tomorrow -- club officials are trying to find a hospital where it can be done on a holiday weekend. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if Kent tries to play again. But from what I am told, if he does, the same thing is very likely to happen again, only more severely.
There also is a chance the MRI will show nothing other than, again, wear and tear, and Kent can be back out there in a few days. But the fact the pain was severe enough to get him to take a seat has to mean something. Kent generally doesn't take a seat for anything other than the manager giving him a day off.
Unfortunately, it probably means the end of a Hall of Fame career. Torre said Blake DeWitt will get the first crack at the everyday 2B job for the rest of the season. It also is very possible Kent could be placed on the 60-day DL next week to clear a 40-man roster spot for the September roster expansion, because the Dodgers appear to need spots.
Just to clarify, Kent has never said this will be his last season. But it was generally assumed by just about everybody, including Torre.
``I think he was just trying to help us win a pennant,'' Torre said. ``All the hinting seemed to say that this probably was going to be it for him. I really respect what he has done here, and I have been very comfortable with our relationship. He is a pro. I guess that is the only way you can categorize it.''

Jason Schmidt started and threw a scoreless, hitless inning for Las Vegas tonight against Colorado Springs, walking one batter. He'll pitch again on Monday, and I suppose it's possible he'll be activated as a reliever after that, but when I asked Torre before the game, he was non-committal. Scott Proctor followed him and pitched two innings, allowing one hit while striking out four. Proctor is expected to be activated on Monday, the day you can expand rosters. Andruw Jones also is going to be activated that day, and possibly Delwyn Young. ... By the way, when perusing the box score for the pitching lines of Schmidt and Proctor, I couldn't help but notice that Greg Miller had another rough outing. He walked three, gave up three earned runs and allowed only one hit in ZERO innings. A tough stretch for a really good guy. Hope he can find a way to right himself, but this has been going on for a long, long time.

First time this year or last year. Not sure about 2006, but I can't remember any such occasions off the top of my head. Torre clearly desperate to jump start this offense.

C Martin
RF Ethier
LF Ramirez
2B Kent
CF Kemp
1B Loney
SS Garciaparra
3B Blake
RH Kuroda

The only reason these numbers are starting to sound redundant is that they only get more and more ridiculous with each passing day -- and, of course, each passing loss. The Dodgers went 0 for 5 last night with runners in scoring position. In their seven-game losing streak, they now are batting .098 with RISP, and this isn't the first time in the five years that this team has gone into such a monumental swoon hitting with RISP. Far from it, in fact. It doesn't mattter who the personnel is. Going all the way back to 2004, this team has a tendency to periodically go into these unthinkable dry spells when it comes to clutch hitting. They're now 3 for 45 over the past four games, and only one of those three hits actually drove in a run. By the way, the Dodgers now have to go 16-12 the rest of the way just to finish .500. They do not, however, necessarily have to go 16-12 to win the N.L. West. What a world.

In case you missed it, Clayton Kershaw was the roster move for Scott Elbert, but that's only a roster technicality. Because the roster expansion begins on Monday -- but mostly Tuesday, because Las Vegas has another game on Monday -- the Dodgers can option Kershaw now and still bring him back in time to make his next scheduled start on Tuesday night against San Diego. The 10-day rule -- all players optioned to the minors must stay a minimum of 10 days unless a major-league player is placed on the DL, and that exception is limited to a pitcher replacing a pitcher or a position player replacing a position player -- isn't in effect because the PCL season ends Monday and Las Vegas isn't going to the playoffs.

The Dodgers are expected to purchase the contract of the left-hander and former first-round draft pick from Double-A Jacksonville. Corresponding move will be announced at that time. Once one of the organization's top pitching prospects, Elbert missed most of last season with a shoulder injury that effectively turned him into a reliever, at least for now. At Jacksonville this season, he has made one start and 24 relief appearances and gone 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA. He has allowed just 22 hits in 41 1/3 innings, struck out 46 and walked 20.

Tanyon Sturtze's one-day reprieve turned into exactly that. He was DFA'd today to make room for Cory Wade to come off the DL. What the Dodgers have done in DFA'ing Pablo Ozuna and Sturtze the past two days is clear two 40-man spots, which are expected to be filled in the next few days by reliever Scott Proctor when he is activated from the 60-day DL and catcher A.J. Ellis when his contract is purchased from Triple-A Las Vegas for the September roster expansion. They'll still need to clear 40-man spots for Rafael Furcal and Jason Schmidt if they come back anytime this season. Players on the 15-day DL count against the 40-man roster, while players on the 60-day do not.

I asked Torre last night if he was thinking about a change with Kent because he had stopped benefiting from hitting in front of Manny. He said he didn't want to announce a change without taking a long look at it. Well, I guess he took a long look at it. Kent is hitting fourth tonight, in front of Loney, the first time he has hit in front of anyone other than Manny since he hit in front of Casey Blake on Aug. 5. Nomar has three hits in his past 30 at-bats. Martin isn't slumping, but he needs a day off, and the Dodgers don't have any day games after night games coming up. ... By the way, I wrote in today's paper that Jeff Kent is 5 for 28 since he was given last Thursday off. My mistake. He is 5 for 27. I was counting an 11th inning at-bat on Sunday night at Philly. That was actually Pablo Ozuna, who had entered defensively for Kent in the bottom of the ninth.

Kemp. CF
Ethier. RF
Ramirez. LF
Kent. 2B
Loney. 1B
Blake. 3B
Ardoin. C
Berroa. SS
Kershaw. LHP

It's hard to blame the Dodgers for letting Joel Hanrahan get away. Although he was long one of their top pitching prospects, the key word there is ``long.'' He was in the organization for seven seasons, spending at least parts of three of them in Triple-A, and yet he was never quite able to make the jump to the majors. He also seemed to backslide in 2005, the year after he spent the entire season at Las Vegas and went 7-7 with a decent-for-the-PCL 5.05 ERA. But he backslid in 2005, started the season in high Single-A after coming back from an injury, then never got above Double-A the rest of the year. He split 2006 between Jacksonville and Las Vegas, but no one could blame him when he left after that season for minor-league free agency, something he had earned the right to do after accruing so much time in the minors. When the Nationals signed him to a major-league contract two winters ago -- he still began the season in Triple-A -- no one could have imagined that he would eventually become their closer. It was even more difficult to imagine that he would post saves on back-to-back nights against his old club. But as critical as I have been of Nats GM Jim Bowden -- see my previous post -- you have to give Jimbo credit for finding this one. And you have to give Hanrahan credit for establishing a niche, and a foothold, in the majors after all those years in the minors with the Dodgers.

Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden, a man who was difficult to take seriously when I first met him eight years ago when he was the Reds GM and I was starting on the beat there, is even MORE difficult to take seriously now. As he walked onto the field today to watch his team taking batting practice, he was wearing fake Manny Ramirez dreadlocks under a Nationals cap. This is the same guy who, on a Reds interleague trip to Texas in 2002, stood behind the cage dressed head to toe in Western wear, including cowboy hat and cowboy boots. Despite the props, he didn't in any way look the part, and the scouts who typically gather in the press box just before the game were laughing hysterically at him. One day, when he is done playing around, Jimbo might want to put some time into building a team that doesn't have the worst record in the majors. ... Dodgers decided to hold off on that second roster move, so Tanyon Sturtze gets a reprieve. He might not even be the odd man out now. Torre said it depends on what happens tonight and how deep he has to go into the bullpen.

Didn't see this one coming. Guess is has something to do with the team's sagging offense. DeWitt was batting .500 (11 for 22) over a four-game stretch that ended on Saturday, but according to his day-by-day stats on milb.com, he hasn't played since. Not sure why, but I'll try to find out. ... Ozuna had become nothing more than a late-inning defensive replacement and pinch runner, but I would imagine if he clears waivers, he'll be back next week. ... A few minutes ago, the club also announced that Cory Wade was coming off the DL and that Tanyon Sturtze had been DFA'd, but they quickly retracted that. Not sure why, unless they decided to wait a couple of days because Cory is still sore.

Reported a few days ago that it was going to include Ivan De Jesus, Lucas May, Andrew Lambo and Scott Elbert. It will be rounded out by Justin Orenduff, Travis Schlichting and Brent Leach, and the ``taxi squad'' -- these are extra guys who are only allowed to play on Wednesdays and Saturdays -- will consist of Russell Mitchell and Jamie Hoffman. You can look all those guys up on milb.com, and a lot of you already know who they are, but suffice to say, they are ALL legit prospects. If they weren't, they wouldn't be headed to the AFL, which is reserved for the elite prospects around baseball. The Dodgers contingent will play for Surprise. ... According to an item in today's Washington Times, when Greg Maddux takes the hill for the Dodgers tonight, he will become the first 350-game winner to pitch in Washington since Walter Johnson's final appearance of his career on Sept. 22, 1927. Only one other 350-game winner has ever pitched here is some guy named Cy Young, who last pitched here on July 29, 1911.

Over their past three games, the Dodgers have gone 4 for 39 w/RISP. And the thing is, two of those four hits DIDNT EVEN SCORE THE RUN. It has become almost comical -- and yes, Joe Torre admitted after the game that he is getting to the point where he has to laugh to avoid crying. Every time the Dodgers get a hit with a man on second but the ball is hit so hard the runner has to stop at third, you KNOW they're not going to get him home. The entire visiting writers' row in the press box burst into laughter -- not AT the Dodgers, mind you, but at the sheer absurdity of it all -- when, with the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth, Nomar Garciaparra lined out to third and Nats 3B Ryan Zimmerman managed to double Manny Ramirez off third. Nats manager Manny Acta then walked Casey Blake to load the bases, even though the runners had been on first and second, to bring Derek Lowe to the plate. The question was asked of Joe after the game whether he considered pinch hitting in that spot, and his answer was that he still needed a pitcher in the game who could shut down the other team. At any rate, Lowe struck out, and the Dodgers had wasted another chance. ... The Nats, by the way, came into yesterday ranked last in the N.L. in hitting, next to last in fielding and 12th in the league in pitching. Oh, and they also had the worst record in the majors. And for one night, at least, the Dodgers couldn't hang with them.

This is for tomorrow's paper. It is important to reiterate here that Joe did NOT hear Hershiser's comments directly, nor did I, so this is kind of awkward reporting.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre took exception on Tuesday to comments made by former Dodgers World Series hero Orel Hershiser during the ESPN2 broadcast of Monday night's loss at Philadephia, although it wasn't immediately clear what those comments were. Torre said he had been told of them secondhand, and Hershiser, who served as an in-game analyst for the cable channel, declined a request from the Daily News immediately after that game to clarify what he had said on the air.
``Just listen to the broadcast,'' Hershiser said. ``I don't want to say it for the paper.''
According to multiple sources, Hershiser, who also worked a Dodgers-Phillies game in Los Angeles for ESPN2 on Aug. 11, questioned the Dodgers' passion and team chemistry.
``He came in (before Monday's game) and talked to me, and I did a couple of interviews,'' Torre said. ``(But) I never got any questions along those lines. I don't know where that came from. For me, I don't think there is any prototypical passionate team that has guys hanging from lockers and stuff. This game really is about determination moreso than showing somebody else what they think it should look like.''
Hershiser pitched for the Dodgers from 1983-94 and again in 2000 and was the Most Valuable Player of the 1988 World Series. He also seemed for a time to be a candidate for the team's managerial vacancy after Jim Tracy was fired following the 2005 season.
``I have always been a proponent of the fact you have to eliminate the highs and lows in this game, because you have to keep it on an even keel and maintain it for 162 games. I don't know any clubhouse where, if you have lost three (in a row) and five of six, you're going to see guys jumping around and doing things other people consider positive.''

They seem to have created quite a stir on the blogosphere today, but I haven't heard them for myself, and so I'm obviously a little leery of writing much about them. I did receive an IM during the game last night (from my dad) telling me that Orel was very critical of the Dodgers during the ESPN2 broadcast. I actually waited for Orel after the game (at the cost of missing Torre's postgame), but when I got him, he didn't want to comment for the paper. ``Just listen to the broadcast,'' he said. Tough to do when you're on a deadline, and frankly, I don't know that you can even get that on-line anywhere. From what I have been told, he said something about walking through the clubhouse before the game and seeing a ``passionless'' team, although I don't have any proof that that is the word he used (even though I have heard it from a couple of different sources). But if anybody can turn me on to a web site where there might be actual footage (or sound) of these comments, I would love to go there.

Back in 2003, when I was covering the Reds and they moved into the rather bland Great American Ball Park, people would ask me what I thought of the place, and that's what I would always say, that it sure beats what they used to have. Well, that's about the way I would sum up Nationals Park, as well. It's not what I would call beautiful or spectacular, but anything -- AND I DO MEAN ANYTHING -- would have beaten RFK Stadium, otherwise known as America's Toilet Bowl. In an era when almost every one of the National League's parks is new, there isn't much to set this place apart, other than the view of the capitol dome in the distance beyond left field. The back drop beyond the outfield consists almost entirely of mid-rise office and apartment buildings (for security reasons, you're only allowed to build to a certain height in Washington). But then, it's 4 p.m., right now. The real test will come when the sun sets, the place is lit up and filled with paying customers and there is a ballgame going on.

They're bringing a stadium tour group through the press box right now. One of the things that really inspired me to want to become a baseball writer (I actually already wanted to become one when this happened, but this really cemented it) was when I was 16 years old, attending the National High School Press Association convention in St. Louis, and we took a tour of old Busch Stadium that took us into the press box. The tour wasn't part of the convention, just something for the school newspaper and yearbook staffs from my school in Arkansas to do on an afternoon when nothing else was scheduled. The football Cardinals still played there at the time, and the place was configured for football (this was a Saturday in November). But they took us into the baseball press box, the first time I was ever in a major-league press box. Anyone who was ever in the press box at old Busch Stadium will tell you it was one of the most spartan, uncomfortable and in many ways non-functional boxes in the league, but I was enthralled that day, and I vowed that the next time I set foot in that box, it would be in a working capacity. I made good on that promise when I went to St. Louis with the Rockies in August 1999. Just another one of my boring stories about ME, but hey, I got nothing else to post right now.

If you're a Dodgers fan, or someone employed by the Dodgers in any way, this one stung. They could have held a 2-1 lead in the ninth, they could have scored after loading the bases with nobody out in the 10th, they could have gained a game in the standings, they could have gotten more than two runs out of their 13 hits, they could have done a lot of things, but they didn't do any of them. And if this keeps up, in a few weeks, we'll be saying they could have made the playoffs if they had done this, that or the other. ... Joe Torre told the team after the game they don't have to be at the park until 6 p.m. for a game that starts at 7:05. That means no batting practice. ``I told them to just get dressed and play the game,'' Torre said. ``Hopefully, that will allow us to relax a little bit, because I think we might be putting too much pressure on ourselves.'' ... Failed to do my job properly tonight. In my haste to make deadline, I had to minimize the time I spent in the clubhouse, and I flat out forgot to ask Torre if he considered walking Pedro Feliz to get to Jimmy Rollins in the 11th inning. I left Joe's office while several reporters were still in there, checked the clubhouse for available players, found none, then returned to Joe's office. The question might have been asked while I was gone. But it never dawned on me to ask until after I got back to the press box. Anyway, Feliz had driven in the tying run with an RBI single in the ninth, and here he was at the plate with runners on second and two outs. It was a right-right matchup against Jason Johnson, and Rollins is a switch-hitter and the reigning N.L. MVP. But Rollins also has two hits in his past 25 at-bats. Anyway, Feliz homered, his 13th of the season. ... Dodgers fall to 65-65. That is now the NINTH-best record in the bad National League, putting the Dodgers in the lower half of the 16-team loop even as they appear to be within striking distance in the West. They still trail the Snakes by three games. Decent chance to avoid the four-game sweep with Billingsley going tomorrow night against Brett Myers, but the Dodgers already have lost as many games on this 10-game road trip (three) as they lost on the 10-game homestand that preceded it.

ESPN picked up that one, too, so for TV purposes, it's going to start at the same time this one did. For beat writer purposes, it's going to start three hours earlier, because we'll be in PHX and it'll start at 5:05 (woohooooo!!!!!) instead of 8:05 (booooooo!!!!).

Andruw Jones played 1B at Las Vegas last night. Not sure what that means, but I'm guessing it means he'll be an option to back up there if Joe wants to give James Loney a day off here or there and doesn't want to go back to that musical chairs thing he did last week with Martin at 3B and Blake at 1B. The 51s committed four errors last night, but none of them were by Andruw. That's a good sign. ... The Dodgers are still somewhat in contention in the N.L. West, but it's worth noting that they began the day tied with Houston for the eighth-best record in the bad National League, a loop that only has 16 teams. The Astros, by the way, were 14 games out in the Central. ... Greg Miller, once the Dodgers' top left-handed pitching prospect, might be getting close to the end of the line. There was a time earlier this season when he seemed to be coming out of his longstanding control problems, but he seems to have relapsed since his promotion to Las Vegas. He gave up four runs last night after walking three batters (and allowing NO hits) in one inning pitched at Colorado Springs. Since his promotion to Vegas, he has walked 46 batters in 28 2/3 innings, all while allowing just 19 hits. In his past three appearances, he has walked eight batters in 3 2/3 innings.

That's what one of the TV production guys just yelled down the hall from the press box as he packed up the TV production equipment for the day. Not sure what elicited that exclamation, but I'm assuming the guy must have just eaten a bag of them. Anyway, the Dodgers with Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake are starting to look a lot like the Dodgers before Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake. Ramirez and Blake are struggling for the first time since they got here, and the rest of the lineup is struggling, too, a fact that might suggest this team is way too reliant on the two newcomers. Torre said it has more to do with a lack of production at the top, where Kemp and Ethier were a combined 0 for 8 today, are a combined 1 for 16 in this series and are a combined 3 for 24 over the past three games. Jeff Kent is 0 for 8 in this series, too, meaning the top three batters in the Dodgers' lineup are a combined 1 for 24 in the first two games here. That doesn't completely explain why Manny has now gone five games without an RBI, his last three coming on that first-inning home run against the Brewers on Sunday. But it explains it to a point. ... Kemp had little to say on the matter of why that fly ball fell 30 feet behind him, other than to say, ``I guess,'' in acknowledgement of a suggestion he lost the ball in the sun. When asked how long he saw it before losing it, he said, ``That's a great question. I would have caught it if I had seen it.'' ... Kemp's gaffe notwithstanding, Clayton Kershaw wasn't good today. It is worth noting that before Kemp's miscue, Kershaw had walked Chase Utley, ;putting runners on second and third with none out in what became a three-run inning. The lefty wound up getting rocked for six runs on seven hits over four-plus. ... Dodgers fall to 65-64. Snakes play later, but this team has bigger problems than the standings right now. Twelve runs in the past five games. three of them in the first two games of this series. All three of them scored on two swings, a solo homer by Ethier and a two-run shot by Russell Martin.

With apparently none of the Dodgers' minor-league affiliates looking like they'll be playoff bound, the team's September callups should start arriving on Sept. 2, the second day of the upcoming homestand. It looks like A.J. Ellis will be coming up from Vegas to be the third catcher. He is hitting .309 this year, so he'll edge out Lucas May, who is hitting .228 at Jacksonville, even though May is on the 40-man roster and Ellis isn't. Although I have long been under the impression that James McDonald was a lock for a callup, that apparently is still being discussed and is far from assured. But it looks like Ellis will be the only guy not presently on the roster who will be called up. Dodgers don't have a lot of flexibility. The 40-man is full, and there aren't a lot of guys on it whom you can look at and say, ``He's expendable.'' ... I love these late-Saturday games for Fox, just a beautiful time of day. It's a perfect, sunny day here in Philly, and the shadows had started to creep across the field before the game even started. Kershaw had a rough first inning, but he appears to have settled in now, and Russell Martin just got the boys back into the game with a two-run homer, a possible slump buster. 3-2 Phils, bottom 3. ... Went for 1 a.m. cheesesteaks at Jim's last night (this morning) with Diamond Leung from the RIVERSIDE Press-Enterprise and Takashi Yamakawa from the Kyodo News. Even at that hour, there was still a long line. But those sandwiches were well worth the wait. ... Kershaw just walked the leadoff man in the third. Perhaps I spoke too soon.

Offensively, this team is beginning to bear a strange resemblance to its former self. I'm talking before Blake and Manny arrived. Dodgers have lost three out of four and scored a total of 10 runs in those four games. Tonight, in one of the most ridiculous hitter's parks in baseball, the Dodgers managed one run on five hits and went hitless in four at-bats with RISP. Greg Maddux's debut was hardly worth waiting for. He was great for three innings and good for 3 2/3. But then he walked Pat Burrell with two outs in the fourth, fell behind Ryan Howard 2-0 and gave up a bomb. Phillies never looked back. Dodgers fall to 65-63. Snakes already up 1-0 on the Fish. If the Dodgers slip to three games behind, it will be their largest deficit since Aug. 1. The last time they were MORE than three games back was on June 30.

Although the Dodgers' 2009 regular-season schedule remains tentative and isn't close to being released, the Daily News learned this week that the club will play an 18-game interleague schedule that will consist mostly of American League West opponents.
In addition to their usual, home-and-home with the Angels -- the two clubs will play three-game series at Dodger Stadium May 22-24 and at Angel Stadium June 19-21 -- the Dodgers will host three-game series against the Oakland A's June 16-18 and the Seattle Mariners June 26-28.
The Dodgers also will play at Texas June 12-14. There will be an additional interleague series at Chicago June 26-28, which the White Sox almost certainly will use as an opportunity to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the two clubs meeting in the 1959 World Series.
The Dodgers won that series in six games.
The Dodgers are slated to begin the season by playing 14 consecutive games without a day off. They open on the road, with a four-game series at San Diego starting on April 6 followed by a three-game series at Arizona starting on April 10.
For the second consecutive season, San Francisco is the opponent for the home opener, scheduled for April 13. That begins a three-game series, with Colorado then coming in for a four-game set beginning on April 16. The season also will conclude at home against the Rockies, a three-game series Oct. 2-4.
The Dodgers will finish the first half in Milwaukee, meaning an easy flight to St. Louis for any Dodgers players selected to the National League All-Star team. The second half will begin back in Los Angeles with a four-game series against Houston, marking the first time in three years that the Dodgers will get a break of only three days instead of four.

Andruw Jones is taking another day with his knee and is expected to play for Las Vegas at Colorado Springs tomorrow. Jason Schmidt is expected to start a rehab early next week, although that has been previously reported. Scott Proctor will resume his rehab on Monday at Las Vegas, NOT back at Inland Empire, where he started it a few weeks ago before shutting it down. Brad Penny is expected to start playing catch in the next day or two. Rafael Furcal is doing weight-bearing running and hitting off a tee, but there is no timetable for getting him on the field. Cory Wade will throw a second bullpen tomorrow, make a one- or two-inning rehab appearance probably at Great Lakes next week, then probably be activated. And Takashi Saito is throwing off flat ground, but still no plans for getting him on a mound.

Greetings from one of my favorite stops on the tour. If you have never been to Philadelphia, it's well worth the trip just to take in the history of the place. I once took a guided tour of Independence Hall, and they take you right into the room where the U.S. Constitution was ratified. Or was it the Declaration of Independence? All those history classes I took, you would think I should know that. The room has been preserved to look much the way it did then, and the tour guide even claimed that the ink well sitting on the table in the front of the room was the ACTUAL ink well that they used. Even more interesting than that, though, is to walk around in the Society Hill neighborhood and check out some of the old townhouses that are there. Many of them have the dates they were built posted on the outside, and a few of them have been standing since the 18th century. From the press box at Citizens Bank Park, you can see the downtown skyline in the distance, beyond left-center field, and you can very easily spot the 37-foot-high statue of William Penn atop the City Hall spire. Oh, and the cheesesteaks aren't bad, either. Wonder if the boys sent out for a few of those while they were working on the Constitution (or was it the Declaration of Independence?)

This is a game the boys really needed to win, and they did, finishing their second consecutive 7-3 homestand, and this one wouldn't have been nearly as impressive at 6-4 because that would have meant it ended with a three-game sweep at the hands of the Rockies. Big game for D-Lowe, a run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out seven. A big game for the bullpen, too, especially Broxton. He gave up a leadoff double to Ian Stewart in the ninth, suggesting another shaky outing, and later threw a wild pitch. But he struck out the next three batters, and that was that. Dodgers hit the road with a 65-62 mark, with the Snakes hosting the Pods tonight and Brandon Webb on the hill. This is a grueling trip for the Dodgers, not just in terms of length (10 games in 10 days) but in terms of travel logistics. Assuming they get out of here by 5, they'll get to Philly around 1 a.m. with the time change, and that means it'll be 2 by the time everybody settles into their rooms. Philly ends with a night game on Monday, then a bus ride to DC. DC ends with a night game Thursday and then a redeye to PHX (why can't you go East to West on a commercial redeye flight?). The whole thing ends with a day game in PHX, but then there isn't an off-day before the next homestand either.

Light blogging today. Padilla covering the game, and I got a lot of little stuff to clear from my to-do list before catching the redeye tonight.

Kemp, CF
Ethier, RF
Garciaparra, SS
Ramirez, LF
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
Blake, 3B
Berroa, 2B
Lowe, P

The boys lost this one in the bottom of the fourth, when they got runners to second and third with one out and left them there when Juan Pierre and Matt Kemp struck out in succession. Although they still led 3-1 at that point, there was a sense of impending doom after that, and it held true. The very shaky Jonathan Broxton imploded again in the ninth, hitting Matt Holliday to begin the inning, and it led to what hitting a batter to begin an inning almost always does. The Dodgers committed four errors in a game for the first time in more than three years, and it is worth noting that all four of them were committed by catcher Danny Ardoin, third baseman Russell Martin and first baseman Casey Blake -- all three of whom were part of an elaborate musical chairs in the starting lineup that all resulted from manager Joe Torre wanting to sit James Loney because Loney was 1 for 15 against Jeff Francis. This is one instance where Torre might have outsmarted himself. ... Dodgers fall to 64-62 and are now two games behind the Snakes, the biggest deficit they have faced in two weeks. It all lends an undeniable touch of urgency to tomorrow's series and homestand finale, especially given that the upcoming, 10-game trip begins with a dicey, four-game series in Philly.

He stepped in a hole while chasing a fly ball for Las Vegas at Fresno last night and left the game with discomfort in his knee. He isn't playing tonight at Colorado Springs, but he is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow. Joe Torre made sure to point out that Jones was scheduled to sit tonight anyway, even before stepping in the hole.

Pierre also is hitting .481 (13 for 27) for his career against Jef Francis, while Ethier is 4 for 17 (.235). I didn't notice when I posted earlier that Loney is out, with Martin at third and Blake at first. This is because Loney is 1 for 15 (.067) against Francis, with five strikeouts.

The gap is widening. Pierre now hitting 152 points higher than Ethier (.354 to .202) against left-handed pitchers -- although Ethier still has three more home runs against lefties this season than Pierre has against ANY pitcher since the start of last year (that would be ZERO).

Pierre CF
Kemp RF
Kent 2B
Ramirez LF
Garciaparra SS
Blake 1B
Martin 3B
Ardoin C
Billingsley P

Game story in tomorrow's paper will provide all the reasons why, most of which you already know anyway. But there was a very cool story hidden behind this ugly loss by the Dodgers. Tanyon Sturtze, the veteran reliever whose contract was purchased from Las Vegas on Thursday, finally got into a game -- his first major-league game since May 13, 2006, for the Yankees against the A's. Since then, he has lost most of one season to right shoulder surgery and all of another season when his recovery from that procedure didn't go as smoothly as he thought it would. He was in camp with the Dodgers in 2004, then was sent out before opening day and traded to the Yankees on May 15 of that year for the unforgettable Brian Myrow. I was new on the beat that year and didn't arrive in camp until March 4, so I must confess I never made an effort to get to know Sturtze. But I met him for the first time on Friday, the day after he was called up, and he seems like a really good dude. And although he gave up a double to the first major-league batter he faced in more than two years, Troy Tulowitzki, he came back to get the next three guys in order, all on fly balls to the outfield, without Tulowitzki advancing, then took a seat. All in all, it was a triumphant return. Good for him. ... Dodgers fall to 64-61 and a game behind the Snakes.

This will be in tomorrow's paper

By Tony Jackson
Staff Writer
History repeated itself on Tuesday. And so did Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti.
``We had this conversation two years ago,'' Colletti said to a small group of reporters, shortly after the Dodgers formally announced they once again had acquired veteran right-hander Greg Maddux. ``He brings a lot more than just (pitching) every fifth day. He brings a lot to the party the other four days. too.''
Colletti was referring, of course, to leadership, and a degree of it that only a 23-year veteran with four Cy Young Awards under his belt can bring.
Two years ago, when Maddux came to the Dodgers in a trading-deadline deal with the Chicago Cubs, Dodgers right-hander Chad Billingsley, then a rookie, got a chance to learn from Maddux, both by watching him and by listening to him. This time, another rookie, lefty Clayton Kershaw, will get the same opportunity.
``(Maddux) adds more than just taking the ball every fifth or sixth day,'' said Dodgers manager Joe Torre, virtually echoing Colletti. ``What he has done in his career, and the way he has done it, I believe it's going to add a lot, just his willingness to talk to the younger players and his presence.''
The Dodgers acquired Maddux from San Diego, along with what is believed to be about $1.3 million to cover slightly more than half of what remains of his $10 million salary for this season -- the Dodgers appear to be on the hook for roughly $900,000. The Padres get two Dodgers minor leaguers to be named, which they will select from an already agreed-upon pool of five players, or they can simply choose to take one player and recoup some of the money.
To clear a 25-man roster spot for Maddux, the Dodgers optioned left-hander Eric Stults to Triple-A Las Vegas. Stults, who was in the majors for the second time this season, had been recalled from Las Vegas just five days earlier and hadn't appeared in a game for the Dodgers. To clear a 40-man roster spot, the Dodgers moved reliever Scott Proctor from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list. That still leaves Proctor eligible for activation as soon as Thursday, although he isn't expected back anytime soon.
Maddux, who will make his first start for the Dodgers on Friday night at Philadelphia, downplayed his role as a leader.
``I don't know what all that stuff means,'' he said. ``I'll just try to be a teammate and do what I can to try to support guys. The coaching staff is usually good at teaching. I'll just stay out of their way and let the coaches coach.''
While there is no denying Maddux's Hall of Fame credentials -- he has won 353 career games, including at least 13 in each of the past 20 seasons -- there is a question as to how much he has left at age 42. Maddux struggled to a 6-9 record with the Padres this year, although his 3.99 ERA would suggest that has more to do with bad luck than anything else.
``Obviously, I'm not as strong or as durable as I once was,'' he said. ``It's not easy for me to go out there and throw 120 or 130 pitches anymore. But you have to go out there and play with what you've got and hopefully give your team a good six or seven innings, then let everybody else do their thing after that.''
Maddux, who will be eligible for free agency in the fall, said he hasn't decided whether to retire after this season.
``I'm not there yet,'' he said. ``A lot has happened in the last day or two, a lot of changes. I will worry about next year when the time comes.''

The Dodgers optioned lefty Eric Stults to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room for Maddux, and they cleared a 40-man spot by moving Scott Proctor to the 60-day DL. Stults had been recalled on Thursday and hadn't made a single appearance in between. Proctor is still eligible to return as early as this Thursday, but he isn't expected to do so for a while yet. ... By the way, Maddux gets No. 36, same one he had two years ago. That was Danny Ardoin's number, and he just showed up today and had a No. 28 jersey hanging in his locker because no one had even asked him first. ``It's all good,'' Ardoin said. ``I wasn't attached to (36).''

The cash considerations mean the Padres are picking up part of his salary. Not sure yet how much. Here's the release.

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced that they have re-acquired right-handed pitcher Greg Maddux and cash considerations from the San Diego Padres for two minor league players to be named later or cash considerations. The announcement was made by Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti.
"It's very rare that you get the opportunity to add a pitcher like Greg even one time, let alone twice," said Colletti. "He's one of the greatest pitchers of all time and we've already seen what he can add to a team both on the field and in the clubhouse."
Maddux, 42, is a four-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All-Star. Earlier this season, he became just the ninth pitcher in Major League history to reach 350 victories in his career, as he currently is one win behind Roger Clemens for eighth place all-time.
He joined the Dodgers in 2006 and went 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA in 12 starts down the stretch while helping Los Angeles earn a Wild Card berth. That marked his 12th postseason appearance, including nine consecutive years with the Braves from 1995-2003. He has twice helped Atlanta to the World Series, winning the championship in 1995. In 32 career playoff games, Maddux has a 3.34 ERA, including a 2.09 ERA in five World Series starts.
Last season, Maddux earned his 17th Rawlings Gold Glove Award, setting a new Major League record. He won 13 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1990-2002 and four in a row awards in 2004-07. Maddux has led the league in victories three times and ERA four times.
In 26 starts this season, the right-hander is 6-9 with a 3.99 ERA. He recently surpassed Phil Niekro to break into the top 10 on the all-time strikeout list, as his 3,353 punch outs rank 10th in big league history and second among active pitchers behind Randy Johnson. Maddux has averaged just 1.80 walks per nine innings in his career, the third-lowest career mark among active big leaguers.
In his last three starts, the right-hander is 2-1 with a 1.89 ER (4 ER/19.0 IP) while striking out nine and walking just one batter.
From 1988-2004, he won 15 or more games each year, surpassing Cy Young (15 from 1891-1905) for the most consecutive 15-win seasons (17) in Major League history. He also has 20 consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins, surpassing Young's mark of 19 set from 1891-1909.

Sounds like they have agreed in principle, although the deal has yet to be finalized. Guessing it could come down tonight, so stay tuned. The major hurdles clearly have been cleared, with Maddux agreeing to the trade. He last pitched on Friday, so he could make his Dodgers debut anytime starting Wednesday night.

The Dodgers are believed to be actively engaged in talks with the San Diego Padres about a potential trade that would bring veteran right-hander and certain future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux back to Los Angeles, although it isn't clear how far those talks have progressed. There had been widespread speculation of such a possible move over the past several days, since news first surfaced that Maddux had cleared waivers following the July 31 trading deadline and thus became eligible to be traded through Aug. 31. But it isn't believed that the clubs began earnestly discussing such a deal until sometime during the past 24 hours.
Maddux, 42, is in his 23rd major-league season and has won 353 games in his career. The Dodgers acquired him from the Chicago Cubs at the trading deadline in 2006, and he went 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA in 12 starts the rest of the way, helping the Dodgers capture the National League wild card.
Maddux became a free agent after that season and signed a one-year, $10 million contract with San Diego for 2007. He signed another one-year, $10 million contract with the Padres last winter.
Maddux has struggled this season, going 6-9 despite a 3.99 ERA. After beating Colorado on May 10, he didn't win again until July 28, ending a span of 14 consecutive winless starts in which he was 0-5 with a 4.54 ERA.

Andre Ethier's second career multiple-home run game was enough to carry the Dodgers to their third walkoff victory and their sixth win in the first seven games of this monumentally important homestand. All seven of those games, and all six of those wins, have come against teams that were either leading their division when they arrived here (Phillies) or were leading (and are still leading) in the wild card (Brewers). For perhaps the first time this season, you can call these Dodgers a legitimately good team that has a real shot not only of getting to the playoffs, but of lasting a while when they do. Thirty-eight games to go. They improve to 64-60 and pull back into a first-place tie with the Snakes. ... For some reason, they played Don't Stop Believing going into the TOP of the ninth today. Obviously, that messed up the karma. Dodgers blew a four-run lead. But Ethier's walkoff in the bottom of the inning made up for it. Off-day tomorrow. First one in two weeks, last one for 2 1/2. See ya Tuesday.

Although Joe Torre probably was right in his assessment that there isn't enough time left in the season for Brad Penny to do what he would have to do to get himself ready to return to the Dodgers' starting rotation, general manager Ned Colletti said this morning that he hasn't given up on getting Penny back this season and that his return could come out of the bullpen, something that wouldn't require nearly as much rehab time.
``We could get him back in the bullpen, too,'' Colletti said. ``Who knows? Even if it does take that long to rehab, if we can get him healthy ... I don't know if we have enough (information) right now to be saying anything (definitive).''
Colletti declined to address the issue of whether Penny's health concerns will impact the club's decision to exercise or decline the $9.25 million option for 2009 on Penny's contract. The option carries a $2 million buyout. Penny has made just 17 starts this season, 15 of which came before he went on the DL the first time back in June.
Presumably, even if the Dodgers decline Penny's option, they still would be willing to re-sign him as a free agent.

Kemp, CF
Ethier, RF
Kent, 2B
Ramirez, LF
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
Blake, 3B
Berroa, SS
Kershaw, P

Andruw Jones went 0 for 3, and Delwyn Young went 0 for 2 with a walk for Triple-A Las Vegas at Fresno tonight. They'll be there for a while.

After the Dodgers put together a stirring rally in the ninth to tie it and just missed winning it when Brewers 2B Ray Durham ran down Casey Blake's blooper in shallow right field to end the inning with the bases loaded, Jonathan Broxton issued a two-out walk to Durham in the 10th that would end up costing the Dodgers the game. Durham stole second and came home on J.J. Hardy's single, and although the Dodgers got two men on for Kent and Ramirez in the 10th, neither one of them came through. Dodgers fall to 63-60, snapping a seven-game winning streak at home. They also fall a game behind the Snakes. ... By the way, I'm guessing this was a Charles Steinberg decision, but the Dodgers added two musical touches tonight that anyone who grew up in the '70s and '80s (that would be me) can't help but love. First, with the team trailing in the ninth, they played Journey's Don't Stop Believing. Played it through the entire break before the inning started, then played snippets of it every time a batter reached base. OUTSTANDING!!! The second one actually began the last time the Dodgers lost a home game, but it was so long ago that I had forgotten about it. Anyway, they have replaced that canned recording of Nancy Bea playing Tomorrow, from the musical Annie (yes, it's a canned recording, Nancy Bea is long gone by the ninth inning). They now play Fleetwood Mac's Don't Stop. I love Nancy Bea, and I love organ music at the ballpark. But I LOVE Journey and Fleetwood Mac, two of the greatest bands that ever lived IMHO. And even if you disagree, I think you have to admit that either one is better than Go Dodgers Go or The Dodgers are the Heart of L.A. or any of that other postgame noise pollution they play here every night.

It's his first Dodger Stadium appearance in two years, and his first in another team's uniform. I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to why he was booed. ... This Brewers team can play some serious defense. CF Mike Cameron has robbed the Dodgers of two extra-base hits tonight, and Gabe Kapler robbed Russell Martin of a HR by diving into the front row down in the corner in the seventh. That catch is the difference in the game right now, as the Brewers lead 3-2 in the eighth.

The test revealed increased scar tissue in the front part of the right shoulder, which appeared to be impinging on the rotator-cuff tendon, causing inflammation and irritation. He won't throw before Tuesday, and he will be re-evaluated early next week. But given the time it's going to take to get him ready to go again -- and given what Torre said pregame -- it's seems doubtful at this point that he'll be back this year.

Joe Torre says he's not counting on Brad Penny coming back --

``Nothing anybody has said to me makes me say that. It's just (based) off what has happened this year. He did his time on the DL and did the slow process of coming back, of rehab and all that. There just seems to be something that just doesn't feel right, I guess.''

-- and hinted that perhaps the Dodgers should go get another starter.

``If it's somebody who makes us better, I certainly would lean towards that.''

Last time I checked, it didn't appear that anything was going on with Greg Maddux. Not sure if there are any other frontline starters who have cleared waivers. ... Also, Torre says that even if Rafael Furcal comes back, he probably can't be counted on as an everyday player after missing so much time.

It is beginning to appear that for the first time this year, the Dodgers have some semblance of a set lineup

Kemp. CF
Ethier. RF
Kent. 2B
Ramirez. LF
Loney. 1B
Martin. C
Garciaparra. SS
Blake. 3B
Lowe. RHP

Fifth win in a row for the boys, who have now won seven in a row at home. The story of the game was Chad Billingsley, who turned in another seven-inning masterpiece; Casey Blake, who went 3 for 4 with a single, double and two-run homer; and Jeff Kent, who went 3 for 4 and drove in the go-ahead run. But the story of this homestand has been a Dodgers' bullpen that since its near-implosion on Monday night (when it almost blew its third game in a row) has now combined to pitch 13 consecutive scoreless innings, allowing a grand total of three hits over that span. The Brewers' last, best hope was snuffed out in the eighth, when Corey Hart hit a drive to right-center off Broxton with two outs, the bases loaded and the Dodgers leading by a run. The ball hung in the air just long enough for Juan Pierre to get under it and haul it in, eliciting the loudest ovation of the night. Dodgers go to 62-59 and stay tied with the Snakes, nine ahead of the Rox.

The MRI results allegedly are floating around here somewhere, but finding out what they show is tough. Joe Torre said during his pregame media scrum that he hadn't asked. The PR staff has an email in to Stan Conte. ... Torre acknowledged today that Gary Bennett probably won't be back this year because the plantar fasciitis simply hasn't gotten any better with time. ... Ran into James Van Der Beek downstairs. He is doing research on a movie wrote about a modern-day major-league player, but he said it's really just about a character with a story similar to his own, who experiences a lot of success early in life and how he deals with it.

Pierre. CF
Kemp. RF
Kent. 2B
Ramirez. LF
Garciaparra. SS
Martin. C
Blake. 3B
Loney. 1B
Billingsley. RHP

The Dodgers pulled off their first four-game sweep of the Phillies since July 2-4, 1962. Tomorrow will be just the sixth day since June 1 that the Phils won't wake up with at least a share of first place in the N.L. East. But the Phillies will get their chance at revenge. There is another four-gamer, this one at Citizens Bank Park, beginning a week from tomorrow.

``We're a very confident team,'' Phillies 1B Ryan Howard said. ``We know we haven't played well. If you ask anybody in here, I don't think we've played up to our capabilities. The good thing is we'll get another shot at them (next) week.''

Howard, who began the day as the National League's HR and RBI leader, went 1 for 14 in this series, with one home run, two walks, a sac fly and six strikeouts. That was one key for the Dodgers. The other key was that Jimmy Rollins, last year's N.L. MVP, went 3 for 18 -- including hitless in his final 11 ABs.

The Dodgers' bullpen struggled in the opener. But in the final three, the relievers combined to pitch 11 shutout innings, allowing just one hit. Hong-Chih Kuo gets his first major-league save by retiring six of seven in the eighth and ninth tonight. Hiroki Kuroda was the big hero tonight, but you can read all about that in tomorrow's paper. Dodgers go to 62-59, their first time to three over .500 since they were 26-23 after beating the Cardinals in Clayton Kershaw's big-league debut on May 25, and they stay tied with the Snakes, nine ahead of the Rox.

I won't bore you with details of what goes on in the press box AFTER the game, except to tell you that it usually involves me yelling at someone for having a loud conversation in the back while the rest of us are frantically trying to finish our stories and hit our deadlines. I'm kind of Type-A on deadline. The rest of the time, though, I'm a really nice guy.

They'll join Las Vegas on Saturday at Fresno.

Filed this for tomorrow's paper

The Dodgers are believed to be in discussions with the Washington Nationals about a possible trade that would bring veteran infielder Ronnie Belliard to Los Angeles. The Nationals withdrew Belliard from the waiver wire after at least one team, the Dodgers, put in a claim on him. But because the Dodgers were the team that would have acquired Belliard, by rules, the Nationals still can trade him to that club.
Belliard, 33, is hitting .237 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI this season and has played first, second and third base. He also can play shortstop, although it isn't immediately clear where he would fit with the Dodgers. He is in the first season of a two-year, $3.5 million contract that is paying him $1.6 million this year and will pay him $1.9 million next year.

Despite what I wrote on this blog last night -- the thing about it being good news that Penny seemed to be dealing with two different issues in his two starts -- he just didn't look right in either one of them. Went for an MRI today, the result of which aren't yet known, but he can't even throw a baseball for about five days. Torre said Penny will be replaced in the rotation by whoever is rested and ready the next time it comes up (Jason Johnson, Eric Stults, etc.). There is an off-day on Monday, but Torre seemed to hint they'll use Penny's rotation spot on Tuesday against Colorado instead of skipping it. ... Like Penny, Cory Wade has shoulder inflammation). Stults is on the 40-man, Tanyon Sturtze isn't, but the roster was at 39 so there is no corresponding move.

By the way, Manny got his hair cut. Sort of. Put it this way, when I saw him for the first time today, I couldn't even tell.

I have absolutely nothing to post on this blog, so I thought perhaps you would be interested in knowing what goes on in the press box at 3:30 p.m. (10 minutes BEFORE the clubhouse opens to the media). Most of us arrive at 3. Right now, there are three Phillies beat writers sitting together at the third-base end of the front row. To their right, on the first-base end, are Dylan Hernandez from the Times and Joe Resnick from the AP ... oh, and Al Balderas from the Register just showed up down there, too. I'm in the second row, two seats to the right of the center aisle, where I sit every night (the Daily News has two front-row seats, but for a variety of reasons, I established squatter's rights here a few years ago). To me left, on the other side of the aisle, are Ken Gurnick of mlb.com and Josh Suchon, who is having a conversation with Matt Hurst of the Press-Enterprise, who is in his final couple of weeks there because he just took a job as an assistant sports information director at UC-Santa Barbara. There is nobody in the back row yet. Almost everyone is checking their email. That's what we do between 3 and 3:40, maybe fill out expense forms, read the daily clips packet that the Dodgers provide with all of the day's media coverage.. Tony Kinkella from Dodgers on Demand just walked in and patted me on the shoulders. He has a thing about patting people on the shoulders. Think it's a compulsion. Times blogger Brian Kamenetzky just walked in and sat down by the Phillies writers. Tony just walked by and patted me on the shoulders again. Alex Torres from the Dodgers' clubhouse staff walked in and is now talking on his cell phone. Our own Steve Dilbeck just walked in with John Nadel of the AP. That's about it. Hope you found this fascinating. Clubhouse opens in three minutes.

Judging by these three games -- especially the past two -- there might be something magical beginning to materialize in these Dodgers. These two games have followed almost the same script: fall behind early, chip away, finally push the tying run across in the eighth and win it in the ninth. But the common theme to both games has been the bullpen, which has combined to pitch nine innings and give up a grand total of one hit. Jason Johnson and Chan Ho Park were the heroes tonight, delivering 2 2/3 and 2 1/3 scoreless innings, respectively, before Jonathan Broxton blew away the Phillies in the ninth. ... By the way, Brad Penny's complete meltdown tonight was totally different from his middling, five-inning performance on Friday night at San Francisco. That was about a lack of velocity. His velocity was fine tonight, but he couldn't locate. Believe it or not, that is actually GOOD news. The fact his ineffectiveness has been for different reasons in each of his two starts since coming off the DL suggests that there isn't any sort of continuing problem. At any rate, Torre seemed to suggest after the game that he is still committed to Penny as one of his starters. ``We'll see how he feels, but at this point in time, he is our guy five days from now.'' That would actually be six days from now against Colorado, because the Dodgers are off on Monday. ... Just for kicks, I asked Joe how tough it was to double switch ManRam out of the game in the ninth inning, given that there was no guarantee the game wouldn't go 12, 13 or maybe 25 innings. ``I tried to find a way not to do it,'' he said. ``But I knew we had Berroa and Ardoin on the bench. Pierre would be the fourth hitter, and Ethier would be the sixth hitter. I kicked myself for it. That was the toughest decision of the year for me right there.'' The good news is that thanks to Nomar's walkoff homer, it didn't matter. Dodgers go to 61-59, first time to two games over .500 since they were 26-24 after losing to the Cubs on May 26, and pull even with Arizona.

Not terribly surprising that the Dodgers lose Falkenborg, a veteran big leaguer. He had been DFA'd several times in his career and had never been claimed off waivers before, so he was fully prepared to accept an assignment to Las Vegas. Now, he won't have to. ...

Marty Reed called me back a few minutes ago. I mentioned in my previous post that he had been relieved of his duties immediately. Turns out the roving coordinators have all stopped traveling by this time of year, anyway, so his year was over. And again, he'll be paid through the end of his contract, which runs through Oct. 31.
``I was disappointed,'' he said. ``I had spent 10 years in the organization, so there was no question I was disappointed.''
He also said he wasn't given a reason and didn't ask for one.
``DeJon Watson just called me and said he wasn't renewing my contract for 2009,'' Reed said. ``I pretty much said, `OK.' It wasn't my decision to make.''
Marty had been in his present role for four years after previous serving as pitching coach at high Single-A Vero Beach and Double-A Jacksonville. As the Dodgers' roving coordinator, he played a major role in the development of several of the club's top young pitchers, including Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ramon Troncoso, Cory Wade, Jonathan Broxton and Hong-Chih Kuo.
``I just want to make it very clear how much I love those kids and how much I love this organization, and it's very difficult to leave it,'' said Reed, who lives outside Charlotte, N.C. ``In my heart, I will always be a Dodger, and I try to live up to those standards. It's what being a Dodger is all about, the loyalty and the dedication.''

Ordinarily, minor-league coaching moves don't warrant much attention. But the Dodgers' decision not to renew the contract of Marty Reed after this season -- and to relieve him of his duties immediately -- at least gets your attention. Marty is the Dodgers' roving minor-league pitching coordinator, meaning he oversees the pitching coach at each affiliate and is the guy whose job it is to make sure the organization's pitching philosophy is being practiced at each level. Marty is a really good guy whom I have gotten to know during spring training the past couple of years, and he has always had time to help me out whenever I needed to get his voice into a story about one of the Dodgers' pitching prospects. I spoke with DeJon Watson, and all he would say was, ``We don't comment on personnel matters,'' and in his defense, that IS an organizational policy (albeit one that isn't always strictly adhered to). But after doing some additional investigative work, I came to find out that the biggest reason behind this was apparently the fact that the Dodgers' minor-league pitchers at all four of the club's full-season affiliates were walking way too many batters, and apparently Marty became the fall guy for that.

Here are the numbers going into today:

Triple-A Las Vegas -- 469 walks in 1097 2/3 innings, sixth-most walks in the 16-team Pacific Coast League, average of 3.8 per nine innings
Double-A Jacksonville--476 walks in 1062 innings, most in the 10-team Southern League, 4.0 walks per nine innings
high Single-A Inland Empire--499 walks in 1086 innings, second-most in the 10-team California League, 4.1 per nine innings
low Single-A Great Lakes--443 walks in 1047.33 innings, third-most in the 14-team Midwest League, 3.8 walks per nine innings.

Andre Ethier gets the big hit in the ninth to win it, but what shouldn't be lost after this game is the effort of relievers Joe Beimel and Hong-Chih Kuo -- and that's on the heels of another solid start by Clayton Kershaw. Beimel (perect seventh inning) and Kuo combined to retire nine of the final 10 Phillies batters without allowing a hit, and Kuo pitched around his leadoff walk of Jayson Werth in the ninth. The Dodgers' bullpen has had a rough past few days, but there is no getting around the fact that these guys have been one of this team's biggest strengths -- if not its biggest strength -- all season. Another key to tonight's game was that while the Dodgers couldn't do much against Cole Hamels, what they did do against him was make him work. The result was that they got him out of the game after seven innings and 111 pitches on a night when he otherwise was so dominating that he might have been allowed to go much deeper. The sixth inning, one of only two frames in which Hamel didn't set the Dodgers down in order, was critical because although the Dodgers got only one run and left the bases loaded, they sent seven batters to the plate. Then, after setting them down in order again in the seventh, Hamels was done. After that the Dodgers scratched out the tying run against Chad Durbin in the eighth and the winning run against J.C. Romero in the ninth. Dodgers to go 60-59 and stay a game behind the Snakes.

Here's the official release from the Dodgers. This is a pretty big deal.

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced that the inaugural ThinkCure radiotelethon will take place this weekend on KABC 790 AM, 95.5 KLOS FM, and KCAL 9 to promote awareness and raise funds for cancer research. Fans can make donations to the Dodgers' official charity online at www.thinkcure.org, by calling (866) 554-CURE, or in person at the stadium throughout this weekend.

Fans are now able to bid online at www.dodgers.com on auction items such as a pregame visit in the booth with Dodger Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, a VIP trip to the Dodgers' new Spring Training facilities in Glendale, Arizona, an autographed guitar by Melissa Etheridge, and signed jerseys of several Dodgers players including Joe Torre, Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp, James Loney, Andre Ethier, Nomar Garciaparra, Hiroki Kuroda, and Russell Martin.

The Think Blue sign that can be seen in the hills beyond left field and has become one of the signature identification points of Dodger Stadium has been changed to read "ThinkCure" in honor of the radio telethon. In addition, the official ThinkCure logo will be painted onto the field in foul territory at Dodger Stadium.

Beginning tomorrow, KCAL and KCBS will air feature stories about ThinkCure and the life-saving research being done at City of Hope and Childrens Hospital, the two Dodgers' partners in ThinkCure.

The radio telethon kicks off this Friday morning at 5 a.m. on KABC 790 with Doug McIntyre, as Dodger Owner Frank McCourt and Dodger Manager and cancer survivor Joe Torre will be on the air with popular morning show hosts Mark & Brian from KLOS, followed by McIntyre. KABC, the Dodgers' flagship radio station and its sister station, KLOS, will have various Dodger guests on the air over the next 36 hours to help promote the inaugural event. That will include a number of Dodger players and coaches whose lives have been affected by cancer in one way or another.

At Friday night's game, volunteers will hand out ThinkCure! pens to fans as they enter the stadium and fans will receive the compact disc entitled "Dodgers Baseball: Music to your Ears," compliments of Carl's Jr.. The CD is the soundtrack of Dodger Stadium and will include tracks such as "Talkin' Baseball" by Terry Cashman, "Can't Stop the Blue" by Ozomatli, "D-O-D-G-E-R-S SONG (OH REALLY? NO, O'MALLEY)" by Danny Kaye, and an introduction by Dodger Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully. The Dodgers recently announced the CD's release in addition to their existing promotional schedule and it will be distributed one per family.

Marilyn McCoo and her husband, cancer survivor Billy Davis Jr., both of The Fifth Dimension, will perform the National Anthem on Friday night followed by their original new song, "That's When I Fell in Love with Baseball." Singer, songwriter, and actress Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas and "Knott's Landing" will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

On Saturday morning, the Dodgers' Women's Initiatives Network (DodgersWIN) will present a baseball clinic and luncheon at Dodger Stadium from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. The fee of $125 for the event, called "Play to WIN," includes a ticket to any available regular season Dodger home game in 2008 and is open to fans 15 and older. Net proceeds benefit ThinkCure!

Second baseman Jeff Kent, bullpen coach Ken Howell, bench coach Bob Schaefer and strength and conditioning coordinator Brendon Huttman will host the on-field clinic from 10 a.m. to noon along with more than a dozen former Dodger legends. Following the clinic, Torre, Dodger hitting coach Don Mattingly, All-Star catcher Russell Martin, and outfielder Matt Kemp are expected to be on hand for the luncheon. All Dodger personnel are scheduled to take part in the on-air portion of the radio telethon.

KABC 790 and 95.5 KLOS FM will be broadcasting live from Dodger Stadium, with KABC on site at each event beginning at 1 p.m. until the first pitch of the game and KLOS going live from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On Saturday night, nine children and 25 doctors from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and City of Hope will be honored on the field in a pregame ceremony honoring the resolve of cancer researchers and the courage of cancer patients. ThinkCure! volunteers will pass out pens to all adults who enter the stadium.

Rock and roll singer Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon will perform the National Anthem prior to the game, followed by his new original song "The Dodgers are the Heart of LA."

During the KCAL game telecast on Saturday night, donation information will scroll at the bottom of the screen, encouraging viewers to take part in radio telethon.

ThinkCure was launched in July 2007 by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the McCourt family, City of Hope, and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. ThinkCure is a charity whose purpose is to raise funds to support cancer research, and whose mission is to find a cure for cancer.

Once again, the move is to clear a roster spot for Nomar Garciaparra, who was activated today. The Las Vegas 51s begin a 13-game trip tonight, and Andruw is expected to join them on it at some point. I asked both Joe Torre and Ned Colletti, separately, whether they now believe it was a mistake to activate Jones on July 4 (at Jones' request, in response to Juan Pierre going on the DL), instead of letting him stay on his rehab through the All-Star break, as originally planned. These were their answers:

Joe: ``It could have been. I think we have that opportunity now to have him go out there and play and have enough at-bats where he could have gotten comfortable. We were in a weakened position with Juan going down. (Jones) texted me that day, and I kind of caved in. He and I went back and forth, and I kept saying, `Are you sure you're ready to do this, that and the other?' And I talked to (minor-league hitting coach) Jeff (Pentland), and he liked what he was seeing as far as how (Jones) was swinging the bat. We probably should have, in hindsight, left him there a little longer.''

Ned: ``You never want to dampen somebody's enthusiasm to try to help the club. This was (Jones') idea. He rushed back and wanted to help the club. In hindsight, yeah, you wish we could have taken the proper amount of time and gotten him healed. But it's tough for me to be critical of a guy who wants to help the club.''

Jonathan Broxton's eighth save might been his toughest -- he had to face eight batters and record four outs to get it -- but he finished it off. The lineup exploded for six in the third and one in the fourth, and the game seemed to be over at that point. But the Phillies climbed back into it and got the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth. Never easy for this team. But for all the hangover of this past weekend, they're right back to .500 (59-59) and right back to within one game of the idle Snakes. This homestand is HUGE for the boys. It's their second one in a row of 10 games, and they managed to win seven on the last one. They really need to win seven again. When it's over, they'll have 35 games left -- 23 of them on the road.

Andruw Jones has irritation of the patellar tendon in his right knee, something manager Joe Torre said has nothing to do with the surgery he had there earlier this season. There is a chance he could be placed on the DL tomorrow to make room for Nomar, who is expected to be activated. That almost certainly would mean Jones going on a minor-league rehab assignment at some point, which could only help him and couldn't possibly hurt him. If Dodgers officials ever asked him to go down and work on his swing when he wasn't hurt, they aren't admitting it. But this would provide the perfect chance to get him to the minors for a few days ... assuming, that is, they do it quickly. The minor-league season ends the first week of September. ... The Dodgers' protest of last Wednesday night's game in St. Louis was officially denied today by the commissioner's office. It goes in the books as a loss. But again, that was the result club officials fully expected, so this really isn't much of a story.

My deepest sympathies go out today to Dave Miley, a man I am proud to call my friend and one of the truly good people in this game. Dave's son, Cody, was killed in a car crash this morning in Tampa. He would have turned 18 next week -- just a few months older than my own daughter. I can't even begin to imagine the level of grief that accompanies such a loss. Dave is the Yankees' Triple-A manager at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He was the Reds' Triple-A manager and later their major-league manager during the four years in which I covered the team. Below is a link to the story in the Tampa Tribune, partially written by another mutual friend of mine and Dave's, Marc Lancaster.

http://northeast2.tbo.com/content/2008/aug/11/taillights-lead-hillsborough-deputies-fatal-crash/

It's one thing to bounce back from one of these. But to bounce back from two of them in a row? When you have two good teams coming in back-to-back beginning tomorrow? When you could have been in first place if you could have just held a ninth-inning lead last night and then held another one today? This could be the beginning of the end, folks. But hey, 2009 isn't that far away. ... Saw a Giants visiting clubhouse attendant actually putting a rubber band in the back of Manny's hair after the game. Hope the kid got a nice tip. The things clubbies have to do for ballplayers. ... In yet another example of ballpark security guards everywhere trying to make sure big-league ballplayers never have to breathe the same oxygen as the great unwashed, I actually witnessed, on my way back to the press box, two guards telling a group of stadium employees they couldn't go down a hallway to clock out -- something they HAVE to do before they can go home -- because that hallway led to the parking lot where the Dodgers were boarding their team bus. ... Dodgers fall to 58-59 and 1 1/2 behind the Snakes, less than 24 hours after they were three outs away from vaulting into the division lead.

Of course, no one has a radar gun on a pitcher when he throws a bullpen. But everything seemed fine. ``It was normal,'' Joe Torre said. ``Nothing unusual for him. He had some (shoulder) stiffness, but he said that's normal for all the bullpens he throws.'' His next scheduled start in on Wednesday night against the Phillies.

He has started one game -- ONE -- since he popped off last Sunday about how the Dodgers had ``put me in a difficult position'' all year and how ``they're sticking it to me.'' Torre says there is no correlation. A lot of people say a lot of things. But many of you have pointed out on this blog over the past few days that the Dodgers' best outfield alignment is Manny, Kemp and Ethier. Maybe Torre is beginning to agree.

Kemp, CF
Ethier, RF
Kent, 2B
Ramirez, LF
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
Blake, 3B
Berroa, SS
Billingsley, P

Jonathan Broxton blew a save for the sixth time in 13 chances, but that's a deceiving stat. The first five came before he was closing. The encouraging thing, manager Joe Torre said, was that he came out throwing strikes, something that was absent from his performances on Thursday at St. Louis and Friday night here, when he converted the save both times despite shaky performances. And if Broxton hadn't made a wild throw on Emmanuel Burriss' bouncer, maybe he would have gotten Dave Roberts at the plate, and maybe he would have converted the save. If this were a real division race -- the kind in which two really good teams fight each other for the lead -- this would be the kind of loss that could prove devastating for the Dodgers. But this is the N.L. West, where mediocrity ultimately will reign. And besides, the D-backs lost Orlando Hudson tonight to a wrist injury, possibly for the rest of the season. This race is like a couple of 102-year-old guys who are trying to see who can go the longest without dying. Dodgers fall to 58-58 and stay a half-game behind the Snakes, who will try to avoid a four-game sweep by the Braves tomorrow when they send Brandon Webb to the hill. Yes, the Dodgers missed a golden opportunity. But in the N.L. West, there will be other golden opportunities.

The Giants had some contrived pregame ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their move West, and they brought out a bunch of their old outfielders. There was a lot of pregame speculation about whether Barry Bonds was going to show up. Well, he did, and he actually stepped to the microphone in front of the pitcher's mound, pointed to the Dodgers dugout and said something along the lines of how it felt weird not to be in uniform when the Dodgers were here. Then he said something like, ``I beat you before and I WILL beat you again,'' although that might not be the exact wording. Seemed to be implying that he'll play in the majors again. ... It is a beatiful night by the bay. I wish the Dodgers would play these 6 o'clock games on Saturdays, because it's a perfect time of day. It's a little chilly here, but not as much as it was last night. But there isn't a cloud in the sky, and much of the field was bathed in early-evening sunlight as the game began.

By the way, Joe Torre's next win will tie him with Joe McCarthy 2,126 for seventh place on the all-time list. ... Also, the Dodgers' game at Philadelphia on Aug. 24 has been picked up by ESPN for its Sunday Night Baseball telecast and thus will start at 5:05 p.m. West Coast time (8:05 p.m. Philly time). Ordinarily, this would give the Dodgers' beat writers an opportunity to engage in our favorite pastime, which, of course, is complaining about the hardships of our job. But in this case, it's a rare, four-game wraparound series, meaning there is NO early a.m. flight on Monday because there is another game in Philly on Monday night -- and after that one, the Dodgers go to DC, so that's a driving trip. So I'll save my complaining for another time when it is more warranted -- and that time WILL come, take my word for it.

Kemp, CF
Ethier, RF
Kent, 2B
Ramirez, LF
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
Blake, 3B
Berroa, SS
Kuroda, P

With the odd vantage point from the unusually low press box here in San Francisco, at night, when the sky is completely black and the ballpark is all lit up, you can look out past Levi's Landing in right field and see nothing but sheer darkness. That creates a really nice contrast to the white seagulls that fly around here constantly during and after games, so they show up really well -- and so does, say, any white substance that happens to fall from one of those seagulls. I was watching one last night between innings, and when this particular seagull happened to, ummmmm, lighten his load, I am certain I saw it land not 10 feet from Dodgers RF Matt Kemp as he was making his pre-inning warmup tosses. But no one was going to dump on the Dodgers' party last night. They won for the 18th time in 22 games here dating to the start of 2006.

Brad Penny was good. Not great. Maybe not even good enough to beat a good-hitting team, which the Giants most certainly are not. But in his first start since June 15, he was as good as the Dodgers needed him to be to help them get to 58-57 and within a half-game of the Snakes. Jeff Kent had a three-run double in a five-run Dodgers third. Danny Ardoin hit his first home run in the majors in almost three years. Casey Blake hit his second home run for the Dodgers. Angel Berroa drove in a run with a two-out double in the third, his third extra-base hit in a span of 10 plate appearances. And Broxton got his seventh save, striking out Randy Winn with the bases jacked to end it. ... Brian Falkenborg was still around after the game. Said if he clears waivers, he'll accept an assignment to Vegas, his logic being that if no team claims him off waivers, no team is going to then sign him as a free agent to pitch in the majors. Also said that while no one promised him anything in terms of a September callup, ``they said there is a good chance.'' He also said he had been DFA'd several times in the past, and no team had ever put in a waiver claim on him. My guess is we'll see him in a few weeks.

Amazing how quickly life can change. Five weeks ago Sunday, on July 6, Falkenborg was the winning pitcher in a game right here at AT&T Park. It was his second career win and his first win since Mother's Day 2004, his previous stint with the Dodgers.
``Wins are like the Olympics for me,'' Falkenborg said that day last month, in reference to the fact his two wins had come four years apart.
That later proved not to be true -- he won again on July 21 at Colorado. But even tripling his career win total wasn't enough to save his spot on the team. This is a veteran reliever with some ability, so it is conceivable that he might not clear waivers and the Dodgers might end up losing him to another team.
This move was made to clear a roster spot for Brad Penny.

James Loney is 1 for 14 with four strikeouts against Barry Zito, so he's out of the lineup. That means Casey Blake is playing 1B for the first time since the Dodgers got him, Russell Martin is playing 3B for the first time in several weeks (I don't have time to look up specifically when the last time was), and Danny Ardoin is catching for the second day in a row. Torre said Brad Penny should be able to throw about 90 pitches, but that a long inning or two and that number might be shaved a bit. ... By the way, Manny is allegedly getting his hair cut when the team gets home. How short remains to be seen. He specifically asked Joe how short, and Joe didn't specify. I'm told the team is now going to begin selling officially licensed bandanas with dreadlocks coming out of them.

Kemp, RF
Martin, 3B
Kent, 2B
Ramirez, LF
Blake, 1B
Jones, CF
Berroa, SS
Ardoin, C
Penny, P

Just looked into ``Manny-gate,'' which you have probably seen reported on one web site or another this afternoon. Doesn't sound like there is a whole lot to it. There IS an investigation, and it is believed to center on that report that came out of the Boston Globe last week that Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras, his agent, went back to the Red Sox after the trade had been finalized and tried to back out of the deal. According to that report, Manny decided he wanted to stay with the Red Sox and said he would play hard and be on his best behavior if the Red Sox would decline the two option years on his contract and keep him, but the Red Sox said no.
The implication of that report is that Manny, by saying he would play hard if the Red Sox kept him, was tacitly admitting that he had been tanking it in the days leading up to the trade. THAT, apparently, is what the commissioner's office is looking into, whether Manny undermined the integrity of the game by deliberately giving less than a full effort in his final days in Boston.
It is important to note, however, that the source for that report has never been identified, that the report has never been corroborated by any additional source and that both Ramirez and Boras said the report was inaccurate. Given all of that, this investigation isn't likely to lead anywhere.
At any rate, Manny is with the Dodgers now, he IS playing all out, and he is batting .565 with four HRs in his first six games. Nothing else really much matters at this point.

The Dodgers don't win here very often, but Clayton Kershaw was too good not to win. He finally gave up a run in the fifth, snapping a string of 16 consecutive scoreless innings. But other than that and the four harmless walks he issued to three very dangerous hitters -- Pujols, Ludwick and Glaus -- Kershaw dominated, holding the Cardinals to three hits over seven innings. Hong-Chih Kuo retired the Cardinals in order in the eighth, and Jonathan Broxton got through a shaky ninth that could mostly be chalked up to inactivity -- it was his first appearance in six days. ... It was a bad day for ManRam. For the first time since the trade, he failed to get at least two hits. All he did was hit a measly little home run, his fourth for the Dodgers, a no-doubter in the third inning that put the Dodgers up 3-0. ... Jeff Kent was 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored hitting in front of Manny. Look for him there again tomorrow night. Torre said he is moving Russell Martin to a different spot in the order, but he hasn't made up his mind which one. ... Dodgers go to 57-57. Snakes play late.

Said this morning, before the game, that Schmidt is probably done for 2008.

``Yes, for this year,'' Torre said. ``At this juncture, a lot would have to happen in a hurry for him to be able to pitch for us at this level. He would have to start throwing bullpens (now), and then his rehab probably would take him through the second week of September at this point. I think it would be a long shot.''

Don't forget, the minor-league regular season ends on Labor Day, so Schmidt is running out of time even for a rehab assignment, and for now, there isn't even a side session planned. Torre did say Scott Proctor is feeling better and is close to resuming his rehab assignment, which was stopped after one appearance at Single-A Inland Empire.

Jeff Kent batting third today. Torre said it's only because Russell Martin is sitting, but Torre also was non-committal when I asked him if Martin will go back into the three-hole tomorrow night. Since the Manny trade, Manny has hit behind Martin in every game until today. In those games, Martin is 5 for 22 with seven strikeouts. But of the six times he has reached base, he has scored four times.

CF Pierre
RF Kemp
2B Kent
LF Ramirez
1B Loney
3B Blake
SS Berroa
C Ardoin
LH Kershaw

Last year's first-round pick has been battling a tender elbow all season. Just checked with DeJon Watson, and they aren't sure yet when he'll make his first appearance or whether it will be as a starter or a reliever. But he is at an unusually high level (high Single-A) for a pitcher with his experience level, so they clearly want to challenge him a little bit. ... Nothing new on last night's protest, but the day is young.

If you're at all interested in what happened during that eighth-inning controversy that led to the Dodgers playing the game under official protest, it's all laid out in tomorrow morning's paper. It was about the only interesting thing that happened in this one. Derek Lowe got bombed, giving up eight runs on a career high-tying 13 hits, and that was all in just 3 1/3 innings. Dodgers had a 3-1 lead at one point, offering a slight glimpse of hope that maybe they actually CAN win in St. Louis -- they are now 2-16 here, playoffs included, since the start of 2004 -- but the lead didn't hold up. They never really do in this town. D-Lowe said his sinker was flat. Whatever it was, he falls to 2-5 with a 5.88 on the road. He's 6-5 with a 2.72 at home. ... Dodgers fall to 56-57 and remain 2 1/2 behind the Snakes.

I may have mentioned this a time or two on this blog before, but every night during road games, all the Dodgers relievers stay in the dugout through the top of the first inning, then walk out to the bullpen en masse between the top and bottom of the first. Tonight, as they were walking to the visiting pen out in left field here, ManRam was jogging from the third-base dugout to his position. He very playfully sneaked up on Cory Wade and Joe Beimel and bulled his way between them. ... Oh, and after that inning, he led off the top of the second with his third home run in a Dodgers uniform, a drive into the front row in right-center off Joel Pineiro.

For the second day in a row, Torre is fielding the lineup you have all been clamoring for, the one that DOES include Andre Ethier and DOESN'T include Juan Pierre. Asked Torre point blank before the game if this has anything to do with the strangely timed comments JP made after Sunday's game about the Dodgers ``sticking it'' to him, and he said no.
``I liked what I saw last night with Andre, and that's why he is in there again tonight,'' Torre said. ``He had some good at-bats, and when the game sped up, he stayed right there. He has come a long way for me over the last month or three weeks.''
This COULD be the beginning of a long-term alignment of ManRam/Kemp/Ethier. Then again, it might not be.
``I'm not sure you can ever figure it out,'' Torre said. ``We have Ethier, we have Juan, and we certainly have Andruw (Jones). The way Matty (Kemp) has been playing and progressing, and Manny of course is Manny and has to be an everyday player because he has shown he can make a difference.
``I can give you an explanation for why somebody should e playing, but it's tough to come up with why they shouldn't be playing.''

Not yet anyway. I'm guessing it's because tomorrow is a day game and Joe wanted to give him one of the two games off. FWIW, Dodgers are 2-15 in St. Louis (counting playoffs) since I have been on the beat. And, as I have stated here before, that is basically the only time frame that matters.

Kemp. CF
Ethier. RF
Martin. C
Ramirez. LF
Loney. 1B
Blake. 3B
Ozuna. 2B
Berroa. SS
Lowe. P

Because I know somebody is going to ask, Joe Torre was saving Jonathan Broxton for a save situation if the Dodgers took the lead -- something they should have done in the 10th, when they got runners to first and third with one out. Russell Martin struck out, and after the inevitable intentional walk to ManRam, James Loney flied to left. That's an inning the Dodgers will remember for a long time and an at-bat Martin will remember for a long time -- he struck out on a 2-2 pitch in the dirt from Ryan Franklin.

This is what Martin said:
``I was just trying to get a ball in the air, trying to drive it to the outfield. I really wish I could have that at-bat back, but there is nothing you can really do. I got a few pitches to do something with, but I wasn't successful.''

This is what Torre said:
``I think Russell got a little aggressive there. If you think having Manny behind you means you're going to get a pitch to hit, maybe you're not as selective. Not every pitch is going to be right down the middle. But again, he was aggressive, and I don't want to take that away from him.''

Manny is now batting .625 (10 for 16) as a Dodger. Martin is now 4 for 17 with five strikeouts in five games hitting in front of Manny. In two games hitting behind Manny, Jeff Kent is 1 for 8 with 2 strikeouts and no RBI. James Loney, who also has hit directly behind Manny in two games, is 3 for 9 in those games. But he also has just one RBI. Tonight, he GIDP's immediately after each of Manny's two hits.

Dodgers fall to 56-56 and 2 1/2 behind the Snakes.

The Dodgers signed former major-league lefty Eric DuBose today to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Jacksonville. ... Preston Mattingly was placed on the seven-day disabled list at Great Lakes with lower back tightness. ... They unveiled the official logo for next year's All-Star Game before the game tonight. Not surprisingly, it features the famous arch. And a cardinal sitting on a bat. But only one cardinal, for some reason. ... One of you asked for a press box photo. Well, I tried, but I'm not going to be able to accommodate. I'm discontinuing the posting of photos on this blog until further notice. The process is simply too long and too complicated, and it usually takes me about an hour to do it, and with the demands of the beat these days, I simply don't have the time. My apologies.

As I was walking through a service tunnel at Busch Stadium on my way from the vistiting clubhouse to the elevator leading up to the press box a few minutes ago, I passed a ballpark employee who was holding a cardboard box and talking into a walkie-talkie. This is what he said:
``Hey Joe, we got that owl out of your office. I think he's OK. They got him in a cage now.''
The things you hear in a ballpark service tunnel.
Anyway, Scott Proctor's rehab assignment has been shut down because he experienced more soreness in his right elbow. Did OK playing catch, but coudn't throw off a mound. He's down for at least seven days, after which he will be re-evaluated.
Sky has turned totally gray in the past hour. Very good chance of a rain delay tonight. Dodgers were going to have early BP today but they canceled it due to the heat.

Kemp. CF
Ethier. RF
Martin. C
Ramirez. LF
Loney. 1B
Kent. 2B
Blake. 3B
Berroa. SS
Billingsley. P

This could be putting him in line for a September callup. He made 22 starts for Jacksonville and somehow came out with only eight decisions (he went 5-3). But his line is impressive. He had a 3.19 ERA, allowed only 98 hits in 118 2/3 innings and had an strikeout/walk ration of almost 4:1, striking out 46 while walking only 12. This is the Dodgers' next big pitching prospect, now that Clayton Kershaw is in the majors. Club officials have made a point of NOT sending Kershaw to Vegas at any point because they don't want the hitter-friendly PCL to do damage to his psyche. Not sure why McDonald is any different. But there is only a month left in the minor-league season, so we'll see what happens. ... Walking off the plane here this morning was like walking into a furnace. Supposed to be about 96 at game time tomorrow night. And if you have ever been here, you know 96 in St. Louis is a little different from 96 in, say, Phoenix.

The Dodgers HAD to win the past two games, and they did. They salvage the split, and they are still in this thing. And ManRam goes 4 for 5 with a double and his second N.L. home run. Turns out it was his first four-hit game of the year. He is now 8 for 13 with a double, two homers, four runs scored and five RBI in a Dodgers uniform. Matt Kemp also had a big day, going 3 for 5 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI just one day after having his 19-game hitting streak snapped. The first two hits, both singles, came off Doug Davis, against whom Kemp is now 8 for 15 lifetime. James Loney and Casey Blake had two hits each, too. Jason Johnson couldn't get through the fifth inning and thus didn't qualify for what would have been an easy win in what will probably be his final start with Brad Penny taking over that rotation spot on Friday. My guess is Johnson will go to the pen and Ramon Troncoso will go to the minors, but again, that's just a guess. Troncoso struggled in the ninth despite having a six-run lead. Didn't give up any runs, but there was a wild pitch and a walk mixed in there. ... Dodgers climb back above .500 at 56-55 and back to within one of the Snakes. ... Off to the Gateway City, where it is supposed to be hot, humid, sticky, humid, miserable, humid ... and did I mention humid?

... but there was a lengthy conversation just inside the doors leading to the Dodgers' clubhouse this morning between Joe Torre and Scott Boras, and while I have no idea what it was about, my strong suspicion is it might have been about Andruw Jones and the possibility of him going to the minors for a few days to try to get his swing right. When the conversation finally ended, I saw Joe and Ned Colletti go into Joe's office.
Without coming right out and saying, ``Hey, what were you and Boras talking about?'' I did go fishing with Joe during his pregame session. What I asked, specifically, was whether sending Andruw to the minors for a few days was a possibility.
This was Joe's answer:
``We're trying to fix Andruw. He is going to have to do it off the bench at this point in time. He is working on some stuff with (extra hitting coach) Jeff (Pentland) and (hitting coach) Donnie (Mattingly). But long-term, I think we're going to have to see some signs to get him back to regular status at this point in time.''
I then specifically asked if going to the minors has been presented to Andruw. Joe said it hasn't, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been presented to Boras. This sort of thing typically goes to the agent first.
Although it can't officially be called a rehab, sending Jones down essentially would amount to the club asking him to complete the minor-league rehab assignment he cut short a month ago, the one that was supposed to last two weeks longer than it did. He was only in Vegas for three days, during which he was said to have shown a dramatically improved swing with his surgically repaired leg. But at Jones' own suggestion, he was activated on July 4 to make up for the fact the club had lost Juan Pierre to the DL. Pierre is back now. But Jones still isn't any better than he was even before knee surgery.

This time, Manny being Manny meant slamming a high, deep drive several rows up into the pavilion in left-center, just to the left of the batter's eye. The two-run blast came with out outs in the first inning and put the Dodgers in front to stay. Manny finished 2 for 4, adding a single and run scored in the sixth. Casey Blake made it 3-0 with his own first N.L. home run in the second. Hiroki Kuroda finally found himself and turned in 7 1/3 solid innings. ... You're probably wondering about Jonathan Broxton, who wasn't brought in even though the Dodgers entered the ninth with a save situation and even though Hong-Chih Kuo couldn't get through that inning. Turns out Broxton has a bit of a tired arm. Although he had pitched last night, he hadn't pitched for several days in a row. But Torre surmised that it might be because he HAS warmed up several times in recent days. ... Some rehab updates: Brad Penny pitched four innings, six hits, two runs earned, one walk, four strikeouts for Las Vegas at Oklahoma. He threw 55 pitches (44 strikes) and topped out at 98 mph. Assuming he has no discomfort tomorrow, he'll start for the Dodgers on Friday night at San Francisco. Scott Proctor threw two-thirds of an inning, three hits, three runs (one earned), no walks and a strikeout for Inland Empire at High Desert. Not sure what is next for him. ... Dodgers improve to 55-55 and move within two games of the Snakes.

Said it's not true. Didn't want to discuss it further than that. But we did have our first smaller, more intimate media gathering with him today in the clubhouse, only about a half-dozen of us there. Big thing he said was that he wants to stay here beyond the end of this season. He was even stronger in an interview with ESPN Deportes, in which he said the following:
``I want to even buy a house in Los Angeles. My kids go to school in Miami, and I'd like them to move with me [to L.A.], but there will be no move until my future here is confirmed. I don't want to be here for two months and then end up in another city.''

This came out last night on the Boston Globe's web site. Haven't had a chance to look into it yet, but it's out there, and here it is:

Of all the Manny moments in Boston, the last ranks as one of the most confounding. Within an hour after Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein informed Manny Ramírez he had been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday, Ramírez's agent, Scott Boras, called the Sox back, according to a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations. If the Sox dropped the option years on his contract - which they had agreed to do if they traded him - Boras said Ramírez would not be a problem the rest of the season.
For the Sox, the source said, Ramírez's pledge of good behavior only served as a tacit admission that his disruptive conduct of the last couple of weeks had been calculated, and they had had good cause to suspect more was in the offing if they did not trade him. The Sox told him thanks but no thanks, what was done was done, and pack plenty of sunscreen.

So far, for the Dodgers, this series has been long on style -- two days of Manny hype -- and short on substance. The two games were virtually identical, with the Dodgers scoring once in the sixth to take the lead, and the Diamondbacks scoring twice in the seventh to go on top for good. One day into his two-month stint with the Dodgers, Manny being Manny means going 2 for 4 with two singles and grounding into a double play in the bottom of the ninth. It was obvious from his first swing of that at-bat, when he practically came out of the box missing a pitch from Brandon Lyon, that he was trying for a walkoff, two-run homer. He didn't get it. The Dodgers have now lost the first two games of this series, leaving them with no chance to emerge with the division lead. They have also put themselves in a position where they almost have to win the next two in order to give themselves a decent chance of catching the Snakes, who now lead them by three games. Oh, and the boys are below .500 yet again at 54-55.

You may recall that I missed a game for the first time all year on Saturday, when my daughter was visiting and I took her to the beach. Well, that was Casey Blake's first night with the Dodgers, and I'm SURE they did a long, musical montage tribute to HIM on the big DodgerVision board in left field, just like the one they just did for Manny as he was about to come to bat to lead off the bottom of the second inning. Ummmm, ... yeah, I'm SURE that happened. Anyway, this thing featured several of Manny's career highlights. Randy Johnson seemed to cooperate by taking a long time to get to the mound. Anyway, Manny came to the plate to a standing ovation and promptly grounded out on Randy's first pitch, the first of four pitches Randy would need to retire the Dodgers in order. Hey, at least Manny ran hard to first base.

Dodgers bought themselves some time by putting Nomar Garciaparra on the 15-day disabled list, meaning he can't play until Aug. 12. Torre admitted that Nomar wasn't happy with the move, but the rationale was that the spot he likely is going to need to fill is SS, and in order for him to play that position effectively, he has to be 100-percent healthy. ... Although Juan Pierre is on the bench tonight against Randy Johnson, Torre said JP will likely become the primary CF now, with Matt Kemp moving to RF. That means Andre Ethier effectively joins Andruw Jones as backup OFs, although Torre was quick to qualify that by saying everyone is going to get enough playing time to stay sharp. Jones plays tonight against Randy Johnson... Manny will cut his dreadlocks. Joe asked him how important they were, and Manny's response was that he didn't want to be treated any differently from anyone else, and if there are rules is place, he plans to abide by them. He'll play shaggy tonight, but it sounds like the `locks are gone tomorrow. ... Oh, and Manny is wearing No. 99. Here's the lineup

Kemp RF
Blake 3B
Martin C
Ramirez LF
Kent 2B
Loney 1B
Jones CF
Berroa SS
Kershaw LH

Manny Ramirez just arrived at the ballpark. As he and his agent, Scott Boras, were walking around the top of the park, they were met by general manager Ned Colletti and owner Frank McCourt. Ramirez, wearing a dark blue shirt, white do-rag and jeans, put his arm around Colletti and smiled. He briefly put his arm around McCourt, then strode around the top of the park with his arm around Colletti. Ramirez seemed thrilled to be out of Boston. There were a few fans at the top of the park who were taking pictures with their cell phones. One fan asked Ramirez if he would sign his ticket stub, but Ramirez declined, saying he had to get ready for the game and needed to meet his new teammates. Ramirez has a press conference scheduled for 4 p.m.