Tonight's lineup: Blake still out, Ethier en route
Casey Blake still has soreness in his back, but Joe Torre said he hopes Blake will be back in the lineup tomorrow. Andre Ethier is flying here, but Joe wasn't sure when he was due to arrive and wasn't counting on having him available off the bench tonight. ... By the way, as one of you pointed out in an email, I wrote in today's paper that unless something changes dramatically, the Dodgers will play the Cubs in the first round of the playoffs. Well, something has changed dramatically. The Phillies have caught the Brewers in the wildcard race, a fact that cost Ned Yost his job today. If the Dodgers win the West and the Phillies win the wild card, the Dodgers will begin the postseason right where they began it two years ago, at lovely Shea Stadium against the Mets. And if you believe in momentum, that now appears to be the most likely scenario.
Martin, C
Pierre, CF
Manny, LF
Loney, 1B
Garciaparra, 3B
Kemp, RF
DeWitt, 2B
Berroa, SS
Kuroda, P
Any argument that hitting in front of Manny isn't "that big of a deal" was wiped out when Juan Pierre went deep in the 6th for his 13th CAREER Homer. I wonder if Jeff Kent is watching the game tonite. Maybe Officer Kent should hire Tony on a freelance basis to craft a heartfelt apology in writing to Vin Scully.
Am I reading this box score correctly? Did Juan Pierre actually hit one out? I didn't realize he knew where the outfield wall was!
Jeff Kent should just ride his freakin' motorcycle off into the sunset and never come back. He should never set foot in the dugout again with a Dodger uniform on his body. Kent is the anti-Manny making all the young players up tight and feel like they've failed the team every time they don't live up to Jeff's expectations for them.
Kent was a cancer that destroyed young players.
Manny makes everybody play better. Today I noticed that Kuroda didn't have his A game early on and he was so deliberate in making his pitches that I feared the worst. But he relaxed and managed to get the pitch over on the black at the knees when he needed it most and the next thing you know he's got a shutout going into the 7th inning and we're winning a laugher.
Kent is poison. Manny is the stick that stirs the Dodger Drink. We've got to sign him long term after the season is over.