April 2009 Archives

The move was made after the game, in which he ate up 2 1/3 innings to save the bullpen from further decimation after the short start by Eric Stults. Elbert wound up posting a 7.11 ERA in three starts since his April 18 callup from Choo-Choo town, and one of those netted his first big-league win. This move clearly was made to clear a roster spot for Cory Wade, but Joe Torre said after the game that Wade won't be activated until they have one final conversation with him tomorrow just to make sure he is fine. I should have known something was up when I saw traveling secretary Scott Akasaki having a lengthy conversation with Elbert in the clubhouse after the game.

Joe Torre hinted at two things after the game.
First, when KABC's Josh Suchon asked him about the way Eric Milton, Jeff Weaver and Shawn Estes have been pitching in Triple-A, Torre SEEMED to say one or more of those guys might be in the rotation soon -- especially with Stults, McDonald and Kershaw having given up a combined 19 ER in 12 1/3 IP this time through the rotation.
``We would certainly like to do something that gives us just a little more depth and maybe a little more length,'' Torre said.
Then, when a couple of Taiwanese reporters asked Joe about Kuo's status after Kuo finally turned in a solid performance tonight -- he pitched a perfect fifth inning with the Dodgers trailing 5-0, the exact sort of situation Joe had been trying to find to get him into -- Joe said Kuo eventually will be the eighth-inning setup guy again.
``Kuo was good,'' Torre said. ``Hopefully, we can build on that. He ideally can pitch the eighth inning, and I wouldn't be afraid to have him close if Broxton is unavailable. But I think we're probably a few outings away from putting him back in that spot.''
Tim Lincecum was simply too much for the boys tonight. That's about all you can say about this one. Dodgers fall to 14-8, still lead the Pods by 2 1/2 and start an 11-game homestand with a four-game series against the Pods beginning tomorrow night. James McDonald against Josh Geer at 7:10. Oh, and Friday night's fireworks them is Vegas Night.

Torre said the main reason he wanted JP to bat ninth is that if he gets on base, he will have a better chance to steal with Rafael Furcal at th plate than with Eric Stults batting. JP had a funny comment about the whole thing when asked if Joe had explained to him why he was batting ninth.
``I would be willing to bat 11th as long as I'm in that lineup,'' he said. ``He doesn't have to explain anything to me.''
Also, Cory Wade was fine today after his one-inning rehab start at IE last night. He will be activated before tomorrow's game, and it seems probable that Scott Elbert will be sent out to make room. And speaking of the minor leagues, Shawn Estes has pitched his way onto the organizational radar. He threw six shutout innings for ABQ last night and is now 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA -- and just four walks in 19 innings -- in four starts. The Dodgers now have three veteran major-leaguers down there in Estes, Eric Milton and Jeff Weaver, all of whom are viable candidates to help this club sometime this season, assuming enough 40-man roster spots can be cleared.

Not to brag on myself, but your humble correspondent was the first reporter to ask Joe Torre during spring training whether, on the nights when JP is in the starting lineup, he would consider batting JP ninth and the pitcher eighth. Well, tonight, he is actually doing it (not that I'm claiming he is doing it on my suggestion, because I'm sure that isn't the case). Anyway, the rationale is that you can still bat Manny third so he comes up in the first inning, but in subsequent innings, you have three table-setters hitting AHEAD of Manny so that Manny, in effect, is batting fourth. And before anyone suggests it, no, it ISN'T because Joe thinks Eric Stults is a better hitter that JP.

Stults becomes the first Dodgers starting pitcher not to bat ninth since Don Drysdale batted seventh on Aug. 15, 1965 against Pittsburgh. That day, according to Elias Sports Bureau, catcher John Roseboro hit 8th (1-for-4) and shortstop John Kennedy hit 9th (0-for-2, BB, K). The Dodgers lost 4-2, and Drysdale went 0-for-2 with 2 strikeouts before being pulled after 6.0 innings of work.

By the way, Ethier is back in the cleanup spot, Martin drops to sixth.

Furcal 6
Hudson 4
Ramirez 7
Ethier 9
Loney 3
Martin 2
Blake 5
Stults 1
Pierre 8

This might have been the first game this year in which it could be truly said that Manny Ramirez was the central figure in a Dodgers' victory. He was on base five times tonight, including a pair of two-out walks with nobody on base early and three doubles late. The last two of those doubles led off innings with the score tied, and each time, Ramirez ended up scoring the go-ahead run. The big one was the ninth. After Russell Martin struck out, Andre Ethier, easily the Dodgers' MVP for this first month of the season, worked a 10-pitch at-bat against Bobby Howry, then drove a double off the left-centerfield wall for his 21st RBI of the season, and it's tough to remember a bigger one. Matt Kemp followed with an RBI triple, and the Dodgers had all the runs they would need. First blown save of the season for Jonathan Broxton, although he was asked to get five outs, coming on with a one-run lead, two on and one out, and he walked two of the first three batters. Will Ohman wound up pitching a perfect ninth for just the third save of his career. Lost in all the late-inning confusion was the performance of Chad Billingsley, who gutted his way through 7 1/3 innings on a night when he clearly wasn't at his best. He dodged bullet after bullet, proving once again that he is maturing as a pitcher because he now has the ability to improvise. Dodgers go to 14-7 and stay 2 1/2 up on the Pods. Eric Stults against Tim Lincecum tomorrow night at 7:15, so good luck.

The plan to have him make a rehab start at Inland Empire tonight was actually scrapped several days ago, but no one bothered to tell the media until today. He threw 89 pitches in an extended spring training game today. It ended when Schmidt was hit in the left leg by a line drive. But his removal was precautionary, and he isn't believed to be injured.
``We made the decision that we wanted to get him more arm strength and extend him a little more before he went down,'' Dodgers trainer Stan Conte said. ``We were shooting for 90-plus pitches a couple of times before we sent him on a rehab. He felt pretty good. His last couple of outings have been good as far as command goes.''
He'll make at least one more extended-spring start before going on a rehab. The saga continues. ...
Also, there doesn't seem to be any big reason for tonight's lineup shuffle other than Joe wanting a right-handed batter in the cleanup spot against Jonathan Sanchez.

Call me lazy or whatever, but rather than typing this twice, I decided to simply go ahead and write it up for tomorrow's paper and then copy/paste it here. So just ignore the dateline.

SAN FRANCISCO -- One day after he declined for the second time in the past week to bring in eighth-inning setup man Hong-Chih Kuo to protect a one-run lead in the eighth inning, Dodgers manager Joe Torre finally acknowledged before Tuesday night's game with the San Francisco Giants that the role doesn't necessarily belong to Kuo anymore.
With reliever Cory Wade due to come off the 15-day disabled list on Thursday, Torre said he is the likely heir to the role. But Torre added that Wade will need to get back into the flow of pitching regularly in big-league games before he is given the job full-time. Until then, it appears the assignment will be doled out on a game-by-game basis.
Wade's most recent appearance before being sidelined by bursitis in his right shoulder was on April 11 at Arizona.
``Cory would be that guy,'' Torre said. ``I also think I could flipflop both him and (Ronald) Belisario. I'm not sure I want to do that with Cory until he is back a while. But that would be ideal to do that, yeah.''
The problem with Kuo is his history of arm problems. He underwent two Tommy John surgeries while still in the minor leagues, he missed most of 2007 with injuries to both his shoulder and elbow, and he missed the final two weeks of last season and the first round of the playoffs with elbow soreness.
That basically prevents Torre from using Kuo in the way an eighth-inning setup man normally would be used. Torre is still reluctant to use Kuo in consecutive games, and one of the reasons he didn't use him in Monday night's loss to the Giants was because of the cold weather. In fact, while Belisario was pitching, blowing the one-run lead and losing the game, and Will Ohman was warming up in the bullpen, Kuo was warming up in the indoor batting cage.
Add to that Kuo's recent inconsistency -- in his past three appearances, eight of the 12 batters he has faced have reached base -- and it becomes clear that he doesn't fit the role.

Nit sure why. I'm in the clubhouse and don't have my batter/pitcher matchup sheet.

Ss Furcal
2B Hudson
LF Ramirez
C Martin
RF Ethier
RF Kemp
1B Loney
3B Blake
RH Billingsley

If you read this morning's paper, I mentioned that the wild pitch Ronald Belisario threw in the eighth inning last night ``should have been'' a passed ball charged to Russell Martin. Well, no, it shouldn't have been. In my haste to make deadline -- and, I must admit, in trying to find whatever evidence I could to support my premise that Belisario was more the victim of bad luck this time than of his own bad pitching -- I got that wild pitch confused with another wild pitch earlier in the game by the Giants' Barry Zito. THAT was the one I felt the official scorer botched, that should have been a passed ball. My apologies ... and my apologies to Russell Martin. ... Much nicer day today. Still cold, but not nearly as windy as last night. Was a beautiful day in the city today.

We got an explanation on the ball that Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier screwed up in the first inning. As I mentioned here earlier, it was extremely windy here tonight, and it was a loud, howling wind -- loud enough that neither Kemp nor Ethier could hear the other calling for the ball. That was why neither of them backed off on the play.
``We couldn't hear each other,'' Kemp said. ``I don't even remember (exactly what happened). A lot was going on at that moment. It was a tough ball. (Second baseman Orlando Hudson) said we were both calling it and we didn't hear each other. I don't know what to really say about it. (It was) the wind. The elements out there were pretty crazy. But no excuses. That ball should have been caught by one of us.''
Kemp also made no excuses for the next ball, which he misjudged into a triple for Randy Winn.
``It just took off. It had a weird little spin on it, and it just got away from me. But the ball should have been caught.''
It led to a three-run inning for the Giants. If both plays had been made, Randy Wolf would have had a one-two-three inning.
What happened in the eighth inning, with Ronald Belisario on the mound, is laid out in detail in tomorrow's paper, so no need to revisit it here. In case you were wondering, Joe Torre's explanation for why he didn't bring in a well-rested Hong-Chih Kuo, the Dodgers' designated eighth-inning setup man, to set up in the eighth inning was all the right-handed hitters the Giants had coming up. I'm starting to wonder whether Kuo really IS the eighth-inning setup man for this team.
Anyway, Dodgers fall to 13-7 and 2 1/2 up on the Pods. Giants now just three back. Chad Billingsley against Jonathan Sanchez tomorrow night, 7:15. Billingsley is 4-0 in four starts, but more importantly in this case, he is 3-0 in three starts following Dodgers losses. He not only pitches like an ace, he pitches like a stopper, too.

Stan Conte said it's just an effort to get over that final hurdle that is preventing him from coming back. Everyone has been pleased with Kuroda's recent bullpen, but there is still that last bit of discomfort that he is feeling in his left oblique muscle, and the belief is that this will get rid of it. He's still probably a couple of weeks from coming back, because he won't throw until this weekend and he'll still probably need a rehab start. ... It is COLD here tonight, even colder, I think, than it was in Denver yesterday, and the wind is blown HARD. Judging by the flags, it's going right to left.

Well, it's not the WHOLE secret, but it's at least a part of it. It has to do with how he is hitting against left-handed pitchers, which is supposed to be a weakness for LH hitters. Ethier entered this season hitting .305 for his career against RHPs, .281 against LHPs. Last year, the difference was stark: .326 vs. RHPs, .243 vs. LHPs. Well, so far this year, he is hitting slightly HIGHER against LHPs (.316) than against RHPs (.314). He also has hit three of his five HRs and has seven of his 20 RBI against LHPs, and to put those numbers in perspective, he has 19 ABs and 21 PAs against LHPs as opposed to 51 ABs and 66 PAs against righties. He also has a ridiculous .842 slugging percentage against lefties (second in the majors) as opposed to just .510 against righties. He does have a higher OBP (.455) against righties than lefties (.381).

Here is tonight's lineup. Many of you have been clamoring to see Matt Kemp in the cleanup spot, and you are getting your wish tonight. But don't get used to it. My guess is the only reason he is there is because James Loney is sitting. Loney is 1 for 20 lifetime, albeit with six walks and no strikeouts, against Barry Zito. Kemp is 14 for 27 (.519) against him, with seven walks and only three Ks.

Furcal 6
Hudson 4
Ramirez 7
Kemp 8
Ethier 9
Martin 2
Loretta 3
Blake 5
Wolf 1

Well, the boys weren't going to win EVERY game against the Rockies this season. They do play 18 times, after all. This one got away when Clayton Kershaw, who had dominated through the first two innings, walked Chris Iannetta to lead off the third and then gave up a first-pitch homer to Clint Barmes. Rox went on to score four in that inning and five more (all charged to Kershaw) in the fifth, and that was pretty much all she wrote.
In his past two starts, Kershaw has allowed 15 earned runs in exactly nine innings, which for the mathematically challenged is a 15.00 ERA. He was asked after the game if his mechanics are right.
``I think so,'' he said. ``It's frustrating to give up runs like that, but there is no excuse for falling behind and giving up hits. That isn't a mechanical thing. It's just pitching poorly.''
Big day for James Loney, who went 3 for 5 with two doubles and three RBI. Bad day for the rest of the Dodgers. They had to settle for two out of three here, and they are now 3-3 on the trip. Dodgers fall to 13-6 overall. At the Giants tomorrow night at 7:15. Couple of veteran lefties going in Randy Wolf and Barry Zito.

James McDonald is scheduled for now to be the guy again on Thursday night against the Pods. But we asked Joe Torre this morning about McDonald's tendency to lose focus. Joe mentioned that it seems to happen a lot against the opposing team's pitcher after McDonald has pretty much mowed through the rest of the lineup.
``The thing that was a little baffling for me was that he got (No. 8 hitter Yorvit) Torrealba out on two pitches, and then he walks to the pitcher,'' Torre said of McDonald's third-inning letdown last night. ``Then he walks the leadoff hitter, and all of a sudden, you are holding on, and losing focus is the only way you can really describe it. ... The different thing about this league as opposed to the American League is that you get to face the pitcher. But you have to continue to pitch. you can't concern yourself with just throwing strikes (to the pitcher), because (when you do that), you aren't letting it go the same way. And then, when you try to get it back, a certain panic sets in.''
As I mentioned last night, Joe does like the thought of having McDonald in the bullpen. Jeff Weaver pitched decently for ABQ last night, and Eric Milton is pitching for ABQ today after throwing six shutout innings in his previous start. And keep in mind, Milton's contract allows him to leave and become a free agent at any time, and he told club officials when he agreed to begin the season at ABQ that he would go for about a month and see what happened.
``We have no plan yet,'' Torre said. ``Until we get a plan, (McDonald) will still be (the fifth starter). I have no anticipation of changing that, but if something does change, obviously, that will change. We haven't really talked a lot about any changes right now. I think we'll wait until Cory (Wade) comes back and see where we are, because he certainly will help our bullpen.''

One interesting point about Orlando Hudson's hitting streak, which is now at a career high-tying 11 games, is that the fact he hits in front of Manny HAS to be a big part of it. Today, he is hitting in front of Andre Ethier, who is even hotter than Manny, so the O-Dog shouldn't miss a beat. ... Todd Helton is also sitting today, not only because he needs a rest but also because Clint Hurdle wanted to get Jeff Baker into the lineup. he is 4 for 6 with a home run against Clayton Kershaw. He'll play 3B, with Garrett Atkins moving to 1B.

Pierre 7
Hudson 4
Ethier 9
Loney 3
Martin 2
Kemp 8
DeWitt 5
Castro 6
Kershaw 1

James Loney was riding a stationary bike a few feet away when a small group of reporters made a half-circle around Ramon Troncoso's locker, all of us keeping a respectful distance until he finished getting dressed.
``So what, you're going to talk to him now that he pitched four shutout innings?'' Loney said, and everyone had a good laugh.
But seriously, folks, the rest of the clubhouse couldn't stop gushing over the way this guy saved the day for the Dodgers, who were desperate for someone to give them length on a night when their bullpen was shot. Troncoso not only gave them length, he gave them quality, preserving a one-run lead with four dazzling innings in which he allowed only one baserunner, that on a groundball that Rafael Furcal double-clutched, allowing Seth Smith to just beat it out for a single.
Troncoso barely made this club out of spring training, but he isn't fighting for his major-league survival anymore.
``I told him after the game he never has to prove himself in that situation again,'' Joe Torre said.
Troncoso not only nailed down his first career save, he also put the finishing touches on James McDonald's first career win. McDonald gutted his way through five innings, and Torre said after the game that he'll be back out there in five days, in the homestand opener against the Pods on Thursday night. But once again, McDonald cruised along thorugh two strong innings and completely lost his control in the third, a fact he himself later said was due to a tendency to lose focus in the middle innings.
Jeff Weaver made his first start for ABQ at New Orleans tonight, threw 60 pitches in 3 1/3 and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits with four Ks and no walks. He probably needs one more start before he is ready to come up and take the fifth spot if that's what Torre/Colletti decide to do, plus Torre really likes the idea of having McDonald in the bullpen. So McDonald might be pitching to stay in the rotation the next time out.
Big night for Russell Martin, who had been slumping but broke out in a big way, tying his career high with four RBI on a pair of two-run singles. It was his sixth career four-RBI game, first of the season.
Dodgers go to 13-5 and move 2 1/2 up on the Pods. Dodgers now share the best record in baseball with the Cardinals.
Clayton Kershaw against Jason Marquis tomorrow at 12:10 LaLa time. I believe I already mentioned that Furcal and Blake are sitting tomorrow. After the game, Joe told us that Manny will sit tomorrow, as well, the first time that will have happened all year. He went 0 for 5 with three Ks tonight and was uncharacteristically but clearly overswinging at times. Pierre will play LF, Castro SS and DeWitt 3B.

He experienced more tightness in his left oblique after his most recent bullpen session on Thursday. Stan Conte stressed that it isn't a ``setback,'' as oblique injuries are notoriously slow to heal anyway, but the fact there was little to be accomplished by Kuroda going to San Francisco with the team led to the decision for him to go back and see team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. At any rate, it doesn't appear Kuroda's return is imminent. ... In other injury news, Cory Wade will pitch an inning in relief, behind Jason Schmidt, for high Single-A Inland Empire on Tuesday against High Desert, then (assuming that goes well) be activated when the team gets home. He will NOT be joining the team in San Francisco.

Said he has been hitting off a tee a lot, with the focus on shortening his stride because he has been jumping at the ball a little bit. He also said that he feels like he has been having some decent at-bats, even though he admitted he has been fighting through them, and he did find a positive in the fact that he has been seeing a lot of pitches and working opposing pitchers. The night off couldn't have hurt, either.
Also asked the O-Dog about his current hitting tear -- he has a 10-game hitting streak, but more importantly, he is hitting .382 overall and .475 (19 for 40) during the streak -- but he didn't want to talk about it.
``I don't talk about numbers,'' he said. ``I'm not being a (jerk), but I don't talk about numbers. You guys can see it.''

Once again, I can't really figure out what this is about. Loney is hitting .222 (4 for 18) against Ubaldo Jimenez, Martin is hitting .385 (5 for 13) against him, and this once again puts the two lefties back to back in the order.

Furcal 6
Hudson 4
Ramirez 7
Ethier 9
Loney 3
Martin 2
Kemp 8
Blake 5
McDonald 1

Sorry about the lack of early blog posting tonight. I promise there was a good reason, but it's too late and too detailed for me to go into it. As for the game, it was typical Coors Field craziness, but it was a great night for the Dodgers' bench, specifically Brad Ausmus and Mark Loretta, both of whom came up big in the eighth and ninth innings. But the one story that will probably fall through the cracks after this game was the return of Hong-Chih Kuo, who hadn't pitched in a week. While his boxscore line is ugly -- he coughed up a two-run lead by giving up a two-run homer to Clint Barmes -- his stuff was electric according to both Joe Torre and Brad Ausmus. His problems appear to be behind him.
``Great stuff,'' Ausmus said. ``That was the type of stuff where you're kind of bewildered tha they scored two runs off him. ... If he pitches like that the rest of the year, we will be in good shape in the eighth inning.''
Dodgers go to 12-5 and stay 1 1/2 up on the Pods. James McDonald against Ubaldo Jimenez tomorrow at 5:10 Pacific time.

Big-time performance from Chad Billingsley, who shut out the Astros on three hits over 7 1/3 innings, ran his record to 4-0 in four starts this season and sliced his ERA to 2.05. This guy is really blossoming into a true staff ace, and it couldn't come at a better time with Hiroki Kuroda on the DL and the bullpen so shaky that starters almost HAVE to pitch deep into games. Billingsley hasn't failed one time this year to give the Dodgers at least six, and tonight he became just the second Dodgers starter this year (Randy Wolf on April 12) to pitch into the eighth. I must say, though, that the Chadster is getting a bit sensitive when it comes to the postgame questions. I asked him what the difference has been this year, and he was quick with this answer:
``I pitched well last year, too.''
Well, yes, you did. But you didn't pitch like this. Without looking into what some of the other guys around the league are doing, I have to say this guy is at least a strong candidate for N.L. Pitcher of the Month honors. And if he keeps this up, he has an excellent chance of winning more games than he did last year, when he led the team with 16 victories.
it also was a big night for Jonathan Broxton, who hadn't pitched since last Friday. Just as he was then, he was asked to get five outs. This time, it was a little more adventurous, what with the tying runs being in scoring position when the game ended, but he never blinked. He appears to have developed into a big-time closer, with the unflappable personality to match. He credits his WBC experience with that, because he pitched well under what he says was the enormous pressure of representing the USA. Whatever the reason, he is a different pitcher than what he has been in past seasons.
Dodgers go to 11-5 and now lead the Pods by 1 1/2. At the Rockies tomorrow, Eric Stults against Aaron Cook. Dodgers dominated the Rockies in a three-game sweep last weekend, but the Rox are a different team at Coors Field. Game starts at 6:10 L.A. time.
By the way, Kuroda did throw off a mound before the game and will do so again on Saturday.

This took place today. Just received the transcript in my in-box. Most notable thing is he says Dodgers haven't closed the door on signing Pedro Martinez. Here it is, I believe in its entirety:

Today (April 23, 2009) on the MLB Home Plate channel on SIRIUS XM Radio, hosts Jody McDonald and Jim Duquette spoke with Dodgers GM Ned Colletti about the team's pitching staff.

Host, Jim Duquette: "The pitching staff has gotten off to a terrific start and you never know what to expect from the youth but, obviously, it looks like you guys knew what you were talking about."

Ned Colletti: "Well, it's still real early. Our last couple of games in Houston have been a touch disappointing. We're pleased we're 10-5. I think the pitching will be always on our mind all year long, guys. Even as well as we pitched before the last two games in Houston I felt that we needed at least one, if not two, more veteran, well, one starter, one reliever to help us through it. But we're pleased with where we're at right now. [Clayton] Kershaw has been real good at times. [James] McDonald is getting better after a rough start in Arizona and, of course, [Chad] Billingsly I think is blossoming into one of the better pitchers in the league."

Host, Jody McDonald: "You mentioned those veteran starters you might have an eye on. I know that you were linked to Pedro Martinez and talked to him at some point earlier this year back in spring training. Do you put a weekly phone call in just to see if Pedro's still concentrating on coming back, if his price tag has come down a little bit?"

Ned Colletti: "Well, we've stayed in touch. I won't say it's scheduled or it's weekly but we've stayed in touch and we'll continue to stay in touch. You can never shut off an option and he may be an option for us at some point in time but we'll have to wait and see how that all fairs itself out."

Host, Jim Duquette: "Do you think at this point the likelihood, if you were going to get a starter, it would be that free agent route? It's a little bit early to be making trades, right?"

Ned Colletti: "Yeah, right now teams aren't really, the trade talk, as you know, is really quiet at this point of a season. I think there'll be maybe more opportunity in June than there has been in the past depending on teams' economics. Right now the best way to fix a problem is probably internally and we're looking at some guys in triple-A. We signed a lot of major leaguers to minor league deals so part of our solution may be in Albuquerque right now. But right now trying to make a deal would be pretty tough to do. You'd probably have to overpay to get somebody's attention."

"The Show" airs nationwide every weekday (4-7pm ET/1-4pm PT) exclusively on SIRIUS XM's MLB Home Plate Channel (XM channel 175 and SIRIUS channel 210 with the "Best of XM" programming package).

Weaver will make his first start on Saturday at New Orleans. The reason for this is that the front office wants the option of calling him up for EITHER the rotation or the bullpen, and right now, his innings and pitch count aren't sufficiently built up for starting in the majors. ... Also, Cory Wade ended up pitching in an extended spring-training game today, NOT a simulated game. He will do another one on Saturday, after which there is a chance he will skip his minor-league rehab entirely and rejoin the Dodgers in San Francisco on Monday. And Hiroki Kuroda was going to play catch today, and if he felt good enough, he was going to get on a mound. I apologize, but I had too much going on pregame to notice whether he actually did so or not. But Stan Conte said before BP that Kuroda had only thrown at 50-60 percent so far, that he hoped to get him to 80-90 percent soon and that he needs to be pretty close to 100 percent before he goes out on a rehab.
``This is the type of injury you can't push through,'' Conte said.

This isn't something I'm hearing from a source, either on the record or off. It's pure speculation on my part. But I'm wondering if Jeff Weaver might be in a big-league uniform pretty soon. He has had four relief appearances at ABQ, two of them really good, two of them mediocre. But it dawns on me that the ONLY reason he didn't make the team out of spring training was that there wasn't a 40-man roster spot available. There technically still isn't one, but one could be cleared quickly by moving Mkz to the 60-day DL (he is going to be out at least that long). It is becoming increasingly apparent that there aren't many guys in the current crew down there in the bullpen whom Joe Torre feels he can trust in a key, late-inning situation, and last night, he all basically admitted that he doesn't trust Hong-Chih Kuo right now in an eighth-inning setup situation, which was the exact role Kuo was supposed to have coming into the season. If nothing else, adding Weaver would bring a more veteran presence to the group. Once again, just a thought.

Loney has three hits in his past 18 ABs while Martin has five in his past 10. Or, it could just be that Torre realized he didn't want his two lefties hitting back to back.

Furcal 6
Hudson 4
Ramirez 7
Ethier 9
Martin 2
Loney 3
Kemp 8
Blake 5
Billingsley 1

First question to Joe Torre after the game was why it was Ronald Belisario out there with a one-run lead in the eighth inning (he let it get away) instead of Hong-Chih Kuo, the guy who was supposed to fill that role all season. What Joe said, in that way that Joe is so good at of saying something without really saying it, is that he doesn't feel he can trust Kuo right now with a game on the line.
``We're still working on that with him,'' Torre said. ``He is all right physically, but we're just trying to get him into a situation more toward the middle of the game before we get him into the back end of a game.''
Kuo seemed understanding of that, given that he failed to get out of the eighth inning of both of his two most recent appearances and retired only one of the six total batters he faced in those outings. He hasn't been in a game since Friday.
``I'm just trying to get ready for every day and get myself ready for whenever they want me to pitch,'' he said.
Belisario was standup about letting this one get away, said he wasn't nervous at all, but I have never seen a guy who wasn't nervous throw a wild pitch while trying to INTENTIONALLY WALK somebody. Come to think of it, I have never seen ANY pitcher throw a wild pitch while trying to intentionally walk somebody, so maybe I should cut Belisario some slack.
Good effort by Randy Wolf tonight, got through seven strong innings on just 91 pitches. But he blamed himself for the loss based on the fact that just after the Dodgers scored four in the sixth -- back-to-back solo HRs by Manny Ramirez and Andre Ethier and a two-run shot by Casey Blake, all of Roy Oswalt -- Wolf walked Lance Berkman to start the bottom half, leading to a two-run inning that tied the game.
Dodgers fall to 10-5, still lead the Pods by one. Chad Billingsley vs. Wandy Rodriguez tomorrow at 5:05, should be an all-Rodriguez battery for the Stros unless Pudge is given the night off for some reason.

Hiroki Kuroda is going to play catch today, and if he comes out of that OK, he will throw another bullpen tomorrow. Cory Wade is going to throw a simulated game at Camelback Ranch tomorrow, and if he comes out of that OK, he's going to start a rehab assignment at high Single-A Inland Empire this weekend and possibly return to the Dodgers when he becomes eligible on Tuesday. Jason Schmidt is going to stay in extended spring training at least a little while longer, so his rehab is on hold. ... Balloting for this year's All-Star teams officially began today. If you can't get to a ballpark (or even if you can), you can vote on line at mlb.com. ... Ned Colletti said today he is no longer looking for another bench player from outside the organization, so Blake DeWitt will stay in the majors for the time being. Colletti indicated that while getting DeWitt enough at-bats remains a concern, Joe Torre has been doing a good job of getting him a decent number of them. ... Finally, Forbes magazine released its annual valuation rankings of major-league clubs, and the Dodgers were fourth. They have a current value of $722 million, according to the publication. You can check out the whole list at the following web address:

www.forbes.com/mlb

The boys are facing Roy Oswalt tonight.

Ss Furcal
2B Hudson
LF Ramirez
RF Ethier
1B Loney
C Martin
CF Kemp
3B Blake
LH Wolf

At least they found a use for the place, and this is a great move for Craig, who gets to stay home in Vero Beach. You may recall a post here a couple of weeks ago after Craig resigned as the Dodgers' vice president in charge of spring-training and minor-league facilities. Here is the release, although I'm not entirely sure where it's from. A buddy emailed it to me. ... Also, thanks to all for the advice on the laptop. I went cheap just because it was SO cheap that I couldn't pass it up, and also it's the same brand and model (Compaq Presario) that I had such good luck with the last time.

Minor League Baseball to Operate Dodgertown
(Craig Callan Hired to Manage Facility)

VERO BEACH, Fla.-Minor League Baseball (MiLB) has agreed to terms with
Indian River County and the city of Vero Beach, Fla., that will be
incorporated into a memorandum of understanding on a five-year partnership
to lease and operate the Dodgertown baseball complex. Financial terms of the
partnership were not disclosed.

MiLB, which has set an all-time attendance record in each of the last five
seasons, plans to host a number of events, both sports and non-sports
related, on a year-round basis at the complex. Some of these include
baseball camps; youth, high school and college tournaments; umpire camps;
groundskeeper camps; fantasy camps; conferences; and other baseball-related
programming.

The 65-acre facility, where the Dodgers played their spring training games
from 1948-2008, consists of five full baseball fields, including Holman
Stadium; two half fields; indoor and outdoor batting tunnels; offices; and
training rooms. The site was also the home of a Class A Florida State League
club from 1980-2008.

Among its other amenities are a conference center; restaurant & lounge;
Olympic-size swimming pool; basketball court; tennis courts; game room;
movie theater; and 88 hotel-style villas.

"We're extremely proud to partner with Indian River County and the City of
Vero Beach to operate and maintain this historic, socially significant
facility," stated Minor League Baseball President Pat O'Conner. "In addition
to providing an influx of business for the community through the events we
will attract, we look forward to becoming a vital member of it."

"We're hoping we have the same relationship and community presence that we
did with the O'Malleys and the Dodgers," said Indian River County
Commissioner Wesley Davis. "The economic benefits of a year-long facility
will be the highest and best use for historic Dodgertown."

"The City Of Vero Beach anticipates a strong mutually beneficial partnership
with Minor League Baseball," remarked Vero Beach City Manager Jim Gabbard.
"We have been very impressed with the organization and its leadership. We
expect a long relationship that will create opportunities for fans to see
high caliber baseball in the historic Dodgertown venue.

"We also anticipate Minor League Baseball to have a significant positive
impact on our local economy. As the years pass, we believe that this
relationship between local government and Minor League Baseball will be an
example of cooperation and friendship that we enjoyed for over 60 years with
the Los Angeles Dodgers," added Gabbard.

In a related move, Minor League Baseball has hired Craig Callan to manage
the property, beginning May 1. Callan had been the director of the complex
since 1988 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, until recently retiring from the
organization.

Clayton Kershaw insisted after the game that he felt comfortable on the mound, that he was getting ahead of hitters and that they were just hitting good pitches. I'll buy that to an extent. It also could be that the Astros were just a better-hitting team than the Giants, whom Kershaw shut down on one run and one hit over seven innings in his previous start last Wednesday night. At any rate, the eight-game winning streak -- which some Houston TV or radio reporter, I'm not sure which, thought was a perfectly appropriate topic to ask about AFTER the game to both Torre and Kershaw, both of whom seemed justifiably bewildered by it -- is over. Also over is my 3 1/2-year old Compaq Presario, which isn't completely dead (after all, I'm typing on it now), but it's at least time for last rites. It gallantly fought through one final evening, but I'm heading to Best Buy or Staples or whatever I can find in the morning to seek out a replacement. Sounds like a tax deduction to me. I was told by the Astros' IT guy, who spent about three hours trying to patch this thing together just enough to get me through the night, that 3 1/2 years is a life well lived for a laptop, particularly one that gets banged around the way a baseball writer's typically does. But all good things must come to an end. ... Dodgers fall to 10-4. Pods losing to the Giants 6-2 in the eighth. Good pitching matchup tomorrow night, Randy Wolf against Roy Oswalt, 5:05 L.A. time.

But first, there is this: Hiroki Kuroda is throwing off a mound as we speak (or as I type, I guess would be more accurate). We can barely see him, as the visiting bullpen here is behind a mesh wall. He just stopped. Looked like about 15 pitches. ... Schmidt threw about 70 pitches in an extended spring game, and it isn't yet determined whether he is now ready for a rehab assignment. ... Cory Wade feels much better, played long-toss in Arizona today and should be getting on a mound soon. He has a good chance of returning as soon as he becomes eligible, which is next Monday in San Francisco. ... And Mkz had successful surgery yesterday to repair what he did to his shoulder. Torre said he doesn't expect him back until September, but he will be around the team all year as head cheerleader, which is good news for the Dodgers because this guy is a positive presence in the clubhouse and around the younger players.

the boys scored 14 runs on 19 hits with this alignment on Sunday, so why change?

SS Furcal
2B Hudson
LF Ramirez
RF Ethier
1B Loney
C Martin
CF Kemp
3B Blake
LH Kershaw

That's due to a scheduling conflict with the Lakers playoff game. Not much news so far today, but the Dodgers took early BP. Saw Blake DeWitt, Russell Martin, James Loney, Juan Pierre (he ALWAYS participates), Mark Loretta and Juan Castro down there. That's not necessarily everyone who was there, just everyone who was there when I was paying attention. Roof is open for now, but not sure what they'll do at game time. Much like Chase Field, this place feels completely different when it's open-air.

This is the official release from MLB, which is basically a Bank of America ad:

Andre Ethier, who led the N.L. with 12 RBI, has been named National League Player of the Week presented by Bank of America for the period ending April 19th. Bank of America is the Official Bank of Major League Baseball and the only place where you can get your favorite Club logo on checks, check cards or credit cards. For more information on MLB© banking, visit bankofamerica.com/MLB.
From April 13th-19th, Ethier tied for the league-lead with four home runs and eight runs scored, ranked second with 23 total bases and third with a slugging percentage of 1.000. The 26-year-old right-fielder recorded a .391 (9-for-23) batting average with two doubles in six games. Andre collected four multi-hit games along with two multi-home run performances. On April 13th vs. San Francisco, the Arizona State product connected for two home runs, a three-run homer and a solo shot, in the Dodgers' 11-1 win. On April 18th vs. Colorado, Ethier again homered twice, with another three-run shot and a solo blast. On the following day against the Rockies, he recorded three RBI in the Dodgers' 14-2 victory.
Other nominees this past week included Ethier's Dodgers' teammates Orlando Hudson (.542, 1 HR, 5 RBI), Matt Kemp (.391, 2 HR, 9 RBI) and Chad Billingsley (2-0, 2.77 ERA, 17 SO); San Diego's David Eckstein (.429, 3 2B, 3 RBI), Adrian Gonzalez (.857 SLG, 4 HR, 5 RBI) and Heath Bell (4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 4 SO); Arizona's Felipe Lopez (.400, .423 OBP, 10 H); Houston's Miguel Tejada (.520, .556 OBP, 13 H); Milwaukee's Mike Cameron (.348, 3 HR, 4 RBI); St. Louis' Brian Barden (.500, 3 HR, 3 RBI), Chris Duncan (.455, 1 HR, 7 RBI) and Ryan Ludwick (.417, 3 HR, 10 RBI); Atlanta's Jeff Francoeur (.435, 2 2B, 5 RBI); Florida's Jeremy Hermida (.318, 2 HR, 7 RBI) and Cody Ross (.429, 3 HR, 11 RBI); New York's Jose Reyes (.423, 1 3B, 2 RBI); Philadelphia's Ryan Howard (.350, 2 HR, 5 RBI) and Raul Ibanez (.550, 3 HR, 5 RBI); and Washington's Nick Johnson (.429, 1 2B, 1 RBI).

Matt Kemp had a monster day, going 3 for 5 with a double and two HRs, one of them a grand slam. He is reaping the benefits of finally buying into the Torre/Mattingly approach to hitting, something Matty was resistant to for much of last season. This year, he has bought into it wholeheartedly, and the results are undeniable. He is hitting .383 with half of his 18 hits having gone for extra bases. He also has a .434 on-base percentage and a .723 slugging average. Orlando Hudson and Andre Ethier had big days, as well, the former going 3 for 4 with a double and three RBI, the latter 2 for 4 with a double, a sac fly and three RBI. And thanks to Scott Elbert, who was given the win by scorer's discretion after J-Mac failed to go the requisite five, the Dodgers were able to get through what Joe Torre had said would be a ``bullpen day'' using just three pitchers. Two days after getting called up from Double-A, Elbert went 2 1/3, giving up solo homers to Brad Hawpe and Chris Iannetta (who was 1 for 21 before that blast) but not walking anybody. This was a big game for Elbert. ... Dodgers scored 50 runs on a perfect, six-game homestand, with 77 hits. The winning streak is now eight, matching last year's longest, and the record is 10-3. Dodgers lead the Pods by one game in the N.L. West. Off to Houston tomorrow morning, Clayton Kershaw vs. Russ Ortiz on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. Think the boys might score some runs in that yard?

Cory Wade is feeling better, so they scrapped the MRI, and he'll go straight to Camelback Ranch tomorrow for his rehab. Hiroki Kuroda played catch today, will travel with the team and is expected to throw off a mound soon (I'm guessing Tuesday). And Eric Stults will be pushed back in the rotation to keep the front four on their regular rest, so he won't pitch until Friday night at Colorado, which will be on seven days' rest unless he is used out of the bullpen. Torre said Stults would be available today, but ONLY today. ... Also, Joe had an explanation for why Matt Kemp had his sunglasses on his cap when he lost that ball in the sun yesterday. He had taken them off because he couldn't see the ball out of the pitcher's hand, which is actually important for the seven fielders. After that inning, when he got back to the dugout, Matt immediately switched to the flip-down shades for the rest of the game.

I can't figure out this lineup. James Loney has been struggling lately (3 for 17 on the homestand), so he drops out of the cleanup spot, but he only drops to fifth, which gives the Dodgers back-to-back lefties with Andre Ethier hitting fourth, and the Rockies do have two lefties in their bullpen. Russell Martin drops to sixth. The oddest part of this is that Ethier is hitting .154 (2 for 13) for his career, albeit with a home run, against Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez. Also, Joe said he hopes to get five innings out of James McDonald, but he still considers this is a bullpen day, so he added that it won't be a horrible failure if J-Mac doesn't get that far. Sounds like Ramon Troncoso will be the second guy in.

Jill covering the game today so I can have a light day before the road trip.

SS Furcal
2B Hudson
LF Ramirez
RF Ethier
1B Loney
C Martin
CF Kemp
3B Blake
RH McDonald

Manny finally went deep for the first time this season, then he went deep again. Andre Ethier went deep twice, as well. Chad Billingsley was really good for five innings, then a little shaky in the sixth, but he got through and handed the bullpen a 5-3 lead which was quickly widened when the Dodgers rallied for four in the seventh. The bullpen was a tad shaky today, but it didn't really matter because the boys had such a big lead. Oh, and Will Ohman drove in the first run of his big-league career, using Manny's bat, with an RBI single in that seventh-inning rally. Without looking it up (taking his word for it), Ohman is now batting .500 lifetime (2 for 4) with one walk in five plate appearances. He used Manny's bat, but he used his own glove. ``Send them to the Hall of Fame,'' he said. ... Matt Kemp went 1 for 3 with a walk and has now hit safely in all 12 games this season. But he also lost a fly ball in the sun while his sunglasses were still in his cap. ... Aaron Cook simply isn't himself this year. Dodgers, who had three of their regulars on the bench, got to him for five runs on eight hits over four innings, all of it on Manny's HRs (both solo) and Ethier's first one (a three-run shot). Cook's ERA in three starts is now 10.22. ... I also found out after the game that Hiroki Kuroda probably will NOT throw off a mound tomorrow despite his having told the Japanese media that. He probably will, however, play catch again. ... Dodgers run their winning streak to seven games, one shy of their longest one last year. They are 9-3. Pods playing a night game, but it's going on now because they're on the East Coast. James McDonald against Ubaldo Jimenez tomorrow at 1:10.

Assistant GM Logan White, the Dodgers scouting director who drafted (second round) and signed Tiffany in 2003 -- the team had taken Chad Billingsley in the first round -- signed Tiffany again this week, this time to a minor-league contract. The Tampa Bay Rays had given up on the left-hander after he had trouble coming back from rotator-cuff surgery, releasing him about three weeks ago. But Logan saw him throw and deemed him at least healthy enough to take another chance on. Tiffany has been assigned to extended spring training for now, where he will try to pitch his way onto the roster of one of the Dodgers' affiliates. You may recall he was traded to Tampa Bay on Jan .14, 2006, along with pitching prospect Edwin Jackson, for relievers Danys Baez and Lance Carter. Jackson was a big part of the Rays' run to the A.L. pennant last year before being traded to Detroit in December. Baez is back in the majors with Baltimore after missing all of last year. And Carter hasn't pitched in the majors since the Dodgers released him after that season.

Here is the link to a story on True Blue L.A. about Tiffany that appeared on March 31.

http://www.truebluela.com/2009/3/31/816787/sometimes-spring-is-where-dreams

By the way, forgot to mention this earlier, but James McDonald WILL start tomorrow's game and be on a regular starter's program, so it won't be a ``bullpen day,'' as Joe Torre had previously said it might be. The addition of Scott Elbert to the bullpen means McDonald won't be needed there today.

Talked to him briefly this morning. He said there is nothing wrong physically, but that he might be having some mechanical problems that he doesn't have time to do anything about when is on the mound on in a tight situation, as he usually is. He did say he is struggling with his confidence, though.
``I have just lost confidence,'' he said. ``I just have to keep working.''
Joe Torre said he would have no problem giving the ball to Kuo in a tight eighth-inning situation today, but that he would strongly prefer to find an innocuous situation to put him into, say with a big lead, so Kuo would be free to work on things and perhaps find himself. Joe also said Stan Conte indicated Kuo could probably pitch on back-to-back days now, something Torre has been reluctant to do because of Kuo's health history.
``(His struggles) might be based on the fact he hasn't worked a lot,'' Torre said.
Also, Cory Wade will have an MRI on Monday just to be safe before he goes to Arizona. And we asked Joe why Elbert was the move given that they could have moved Mkz to the 60-day DL and called up Jeff Weaver. Joe didn't really answer except to say that there isn't a 40-man roster spot open RIGHT NOW and that as such, Elbert was the easist move. But he did concede that Mkz probably will be moved to the 60-day soon.

It's a recurrence of the same shoulder issue he dealt with last season and in spring training, nothing major. He says it went away completely for a while, but it flared up again after his most recent outing last Saturday night at Arizona, and it has been so crazy this week that no one seemed to have noticed that he hadn't pitched since then. Cory said it just kept getting worse after that, but that he is optimistic that a little rest will be sufficient to get rid of the issue. The move is backdated to Sunday, which means he is eligible to return on April 27 and stands a good chance of doing so. He'll go to Camelback Ranch on Monday, when the team leaves for Houston, and pitch in a couple of extended spring training games there to get himself right.
``We can't be one man short in the bullpen,'' Wade said. ``Those guys have been working hard down there. We're just doing what is best for the team.''
Scott Elbert had made two starts at Double-A Chattanooga totaling eight innings, so it would seem logical that he'll go to the pen for the big club, which now has three lefties down there. Remember in spring training when everyone was fretting over the fact that they only had one? Elbert gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits with four walks and nine strikeouts and held opposing hitters to a .226 average for the Lookouts.
Oh, and Hiroki Kuroda did fine playing catch this morning, about 30 throws. He told some Japanese reporters he hopes to throw off a mound tomorrow, but I haven't confirmed that with Stan Conte yet.

Also, here is today's lineup, a bit of a skeleton crew with Furcal, Martin and Blake all sitting:

2B Hudson
RF Ethier
LF Ramirez
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
C Ausmus
SS Castro
RH Billingsley

A couple of nights ago, I posted something about it having been a great game if you didn't have to write about it on deadline. Well, tonight, thanks to Jill being kind enough to give me a night off, I DIDN'T have to write about it on deadline. And this was a GREAT ballgame, the kind that if you had the time to sit and watch it reminds you of what is so great about this sport. In the first inning, Randy Wolf looked like he had NOTHING, and the result was that the Rockies jumped to a quick, 3-0 lead. But Wolf settled in from there and wound up going six innings. After the first, he gave up one hit and one walk while striking out seven with only three balls being hit out of the infield. On the flip side, Jorge De La Rosa shut out the Dodgers through five-plus, constantly pitching his way out of trouble. But that eventually caught up with him, as he had to be lifted with one out in the sixth after throwing 104 pitches. The Dodgers then waited until the next inning to unload on a totally ineffective Matt Belisle, a somewhat ineffective Alan Embree and a just-ineffective-enough Jason Grilli. The result was a four-run inning. Hong-Chih Kuo got into trouble in the eighth, loading the bases with one out on a pair of walks and forcing Joe Torre to bring in Jonathan Broxton early. But Broxton got the last five outs without really breaking a sweat, striking out four of those five batters. ... The only negative for the Dodgers is that they do seem to have a problem in the eighth inning. More specifically, they seem to have a problem with Kuo, who has been roughed up in two consecutive appearances. That eighth-inning role could belong to someone else (Guillermo Mota, Cory Wade) in the very near future. ... By the way, the win was the 2,159th for Torre, moving him past Bucky Harris and into sixth place on the all-time list. He is now 35 shy of one Mr. George Anderson of Thousand Oaks (better known as Sparky) for fifth place on that list. ... Dodgers go to 8-3, but those pesky Padres just won't lose. The teams are still tied atop the division, now three ahead of the Rockies. ... Good matchup for tomorrow's national TV game, Chad Billingsley against Aaron Cook. Sleep fast.

... Torre wants to get Mark Loretta some ABs and Loretta is the only position player who hasn't started a game yet. That wouldn't have been true, of course, if Mientkiewicz were still on the roster, but he isn't. Juan Castro hasn't started a game, either, but he doesn't count because he didn't get here until Monday. Also, both Furcal and Martin are expected to sit tomorrow. Ausmus will obviously catch, and it sounds like DeWitt will play SS. ... They just finished playing Rocky Mountain High by John Denver. Now, they're playing Me and You and a Dog Named Blue. A scout in the back row just told another scout, ``I haven't heard this song since I was, like, 8.''

It's '70s night at Dodger Stadium, and this week's postgame fireworks show -- they're planning on having one after every Friday night home game this season -- is going to be accompanied by '70s music. I just saw Emma, who posts comments here often, down in the field-level seats wearing a crazy '70s afro wig. Right now, tonight's anthem singer is in the press box rehearsing with Nancy Bea at the organ, so we're hearing The Star-Spangled Banner at the same time they are playing that one '70s song -- it goes, ``Wo-man, take me in your arms, rock me, baby,'' so if you know who sings that and what the title is, feel free to post -- so we're hearing those two songs on top of each other. Delightful. Now they are playing Dust in the Wind, and the woman is rehearsing the anthem for a second time. Even more delightful. ... By the way, someone from Cincinnati emailed me the other day wondering if Clayton Kershaw is related to Sammy Kershaw, the country singer. I checked with him, and he said no. But he did say that some of his teammates have taken to calling him Sammy in the clubhouse. ... Now they're playing Show and Tell. I don't know who sang that, either, but it could be Lou Rawls. Wait, no, I just looked it up on Google. It's Al Wilson. I'm going to get out of here before that woman starts singing the anthem again.

Ned Colletti said September. Joe Torre said the last month of the season, which is September. Stan Conte said at least three months, depending on how the program goes. Three months is July. The good news is that it sounds like Mkz will be able to come back at some point if he chooses to do so.
``Knowing (Mientkiewicz), he'll try to come back in four weeks,'' Torre said. ``But that isn't going to happen.''
The MRI showed a complete dislocation, and the front part of the labrum was pulled off, along with the capsule, Conte said. Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the Dodgers' team physician, will do the surgery on Monday.

I got this one right, because I said it would be DeWitt or Xavier Paul, but I also got this one wrong, because I said my money was on Paul. Guess the front office ultimately decided they wanted the guy with the experience and the ability to play three infield spots more than they wanted a guy batting .571 at ABQ whose outfield defense has always been suspect. ... Not sure I understand why James Loney isn't playing tonight. He is batting .556 lifetime (5 for 9) with HR and seven RBI against Jorge De La Rosa. Loretta is hitting .667 off him, but that's only 2 for 3. This will be Loney's first game out of the starting lineup this season.

SS Furcal
2B Hudson
LF Ramirez
CF Kemp
RF Ethier
C Martin
1B Loretta
3B Blake
LH Wolf

First of all, tomorrow's game is NOT a night game as originally scheduled. It is now a 12:40 p.m. game. And if you're coming, it's photo day. Fans can be on the field from 11-11:50 a.m. ... Also, I was asked to pass this along, the Compton Little League is having its season opener tomorrow after a hiatus of nearly 10 years. Angels CF Torii Hunter is the man to thank for that, as he made a big donation to get it going again. Good for him, and good for the kids. ... Should be warmer out here tonight. Rockies taking early BP right now because they haven't played since an early afternoon game on Wednesday at Chicago. Jill Painter covering the game for us tonight, but I'll be blogging as usual. Still no word on Mkz or the corresponding roster move.

Either Blake DeWitt or Xavier Paul will be recalled from ABQ in the morning (my money's on Paul, as he is hitting .571) to take Doug Mientkiewicz's spot after Mkz dislocated his right shoulder on that headfirst slide into second in the sixth inning. Too bad. He is a really good guy, and that was a really big hit, a two-run double that put this thing on ice. He was choking back tears when we got to him in the clubhouse afterward. Here is a guy who was wondering before the Dodgers signed him to a minor-league contract on Feb. 26 if his career might be over because there simply wasn't much interest on the free-agent market, and I'm sure he is wondering the same thing tonight. But I'm in agreement with Joe Torre, who predicted after the game that Mkz WILL play again. ... Mkz's wasn't the only gritty effort tonight. Eric Stults didn't have his best stuff. He walked or hit a bunch of guys, and he seemed to be in constant trouble. But he gutted his way through five innings and then handed a 3-2 lead to a bullpen that came through with four shutout frames. The result was another win for Stults, who is 2-0. More importantly, as Stults himself pointed out after the game, the Dodgers are 2-0 in games he has started this year. ... Dodgers go to 7-3 and stay tied with the Pods atop the division, two games ahead of the Rockies. Rox in tomorrow night (7:10) for the start of a three-game series, Randy Wolf against Jorge De La Rosa.

It appears this is going to be the primary order. Also, Kuroda had a second MRI today which showed improvement. The hope is that he can play catch bt Saturday. Torre confirmed that Kuroda won't come off the DL when he becomes eligible on Wed. Also again, Joe said both Furcal and Martin probably will sit out Saturday's game with the Rockies because Russ hasn't had much success against Aaron Cook and day games after night games are still when Raffy prefers to take his occasional days off if he has to take them at all.

Ss Furcal
2B Hudson
LF Ramirez
1B Loney
C Martin
Rf Ethier
CF Kemp
3B Blake
LH Kershaw

His two bases-loaded walks last night could be indicative of a more patient approach at the plate for the Dodgers 1B. Last year, when his batting average dropped from .331 in 2007 to .289, Loney walked 45 times in 651 plate appearances, or once every 14.5 times he came to the plate. This year, he has walked six times in 40 plate appearance, an average of once every 6.7 times he has come to the plate, and is batting .333 (11 for 33) going into tonight. Last year, Loney's OBP dropped from .381 in 2007 to .338. So far this year, it's a stellar .436.

Great game if you didn't have to write it up on deadline. Really great game for the Dodgers, who showed the sort of resilience and comeback ability that used to elude them after they would blow a lead in the eighth inning. But this is a different kind of team with a different kind of makeup than what you have seen in the past, even though most of the characters are the same. Clayton Kershaw was outstanding, striking out 13 while allowing one hit -- a Bengie Molina HR -- and one walk in seven innings. But the Dodgers couldn't give him more than a 2-1 lead, and that vanished after Kershaw was lifted to start the eighth. But despite falling behind 4-2, the Dodgers came right back, tying it in the eighth and winning it in the ninth after Broxton retired the Giants in order. James Loney had three RBI without a hit, drawing two bases-loaded walks -- including one to end the game -- and delivering a sac fly. Orlando Hudson is on FIRE. After hitting for the cycle yesterday, he went 3 for 5 tonight. In the past four games, he is 9 for 18 with two doubles, a triple and two homers. ... Dodgers go to 6-3 with their fourth consecutive victory and pull even with the Pods atop the N.L. West, 1 1/2 ahead of the Rox.

Jason Schmidt had a good day today, threw 73 pitches in an extended spring training game and felt good afterward, according to Stan Conte, who added that Schmidt will make AT LEAST one more start at extended before embarking on a minor-league rehab. ... Hiroki Kuroda is still having pain in his left side, so he has no chance of coming off the DL when he becomes eligible next Wednesday. It's still a short-term injury (they hope), but Stan said he will need at least one minor-league rehab start to make sure he's ready because this type of injury has a tendency to come back. ... Ethier's return to the cleanup spot appears to be temporary, and it's based on the fact he is hitting .593 (16 for 27) for his career against Matt Cain, tonight's starter for the Giants. ... Also, Tony Abreu is going to be out for a WHILE. He was on crutches for a week after he suffered the injury. Stan saw him last weekend when the Dodgers were in AZ and said he was doing better, but he also said these injuries are typically three- to six-week deals.

amazing what a two-homer day will do for you. Loney back to sixth, so this is the opening-day lineup redeux.

sS Furcal
2b Hudson
LF Ramirez
rF Ethier
C Martin
1b Loney
CF Kemp
3B Blake
LHKershaw

This guy can't catch a break. Turns out he suffered a high sprain of one of his ankles (haven't been able to run down which one yet) sliding into second base in a game on the minor-league side late in spring training and is back at Camelback Ranch receiving treatment. So he still hasn't played in a regular-season game of any kind since 2007. It was only about eight weeks ago that the Dodgers went to spring training thinking that he actually had a good chance of making the club as a utility infielder.

dodgers will get two players to be named later, presumably minor leaguers. I assume DY will be placed on the Pirates' active big-league roster. This can only good for DY, who might not play every day but should at least get more playing time than he would with the Dodgers. Plus he and Andy LaRoche are good friends from their Dodgers days. Andy went to the Pirates as part of the Manny trade, which was a three-team deal with the Red Sox.

Randy Johnson had never lost in 11 career starts at Dodger Stadium -- until today. This guy isn't the same pitcher. I mean, obviously, he isn't the same pitcher at 45 that he was at 35. But he isn't even really the same TYPE of pitcher, and he is hardly intimidating anymore. And there seems to be an inability to minimize damage. The Dodgers scored all but one of their seven runs against him with two out. The Big Unit came into this one 7-0 with a 2.06 ERA at Chavez Ravine. ... Meanwhile, Chad Billingsley had a phenomenal outing, going seven strong innings and allowing a run on five hits. He struck out 11 while walking none -- a clear indication he isn't the same type of pitcher he used to be, either. He could be ready to take that next step now and become one of the premier starting pitchers in the league. ... Andre Ethier hit two HRs, his second career two-homer game, and rove in four runs. Russell Martin also had two hits, both singles. ... Dodgers go to 5-3. Off tomorrow, then Clayton Kershaw vs. Matt Cain on Tuesday night at 7:10. ... Also, I pulled Colletti aside after the game and told him of McCourt's comments as to his job status. Ned (wisely) declined to respond to them.

Mark Langill, the Dodgers' official team historian, caught up with him by phone during the game. Here is part of what he said:

``A lot has happened in baseball and the world over the last 39 years. Cesar Izturis and Gary Sheffield came closest to hitting for the cycle. I've had a lot of fun with it. A lot of friends become aware of it over the years and now people realize how difficult it is to accomplish. Congratulations to Orlando. I hope he appreciates he's in a very unique club. I can't believe only two people in 51 years. It's great fun to have a game like that. He'll be on a high for two weeks.''

Playing his first home game for the Dodgers, Orlando Hudson has hit for the cycle in his first four plate appearances today, becoming the first Dodgers player to do it in 39 years. Wes Parker was the last Dodgers player to hit for the cycle on May 7, 1970. O-Dog beat out an infield single in the first inning, homered into the front row in left field in the third, doubled to the wall in left-center in the fourth and just tripled to lead off the sixth, sliding in headfirst just ahead of the throw. Dodgers leading 7-1, bottom 6

My colleague Jill Painter got some one-on-one time with Frank this morning. Among other things, she asked him about Ned's contract status and whether there is an extension in the offing. Ned is in the final season of a four-year deal, but there is a mutual option for next year. Anyway, Frank had little to say on the matter, but depending on how you interpret this, he MIGHT be saying Ned's job depends on the team winning the division in 2009. In all honesty, that probably ISN'T what he is saying, but I could definitely see how these comments might be read that way. It is woth nothing that the Dodgers have made the playoffs in two of Colletti's first three seasons and last year won a playoff series for the first time in 20 years.

Anyway, this is what Frank told Jill:

``Those are conversations I'll have with Ned. Those are going to be private conversations. What I can say is that Ned's doing a fabulous job, and we're going to set out this year to win that division title again. That's what we need to do, and try to win a world championship. That's the promise we've made to our fans. The first step is winning
the division title again, which would be the first time, I believe, in 31 years that the Dodgers have won back-to-back division titles.
We're definitely on the right track, and I give Ned a large amount of
credit for that.''

(When does he want to decide on Ned's contract?)
``Those are private matters. I've learned in my five years of doing this that there are certain types of conversations you talk about and other topics that you really need to stay as a private conversation. Otherwise, it's a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't. I just don't want it to get to that. Those conversations will be private. People
will know when it's relevant. We'll communicate that.''

That clears the 40-man spot for Castro. Hard to believe the Dodgers couldn't trade him. Even harder to believe he'll pass through waivers unclaimed. Until now, he had spent his entire professional career in the organization, since being drafted in the fourth round in 2002. Unless he somehow clears waivers and ends up in ABQ, this can only be good for DY, as it means he should get more of a chance somewhere else.

The game-day staff is putting its best foot forward for opening day, so the team will, too.

Furcal. SS
Hudson. 2B
Ramirez. LF
Loney. 1B
Martin. C
Ethier. RF
Kemp. CF
Blake. 3B
Billingsley. RHP

He'll play mostly 2B, with a few games at SS and an occasional game at 3B, according to Joe Torre. The most important thing is that he will play, every day, with regular at-bats, which will allow him to continue to develop. Guessing this move was planned from opening day, just a matter of clearing a 40-man spot. They haven't announced yet how they did that, but they have to have done it already because Castro has been added. I'm almost positive it involves Delwyn Young. ... If you're coming, you might want to stuff some cotton in your ears. They're doing sound checks with the national anthem and God Bless America singers, and let me tell you, the sound system DEFINITELY works. I think I'm going to ask them if they can turn up the volume just a little bit, because I can still (just barely) hear myself think.

He will have his contract purchased from Triple-A Albuquerque in the morning. No word on the corresponding roster move. I do have a pretty good idea of what it will be, but I'm also fairly sure the player who is going down hasn't been told yet, so out of respect for that, I'm going to hold off on speculating. But I'm sure you can figure it out. As for clearing a 40-man spot, I'm guessing Delwyn Young has been traded for a sack of balls, probably to Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Philly, all of whom were scouting him on his rehab assignment. But again, that's only a guess, and it's also possible he will be DFA'd if no deal was reached.

This is 3B umpire Charlie Reliford, who we believe is the crew chief, talking to a pool reporter. It pretty much jibes with what I posted here earlier,

``We had about six rules involved here. ... As Felipe Lopez goes by second base, the home plate umpire (Larry Vanover) couldn't tell if (Lopez) touches the bag or if the out is recorded when (Lopez) touches the runner. And that made a difference in whether or not the run counted. If (Lopez) had touched the bag -- and we determined that that was an unmistakable act of an appeal -- the run wouldn't have counted. The extra time it took Lopez to tag the runner (Pierre) allowed the run to score.
``Joe (Torre) came out and said, `You know that run counts.' But we couldn't make that call until we knew exactly what we had at second base. They could have gotten teh fourth out with an appeal at third base (a player in possession of the ball touching the bag), but they didn't do that before leaving the field.''

A big win for the boys in advance of the home opener. Randy Wolf went seven-plus, allowing only a run on two hits on a day when he said he didn't really have his fastball and had to rely almost entirely on offspeed stuff. One of the two hits he gave up was a first-inning double by Felipe Lopez after Wolf appeared to have struck him out with a 2-2 pitch, only to have plate umpire Larry Vanover called it ball three. Hong-Chih Kuo and Jonathan Broxton were an outstanding eighth inning-ninth inning punch to close it out. James Loney had another big day, going 2 for 4 with an RBI single to raise his average to .270. Now that the game is over, though, all anyone seems to want to talk about is that first run the Dodgers scored on that weird play. ... It was a big weekend for recent Dodgers' high draft picks. On Saturday, 2008 first-rounder Ethan Martin gave up two hits over five innings for low Single-A Great Lakes, and 2008 second-rounder Josh Lindblom allowed a run on five hits over five innings, striking out six, for Double-A Chattanooga. Today, 2007 first-rounder Chris Withrow pitched five no-hit innings for high Single-A Inland Empire against Rancho Cucamonga. ... Dodgers will bring a 4-3 record into their home opener. They are in second place alone in the N.L. West, one game behind the Pods.

On that weird play in the second inning, Randy Wolf was credited with an RBI, but he was NOT credited with a sacrifice fly, so he was WAS charged with an at-bat. I doubt he really cares all that much, because he is DEALING today. Has retired the last 10 in a row, and the last 12 in a row that he didn't intentionally walk. I probably just jinxed him. ... And as for my earlier rant about official scorers and their unwillingness to make non-sacrifice calls when guys are clearly bunting for a hit, I was later told that Elias, the official stats keeper for MLB, has INSTRUCTED official scorers not to make that call this year. I can't for the life of my imagine why, unless it's because they want to relieve them of a judgement call. But these guys get paid upwards of $100 a game, and judgement is exactly what they get paid for. But my understanding is that from now on, anytime a guy lays down a bunt, is thrown out at first base and advances at least one runner, that player will be credited with a sacrifice even if it is perfectly clear he was bunting for a hit.

If you're watching this on the TV, the broadcasters are probably explaining how the Dodgers ended up getting a run out of what appeared to be an inning-ending double play in the top of the second. But since I can't hear them, I'll clarify it here, too.
What happened was this: with runners on second and third and one out, Randy Wolf hit a line smash up the middle that D-Backs pitcher Dan Haren snagged with his glove (it would have been a two-run single to center otherwise). Both Andre Ethier (third) and Juan Pierre (second) were WAY off their respective bags and had no chance of getting back.
But as Haren turned and fired to second for what appeared to be an easy out, Ethier just kept on running without turning back. Second baseman Felipe Lopez took the throw from Haren and seemed to overrun the bag, then simply ran to the spot where Pierre was standing, frozen, about 10 feet to the third-base side of second base and actually TAGGED Pierre. Well, in the time it took Lopez to get there, Ethier was able to get all the way down the 3B line and cross home plate BEFORE Lopez tagged Pierre.
But that is NOT the reason the run counted.
The reason the run counted was that the D-Backs then left the field WITHOUT ANYONE EVER TOUCHING THIRD BASE to double off Ethier. If Lopez had bothered to then touch third base on his way off the field, with the ball in his glove, Ethier would have been the fourth out of the inning -- and that isn't as superfluous as it sounds, because that would have meant the run would NOT have counted.
As the Dodgers jogged back onto the field for the bottom of the second, Joe Torre slowly walked out and conferred with plate umpire Larry Vanover and 3B umpire Charlie Reliford, pleading his case that the run should count. Vanover and Reliford ultimately agreed, and the Dodgers had a run.
The moral of this story is that Haren should have thrown to third to double off Ethier in the first place instead of throwing to second to double off Pierre. That's a lesson for the Little Leaguers: if you're trying to double off runners who failed to tag up, and there are more than one of them, always double off the LEAD RUNNER first.

First one of the season, I believe. Anyway, I don't believe there is an official scorer left in the LEAGUE who has the guts to make a non-sacrifice call. In the bottom of the first inning today, with Felipe Lopez on second, D-Backs CF Chris Young dropped a push bunt up the first-base line, and he was actually a step into his stride toward first when the ball hit his bat (he WAS still in the batter's box, though). The ball went directly up the 1B line, and Randy Wolf had to make a perfect play to get Young, who is a fast runner and was going at full speed. But Young was out (by a step), and Lopez made it safely to third. So what was the call? Sacrifice, of course. Even though this was clearly NOT A SACRIFICE, because Young was clearly BUNTING FOR A BASE HIT, sacrifice was the call, because sacrifice is ALWAYS the call in that situation. Drives me nuts.

Eric Stults is going to stay in the rotation and will pitch again on Thursday against the Giants. James McDonald is going back to the bullpen, although Torre was adamant that this wasn't a reflection of the fact he didn't pitch well on Friday night. It was more about the team's needs, and the team needs another reliever. McDonald has a better track record, admittedly in a small sample size, coming out of the pen than Stults does, and Stults has a better track record starting than McDonald (admittedly a VERY small sample size where McDonald is concerned). What this does for now is leave the Dodgers with a four-man rotation, which will be sufficient to get them through this week. But they WILL need a fifth starter on Sunday against the Rockies. Torre said McDonald probably will get that start, but that it will be more of a bullpen day. That means McDonald will start but will only pitch a couple of innings. The team will use relievers only (with McDonald considered a reliever in this case) to get through that game. There is an off-day the next day, so they can afford to do it this way. Confused yet? ... Also, Delwyn Young is drawing some trade interest. The Indians, Pirates and Phillies all have had scouts in ABQ this week to watch him. I look for a move to be made there in the next few days, although the Dodgers probably won't get anything eye-popping in return.

It's expected to be a perfect 79 degrees in downtown Phoenix this afternoon, and the Chase Field roof is OPEN. It feels like a real ballpark for once instead of an airplane hangar. ... Torre apparently has decided NOT to bat Juan Pierre ninth and is instead batting him eighth. Hitting him ninth would have made at least some sense -- a fact Joe conceded when he was asked about it yesterday -- because it would have meant the possibility of Pierre, Furcal and Hudson coming up in front of Manny in the later innings, allowing Manny to not only bat third and be assured of hitting in the first inning but also to become a sort of de facto cleanup hitter later in the game.

Furcal. SS
Hudson. 2B
Ramirez. LF
Loney. 1B
Martin. C
Ethier. RF
Blake. 3B
Pierre. CF
Wolf. LH

Turns out Eric Stults wasn't scratched just before game time last night at ABQ. He had actually been scratched the day before, when the possibility of Kuroda going on the DL had first been raised. If that hadn't happened, Stults would have pitched Saturday instead. But it did happen, and so he was here tonight pitching 5 1/3 strong innings to get the win. He always seems to pitch well in his first big-league start of any season, so we'll see how he does the next time out, and it isn't clear yet when that will be. It could be in five days against the Giants, he could become the fifth guy and get pushed back to Sunday against the Rockies. We'll see. We had an interesting chat with him after the game about losing his mother, Kathy, which happened just before the start of spring training. She was in remission from breast cancer, with which she had been diagnosed two years earlier, but they discovered early this year that she had stage four cancer in her liver, and it was too late to do anything about it. She died a month later. Eric's dad, Dave, came to spring training from Indiana for a few days and spent some time with Eric and his family, which Eric said was a mixed bag for his father emotionally.
``He needed a distraction, and I think baseball was a good distraction for him to come down and be with myself and my family,'' Eric said. ``My daughter and son really light up his face when he sees them, so I think that was good. But I think there were some tough times, too, because my mom loved baseball. It didn't matter what game was on TV, she was watching it, whether I was (playing) or not.''
The offense finally broke out tonight with 11 hits, six of them for extra bases. O-Dog was the big star, with a home run and a two-run double, but the whole lineup contributed. The only starter not to get a hit was Manny, and he walked twice. Casey Blake also appears to be coming out of his early-season slump. He went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI and is now 3 for 7 with a HR in the past two games.
Dodgers go to 3-3 and move back into third place, one behind the Pods and a half-game behind the Rox. Randy Wolf against Dan Haren tomorrow at 1:10.
Oh, BTW, Delwyn Young played the whole game in LF for ABQ tonight. He walked in his first plate appearance, then GIDP'd and popped up. Isotopes got pounded 9-0 by the Omaha Royals. Eric Milton started and gave up four runs on six hits over four innings.

Forgot to mention that earlier. He will make his first start of the season. Torre wouldn't tell us who he'll be replacing -- it's possible he hasn't decided -- but he did say JP will play center field and that Manny Ramirez WILL play. That means either Either or Kemp will be sitting. If Ethier sits, Kemp will move to RF. Pierre is hitting .333 (2 for 6) lifetime against Dan Haren, but Kemp is hitting .364 (4 for 11, 1 HR), and Ethier is hitting .467 (7 for 15, 1 HR).

Joe Torre acknowledged today that the club does need to get more innings out of its starting pitchers. Ramon Troncoso saved their bacon last night by going a career-high 3 2/3, but he consequently isn't available tonight, and neither is Guillermo Mota because he has pitched two days in a row. ... Jason Schmidt and Claudio Vargas showed up in the clubhouse today, what with extended spring training being just across town. Schmidt was in no mood to talk about it, though. Doesn't sound like he is going to start his rehab anytime soon, although he is expected to make his next extended-spring start around the middle of next week. Vargas said he is getting frustrated with his lack of progress and that when he is finally able to get on a mound again, it'll be like starting spring training from scratch. So even though he is on the 60-day DL and has plenty of time, he really doesn't have all that much time. ... The lineup change was just because of the way Ethier/Loney were hitting. Even though Ethier has that high OBP, that appears to be part of the reason. Torre said Andre is taking too many pitches right now. ... Also, I was just told that the city of Los Angeles, for budgetary reasons, has decided NOT to offer the Dodgers Trolley shuttle from Union Station to Dodger Stadium for games this year, at least for now. But I was also told the team is still working with the city to try to find a way to make it happen. The Dodgers aren't going to fund this themselves because they see public transit as the domain of city government, not of the team.

Ethier is hitting .250 (albeit with a .455 OBP because he has five walks), and Loney is hitting .368 (.429 OBP). So Loney moves up from sixth to fourth while Ethier drops from fourth to sixth. Other than that, the regular lineup is back intact tonight from a personnel standpoint. With Martin hitting between Ethier/Loney, it's still staggered left-right-left from the three through seven spots. Weird start time tonight, 5:10 local (same as California time). ... By the way, MLB had a big press conference here this morning to announce that Chase Field will host the 2011 All-Star Game. If you're scoring at home, that's St. Louis for 2009, Anaheim for 2010 and Phoenix for 2011.

Furcal. SS
Hudson. 2B
Ramirez. LF
Loney. 1B
Martin. C
Ethier. RF
Kemp. CF
Blake. 3B
Stults. LHP

He went 0 for 3 with a strikeout as the DH tonight for ABQ against Omaha. De Jon Watson just confirmed via text message that DY came out fine and will play LF tomorrow as planned. I'm guessing his rehab will go the full 20 days because he is out of options and there doesn't appear to be a spot for him on the 25-man roster.

It was an ugly game and an ugly first major-league start for James McDonald, but he handled himself with extreme class, from staying in the dugout until the game was over (starting pitchers usually shower and dress after leaving a game) to professionally and patiently fielding all questions from the media. Joe Torre said after the game that he isn't sure when McDonald will start again, but that he will, in fact, start again soon. It's not even clear if McDonald is still the FIFTH starter now that Eric Stults is temporarily in the rotation. Stults could become the swing guy now, which probably would mean McDonald goes on Thursday against the Giants. If not, McDonald likely would go next Sunday against the Rockies and be available out of the pen for part of the interim. But as hideous as McDonald's third inning was tonight, once again, this Dodgers offense has to get it started soon. The club is averaging 3.6 runs a game. Dodgers fall to 2-3 and are now dead last in the N.L. West, 1 1/2 behind the first-place Rox, one behind the Pods and a half-game behind the Giants and D-backs.

Hiroki Kuroda felt discomfort in his left side while throwing his regular side session on Wednesday in San Diego. He went back to Los Angeles that night and saw Dr. Neal ElAttrache yesterday, at which point Kuroda underwent an MRI that showed nothing major. But when he tried to throw off a mound today, he again felt the same discomfort, so the decision was made -- over Kuroda's objections, according to Joe Torre -- to put him on the 15-day DL to eliminate the risk of him trying to push through it and making it worse (and more long-term). The move is backdated to Tuesday, so Kuroda will be eligible to return on April 22. If he is able to do so, he technically would miss THREE starts (April 11, 16 and 21). But in real terms, he would only miss TWO, because he could be slotted in as soon as he is activated. Trainer Stan Conte was prudent enough not to PREDICT that Kuroda will be activated as soon as he is eligible, but clearly the move was made in hopes he would miss only two weeks as opposed to several weeks. As previously stated, Eric Stults is being recalled from ABQ to hold down Kuroda's spot in the rotation.

It's a left oblique strain, a mild one. More when I can get to a real computer.

Everybody else from 6-8 moved up a spot from 5-7, meaning Ethier and Loney are now two LH hitters going back to back in the Dodgers' lineup. That could prove problematic given that the D-Backs have TWO lefties in their pen in Doug Slaten and Scott Schoeneweis, but we'll see. What it does on the positive side is give Casey Blake a chance to get out of the eight hole. if only for a night. He is batting .077. More specifically, he is 1 for 13 (a home run) with seven strikeouts in 16 plate appearances. The eight hole isn't an easy spot to hit in because the pitcher hitting behind you usually offers NO protection whatsoever. Blake hit there eight times after the Dodgers got him from Cleveland last year batted a solid .320 (8 for 25) with a home run, but he also struck out eight times in those 25 ABs. Before that, he spent his entire career in the A.L., so it didn't matter.

SS Furcal
2B Hudson
LF Ramirez
RF Ethier
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B Blake
C Ausmus
RH McDonald

Cory Wade was the guy standing on the mound when the lead got away in the eighth inning, but he wasn't the reason the GAME got away, or that the SERIES got away. That had everything to do with missed opportunities. The Dodgers left 11 men on base today, including the bases loaded twice, another guy on third who got there with nobody out and a total of seven of them in scoring position. For the series, they stranded 35 runners, 18 of them in scoring position and seven of them at third base. And they lost twice, by two runs the first time and one run the second. Go figure. Remember how offense was supposed to be this team's strength? Well, it isn't quite there yet. Dodgers fall to 2-2. On to Arizona. James McDonald against Jon Garland tomorrow night.

He isn't much of a basestealing threat, but he did have a respectable .344 OBP last year, so Joe felt comfortable putting him in the leadoff spot so he didn't have to disrupt the rest of the lineup. Wonder if that means Brad Ausmus is going to hit fifth tomorrow night. ... By the way, Delwyn Young is going to start his rehab tomorrow at ABQ. He'll DH in the first game, then play the outfield on Saturday. Both games are at home against Omaha. The minor-league season starts today for full-season leagues.

SS DeWitt
2B Hudson
LF Ramirez
RF Ethier
C Martin
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B Blake
LH Kershaw

Blake DeWitt said he had hit off him during an offseason workout once. James McDonald and Cory Wade both saw him numerous times in the California League when they were all coming up together through the Dodgers' and Angels' systems.
``He was a good guy and a tremendous competitor,'' McDonald said. ``Every time he got on the mound when we played them, you knew it was going to come at you. When I saw that this morning, I got this feeling in my stomach, like a nervous feeling. I had just seen him on ESPN last night, and he pitched a great game. It makes you think about how you can be on top of the world, and the next thing you know, your life can be tragically ended. It makes you realize that can happen to anybody.''
Wade echoed McDonald's sentiments.
``Our teams played each other a lot in Rookie ball and in the Cal League,'' Wade said. ``I just remember him dealing on us every time he was on the mound. It's just sad that a thing like that could hapen to him. Torii Hunter said it best: this is just a game, and it could have been any of us out there. It just happened to be him. We were from the same draft class. It definitely puts everything in perspective and tells you what is important in life.''

Manny finally broke out, going 2 for 4 with a walk and a two-run double that broke a 2-2 tie and keyed a three-run seventh for the Dodgers. Chad Billingsley pitched six fairly strong innings, allowing two runs on two hits, but he got himself into a whole mess o' trouble when he walked the first three batters in the fifth. Although the Pods ended up scoring two runs to tie the game, it could have been a lot worse and probably would have been if Jody Gerut, the guy who came to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out after those three walks, hadn't suffered a brain cramp and swung at Billingsley's first pitch, grounding into a forceout. James Loney went 2 for 5 and is now hitting .500 (6 for 12). ... BTW, remember all that talk about how shaky this bullpen was going to be? They have now pitched nine shutout innings in three games, and Jonathan Broxton has now retired all six batters he has faced, striking out four of them, to go 2 for 2 in save situations. ... Casey Blake, the only Dodgers regular not to get a hit in the first two games, finally got one, a towering home run into the leftfield stands in the second inning of Walter Silva. ... Dodgers go to 2-1 and are now tied for first place with Colorado, a half-game ahead of the Giants. Day game tomorrow, Clayton Kershaw against Kevin Correia.

I love it when all those East Coasters tell us SoCal types how lucky we are to have the weather we have, because they think it's warm and tropical and sunny here all the time. It is miserable here at Petco tonight. Not East Coast miserable, mind you. It's not snowing or 40 degrees. But it has been windy and chilly all day, and that means it's going to be a lot more uncomfortable once the sun sets. Pods will be wearing their camouflage jerseys tonight, which they frequently do to honor the military. Sure makes it hard to see them, though. Sorry, another bad joke.

Tomorrow is a 12:35 start, so the quick turnaround gave Torre the right circumstances to rest Rafael Furcal. DeWitt will be making his major-league debut at SS even though he played there 11 times in the Cactus League. Martin's game off got pushed back to Friday just because Joe didn't want to take two of his frontline guys out on the same day. ... Jason Schmidt's next start in extended spring is going to be delayed by at least a day, maybe more. He apparently told Torre on the phone today that he ``threw harder as a teenager.'' The saga continues.

Kudos to Marcel for having the scoop on the Miller signing, and that he was assigned to Inland Empire. ... Jason Schmidt threw 89 pitches in an intrasquad game at extended spring training today. It was a huge step forward for him, especially since it was the fourth consecutive start he was able to make on his normal four days' rest. While the tentative plan is for him to do it again on Monday, club officials are non-committal on that because they have learned to be non-committal on all things Schmidt. But if he is able to do it, I look for him to join ABQ next weekend and officially start his rehab.

He was supposed to pitch Saturday night's game, but he won't because of right-shoulder stiffness, which he experienced for the first time when he pitched in the Snakes' opener on Monday. It's nothing serious, but this early in the season there is no reason to take any chances. And I'm sure the Dodgers don't mind a bit.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/2009/04/08/20090408webbONLINE.html

There might be a change or two tomorrow just because it's a 12:35 p.m. game after a night game. But no changes so far.

SS Furcal
2B Hudson
LF Ramirez
RF Ethier
C Martin
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B Blake
RH Billingsley

He was in charge of spring-training and minor-league facilities for the club for the past 30 years. The move isn't terribly surprising. Craig and his wife Cindy live in Vero Beach, and I believe Cindy was born and raised there. The couple has a newborn son, so I'm assuming they simply decided it wasn't a good time to move to Arizona. Craig did spend most of the past year at Camelback Ranch helping with the transition, but he returned to Vero just before the start of camp for the birth of his son. He is one of the truly good people in the organization,a man I am proud to call my friend. I wish him all the best.

The Padres aren't very good, but Chris Young is still pretty good, and the Padres' bullpen appears to be VERY good. After the Padres turned a 2-1 Dodgers lead into a 4-2 Padres lead with a three-run rally against Randy Wolf and Guillermo Mota in the sixth, the Dodgers didn't get another hit against Edwin Moreno, Duaner Sanchez (remember him?) and Heath Bell, the guy who is now 1 for 1 in save opportunities since inheriting the closer role from the legendary Trevor Hoffman, who left for Milwaukee over the winter. Tough night for the Dodgers' offense, which is now 5 for 17 for the season w/RISP. ... By the way, the exaggerated infield shift on Adrian Gonzalez APPEARED to give Gonzalez a leadoff single through the spot where Rafael Furcal would have normally been standing in the sixth inning, the first blow in that decisive rally (Casey Blake went to his knees for it, but missed). Joe Torre later said Furcal would have been playing Gonzalez closer to the bag, so the ball would have gotten through anyway. Maybe. But what we learned after the game was that Randy Wolf called for the shift, that it's always the pitcher's call, and Wolf played for the Padres last year and thus had firsthand knowledge of Gonzalez's tendencies as a hitter.
``(Third-base coach) Larry (Bowa) asked me yesterday if I wanted it,'' Wolf said. ``Most of the time, when (Gonzalez) hits a ground ball, he usually pulls it, somewhere between shortstop and the right side. His power is more to left-center. You have to play the percentages, but that's the way it goes sometimes.''
Dodgers fall to 1-1 and into a four-way tie for second with the Pods, Snakes and Rox. Giants lead the division by a half-game. Billingsley vs. Walter Silva (see earlier post on him) tomorrow night, 7:05.

The minor-league season begins on Thursday, with the Isotopes home against Omaha. They'll start out with a rotation of (this is in no particular order) Eric Milton, Jeff Weaver, Shawn Estes, Eric Stults and Miguel Pinango. Estes went back to starting after Will Ohman was signed, but I'm guessing he'll be pushed aside again when (if) Jason Schmidt joins the group, which is tentatively scheduled for next weekend. He'll make a start in an intrasquad game at extended spring training tomorrow, then one more on Monday before joining ABQ, but that will only happen IF nothing goes wrong between now and then. The Dodgers are in the rather odd position of having more big-league experience in their Triple-A rotation than they have in their big-league rotation.

Tomorrow night's starting pitcher for the Pods is a guy named Walter Silva, and if you have never heard of him, don't worry about it because a lot of other people have never heard of him either. He has never pitched professionally in the U.S., and the Padres signed him to a minor-league deal early in spring training on the recommendation of the Gonzalez brothers, who had played with him in this year's Caribbean World Series team from Mazatlan. He also had played with them for several seasons with Mexicali in the Mexican Winter League. Silva, who is 32, then drove his car from Mazatlan to Peoria, Ariz., for spring training. He didn't find out he made the club, or the starting rotation, until Sunday. Before he decided to pitch professionally in the Mexican Winter League, he lived in Los Angeles for a while, more specifically Baldwin Park, where he played for a semipro team called the Baldwin Park Sultanas. He pitched every Sunday, then worked during the week at a local Outback Steakhouse. He says he has faced only one current Dodgers player, Rafael Furcal in a Caribbean World Series several years ago. Furcal says he doesn't remember.

Here is the lineup, same as yesterday except for the pitcher.

Furcal. SS
Hudson. 2B
Ramirez. LF
Ethier. RF
Martin. C
Loney. 1B
Kemp. CF
Blake. 3B
Wolf. LHP

Because of the weird start time, the fast-approaching deadline and the fact I have two stories to bang out, I'm going to keep this entry short. But the moral of today's game -- that is, if one game on a 162-game schedule is any indication -- is that this much-maligned Dodgers bullpen might just be up to the task after all. They combined for 3 1/3 shutout innings, and it wasn't all a bunch of easy outs, especially the first one. Cory Wade relieved Hiroki Kuroda to face Kevin Kouzmanoff with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth and eventually got him to ground back to the mound, preserving a 3-1 lead. Matt Kemp, who had made a spectacular catch with nobody on base earlier in that inning, a catch that turned out to be huge, then homered off Jake Peavy in the seventh to make it 4-1, completing a dramatic momentum turn that carried the Dodgers to victory. Wade gave up a leadoff double to Chase Headley in the seventh, then got three quick outs to strand Headley on third. Hong-Chih Kuo pitched around a couple of walks and a wild pitch in the eighth, and Jonathan Broxton looked like the second coming of Eric Gagne or Mariano Rivera or K-Rod or whoever in the ninth, blowing away three hitters in a row to nail it down. James Loney went 3 for 4 with a two-out, two-run single in the first inning. Rafael Furcal went 2 for 5. Dodgers are 1-0 for the second year in a row. Randy Wolf against Chris Young tomorrow night.

Sorry I forgot to post this earlier. Thanks for the reminder.

SS Furcal
2B Hudson (now wearing #13)
LF Manny
RF Ethier
C Martin
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B Blake
RH Kuroda

... Danny Ardoin has accepted his assignment to Triple-A Albuquerque, where he will back up A.J. Ellis behind the plate. ... The introductions and the anthem are over, and that friar mascot is on the field waving a Padres flag. Must mean we're about to get started. Pods not on the field yet, though.

Manny drew a loud chorus of boos as he was introduced, and as always, the Dodgers as a whole are being roundly booed. I still think this could be an even bigger rivalry than Dodgers-Giants, albeit without the history, if these two teams were ever really good at the same time and maybe played in an NLCS together. The Padres are celebrating 40 seasons (last year was actually their 40th, this season is their 40th ANNIVERSARY), so that is kind of the theme of the pregame stuff. There is a high school marching band standing in a ``40'' formation in the outfield while the players are being introduced. I assume they will play the anthem, as there also are several soldiers standing just behind the pitcher's mound with a giant flag that they have yet to unfurl. See you after the game.

As expected, Delwyn Young was placed on the 15-day DL, Claudio Vargas was placed on the 60-day DL and Greg Miller was unconditionally released so that Will Ohman, Ronald Belisario and Doug Mientkiewicz all could be added to the 25-man roster. The Young move clears only a 25-man spot, not a 40-man spot, but there was already one 40-man spot open. The 40-man roster is now full.

They might re-sign him to a minor-league contract over the next couple of days if he willing to accept such a deal, so they haven't officially given up on him. But they needed a roster spot, and it didn't make much sense for a pitcher -- even one who was once the organization's top LHP prospect and a former supplemental first-round pick -- to be taking up one of those spots when he is still battling the same control issues that have plagued him for the past four years and counting.

There aren't going to be any rainouts, snowouts or weather issues of any kind for the Dodgers' season opener today. It is an absolutely beautiful afternoon here in San Diego. There isn't a cloud in sight, the sky is a perfect shade of blue, the field at Petco Park looks like it hasn't been played on in six months (they DID have a game here Friday night against the Angels), the bunting is in place arond the ballpark and this is exactly what opening day SHOULD be. It's four hours to game time, and the gates haven't opened yet. There also isn't any news yet. We know that Mientkiewicz, Belisario and Ohman will be added to the 40-man roster, but we just don't know how. One spot was cleared when Danny Ardoin was outrighted. Another will be cleared when Claudio Vargas goes on the 60-day DL. Not sure where the other one is coming from. Should find out soon though, so keep checking back as the day goes on. Summer vacation is over. School is back in session.

This is Diamond Leung filling in for Tony Jackson...

After today's game, the Dodgers announced that they reassigned pitchers Josh Lindblom, Brian Mazone, Erick Threets and infielders Juan Castro and Luis Maza to minor league camp. Lindblom was sent to Class AA Chattanooga to be a starting pitcher.

Blake DeWitt made the team, and it's expected to be announced tomorrow that relievers Ronald Belisario and Will Ohman will be on the opening day roster along with Ramon Troncoso.

The Dodgers' 40-man roster is at 39 right now, so they would need to create two spots to add non-roster players Belisario, Ohman and Doug Mientkiewicz,

The Dodgers have SUBMITTED a roster, but as I stated here last night, it's only a rough draft. Claudio Vargas and Delwyn Young, both of whom are expected to begin the season on the DL, are both on it. Will Ohman, who is expected to begin the season in the big-league bullpen, is not. So this will change a lot tomorrow. The only moves thus far today are Jason Schmidt to the DL and Tanyon Sturtze reassigned to the minors. They are definitely trying to clear 40-man spots for Ohman and Mientkiewicz. They might be trying to clear spots for Castro and Belisario, as well.
Here is the CURRENT roster for RIGHT NOW:

Pitchers (11):
Chad Billingsley
Jonathan Broxton
Clayton Kershaw (L)
Hiroki Kuroda
Hong-Chih Kuo (L)
James McDonald
Guillermo Mota
Ramon Troncoso
Claudio Vargas
Cory Wade
Randy Wolf (L)

Catchers (2):
Brad Ausmus
Russell Martin

Infielders (6):
Casey Blake
Blake DeWitt
Rafael Furcal
Orlando Hudson
James Loney
Mark Loretta

Outfielders (5):
Andre Ethier
Matt Kemp
Juan Pierre
Manny Ramirez
Delwyn Young

I was just reminded that the Dodgers are required only TO SUMBIT A 25-MAN ROSTER BY NOON TOMORROW. That doesn't mean it has to be THE 25-man roster. That still leaves another 28 hours before they play their season opener, and they can make unlimited roster moves during that time. I have been led to believe that WILL happen. So whatever 25-man roster is put in place tomorrow morning is only a rough draft, so to speak. We aren't really going to know who is on this team until well into the day on Monday. The remaining decisions, as I understand it, are all contingent on how many 40-man spots can be cleared. If I had to guess, and this is only a guess, that probably means they are trying to find a way to get Belisario and Castro, and possibly others, onto the team. I also have been told that barring anything unforeseen (like a freak injury such as slipping in the shower) Doug Mientkiewicz has made the club.

Jeff Weaver is going to Triple-A after we all pretty much assumed he had made the club as a long reliever. Torre said the reason was a shortage of 40-man roster spots, and Weaver is on a minor-league contract. He'll stretch out at Albuquerque in case the Dodgers need him as a long reliever or spot starter. The one open 40-man spot will go to Will Ohman, who will NOT, as originally planned, begin the season at abq. Torre/Colletti have apparently seen enough of him that they are convinced he is ready to begin the season in the bigs. Also Chin-lung Hu, Jason Repko, Xavier Paul, Eric Stults and A.J. Ellis all have been told they are optioned, presumably to abq. This means the season-opening bullpen will consist of Broxton, Kuo, Mota, Ohman, Wade and probably two others. As for the Hu decision, that means it's probably down to DeWitt and Castro for the last spot, with DeWitt the favorite because, again, they don't have to clear a 40-man spot for him. They DO have to clear a 40-man spot for Doug Mientkiewicz, who appears to be on the team, but no one has announced that yet. ... Oh, Torre did finally say McDonald will be the fifth starter. The roster has to be finalized by noon tomorrow.

We are expecting to learn late tonight, after the game who the 25 guys are who are going to be on this team when it opens the season at 4:05 p.m. on Monday at Petco Park. This is what we're up against: these exhibition games tend to go long. When it's over, say around 10, the clubhouse most likely will be closed to the media an unusually long time (I'm thinking half an hour) while Joe Torre breaks the news to the guys who are sent packing. Once they have all been told, we will be allowed in. My colleague Jill Painter is covering the game tonight, so she might have some time to stay and get some player comments. I, meanwhile, will rush back upstairs and post the opening-day roster here. After that, I'll try to post some comments and observations.

All in all, a pretty blah game. Starting to feel like everyone just wishes the season would hurry up and start. Russell Martin hit a two-run homer. Matt Kemp had two singles and a walk in three plate appearances. Chad Billingsley had a pretty good outing, going five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out five without a walk. More news tomorrow night, when the opening-day roster is expected to be set immediately after the game. The important thing to keep in mind, especially for those players who end up getting cut at the last minute, is that this is nothing more than the opening-day roster being set. It will take far more than 25 guys to get the Dodgers through this season. So anybody who goes to ABQ now has a chance of being back sometime this year. ... Dodgers fall to 16-20. One more game with the Brewers, then to San Francisco on Sunday for one final exhibition before the big opener on Monday at San Diego.

He isn't just the guy who reported late to camp due to visa problems in Venezuela. He is now a guy with a real shot of being on this club when the roster is finalized late tomorrow night. He has made three relief appearances, two of them AFTER he was reassigned to minor-league camp on March 6. He mowed down seven batters in a row in the eighth and ninth innings against Oakland on Monday, although Nomar reached on a two-out error in the eighth to prevent it from being two perfect innings. Then, last night against the Angels, Belisario pitched the fifth and sixth, and although he gave up a couple of hits and a walk, he still struck out three, including Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick and Vladimir Guerrero. This guy has great stuff, and the Dodgers don't have a great bullpen. He is 26, and he has never pitched above Double-A, but he did well pitching in the Venezuelan Winter League this year for Leones de Caracas. That team was managed by Caracas native Carlos Subera, the new manager of the Dodgers high Single-A Inland Empire affiliate. Belisario is TECHNICALLY still in minor-league camp, but while he was never officially promoted back to the big-league side, he is here in Los Angeles with the club, so that should tell you something.

Lefty-relief specialist Will Ohman is already giving Manny Ramirez a run for his money in the best one-liner category.

After he gave up a home run to Chad Tracy in his Dodgers debut earlier this week, Ohman joked, "Obviously, signing so late, I wanted to bring as much attention to myself as possible."

Thursday night he struck out the only batter he faced against the Angels. I came up to him and asked if he had another funny one-liner to sum up his performance.

``That was just rapid improvement on my part,'' he joked. ``I got all those firsts out of the way and went back to being me, which is just unbelievably dominant.''

Ohman's supposed to start the year in Triple-A but is expected to be called up as soon as he gets his rhythm down. Normally we don't root for those sort of things, but when a guy goes 2-for-2 in funny quote opportunities, it's hard not to.

OK, you've got one hour to be creative. Since this is just a one-game deal, it feels a little weird to call this a Freeway Series between the Dodgers and Angels. But what should we call this thing instead?

I have to file the gamer by 9:30 so you've got until then to come up with something good. Right now I'm thinking about the Freeway interchange, but that kind of stinks...

It's that time of year. Final cuts. And in this case, they are the deepest.

It sounded like Joe Torre and the front office intend to take as much time as they can to make them.

``We've still got some discussing to do,'' Torre said. ``There may be something that makes up my mind. You're sitting here with decisions to be made and the each make sense, but you can't make all of them.''

The most pressing decisions the Dodgers must make involve pairing down the four utility infielders -- Juan Castro, Doug Mietkiewicz, Blake DeWitt and Chin-lung Hu -- to two roster spots, and choosing between righties Ramon Troncoso and Tanyon Sturtze for the last bullpen job.

That said, Torre left room to revisit whatever decision the club makes this weekend later in the year.

``You make decisions at the time you have to make them but it doesn't mean you don't do something different down the road,'' he said.

Two-time defending Eclipse Award winning jockey and long-time Dodgers fan Garrett Gomez will throw out Friday's first pitch at Dodger Stadium before their exhibition game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Gomez rides Kentucky Derby hopeful Pioneerof the Nile on Saturday, April 4 in the Santa Anita Derby. Pioneerof the Nile's morning line odds are set at 2-1, and he faces stiff competition against The Pamplemousse and Chocolate Candy.

First post at Santa Anita on Saturday is noon with the Santa Anita Derby
going off as the 6th race at 2:30 p.m.

Manny Ramirez just scored from first base on Andre Either's triple to right field and jogged back to the dugout without a discernible limp from his balky left hammy. Earlier he slid to cut off a ball from Vlad Guerrero in the left field corner.

Not that they need another outfielder, but it was worth asking whether the Dodgers would be interested in picking up Gary Sheffield, if only to see what Joe Torre would say.

``We don't have room right now,'' Torre said. ``Offense isn't our problem at this point in time. Plus we don't have a designated hitter, so I'd have to say no,''

The annual Team Marketing Report fan cost index is out and it seems everyone but the two New York teams has made concessions to the economic recession.

According to the TMR, ``The Yankees' average ticket is an eye-popping $72.97, according to TMR calculations, and the Mets' 36.99. Both increases helped the average ticket go up 5.4 percent in 2009, to $26.74.

The league's Fan Cost Index is up 3.4 percent to 197.17. The Fan Cost Index (FCI) measures the cost to take a family of four to a sporting event.''

The Dodgers average ticket price of $29.66 is still over the league average of $26.64 but remained unchanged from last season.

The Angeles lowered their average ticket price $20.05 by 3.5 percent and were called ``baseball's best bargain.''

According to the report: ``Ten teams show overall average price decreases, and another six have either stayed flat or are up less than 1 percent.

Several teams are offering cheaper concession items, and nearly every team has some kind of value meal proposition. The Cincinnati Reds ($144.76 FCI) has $1 soft drinks and $1 hot dogs.

If you take the Mets and Yankees out of the equation, this year and last year, and the average ticket for the other 28 teams ($23.07) would be up just .09 percent. So the New York teams, who certainly help their peers' bottom lines with impressive road attendance, are worth about $3.67 to the total average of the league.''

One day after Blake DeWitt and Chin-lung Hu had big games to state their cases for the two utility-infield spots that remain open, Doug Mientkiewicz and Juan Castro had big games to state their cases for the same two spots. Each of them homered today. There are still four games to go before opening day, but it sounds like the decision is going to be made in the next 24-48 hours, and my money for now is on Castro and Mientkiewicz because they are veterans, with DeWitt and Hu going to the minors because they need regular ABs. Castro went 2 for 5 with a double and a tow-run homer and is hitting .415 for the spring. Mientkiewicz went 1 for 4 with a two-run homer and a walk. It appears the competition is this: Mientkiewicz vs. DeWitt for one spot, Castro vs. Hu for the other, the thinking being that both Mientkiewicz and DeWitt are LH hitters who can pinch hit. ...
Hiroki Kuroda gave up a run on four hits over three innings in his final tuneup before taking the ball on opening day. He was limited to three innings, but Torre said that is normal for a pitcher's final start of the spring and that Kuroda should be ready to throw 100 against the Pods on Monday. ...
Eric Milton appeared to pitch himself out of his last glimmer of hope for the fifth spot in the rotation or for a bullpen spot -- he gave up eight earned runs in 2 1/3 innings -- but it turns out he had already been told he won't be on the opening-day roster. After discussing it with Joe Torre over the past 10 days or so, he has agreed NOT to exercise the April 4 escape clause in his minor-league contract and will instead go to Triple-A and continue to try to get his arm back into game shape. You have to remember, it has still been less than two years since this guy had Tommy John surgery, and he hasn't pitched in the big leagues since. If he can get back to form, there is still a good chance we'll see him in Los Angeles sometime this summer. ...
Dodgers fall to 15-19. Vs. the Angels at Dodger Stadium tomorrow night.
Los Angeles or bust.

I forgot to mention earlier that he has the right to DECLINE the assignment and become a free agent because this isn't the first time in his career he has been outrighted. On the one hand, it would seem likely that he WILL decline because even if he accepts, he is going to be A.J. Ellis' backup at abq. But on the other hand, it is UNLIKELY he will decline because it is getting late in the spring and there is certainly no shortage of catchers around professional baseball.

He was going there anyway, but the interesting thing is that rather than simply being optioned (I BELIEVE he still has an option), he was waived, cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster. He didn't play much last year, but he still was a contributor to the big-league club, batting .235 in 24 games. Once the Dodgers signed Brad Ausmus this winter, there wasn't room for Ardoin. What this does is clear a 40-man spot, and the Dodgers are going to need to clear at least four of them if Jeff Weaver, Juan Castro and Doug Mientkiewicz all make the team because Will Ohman still needs one, too. If Eric Milton makes the club, they'll need to clear a fifth spot, so it's going to be an interesting few days between now and Sunday.