Tonight's lineup: More of the same
CF Pierre
SS Furcal
1B Nomar
2B Kent
LF Gonzo
C Martin
RF Ethier
3B Abreu
LH Wolf
Saito threw on the side, and it went well. The next test will be tomorrow, when he comes out early and practices cover first base. If that goes well, he should be ready to return on Friday night against Toronto. ... Grady met with Juan Pierre today to discuss Pierre's lack of production in the leadoff spot. Reading between the lines (which is what you often have to do with Grady), it sounds like Grady put more emphasis on bat angle, swing angle, which is causing Pierre to hit too many balls in the air, than on the fact Pierre is seeing far too pitches for a leadoff man (he saw a total of eight in four at-bats last night). ... As for Nomar's lack of power, Grady remains unconcerned, at least outwardly. He points to the fact Nomar is driving in runs, which is what a No. 3 hitter is supposed to do.
Tony Jackson is in his fourth season covering the Dodgers for the 
Comments
TJ---while it's great that Grady "isn't concerned" about Nomar's production, he should be. RBI is great but it isn't telling the whole story. For example, an RBI can come from a groudout with a runner on third, and Nomar has enjoyed some RBI's of that variety. Secondly, he has only 11 extra base hits on the year. It's great that he's hitting with RISP, but it has been almost ALL singles, which means he is on first and not on second, and is not in scoring position for the 4, 5, 6 hitters to drive him in. And as far as the HRs, quite frankly I'm a little skeptcial that his homerun drop could be so precipitous in one year's time without him having some kind of lingering injury.
Posted by: J.L. | June 6, 2007 6:22 PM
Hi Tony:
Don't forget to check with DeJon about Scott Elbert's extended spring training?
To me, the most frustrating thing about Pierre is that he just seems to do certain things backwards. Take bunting, by now I would think he would have learned to drag bunt or push it between the mound and the charging infielder. Also, it may just be me but it seems like he never tries to steal when he is on base and Nomar batting. Anyway, we'll see if anything changes. Thanks for the report.
Posted by: BHSportsguy | June 6, 2007 6:22 PM
I had similar gut reactions as J.L. and BHSportsguy.
A number 3 hitter should both drive in and SCORE runs. Nomar has 18 runs, which projects to 50-something for the season - awful for a #3 guy.
Posted by: El Lay Dave | June 6, 2007 7:07 PM
Actually, Nomar projects to 48 (!) runs. That would be awful.
Posted by: El Lay Dave | June 6, 2007 7:28 PM
the way we swing at pitches MAddux is going to destroy us.
Posted by: The_Great_Arcade_Fire | June 6, 2007 7:44 PM
Wolf doesn't have his best stuff tonight at all...start warming up Bills grittle cakes.
Posted by: The_Great_Arcade_Fire | June 6, 2007 7:51 PM
things are bad when Hiram Bocachica and Geoff Blum beat you. Is it me or does Blum absolutely own the Dodgers over the years??
The lineup needs some shaking up:
Furcal
Abreu
Martin
Kemp
Kent
Nomar
Gonzo
Pierre
Thoughts??
Posted by: rayg | June 6, 2007 7:57 PM
Want more bad news? I just filed this for tomorrow's paper, to answer BHSportsguy's question.
Elbert done: Left-hander Scott Elbert, arguably the Dodgers' top pitching prospect, will miss the rest of the season after undergoing exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder Tuesday. Doctors found scarring on Elbert's labrum, and he won't be allowed to begin a throwing program for several months.
Elbert, the Dodgers' first-round draft pick (17th overall) in 2004, made three starts for Double-A Jacksonville early in the season. But he went to extended spring training in mid-April to try to work out the soreness in his shoulder and never rejoined the Suns.
Posted by: tony jackson | June 6, 2007 8:11 PM
ouch about Elbert.
Posted by: The_Great_Arcade_Fire | June 6, 2007 8:15 PM
Well I think we could all see that one coming since he hadn't thrown in so long...Hopefully he'll be able to make it back.
Posted by: J.L. | June 6, 2007 8:21 PM