Any chance of Pierre being part of the next round of cuts? Keep us posted.

lolz

Any possibility of Ethier being sent west on a slow boat to China..permanently?

TJ- I respect your cease fire on JP. Now on to 3B.. you're right, the Dodgers are better off with LaRoche, and its laughable to start Nomar only because he won't adjust to the bench. Now the problem is the Dodgers don't know what they have in LaRoche (will he live up to his minor league #s) because they refused to play him consistently last year. If they had left him alone in the lineup for a couple weeks many feel he would have adjusted. And he has a history of struggling at a new level at first and then finally getting the hang of it. Playing Nomar and only letting LaRoche play sporadically will result in the same problem. The year will end, Nomar will mercifully exit, and the Dodgers will STILL not know whether LaRoche is a keeper or not. Can we agree on that?

I can't help but marvel at the obtuseness of this team. Really, I've tried--I still try, to give Colletti & Co. the benefit of the doubt, since I'm too big a fan to do otherwise--but they can change managers all they want to: until this team fields its best available starting line-up, they will never compete in a meaningful way. Why is it difficult for them to grasp this? They are the only team in a competitive division *not* to start their best. I like Nomar, but his best days are way, way behind him. Pierre--it's been said. Failure to field its best line-up cost the team the division last year, and it likely will again.

Ah, well. I'm sure Frank McCourt will enjoy rooting for the Angels in the postseason. I know I have, for the last several years now.

I second the remove Ethier sentiment. Pierre provides LA the best chance to win.

Fortunately Mgr. Joe Torre appears to already realize it.

I really think it's a bit early for any of us to conclude that we know what's in Torre's mind, and what the ultimate lineup will look like. I'm sure Torre wants to win, and I'm certain that he will field what he deems to be the best lineup (whether any of us agree or not).

I'm a supporter of having Ethier and LaRoche in the starting lineup to open the season, and in LaRoche's case, I would hope that he was given a long leash to get comfortable (much like Kevin Kouzmanoff and Dustin Pedroia last year, when they got off to terrible starts). But Torre may not see it that way. If that's the case, so be it. And let's not forget, as the season rolls along, and as Torre gets to know his personnel better, things could change (or not change). Do we all remember where James Loney began 2007?

As for Kent getting hurt, maybe it could be a blessing in disguise if it affords DY an opportunity to open the season at 2B. Whose the guy that Lou Gehrig replaced? I like Abreu also, but his current health may delay his emergence. Given that he has options, it probably wouldn't be the end of the world if he opened the season on the DL or at LV. Again, remember Loney.