Tony on the Dodgers: April 2007 Archives

The boys went up against one of the best pitchers in the league tonight and got schooled. But they let Brandon Webb get through seven innings on 90 pitches. Same old story, so don't get me started. But for a pitcher who didn't need any help, the Dodgers hitters made it awfully easy. Meanwhile, Randy Wolf was off from the start, and the obviously tired bullpen showed signs of wear, even though Joe Beimel retired all four batters he faced at garbage time. Tomko WAS held back from his side session, as I predicted, so he could pitch an inning in lieu of a side. But true to form, he didn't make it through that inning, walking two batters, giving up three hits and allowing two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning. When Grady came out of the dugout to get him, Tomko picked up the rosin bag and heaved it to the ground in frustration. Kind of summed up the Dodgers' entire evening. ... The boys fall to 15-11 and trail the now-first place Snakes by a half-game. Nighty-night.

This one was over before it started, because Webb is totally locked in. Of the 18 outs he has recorded, 12 have come via the ground ball. The Snakes will leapfrog the Dodgers into the division by a half-game. ... On the positive side, both Hong-Chih Kuo and Yhency Brazoban had successful rehab outings at Triple-A Las Vegas yesterday. Brazoban will pitch on back-to-back days later this week, after which he MIGHT be ready to come off the DL. Kuo is slated to start again on Thursday and go longer than the two innings he went this time. ... D-backs 7, Dodgers 0, middle 7

The Dodgers just blew a scoring chance after Ethier led off the third with a double, breaking up Brandon Webb's perfect game. Lieberthal struck out, and after Wolf's grounder to the right side moved Ethier up and Furcal walked, Pierre grounded back to the mound. Dodgers are now 0 for 3 with RISP, and you wonder how many more RISPs they are going to get on a night when Webb appears to be in Cy Young form. Webb has a 3.91 ground ball-to-fly ball ratio since the start of 2002, the best in the majors during that span. Of the six outs he has recorded tonight, six have come on the ground. The National League West's OTHER Chris Young hit Randy Wolf's second pitch of the game just over the wall in right-center, and the Snakes have runners on first and second with none out now. D-backs 1, Dodgers 0, bottom 4

Grady had planned before the 17-inning game yesterday to go with Russ Martin behind the plate for the 11th consecutive game. But understandably, the marathon changed that. Lieberthal catches tonight, but everyone else is back in there as usual. As a result, Wilson Betemit and his .133 average (that's 0 for 11 from the right side) were moved up to sixth in the order.

SS Furcal -- 5 for 12, 1 HR against Brandon Webb
CF Pierre -- 6 for 17 off Webb
1B Nomar
2B Kent
LF Gonzo
3B Betemit
RF Ethier
C Lieberthal
LH Wolf

Got home at half past midnight. After a day game. That started at 1:05. Actually, part of that was my fault, as I stayed in San Diego to have dinner with a couple of friends, and it was worth it because we had a nice time. But I slept in a little this morning and managed to get a few menial chores done around the house, and here I am at the old yard, ready to watch some more ball tonight (hopefully only nine innings of it). I'm working on a freelance piece tonight and a couple of other odds and ends the next two days, so my colleague Billy Witz is going to cover the entire Snakes series for the Daily News. But I will be blogging regularly. There is a smoggy haze hanging over the park right now. The field is set up for BP, but nobody is out there yet, although one of the D-backs pitchers is throwing a side session in the visiting pen. ... BTW, a couple of you have commented on this blog about the strange blue tape that Furcal was wrapping around his head yesterday. I haven't had a chance to ask him yet, but I'll try this afternoon.

Random stuff I didn't get into tomorrow's paper. ... The Dodgers and Pods drew 130,448 for the series, the highest attendance for any three-game series in Petco Park history, although that history only extends back to 2004. ... Jeff Kent and Luis Gonzalez connected consecutively on the third inning, the first set of back-to-back homers by the Dodgers this year. They came off David Wells, against whom Gonzo is now batting .448 (13 for 29) with four homers and nine RBI, and against whom Kent is now hitting .500 (9 for 18), although this was his first homer off Wells. ... This was the Dodgers' fifth game of at least 14 innings in the past year, and it missed by five days being their sixth (they went 14 at Houston last April 25). It was their second 17-inning game in the past year, as they also went that long last June 17 at Oakland. ... The Dodgers had 63 at-bats and fell one plate appearance shy of going all the way through their lineup eight times. For the mathematically challenged, that computes to 71 plate appearances. ... After combining to throw 190 pitches in Saturday night's tidy little two hour, four-minute affair, the Dodgers and Padres combined to throw 458 pitches today in a game that lasted 4:55. ... I'm out. See ya tomorrow.

Wilson Valdez reached on an error in the top of the 17th and scored on Brady Clark's double into the leftfield corner. Brady was 0 for 5 with two walks in the game before that hit. Chad Billingsley, who had been perfect in the 16th, pitched around a one-out error by Ramon Martinez at third and his own one-out walk of Geoff Blum to strike out the final two batters with the tying run on second. Had Martinez made the play, it would have been his 11th assist in the game. ... Franken-friar evidently doesn't have much staying power. While most of us, including regular Friar, were here all the way to the end of this four-hour, 55-minute affair, Franken-friar was never seen after showing off his moves in the fourth inning. ... They must have exhausted every piece of music in their collection here today, because now, 45 minutes after the game, they're playing something by Hilary Duff. With apologies to my teenage daughter, who is such a big fan that she even has the Hilary perfume, that's the musical equivalent of using pitchers to pinch hit. ... Dodgers go to 15-10 and hold onto their half-game over the Snakes for at least one more day. The two teams begin a three-game series tomorrow night on the hill.

... in my scorebook, that is. Each sheet only goes to 14 innings. In all my years as a beat writer, I never had to do it until last season, when I had to do it THREE TIMES. And here we are not even through April yet, and I'm doing it again. ... Dodgers have left 14 runners on base, eight of them in scoring position, which is as good a reason as any why I'm not halfway up the 5 by now. ... I have to give credit to both managers or the way they have handled their benches in this game. Most of the time in the National League, when you have these marathon games, the game becomes a joke after about the 12th or 13th inning because both benches get emptied and you end up with pitchers pinch hitting and stuff like that. That hasn't happened today. Grady still has not one, but TWO guys named Wilson on his bench. Bud Black has used everybody, but he hasn't been forced to do anything weird yet. Nomar just GIDP'd to end the top of the 14th. Heart of the Pods' order due up, so Bud might have to use a pitcher to pinch hit here. Billingsley coming on, so hold onto your hats. Dodgers 4, Padres 4, middle 14th

These are arguably the two best bullpens in all of baseball. Right now, the hitters on both sides are just props. The show is watching all these relievers match each other pitch for pitch, out for out, at a point when one mistake could be catastrophic. For the Dodgers, Beimel, Broxton, Tsao and Seanez have combined now for 5 2/3 hitless innings, including two perfectos by the unbelievable Tsao, who now has allowed no runs on one hit in 8 2/3 innings since his most recent callup. For the Pods, Doug Brocail, Heath Bell, Cla Meredith and Kevin Cameron have blanked the Dodgers on four hits over seven-plus innings, although Russell Martin just led off the 13th with a single off the leftfield wall. Dodgers 4, Padres 4, top 13

Derek Lowe began the seventh by walking Geoff Blum on four pitches. The same Geoff Blum who came into the day batting .074. He eventually scored the tying run on Marcus Giles' single, which chased Lowe from the game. Don't know about you, but I had the feeling at that point the Dodgers were done, and they have done nothing since that point to prove otherwise. Brady Clark led off the ninth with a walk, but Grady went by the book and had Ramon Martinez bunt him over. Hey, I have nothing against the proverbial book, other than the fact that it usually doesn't work. The next two batters went out quickly, and Clark never got off second. Meanwhile, after the Dodgers got their first two runners on in the 10th, Cla Meredith retired the next two on a fly ball and a popup, at which point he had thrown a TOTAL of six pitches to those first four batters. Russell Martin then grounded out. Dodgers 4, Padres 4, bottom 10

No, that's not somebody's personalized license plate. Derek Lowe actually recorded his 1,000th career strikeout when he got Mike Cameron looking to start the bottom of the fourth. Since giving up those three straight hits to begin the third, he has given up just one and has now retired 10 of 11 batters. But the Dodgers are doing little to take the pressure off. Doug Brocail relieved David Wells to start the sixth and retired the side on four pitches -- the last one a badly place bunt by Lowe that Adrian Gonzalez turned into a 3-6-4 DP to end the inning. Brocail already has thrown nine pitches to ONE BATTER in the seventh. Dodgers 4, Padres 3, top 7

Franken-friar and regular Friar were dancing up a storm along the first-base line during the last between-innings break, so cancel the missing mascot report. Meanwhile, Derek Lowe apparently isn't comfortable pitching with anything more than a one-run lead. Dodgers score two in the top of the first, Padres get one back in the bottom half and leave the tying run on third. Dodgers score two in the top of the third -- back to back homers by Jeff Kent (it's about time) and Gonzo -- and the Padres come back with two in their half, this time leaving the tying run on second when Lowe, who had missed the strike zone with eight of his previous nine pitches, got Josh Bard to ground back to the mound for an inning-ending DP. Dodgers 4, Padres 3, top 4

Grady, who is a huge fan, was watching today's race in his office during his pregame media session. I now know what DRAFTING is. I tell you what, for all the elitist snobs who think this a sport for unsophisticated rednecks, there is A LOT of science involved in it. A buddy of mine -- and he will recognize himself when he reads this -- whenever he sees NASCAR on a television, always stops and starts yelling at the TV, "TURN LEFT! TURN LEFT!" But there is way, way more that goes into this than turning left. Bill Center, another car racin' fan who covers the Pods for the San Diego Union-Tribune, has it on his press box monitor now. He just informed me that today is the first race where SEVEN pit crew members are allowed over the wall instead of the previous max. of SIX. I asked him how that affects the dynamics of the race, and he laughed and said, "Probably not at all." But only a true son of the South like myself can appreciate this line by the color commentator that I heard earlier today, which was delivered with a deep Southern drawl: "It's like a big ol' rubber bay-und. You just pull 'er back and let it flyyyyyyyyy." ... Fifty minutes to game time, and STILL no sign of Franken-friar. I'm getting a little concerned.

Ethier still has started just once against a lefty this year. Betemit is feeling better, but Grady wants to give him one more day. Grady DID say Betemit will play tomorrow night, for some reason. And Russell Martin is in there even though it's a day game after a night game.

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
1B Nomar
2B Kent 7 for 15, but 0 HR against Wells
LF Gonzo 12 for 27 with 3 HR and 8 RBI against Wells
C Martin
RF Clark
3B Martinez 3 for 8 with a homer against Wells
RH Lowe

Hong-Chih Kuo makes his first rehab start at Vegas today. Yhency Brazoban, also rehabbing, will come in behind Kuo. ... Larry Bigbie, who isn't playing much because of all the younger OFs at Vegas, went 3 for 3 in last night's loss to Tacoma and is hitting .436.

It's cloudy and chilly right now, although it's expected to warm up considerably by game time. Dodgers aren't taking batting practice, and the team bus hasn't even left the hotel yet. Brady Clark, whose early arrivals rival those of Juan Pierre, is already on the field in his BP top and uniform pants running sprints and doing lunges in short left field, parallel to the base line between second and third. The grounds crew is preparing the infield for the game, and the security team as walking into the park along the warning track. ... Kudos as always to the staff at the Westin Horton Plaza, who took great care of me this weekend. The hotel itself is a tad antiseptic, but the staff there makes up for that with INCREDIBLE service, which is why I almost always stay there. Those valet guys are amazing. After calling down for my car, I have never once made it from my room to the front door without my car sitting there waiting for me instead of me having to wait for it. ... You'll find this hard to believe, but it's 2 1/2 hours from game time, and there is NO SIGN of Franken-friar. Hope he hasn't been kidnapped.

Franken-friar will be dancin' 'til dawn after this one. Hey, I know I have been on this soapbox lately about the Dodgers not working counts, and I know Maddux throws so many strikes that it's especially tough to work counts against him. But NINETY-FOUR PITCHES? FOR THE WHOLE GAME? BY THREE PITCHERS COMBINED? Please. And besides, when they finally got Maddux out of the game after seven innings, what did the Dodgers do against Scott Linebrink in the eighth? Why, they made three consecutive outs on a TOTAL OF SIX PITCHES, of course. Granted, one of them was that single by Juan Pierre that he foolishly tried to stretch into a double, but the result was the same. I don't care who the pitcher is, any team that is trailing by one run in the eighth inning lets an opposing pitcher get through that eighth inning on six pitches simply doesn't have a good collective approach at the plate. I will never forget the press conference at Dodger Stadium back in January of 2006 when the new coaching staff was formally introduced, and I asked new hitting coach Eddie Murray (yes, he HAD to talk to the media that day) the following question: "Your predecessor (Tim Wallach) constantly preached the gospel of working counts and making opposing pitchers work. Do you subscribe to that theory?" Well, first he looked at me like I had suddenly sprouted horns, then he gave me some explanation about how opposing pitchers are always trying to get ahead with the first pitch, so a hitter should always be ready to jump on that pitch. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have Nomar and Kent in the middle of the order, two guys who have made very nice careers for themselves out of almost NEVER working counts. But still, it isn't always about an individual hitter and an individual at-bat. It's about the whole lineup making the opposing pitcher throw a lot of pitches early in the game and getting the other team's middle relievers -- normally the weakest pitchers on any staff -- into the game by the sixth inning. Again, that approach wouldn't necessarily work against a strike-throwing machine like Maddux. But as a general rule, it might be something the Dodgers should try once in a while. ... Dodgers fall to 14-10, and their lead shrinks to a half-game over Arizona and one game over the Padres and, as one reader called them in a posted response on this blog yesterday, the Geritols. Day game tomorrow so, as Jack McKeon used to say when I was covering the Reds, sleep fast.

Not to brag, but after the bottom of the third, I turned to the guy next to me in the press box and said, "You know, I really hate to see Brett Tomko throwing a perfect game, because he is the kind of guy who, the minute he DOES give up a hit, will completely lose focus and fall apart." Well, with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Brian Giles broke up the perfecto with a single to center. Before he got out of the inning, Tomko would give up four consecutive hits and three runs. He finally did get out of it by getting .115-hitting Kevin Kouzmanoff to fly out on the first pitch. Tomko just completed a perfect fifth, but the three outs came on three balls that were absolutely tattooed -- including one that none other than Greg Maddux drove to a spot just short of the warning track in straightaway center. Padres 3, Dodgers 2, top 6

Padres haven't even come close to getting a hit, and the closest they have come to getting a man on was in the third, when catcher Rob Bowen did what those of us on the Dodgers beat the past couple of years came to call the "J.D. Drew walkaway," which is when a hitter (Drew used to do it CONSTANTLY) takes a 3-2 pitch, then, assuming the pitch is ball four, takes three steps up the first-base line as the umpire is calling it strike three. Tomko has five groundballs outs, one strikeout and three flyball outs, and he has thrown just 37 pitches. Maddux appears to be settling in now, but he was shaky the first three innings. Juan Pierre has a single and a double, running his career avg. against Maddux to .393 (11 for 28), and has scored both runs. Jeff Kent also has a single and a double, each of which drove in Pierre. Dodgers 2, Pads 0, bottom 4

He was supposed to play, but he has been battling a stomach illness since late last night. Grady said Betemit is available to come off the bench.

SS Furcal -- 5-game hitting streak, 7 for 23
CF Pierre -- career .346 against Maddux
1B Nomar
2B Kent
LF Gonzo -- .317 lifetime with 10 HR, 21 RBI against Maddux
C Martin -- 6 gm hit streak 8 for 19
RF Ethier
3B Valdez
RH Tomko

1B coach Mariano Duncan went home to the Dominican after learning that his father had died after a long illness Bench coach Dave Jauss will coach 1B until Duncan returns. ... Matt Kemp homered again in his first official game with Las Vegas, going 2 for 4 and stealing a base in Friday's 6-4 loss to Tacoma. Yhency Brazoban began the Vegas portion of the rehab assignment with a scoreless inning.

... but if you're thinking about driving down for the game tonight, don't. First of all, it's sold out. Second of all, the traffic around Del Mar is horrible, or at least it was yesterday, and one of my colleagues who is staying up there told me it was even worse today. A few of the Dodgers came out for early BP -- Juan Pierre, Ramon Martinez, Wilson Valdez, Mike Lieberthal and Olmedo Saenz. The Padres have a new mascot this year, called Franken-friar. It's a takeoff on the old standard Friar mascot, except this one has a green head that vaguely resembles Frankestein's monster. It even has bolts sticking out of the sides of the neck. Right now, they're testing the sound system by playing hiphop music -- loudly -- with the stadium empty, and Franken-friar and regular Friar on the field dancing to it, with the ballpark completely empty. You never know what you're going to see when you go to a ballgame. Heading downstairs. Will check back later.

Tomorrow night's game will go a long way toward answering that question. The Dodgers staged a dramatic, four-run rally in the ninth tonight against Trevor Hoffman, about as emotional a way as you can think of to end a four-game losing streak. The result was that instead of falling into a four-team logjam in the standings, where they would have been tied with the Giants and Pads for first and just a half-game ahead of the Snakes, the Dodgers reclaimed sole possession of first place. IF they win tomorrow, the Dodgers will have taken four of the first five from the Padres this year and guaranteed themselves of winning each of the first two series. Early as it is, that would seem to at least give them a major psychological boost against a team that won 13 of 18 from the Dodgers last year. And if the Dodgers then go on to win the division. tonight's ninth inning could loom large at the end -- especially if they win it by a narrow margin over the Friars. On the flip side, a loss tomorrow would completely negate tonight's victory because it would mean that the Dodgers got NO momentum from it, and it also would give the Dodgers five losses in their past six games. So tonight's triumph could be monumental. Then again, it could be fleeting. We shall see. ... The Dodgers' once-airtight bullpen is beginning to show cracks. It has now given up runs in five straight games. Chad Billingsley continued to struggle, giving up three runs (two earned) in what would have been a decisive sixth inning of Hoffman hadn't imploded in the ninth. Rudy Seanez issued two walks to load the bases in the eighth and was saved from himself by a spectacular, inning-ending diving catch in right field by Andre Ethier. And even Takashi Saito got a little shaky with two outs in the ninth, giving up a no-doubt blast to Jose Cruz Jr. and hitting Brian Giles -- putting the tying run on base -- before Adrian Gonzalez flied to deep center to end the game on a ball that would have been a bit more frightening in another park that didn't have such a big outfield. ... Dodgers go to 14-9 and lead SF by a game, AZ by a game and a half and the Padres by 2

A big reason why the Dodgers have struggled this week is that they are making far too many early-count outs. In the first inning tonight, San Diego's Clay Hensley took exactly three pitches to record the first two outs, and he got through the inning on just nine -- putting him briefly on pace to throw a complete game with just 81 pitches. Conversely, in the bottom of the inning, the Padres worked Mark Hendrickson half to death, making him throw 25. And although they didn't score, they might have accomplished more by inflating Hendrickson's pitch count right from the start, which could lead to an earlier exit for the big lefty. Grady said yesterday he could probably count on 90 pitches from Hendrickson in his second start since moving from the pen to the rotation, which is still at least 10 fewer pitches than the rest of the Dodgers' starters are capable of delivering. The pitch counts evened out later in the game, but Hensley just got through a perfect fourth on EIGHT pitches -- a four-pitch strikeout of Andre Ethier, a three-pitch K of Wilson Valdez and a first-pitch groundout by Hendrickson. Both teams have solid middle relief, so it might not matter anyway. But so far, the difference has been glaring. Dodgers 1, Padres 0, bottom 4

And Ethier is back in the seven hole. Betemit got a hit last night, and Grady says he'll be back in the lineup tomorrow against Maddux

SS Furcal -- 4-game hitting streak (6 for 19)
CF Pierre -- 9-game hitting streak snapped last night
1B Nomar
2B Kent -- batted .409 on the homestand
LF Gonzo
C Martin -- 5 gm hitting streak (7 for 16)
RF Ethier
3B Valdez -- went hitless in eight at-bats on the homestand
LH Hendrickson

The Dodgers activated OF Matt Kemp from the 15-day disabled list today and officially optioned him toTriple-A Las Vegas after he went 2 for 4 wtih a triple and a two-run homer, two runs and four RBI in the first game of his rehab resumption on Thursday night in the 51s' 9-3 win over Tacoma. The move means Kemp is now earning his minor-league salary of $94,250, not his major-league salary of $383,000, although I'm not necessarily saying that's why the move was made. ... The drive down seemed to take FOREVER today, but that's probably just because I hadn't had anything to eat and was in a bad mood. As usual, the traffic came to a dead stop right around Del Mar, even though nothing was going on there today. But it is a beautiful day down here. Too bad they can't start the game right now. ... Not to make fun, but today's official Dodgers game notes contain the following sentence: "Dodger third baseman Wilson Betemit showed signs of breaking out of a month-long slump, going 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored last night." I also showed signs of becoming a millionaire the other day when I found a penny on the sidewalk.

Here's the story -- or at least as much of the story as we were able to glean after the game -- on the missed suicide squeeze by Juan Pierre in the second inning, the one that resulted in Andre Ethier getting caught in a rundown between third and home. OK, first of all, Pierre admitted that he missed the sign. His half-bunt, half-swing at the pitch appeared to be a panic move when he saw Ethier barreling down the line. But here's the rub: because the suicide is such a high-risk, low-percentage play -- Grady says there is one thing that can go right and 10 things that can go wrong -- teams generally employ a sign system that involves not only the sign being given to the runner and the batter, but the sign being acknowledged by all parties so everyone knows they have the signs. 3B coach Rich Donnelly was understandably vague after the game, because obviously you can't tell reporters how your sign system works. But Donnelly DID say the acknowledgement mechanism is something that happens BEFORE the sign is given. (I'm guessing that would make a lot more sense if we knew what the signs were, but we never will, so just go along with it). Grady implied that Pierre had acknowledged the sign. But Pierre said he wasn't aware of any such acknowledgement mechanism. At any rate, the play would loom large on a night when the Dodgers left five runners in scoring position and lost by a run. They fell to 13-9, and the Giants, by winning their eighth game in a row, pulled even with the Dodgers atop the NL West. Dodgers begin a three-gamer tonight at Petco, where the Padres are just a game back. ... For the fifth game in a row, the Dodgers went to the bottom of the ninth trailing. For the third game in a row, they DIDN'T play We're Not Going to Take It by Twisted Sister. ... Grady said there won't be MAJOR changes to the lineup tomorrow night. But the key word is MAJOR. Stay tuned.

That guy is really becoming a black hole. Grady moved him up to seventh tonight to try to get him started. He got hit by a pitch in the second, eventually leading to a run. But in the third, he came up with the bases loaded and none out, and control-plagued Russ Ortiz started him 3-0 after walking Russell Martin on four pitches. Ortiz came back with a strike, Betemit fouled one off for strike two, and then Betemit took a mighty hack and got nothing but air. Ethier flied out to leave the bases loaded. Dodgers lead by two, but they should be in front by four or five at this point. They have stranded five runners already, four of them in scoring position. Penny is adequate so far, but not dominating. Bonds is 1 for 2 with a single. And, we're on pace to easily exceed three hours. Dodgers 3, Giants 1, top 4

Grady said it's just something he is trying to hopefully (finally) get Betemit started. At the very least, Betemit figures to see better pitches with Ethier hitting behind him instead of the pitcher, but Grady says Betemit has been getting pitches to hit anyway, that he just isn't hitting them. Everybody else is the same as usual.

SS Furcal -- 4 for 22 on the homestand
CF Pierre -- 9-gm hitting streak (16 for 40)
1B Nomar
2B Kent
LF Gonzo -- 13 for 37 with 7 bb against Russ Ortiz
C Martin -- 4-gm hitting streak (6 for 13)
3B Betemit
RF Ethier --- 1 for 14 on the homestand
RH Penny

Also, Kuo's simulated game was cut to 30 pitches to avoid aggravating the blisters on his left index and middle fingers, but he's ready to go. He'll pitch for Vegas on Sunday against Tacoma, probably one or two innings. Matt Kemp and Yhency Brazoban start their rehab assignments with Vegas tonight.

Hong-Chih Kuo is warming up for his second simulated game as we speak. It's expected to be 60 pitches and the equivalent of four innings (after each 15 pitches, he'll sit for a few minutes). It appears the only hitters facing him will be Ramon Martinez and Olmedo Saenz, or at least they're the only ones that seem to be waiting to step in against him. Jonathan Broxton is down there, but I can't imagine he'll be batting. The stands are empty except for a TV camera crew behind the first-base dugout, not sure what they're getting ready to do, and a few stadium workers sitting in the upper deck. No news to report so far, but the day is young. I'm heading downstairs.

First three-game losing streak of the season for the boys, whose one-game lead in the division stayed intact when Trevor Hoffman blew a ninth-inning lead at Arizona. Still, the pressure is on the Dodgers tomorrow night to avoid a three-game sweep, which would completely neutralize their three-game sweep of the Giants earlier this month and make those six games a wash in the standings. Tomorrow night's game is sold out -- it's Nomar bobblehead night, you know. ... One thing I failed to get into my game story tonight was that Randy Wolf fanned his 1,000th strikeout victim tonight. Derek Lowe is two shy of that same plateau. ... Andre Ethier went 0 for 3 against Noah Lowry in his first start this season against a lefty. Grady sent Olmedo Saenz to pinch hit for him in the eighth inning against lefty reliever Jack Taschner. Ethier now is 1 for 9 for the season against LH'ers. ... It has now been two days since I mentioned in this blog how much I liked the fact they were playing Twisted Sister's We're Not Gonna Take It whenever the Dodgers went to the bottom of the ninth inning trailing. Well, since that entry, the Dodgers have twice gone to the bottom of the ninth inning trailing, and they HAVEN'T PLAYED THE SONG. ... Although the team is bussing to San Diego for this weekend's series, those busses will leave after the game tomorrow night to meet MLB's requirement that teams arrive in the city of each road series the night before the first game. They should arrive at the hotel around 1:30 a.m., by my rough estimation. I myself am going to do the sensible thing and wait until about noon Friday to drive down, go straight to the park when I get there and wait to check into my hotel until after the game. I will check OUT of my hotel Sunday morning, cover that day's game, then immediately jump in my car and drive back home. No 3 a.m. wakeup calls, and best of all, NO AIRPLANES. Why can't every trip be this easy? ... Dodgers fall to 13-8.

First three-game losing streak of the season for the boys, whose one-game lead in the division stayed intact when Trevor Hoffman blew a ninth-inning lead at Arizona. Still, the pressure is on the Dodgers tomorrow night to avoid a three-game sweep, which would completely neutralize their three-game sweep of the Giants earlier this month and make those six games a wash in the standings. Tomorrow night's game is sold out -- it's Nomar bobblehead night, you know. ... One thing I failed to get into my game story tonight was that Randy Wolf fanned his 1,000th strikeout victim tonight. Derek Lowe is two shy of that same plateau. ... Andre Ethier went 0 for 3 against Noah Lowry in his first start this season against a lefty. Grady sent Olmedo Saenz to pinch hit for him in the eighth inning against lefty reliever Jack Taschner. Ethier now is 1 for 9 for the season against LH'ers. ... It has now been two days since I mentioned in this blog how much I liked the fact they were playing Twisted Sister's We're Not Gonna Take It whenever the Dodgers went to the bottom of the ninth inning trailing. Well, since that entry, the Dodgers have twice gone to the bottom of the ninth inning trailing, and they HAVEN'T PLAYED THE SONG. ... Although the team is bussing to San Diego for this weekend's series, those busses will leave after the game tomorrow night to meet MLB's requirement that teams arrive in the city of each road series the night before the first game. They should arrive at the hotel around 1:30 a.m., by my rough estimation. I myself am going to do the sensible thing and wait until about noon Friday to drive down, go straight to the park when I get there and wait to check into my hotel until after the game. I will check OUT of my hotel Sunday morning, cover that day's game, then immediately jump in my car and drive back home. No 3 a.m. wakeup calls, and best of all, NO AIRPLANES. Why can't every trip be this easy? ... Dodgers fall to 13-8.

The first four batters he faced all hit safely, including a three-run homer by Barry Bonds (No. 741). Since then, he has settled in, giving up just one hit. That was a leadoff double by Bengie Molina in the second that Wolf was able to pitch around with no further damage. The Dodgers came right back with a pair in the bottom of the first off Noah Lowry, who already has walked three in three innings. Giants 4, Dodgers 2, top 4

Andre Ethier gets his first start against a lefty this year. Although he is just 1 for 6 against them this year, he hit .351 against them last year, albeit with just one of his 11 homers. Other than Martinez playing for Betemit, it's the usual lineup. Talked with both Grady and Betemit before the game, neither one thinks there is any reason for Betemit to give up switch-hitting at this point. My guess is they would be more alarmed if he were struggling left-handed, because right-handed is his natural side. Anywhere, here's tonight's alignment

SS Furcal -- 7 for 19 against Noah Lowry
CF Pierre -- 8G hitting streak (15-36)
1B Nomar -- 8 for 20 against Lowry
2B Kent -- 5 for 15 with 3 HR against Lowry
LF Gonzo -- 6G hitting sreak (7 for 19)
C Martin -- 3G hit streak (4 for 10)
RF Ethier -- 1 for 11 on homestand
3B Martinez 4 for 12 against Lowry
LH Randy Wolf -- Bonds is 3 for 17 with 1 HR against him

Haven't seen tonight's lineup yet, but I do know Ramon Martinez is starting at 3B, meaning Wilson Betemit is out against lefty Noah Lowry. Makes perfect sense. Betemit is 0 for 10 against lefties this season, and he hit .189 against them last year. Makes you wonder if he shouldn't stop switch-hitting and just bat lefty, even though he's naturally right-handed. I'm going to GUESS that Andre Ethier will be out, too, since he hasn't started against a lefty all year and is 1 for 6 facing them later in games. ... Had a great lunch down in Long Beach today at a place called the Fish Tale. Went there with Chris Haft, who covers the Giants for mlb.com, and Marc Lancaster, who covers the Devil Rays for the Tampa Tribune (the Rays are playing the Angels), and Long Beach was about halfway between us and Marc, who is staying Costa Mesa. The three of us used to cover the Cincinnati Reds together, so we're all great friends from way back. Anyway, they had an extensive menu, it was affordable, and the food was solid. It's at the corner of Bellflower and, ummmmmm, can't remember, but it's in that shopping center on Bellflower a few blocks south of the 405.

Dodgers almost created more deadline headaches for me, but Luis Gonzalez's doubleplay grounder in the eighth and Rafael Furcal's game-ending grounder in the ninth siphoned off any chance of a comeback a la Saturday night against Pittsburgh. They say this Giants bullpen is supposed to be horrible, but frankly, I didn't see it tonight. Giants reliever came in with a combined 11 consecutive scoreless innings, and although an inherited runner scored off Brad Hennessey (wonder if he's related to Jill, ex of Law & Order and now of Crosing Jordan, probably not), the Dodgers still didn't score off a Giants reliever tonight -- even though Hennessey and closer Armando Benitez were far from impressive. The Dodgers also scored just four runs in nine innings of the Giants' bullpen in their three-game sweep of the Jints up North a couple of weeks ago. ... One thing I have to look into tomorrow is this sudden tendency by Russell Martin to throw the ball into center field. He has done it in each of the past three games now, all in the first inning. He did make a perfect throw down in the sixth inning tonight to nail Randy Winn trying to steal, so I don't think we're looking at any kind of a Steve Sax/Steve Blass/Chuck Knoblauch/Mackey Sasser/Mark Wohlers sort of thing just yet. But hey, it's worth an early note tomorrow, at the very least. I mean, it IS three games in a row. Interestingly, each time has been with the other team's leadoff hitter trying to steal or advance on a wild pitch. That could suggest Russ is trying to rush the throw because he knows he's dealing with fast runners. Winn is a fast runner, too, but he's not Dave Roberts or Chris Duffy.

The sad thing is, he's the second opposing starter in a row about which that can be said, because Pittsburgh's Tom Gorzelanny was perfect through three on Sunday. Meanwhile, Russell Martin threw another ball into center field in the first inning, and you can't help wondering why he is doing that so much. It was his fourth error of the season already. This one cost D-Lowe an unearned run. Jints got another run in the second on an RBI double by Randy Winn, after which D-Lowe walked Morris to load the bases with one out. But Dave Roberts flied to shallow left on a looper that Gonzo had to dive for. Proving that Bengie Molina's foot speed is even worse that Gonzo's arm, Molina held at third. Omar Vizquel, who turns 40 today, then grounded out to end the threat. With a helping hand from Gonzo, Lowe has now set down eight in a row since the walk to Morris. Giants 2, Dodgers 0, bottom 4

Barry Bonds enters tonight 0 for 6 against Derek Lowe, not 0 for 9 as I posted earlier today

Barry Bonds apparently is doing a pack interview before each series this season. Today, he talked in the Giants dugout for about 10 minutes. He brings his own tape recorder to these sessions and records them, then has someone post the entire transcript on his web site so fans can hear every word of both the questions and his responses. Thus, at least to Barry's way of thinking, he can guard against stories that take his words out of context. Whatever. Shockingly, the soon-to-be-crowned all-time home run king said NOTHING of consequence.

It's the usual again.
SS Furcal 1 for 13 on the homestand
CF Pierre 7 gm hitting streak (14 for 32)
1B Nomar 4 for 8 on homestand
2B Kent
LF Gonzo 5 gm hitting streak (6 for 15)
C Martin leads all ML catchers in runs (14)
RF Ethier
3B Betemit leads team with 10 walks
RH Lowe

Grady spent the off-day riding his new motorcycle, the one Juan Pierre bought for him from Jeff Kent's dealership for Grady giving up No. 9 to Pierre. Rode all over the place, he said, with his wife on the back holding onto him He said she held on a lot more tightly whenever they were on Mulholland. ... Matt Kemp could resume his minor-league rehab as soon as tomorrow. ... Hong-Chih Kuo will pitch a simulated game tomorrow, probably four innings and 60 pitches. ... Nothing new on Jason Schmidt, who is still in Phoenix with his wife and new son.

Got through a two-game series at AZ last week without having to face either Brandon Wood or the disabled Randy Johnson. Now, they get a three-game set with the Jints without having to face either Barry Zito or Matt Cain. When things are falling your way, things are falling your way. However, they DO have to contend tonight with Matt Morris, who is off to a sizzling start (2-0, 2.00 ERA), so that's a tall assignment in itself. ... Barry Bonds enters tonight's game 0-for-9 lifetime against Derek Lowe. ... Yhency Brazoban went 1 2/3 innings in his third rehab start for Inland Empire, giving up four runs that were all unearned and striking out three. ... Jonathan Meloan who might be in the big leagues by now if the Dodgers didn't have such an airtight pen, went two scoreless innings for Double-A Jacksonville, getting the win in a 5-2, 10-inning victory over West Tenn last night. Meloan now had a 0.79 ERA. ... D.J. Houlton pitched six solid innings for Las Vegas last night, but wound up with no decision. He's 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA. Don't be surprised if he gets called up at some point during the season. ... Perfect day at the yard, cloudless sky and the San Gabriels are visible, so come on out if you don't have plans.

I wasn't in the clubhouse after the game today, but Matt Kredell, who is covering the game for tomorrow's Daily News, told me that Chad Billingsley did admit that he is struggling to adjust to pitching out of the pen. By no means was he trying to make the case for a starting job. He was simply saying that he hasn't made the adjustment as quickly as he would have liked. The bottom line is, he is trying, and his heart is in it. But he also is a career starter, and you have to wonder if he wouldn't be better off doing that, even if it means going to the minors. The flip side is that unless he can pitch out of the pen, there doesn't seem to be another spot available to him in the majors for now. Even if Jason Schmidt doesn't come back for a while, Grady has given that rotation spot to Mark Hendrickson for the time being. And there is no compelling reason (not yet, anyway) to take Brett Tomko out of the rotation. ... I really like the song they're playing at Dodger Stadium this year when the Dodgers go to the bottom of the ninth trailing. The song is Twisted Sister's We're Not Gonna Take It, which I believe was released in about 1984 because I went into my senior year of high school that fall and we used to drive around campus at lunch time with the windows rolled down and that song just blasting on the stereo. Cassettes, of course. Talk about fond memories. I went to the same high school in Arkansas that more recently produced Mitch Mustain, the hot shot QB who appears to be transferring to USC from Arkansas.

Those two runs Billingsley gave up in the seventh proved to be the difference. Or, the two unearned runs that resulted from the three errors proved to be the difference. Or the eight runners the Dodgers left on base, four of them in scoring position, proved to be the difference. PIck whatever reason you want. The boys rallied for two in the eighth to pull within two, but their ninth-inning rally fell short when Jeff Kent, capping an 0-for-5 day, grounded to third with runners on first and second. Dodgers fall to 13-6, but keep their two-game lead over the Pads. Not sure if I'll post on the off-day, but I'll try.

The Dodgers scratched out two runs in the bottom of the fourth when Gorzelanny suddenly lost the strike zone, but Tomko gave them back in the sixth. Adam LaRoche homered, breaking a streak of 63 consecutive innings in which Dodgers pitchers hadn't given up a long ball. Jose Bautista then got a gift double on a fly ball that fell in left-center between Gonzo and Pierre. Pierre picked up the ball and appeared to have a shot at Bautista coming into second, but Jeff Kent didn't get the tag down before Bautista, sliding headfirst, caught the bag with his fingertips. Bautista then scored on Nate McLouth's single. Olmedo Saenz homered leading off the sixth. Tomko is gone now, having allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits over six innings. Billingsley in. ... Pierre has a new intro song when he comes to the plate. It's Deja Vu, by Jay-Z and Beyonce, and it includes the lyrics, "I used to run the bases like Juan Pierre." ... Pirates 5, Dodgers 3, top 7

This time, it REALLY ISN'T BRETT TOMKO'S FAULT. The Dodgers already have committed three errors, and two of the Pirates' three runs are unearned. The third one scored when Jason Bay hit a high pop to center for what should have been the second out of the third inning, and it was so shallow that even Juan Pierre's arm would have deterred Jack Wilson from trying to tag up and score. But Pierre tried to throw the ball before he caught it, and he dropped it. Meanwhile, Tom Gorzelanny has a perfect game through three. Pirates 3, Dodgers 0, top 4

Nomar is out, but Grady said several days ago that would happen. Andre Ethier, who still hasn't started against a lefty, also is out, as it Wilson Betemit, who doesn't hit lefties much at all.
SS Furcal hitless in past 8 AB
CF Pierre 6-gm hitting streak (12-27)
1B Saenz hitless in past 7 AB
2B Kent 4-gm hit streak (11 for 16)
LF Gonzo
C Martin leads all ML catchers with 14 runs scored
RF Clark
3B Valdez
RH Tomko

I guess I was wrong about that 2-1 pitch to LaRoche. Brad Penny found a sheet of paper at his locker this morning. It was a photo copy of the cover of umpire Joe West's country CD, Blue Cowboy, with a note that read, "Brad, Sorry I missed one, Joe." It ended up in the trash can.

... but then, it has been in the forecast for every game of this series, and we have yet to have so much as a delay. Even if it doesn't rain, bring a jacket if you're coming out, because it's cold again. ... Lost in the shuffle of last night's furious late rally was the fact that Brad Penny actually pitched pretty well. The general consensus after the game was that he was being squeezed by plate umpire Joe West during that rough third inning -- even though I really think the pitch that got Penny the most riled up, and the one that ultimately got Grady Little tossed, was low. That was the 2-1 pitch to Andy LaRoche that West called a ball. Penny wound up with a quality start (I hate that stat, but this WAS a quality start). If you got an early edition of today's Daily News and read my running gamer, it was all about how Penny imploded in the third inning. But against the backdrop of his other five innings, it was good enough to keep the Dodgers in a game they eventually won.

This was a great, great ballgame, and if you're somebody who lives hundreds of miles from a major-league ballpark and only get to go to one or two games a year (that was me growing up) and this happened to be one of them, well, what a night to remember. For a beat writer, well, I tried to enjoy the slowly building tension and the atmosphere and the fact the people above us on the reserved level were stomping their feet so hard that the press box was actually shaking (it's a common phenomenon in a lot of stadiums). But I also had those pesky deadlines to deal with. At approx. 9:45, I completed an 18-inch story detailing how the Dodgers had lost 3-2 because Brad Penny couldn't find the strike zone in the third inning. That story was due at 10 p.m. All I had to do at that point was wait for the game to end and file the story. Except a funny thing happened. At exactly 9:59, Wilson Valdez crossed the plate with the tying run. So I changed the DODGERS LOSE story to a PARTIAL story with the score tied 3-3 in the ninth, changed all the DIDS to MIGHT HAVES, took out the records of the Dodgers and what would have been the winning and losing pitchers and sent it in, even though it still read like a DODGERS LOSE story because it was all about Penny's bad inning. My story for the later edition, which most of you in the Valley will get tomorrow, was due at 11:15. So, even as the game went to the 10th, I had to formulate an angle and start writing, despite not having a clue as to how it would turn out. At that point, the most important thing that had happened, in my view, was the eight-pitch walk that Andre Ethier had drawn to lead off the ninth inning. So I began building a story around that, throwing in the historical trivia that Ethier had been a bat boy for the 1993 Phoenix Firebirds, a team for which Salomon Torres pitched, and later that year Torres was the guy who blew up on the final day of the season at Dodger Stadium, when the Dodgers knocked the 103-game-winning Giants out of that year's playoffs, and that Ethier had now faced Torres with the game on the line and had that great plate appearance against him. Russell Martin then hits his walkoff grand slam at exactly 10:40. So, with my story largely written around Ethier's walk, I run to the clubhouse, grab some quick quotes from Grady and Russ Martin and wait for Ethier to come out of the shower. When he finally did, I apologized for not waiting until he got dressed and explained to him that I had a very tight deadline, and he graciously answered my one question while wearing only a towel around his waist.I thanked him, ran back upstairs, got here at 11, re-topped the story with a one-paragraph reference to Martin's homer, then went right into the body of the story which was all about Ethier, then added some standard stuff (records, winning and losing pitchers etc.) at the bottom, and filed at 11:17 (I HOPE my bosses will forgive me for the extra two minutes), then sat back in my chair, took a long, deep breath while my heart pounded in my chest, and suddenly remembered why I love this job so much. Hope I didn't bore you with all this. See ya bright and early tomorrow.

Brad Penny, who showed faint signs of control problems in the first two innings, collapsed after walking opposing pitcher Ian Snell to start the third. He wound up walking three in the inning, including Adam LaRoche with the bases loaded to force in the tiebreaking run, then started off Xavier Nady with a wild pitch to score another run. Grady Little went to the mound after the walk to LaRoche, when Penny thought his 2-1 pitch was a strike but plate ump Joe West called it a ball. That visit clearly was as much about West as it was about Penny, because Grady stayed out there long enough for West to come to the mound to tell them to break it up, at which point West got an earful from Grady. On his way off the field, Grady kept talking, and West ran him from the game. Penny came back and struck out Nady to end the inning, punctuating it with an animated gesture that I'm not sure how to interpret, but what I am sure is that it wasn't necessary. I'm also sure that the 2-1 pitch to LaRoche was low. Pirates 3, Dodgers 1, top 4

It's the usual, third game in a row
SS Furcal 4 for 28 since going 2 for 5 in his first game back
CF Pierre 11 for 22 in past five games
1B Nomar
2B Kent
LF Gonzo
C Martin
RF Ethier .417 (10 for 24) with 2 homers in past 7 games
3B Betemit
RHP Penny

Hong-Chih Kuo threw a 45-pitch simulated game and came out it fine. He'll throw a 60-pitch one either Wed or Thurs, then probably go on a rehab. ... Matt Kemp was one of the batters that faced Kuo. Kemp said his right shoulder feels fine. He played light catch. But no one has a timetable for restarting his rehab assignment. ... Nothing new on Jason Schmidt

It's going to be another chilly night out here at the yard. I have my leather jacket on at 2:45 p.m. The Pirates are on the field taking early BP right now. Jim Tracy is giving hands-on instruction to a player I don't recognize from this far away. I love being in big-league ballparks this time of day, hours before the game starts, when it's so peaceful. There aren't more than a few team employees milling about. Should be a good pitching tonight. If you add the ERAs of Ian Snell and Brad Penny together, you get 2.69. ... The Dodgers reclaimed the best record in baseball with their 10-2 win last night. At 12-5, they have a percentage of .706. That's a half-game better than Atlanta (11-5) and a full-game better than Boston and the Mets (10-5). The other 26 teams all have lost more than five games, and no other team besides the Dodgers has won as many as 12. I also find this interesting: the fifth column of the league standings shows what each team has done in its past 10 games. From the time the Dodgers played their 10th game on April 11, they have NEVER been worse than 7-3 in that column on any given day.

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that Randy Wolf also had two doubles tonight, matching in one evening his total for each of the past three seasons. ... The Pirates didn't hit a home run tonight, meaning the Dodgers have now gone 48 1/3 consecutive innings without giving up a gopher ball. Wolf gave up the last one, to the Padres' Jose Cruz Jr. in the sixth inning on Sunday night. ... Dodgers go to 12-5 on the year.

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that Randy Wolf also had two doubles tonight, matching in one evening his total for each of the past three seasons. ... The Pirates didn't hit a home run tonight, meaning the Dodgers have now gone 48 1/3 consecutive innings without giving up a gopher ball. Wolf gave up the last one, to the Padres' Jose Cruz Jr. in the sixth inning on Sunday night. ... Dodgers go to 12-5 on the year.

Wolf was done after six, having struck out 10 batters for the 10th time in his career and the first time in almost five years. He allowed just a run on six hits in a superb effort. ... Nancy Bea played Master of the House a couple of innings ago, the song from Les Miserables that years ago was the signature song she always played for Orel Hershiser. I haven't asked her, but my guess is she played it because ol' No. 55, the Bulldog himself, is actually IN the house tonight. I saw him in the media dining room before the game. ... Clear evidence that this game has been drained of every last ounce of intensity: Olmedo Saenz went in defensively at 1B in the top of the seventh. While warming up before the inning, he not only greeted, but hugged Pirates 1B coach John Shelby, who filled the same role with Jim Tracy's Dodgers in Saenz's first two seasons with the club, 2004 and 2005. ... The Diamondback lost, but the Dodgers still will gain only a half-game in the standings because San Diego rolled over Colorado and will overtake Arizona for second place, two games back of the boys. Still, it's the Dodgers' biggest lead of the season so far. ... Dodgers 10, Pirates 1, top 8

The boys just exploded on Tony Armas, who was pitching in a game for just the second time this season because he is the Pirates' fifth starter and has been skipped several times because of off-days and rainouts. Dodgers scored five in the third to break open the game and send Armas to the showers. Thanks to a charitable official scorer who didn't give Adam LaRoche an error on a play that should have been made, Juan Pierre already has his fifth consecutive multi-hit game. It was that one-out single that started that third-inning rally, and it was followed by a walk to Nomar. The Dodgers' two-run rally in the first also began with a leadoff walk to Furcal. It's amazing to me how many big innings either begin with a walk or are spurred on by one. The pitch that earned Armas the rest of the night off was a first-pitch double by Randy Wolf that droe in Russell Martin, whom Armas had hit on the left forearm, and Wilson Betemit, giving the Dodgers a seven-run cushion. Wolf's hit, his first of the season, was what I like to call a scorecard wrecker: it brought Furcal to the plate for the second time in the inning, which throws off the scorecard for the rest of the game. Everyone handles that differently, but I like to minimize the damage by simply entering the results in the spaces provided for the following inning, then drawing a box around those extra at-bats to separate them from the ones that actually take place in the following inning. Pierre just got his THIRD hit of the game, giving him 11 in his past five games. Dodgers 8, Buccos 1, bottom 4

It's the usual starting eight again
SS Furcal
CF Pierre
1B Garciaparra
2B Kent
LF Gonzalez
C Martin
RF Ethier
3B Betemit
LHP Wolf

Matt Kemp is returning to Los Angeles after experiencing tightness in his right shoulder after making a throw on Wed. night at Triple-A Las Vegas. Not sure when he'll resume his rehab assignment. ... Dinner last night was great. Flight home wasn't, but it's at least behind me now. Good to be home.

The big lefty was working on a four-hit shutout until just now, when hit No. 5 (Garrett Atkins) got Willy Taveras home from second. That came on pitch No. 75, which was enough for Grady. Chin-hui Tsao just came on. But Hendrickson gave the Dodgers a solid effort in place of the injured Jason Schmidt. Hendrickson clearly proved that he can still be an effective starter in the big leagues, even on a good team and in an important game. Meanwhile, Jeff Kent and Luis Gonzalez continued to feast on Aaron Cook, starting a two-run, second-inning rally with back-to-back singles. Cook apparently was so freaked out by his inability to get either one out that he walked them both in the third, then walked Andre Ethier to force in another run. Kent is now 11 for 19 off Cook, and Gonzalez is 11 for 30. Cook, by the way, is out of the game. Steve Finley pinch hit for him at the start of this inning. ... I called Katy Feeney, MLB's senior vice president for scheduling, to ask about this one week that seems to happen early every season when teams squeeze a pair of two-game series into Monday through Thursday. She said there actually is a name for it. It's called "Squeeze Week." It is the result of having to cram 52 series into 26 weeks, which seems simple enough until you consider that half of one of those weeks is the All-Star break, which throws the whole thing off -- and creates the need for Squeeze Week. Every team has to deal with it, but this year, the Dodgers, New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates are the only NL teams that have to deal with it all on the road. At least the Dodgers and Mets get to go home now. The Pirates have to fly to Los Angeles. The AL will have its Squeeze Week next week. ... This is probably my last blog of the day. I apologize for so few postings, but when the game ends, I'm going to try to write my gamer and get out of here as quickly as I can because I have a big dinner date with a beautiful young lady. That would be 16-year-old daughter, who lives nearby and whom I haven't seen in about three months. ... Dodgers 5, Rockies 1, top 7

It's the usual. I'm going to start trying to post it every day, but there might be some days I'll miss. I'll also make occasional notes out to the side of each name

15 Furcal SS
9 Pierre CF (6 for 13, two hits in each of past three games, and 3 for 6 lifetime against Aaron Cook)
5 Garciaparra 1B (.438 (7-16) against Cook)
12 Kent 2B (.529 (9-17) lifetime against Aaron Cook)
26 Gonzalez LF (.357 (10-28) against Cook
55 Martin C (1 for 10 against Cook)
16 Ethier RF (4 for 6 against Cook)
10 Betemit 3B (2 for 5 with a homer against Cook)
30 Hendrickson LHP

By the by, Matt Kemp went hitless in three at-bats in his rehab debut for Vegas, but his shoulder felt fine. He played five innings, will rest today, then play a full game tomorrow

The boys basically slept through this game, looking every bit the part of a team that landed in Denver in the middle of the night. After living dangerously through three innings, Derek Lowe came apart at the seams in the fourth, and the game has been basically over ever since. The guy you have to wonder about is Rudy Seanez, whose two-inning mopup stint has been a rollercoaster ride thus far. He's 38 and went into spring training ready to retire if he didn't make the club. So far this season, he looks like he might have reached the end of the road. Dodgers fall to 10-5.

Just as he did eight days ago in a game the Dodgers eventually won, Colorado's Rodrigo Lopez is shutting down the Dodgers. But just as in that game, the Rockies are giving him little in the way of support. The Dodgers scratched out a second-inning run on Andre Ethier's triple and Brady Clark's single, but otherwise have been silent. Meanwhile, the Rockies have had Derek Lowe on the edge of disaster at seemingly every turn, but he managed to pitch out of jams in each of the first two innings by inducing doubleplay grounders. Dodgers 1, Rockies 0, bottom 4

It's a bit of a skeleton crew, as Grady decided to rest Russell Martin, Jeff Kent and Luis Gonzalez, partly because of tomorrow's day game and partly because the team arrived here at roughly 3 this morning from PHX. Mike Lieberthal is hitting fourth (Grady declined to say why). Andre Ethier moved up two spots to fifth. Brady Clark (LF) is sixth. Wilson Betemit moved up one spot to seventh. And Ramon Martinez (2B) is hitting eighth. The top three of Furcal, Pierre and Nomar are in their usual order.

Greetings from the city and the ballpark where it all began, where I covered my first big-league ballgame for the Rocky Mountain News on Aug. 1, 1995, between the Dodgers and Rockies. I was just a prep stringer then, but they sent me out as a sidebar guy that night. Soon thereafter, I went from being a sportswriter to being a baseball writer -- and there IS a difference, believe it or not, a big one. ... Anyway, I am utterly shocked (sarcasm) to announce that Mark Hendrickson will start in place of Jason Schmidt tomorrow. I guess Grady didn't want to tip off Bob Melvin that Hendrickson wasn't available last night, hence the delay in the announcement. Hendrickson did warm up during the game, which I'm guessing was part side session and part decoy to Melvin to make him think Hendrickson was coming into the game. Still, I'm not sure why Grady still wasn't willing to announce it after the game, especially since we all knew it was going to be Hendrickson anyway. Off to the clubhouse for me. Hasta.

D-backs wore their solid red jerseys tonight. With white pants. In a retractable roof stadium. Houston, we have an imitator. ... Some stuff I didn't get in tomorrow's paper because there were too many other things going on that HAD to get in: Russell Martin extended his hitting streak to nine games, during which he is batting .433. Nomar extended his to seven games, during which he is hitting .429. Juan Pierre went 4 for 9 in this series, with a double, triple and five runs scored. And even though he occasionally takes weird routes to fly balls, he did have nine putouts in the two games. ... More important than the Dodgers 10-4 record, which is the best in baseball, is the fact they are 9-2 against NL West teams. While on paper every win and every loss counts the same, in reality, every win and every loss within your division represents a two-game swing against that particular opponent. For instance, this two-game sweep counts not only as two wins for the Dodgers, but as two losses for the Diamondbacks. Thus, if the Dodgers end up in a late-season, two-team fight with the Snakes, even this little two-game series could loom large -- whereas a split would have been a wash for both teams and wouldn't have factored at all into a two-team race later in the season.

Went down to the concourse to grab some dinner in the bottom of the first and heard one of the Arizona radio guys -- not sure which one -- say "Brett Tomko has always struck me as a guy whose talent far exceeds his won-lost record in the major leagues." That, of course, is a fancy way of saying he's an underachiever -- something that is very much in evidence tonight. Tomko already has walked four batters in three-plus innings, his body language is suspect, and he just picked up a tapper by Chris Snyder and threw it up the rightfield line, allowing Chris Young to score from first to cut the Dodgers lead to one run. Oh wait, he just gave up an RBI single to opposing pitcher Micah Owings to tie the game. It was Owings' first major-league hit, but not his first ML RBI. He got that two innings ago, when he hit a sac fly, also to tie the game. Dodgers 3, D-backs 3, bottom 4.

Grady went with his projected starting eight, in their projected batting order, for the second day in a row. Not surprising, considering they're facing another right-hander in Micah Owings. This guy is a rookie and an unknown commodity who has never faced the Dodgers. All I can tell four batters in is that he throws a lot of pitches. Either that or the Dodgers are actually working counts for once.

The MRi revealed bursitis in Jason Schmidt's right shoulder. He's going to be shut down until the inflammation "calms down," then will resume throwing. This COULD be just a two-week thing, but it sounds more serious. No one, neither trainer Stan Conte nor manager Grady Little, would say for sure that the inflammation is the cause of Schmidt's velocity dropping off, even though that's the obvious implication. No word yet on who is going to be called up or who is going to start Thursday's game, when Schmidt's turn comes up. The best guess is Mark Hendrickson will be the starter because he threw five innings after Schmidt got shelled on Saturday night.

Greetings from the hometown of my all-time favorite musician, the legendary Stevie Nicks, who, a month short of her 59th birthday, is still rocking on (she'll tour this summer with Chris Isaak). Appropriately, the second verse of Gold Dust Woman begins with the words, "Rock on, Ancient Queen." Maybe it should be changed to "Ageless Queen." ... The roof is open right now as the D-backs just finished early BP, but I'm not sure whether it will stay that way. I can't even remember the last time I saw a game here with the roof open. ... We should find out something about Jason Schmidt today, so I'll try to update with that as soon as possible. ... By the way, as the Dodgers try to complete a two-game mini-sweep of the D-backs tonight, it is worth mentioning that they come into this game with baseball's best record (9-4), a half-game better than Atlanta (8-4) and a full game better than Boston (7-4). And the scary thing is, the boys haven't even come CLOSE to clicking on all cylinders yet.

Yes, it's true, an entire major-league franchise now has a corporate sponsor. Fortunately, it isn't part of their uniforms yet. But it is part of their official logo. The familiar A with the Diamonback pattern (which is now red and black) has a long rectangle protruding from the right side, in which the words "presented by Gila River Casinos" appear. It's on their media guide cover and on each end of each dugout. Classy. Remember Chico's Bail Bonds, the fictitious team sponsor in the Bad News Bears? This smacks of that. Memo to Frank and Jamie McCourt: PLEASE don't get any ideas.

Thanks to more excellent pitching by Brad Penny and more timely hitting by Nomar Garciaparra and Andre Ether -- and, gasp, even a double by Wilson Betemit -- the Dodgers are rolling along with a nice lead. But the most interesting thing that has happened so far is the long-awaited emergence of Juan Pierre. He drew a one-out walk in the first, stole second and scored on Nomar's double. But it was in the third when Pierre demonstrated the degree to which he can change a game. First, he led off the inning by beating out a single to shortstop. Then, he was running on the pitch when Nomar hit what would have beeen an easy doubleplay grounder to short, and Stephen Drew's only play was at first. When Jeff Kent followed with a grounder to third, Pierre pretended he was going to hold at second. But as soon as Chad Tracy fired the ball across the diamond, Pierre took off for third, and got there so easily that first baseman Conor Jackson didn't even try to throw him out. When Edgar Gonzalez then bounced his first pitch to Luis Gonzalez and past catcher Miguel Montero, allowing Pierre to score easily to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead. Dodgers 4, Snakes 0, bottom 6

It's the usual eight in the usual order, with Wilson Valdez and his sizzling bat going back to the bench to clear a spot for the .042-hitting Wilson Betemit at 3B and in the eight hole. Meanwhile, Jason Schmidt's side session was pushed back a day to tomorrow, but he'll start as scheduled on Thursday at Coors Field, where the Rockies no doubt will be salivating in anticipation of those same 86-mph fastballs they feasted on last Monday. Finally, Johnny Garcia, the ball boy who appeared to be knocked out cold when a foul ball caromed off the the wall and straight into his cheek on Sunday night, has been released from Good Samaritan hospital with what might be a slight fracture to his left orbital bone.

Greetings from the city that served as the setting for the longrunning 70s sitcom Alice. For those too young to remember, this was one of the funniest shows ever. It took place mostly in a greasy-spoon diner in downtown Phoenix called Mel's, which was owned by the crusty Mel Sharples, who employed three waitresses named Alice, Flo and Vera. Flo was the sassy loudmouthed one who was frequently telling people (but mostly Mel) to "Kiss my grits." She was played by an obscure actress named Polly Holliday, who would turn up years later as Tim Allen's mother-in-law on Home Improvement. ... This is unlike any day I have ever spent in Phoenix. It's chilly, overcast and rainy, and the roof is closed in the ballpark. The D-Backs' new ownership has gone to great lengths to eliminate any hint of anything that took place before it took over -- including the 2001 World Series. Although there remains a small ``World Champions 2001'' sign above right-center field, there used to be several pictures hung on the press level from that World Series -- including Luis Gonzalez leaping in the air after his walkoff single won Game 7 -- but those are all gone now, as is the old purple and teal color scheme of the home team. That has been replaced by red and black. The D-backs are trickling onto the field for BP now, and I have to say they look amazingly like the Houston Astros with their brick-red BP jerseys. Going to be really confusing when those two play each other. ... Hong-Chih Kuo was playing catch on flat ground when I came in about 45 minutes ago

Lost amid all the Jackie stuff was the fact that this was a HUGE win for the boys. They take two of three in the first meeting of the season against the team that DOMINATED them (13 of 18) last year and the team they figure to be battling down to the wire in the NL West. Meanwhile, you have to wonder whether Wilson Betemit (1 for 24) is EVER going to get back into the lineup. Wilson Valdez, playing 3B in place of Betemit, went 3 for 5 and now is hitting .417. The six (Russell Martin), seven (Andre Ethier) and eight (Valdez) spots combined to go 9 for 14 with three doubles, a home run and seven RBI. Mostly, though, this one erased the bad taste of Jason Schmidt's implosion on Saturday. Dodgers go to 8-4, grab sole possession of second place and hold at a half-game behind the D-Backs, whom the Dodgers play the next two nights at Chase Field. See ya there.

So I just met Roy Clark, former star of HeeHaw, which ran continuously on television for 25 years. He was in town for a HeeHaw reunion and came to the Dodgers game as a guest of Dennis Gilbert, the longtime sports agent who now runs a Beverly Hills insurance firm and serves as a special assistant in the front office of the Chicago White Sox. I must admit to being a bit jaded by my daily proximity to world-famous athletes, but meeting Roy Clark is the big-time, baby. ... The Jackie ceremony is just starting on the field. A large, African-American choir is walking in from the center field fence to the Jackie Robinson logo behind second base to sing the national anthem. Rumor has it that at 10 minutes past five, they're actually going to interrupt all of this and play a baseball game. But thus far, those rumors are unconfirmed. I'm looking into it.

Wilson Betemit, now 1 for 24 for the season, is out of the lineup again, replaced this time by Wilson Valdez at 3B and in the eight hole. Betemit continues to play solid defense -- he made another nice play at 3B last night on a tough one-hopper by Marcus Giles -- but hasn't hit all year and is in danger of earning a regular spot on the bench if Valdez (.368) continues to hit the way he did all spring and through his first eight games of the season. The rest of the lineup is normal, with Pierre back in CF and batting second. ... With this being the last game before the road trip, my teammates Jill Painter and Ramona Shelburne are taking over the coverage tonight for tomorrow's paper, with Jill covering the game and Ramona doing the Jackie Robinson stuff. This will allow me to relax and catch up on some freelance work. More importantly, it will allow me to leave soon after the game ends so I can go home and pack for my crack-of-dawn flight to PHX tomorrow. But I'll still post blog entries during the game, so stay tuned.

There was the season opener in Milwaukee and the hope opener last Monday. But with today being Jackie Robinson Day at Dodger Stadium, this is the biggest event of the three. Bud Selig is here, Rachel Robinson is here, a whole bunch of MLB poobahs are here, and there is bunting all over the stadium, even though this time it's not red white and blue, it's gold, white and two shades of blue. The old yard is on the national stage tonight, and the Dodgers have put their best foot forward. This time, they appear to have actually done things right. But I'm not sure how this thing with everyone wearing No. 42 is going to work. For those of us who are here every day, we should be able to figure out who is who because we know these players on sight, even from up high in the press box. But to those who aren't here every day -- and believe me, there are a LOT of those people here tonight. This is going to be a great, fitting tribute to a great man. ... BTW, if you're coming out, come out early. The Dodgers are opening the gates at 2:40, a half-hour earlier than usual.

Jason Schmidt's third-inning exit was his earliest since May 4, 2002, against Cincinnati, when he left with tightness in his right shoulder after just two-thirds of an inning. Not to keep harping on this velocity thing, but it clearly is becoming a problem -- something Grady Little and Rick Honeycutt admitted after the game, even though Schmidt wouldn't. The Padres attacked Schmidt like they knew what was coming (that's what advance scouting reports are for), with Brian Giles and Kevin Kouzmanoff homering on first-pitch fastballs in the first two innings. Schmidt hasn't told Little or Honeycutt that he isn't healthy, and unless and until he does, they have to assume that he IS healthy. But for a guy at whom the Dodgers threw a three-year, $47 million contract, somebody needs to get to the bottom of why his fastball is topping out in the 86-87 range, and it needs to happen soon. Schmidt's next scheduled start is Thursday at Colorado, in a ballpark that tends to eat guys for lunch who have slow fastballs that they don't locate well. But unless something just suddenly changes miraculously his next time out, this problem is going to continue to fester.

Juan Pierre, who is hitting .186, isn't in tonight's starting lineup, but Grady said there is "no doubt in my mind" that he will play sometime during the game. Pierre has played in 507 consecutive games dating to 2002, the second-longest streak in the majors. Brady Clark, who went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk in his first start of the season last night, will start in place of Pierre in center field. Grady said Pierre tried to talk him out of not starting him, but Grady added, "It's one of those deals where you might hate me right now, but you will love me tomorrow." Mariano Duncan had a long chat with Pierre down the leftfield line before stretch today. It might have had nothing to do with the lineup thing, but it also might have had SOMETHING to do with it. ... Also, Grady says Brett Tomko is now his fifth starter until further notice (he hadn't promised him more than two starts) and that he won't be skipped when the club has off-days. Off-days will simply mean each starter gets an extra day of rest.

So I'm browsing the DirecTV grid this morning looking for something to watch, and I noticed that This Week in Baseball was coming on at noon. I hadn't watched this thing in years, but some of my fondest childhood and teenaged memories are summer Saturdays watching this show, listening to Mel Allen spend a half-hour narrating highlights of what had taken place around the game that week (teams that were hot, players that were hot, etc.). So I check it out today, and it was truly, truly awful. For starters, there wasn't one thing relating to what happened this week in baseball. NOT ONE THING. It was like a big infomercial for all of their sponsors. They did have this long Jackie Robinson feature at the beginning,but it was too fast and hard to follow. And proving once again that everything having anything to do with baseball must always be tied somehow to the 2004 Boston Red Sox, they did this one segment comparing Jackie's steal of home in the 1955 World Series to Dave Roberts' steal of second in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Talk about a stretch. I ended up watching the whole show because I kept thinking there would be something relevant, but there never was. On the list of bad TV, this show gives Laguna Beach a run for its money.

This is my fourth year on the Dodgers beat, and the THIRD time in those four years that the club has won at least seven of its first 10 games (they started 9-3 in 2004 and 12-2 in 2005), Ironically, the only exception came last year, when the Dodgers were only 5-5 through 10, and that was easily the most talented team of those first three seasons. Tonight's euphoria might be shortlived -- the Dodgers have to deal with Jake Peavy tomorrow night and Chris Young the night after. But there was a noticeably different vibe from this club tonight simply because Rafael Furcal was on the field. This guy is EASILY this club's most indispensible player, even though they went 6-3 without him. He just brings a whole new energy to the team, and tonight was a perfect example of just how valuable he is. He made several nice plays, including that diving stop to rob David Wells, and he doubled in back-to-back innings off Mike Thompson. Interestingly, Furcal's return was expected to take pressure off Juan Pierre. Well, Pierre finally was starting to get untracked with a five-game hitting streak, during which he was 6 for 22. But in his first game hitting between Furcal and Nomar, Pierre went 0 for 5.

This is still -- and this goes back to my days coming in as a visiting writer -- my all-time favorite ballpark. While waiting (and waiting and waiting) for this 7:40 game to start, I'm enjoying another perfect Dodger Stadium sunset, with red streaks in the sky and a perfect view of the San Gabriels. The Jackie Robinson Day logos have been painted along the first- and third-base lines, in blue, white and gold, and they look great. It's going to be a fun weekend at the old yard. By the way, if you pick up the Daily News tomorrow and happen to get our early edition, you'll probably get a PARTIAL game story, with the score not final. This is nothing new, but if you have ever wondered why, it's because of newspaper deadlines (and 7:40 starts don't help). Those stories can be really hard to write, but tonight won't be so bad because of the obvious Furcal angle. But if you get our late edition, for which I'm not required to file until around 11:15, you SHOULD get a full game story with quotes -- unless it goes extra innings or runs especially long, which isn't likely when it's the Dodgers and Padres. These two teams have great starting pitching and shaky offenses, so this game figures to fairly quickly.

His next start against a lefty will be his first. But don't dare call it a platoon. Grady said, as diplomatically as he possibly could and NOT in these exact words, that Ethier will play against lefties when he starts hitting righties. Ethier is batting .118 overall (2 for 17), which is almost as bad as Wilson Betemit's .053 (1 for 19), and he's sitting tonight, too. Ramon Martinez is starting at 3B for Betemit, and Brady Clark is starting in RF for Ethier. And yes, Furcal is starting at SS, and Grady says there is no need to take any unusual precautions with him like resting him every three or four days.

Rafael Furcal came off the DL today, I'm not sure yet whether he's in the lineup, although I can't imagine that he isn't. Chin-hui Tsao, who never appeared in a game after being recalled on Tuesday, was optioned back to Triple-A Las Vegas to clear a roster spot, so the Dodgers are back to an 11-man pitching staff. ... Juan Pierre was taking bunting practice a few minutes ago, almost four hours before game time, another example of just how hard this guy works. ... Sorry I never posted yesterday, but it was a very productive day for me personally. Got my new car tagged, paid a bunch of bills, wrote a quick story for today's paper on how Furcal appeared ready to return. All in all, though, it was a relaxing, refreshing day away from baseball, and it revved me up to get back to it tonight. Good thing for me, too, given that the Dodgers don't have another off-day until April 23.

Second one since the start of spring training, but the FIRST one that I don't have to fly anywhere. I will TRY to post at least one blog entry tomorrow, but if I don't, please forgive me. I'm going to spend most of the day getting my life back in order after spring training, something I haven't had time to do yet. There are errands to run, bills to pay, hours of sleep to catch up on, etc. After tomorrow, Dodgers play 10 days in a row and 19 of the next 20, with 12 of those games at home. ... It's way too early in the season to use the phrase "big series" but this weekend's three-game set with San Diego begins with the two clubs tied for second place, just a half-game behind Arizona. It also is expected to mark the return of Rafael Furcal, the first time this season the Dodgers will have their projected starting eight on the field at the same time. My guess is that this division race ultimately will come down to these two teams, and the Dodgers did lose 13 of 18 to the Pads last season, when the two ended the season tied for first. That being the case, maybe this IS a big series after all. Talk to ya Friday if not before.

Broxton retired all five batters he faced in relief of Penny. Saito issued a two-out walk in the ninth, but otherwise was perfect. And after the Dodgers scored the only three runs they would need (or get) in the bottom of the third, the Rockies never got another hit. Luis Gonzalez had two hits for the Dodgers, matching the Rockies total as a team. Dodgers go to 6-3 for the season and pull within a half-game of first-place AZ in the NL West, although those pesky Padres are still tied with the Dodgers.

Scratch what I said earlier about him not dominating. He has now retired 11 in a row after walking four through the first three innings. And once again, Grady isn't going to have to go very deep into his bullpen if he has to go to it at all. Meanwhile, the Dodgers still haven't done much offensively after that two-out rally in the third. This team really misses Furcal, who is expected to return Friday night. Jason Hirsh, the St. Francis High of La Canada alum, went five innings for the Rox, giving up three earned runs on six hits. Dodgers 3, Rockies 0, top 7 ... Oops, Penny just hit Chris Iannetta with one out, and Grady just doubleswitched him out of the game. He went 6 1/3, allowing only two hits.

Brad Penny has thrown four shutout innings, although he isn't especially dominating. But what he has done is make a couple of highlight reel defensive plays. He ended the second inning by making a diving catch of a popped-up bunt by Willy Taveras, who is fast enough that he might have beaten it out if Penny had allowed it to fall. And Penny ended the fourth by barehanding a slow roller to his right that he never could have gotten with his glove hand, throwing out Jason Hirsh at first. Dodgers 3, Rockies 0, bottom 4

While most of the Dodgers had tricked onto the field for batting practice, a handful of reporters was doing what reporters do best, which is standing around the clubhouse twiddling their thumbs. But this time, several of them gathered around a television in the middle of the room to watch Ichiro Suzuki lead off the top of the first inning for Seattle against Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka, the first time the Japanese icons had ever faced each other in the United States. But standing at the front of that pack of reporters, directly in front of the TV, was Takashi Saito, who would be out on the field shagging flies in a few minutes but for now wasn't going to pass up the chance to watch such a historic event for his native country. ... Friday's game between the Dodgers and Padres will be the first time the two clubs have met since that unforgettable game last Sept. 18 when the Dodgers hit four consecutive homers in the ninth inning to tie the game. Nomar Garciaparra's two-run blast in the 10th to win it came off Padres reliever Rudy Seanez, now a member of the Dodgers.

This is the part of the rightfield wall that landed Matt Kemp on the 15-day DL. As you can see, it is covered in plexiglass, and there is about a 1 1/2-inch seam where the plexiglass boards overlap, and those seams have rivets in them to hold them in place. I THINK he might have hit the wall right at the seam. I pushed on the boards with my hand, and I can tell you the boards don't have much give. But they are anchored in place rather loosely, which creates give even if the boards themselves don't give much. But no matter how much give it had, it wasn't enough to prevent Kemp from getting a severely bruised right shoulder. Again, before the scoreboard was expanded by roughly 50 percent this past winter, this part of the wall was padded. But on the other hand, as Matt himself said, this injury could have happened even if he had hit the padded part of the wall. It was just bad luck more than anything.

... but the best news of all came from Rancho Cucamonga, where Rafael Furcal emerged from Day 1 of rehab-a-palooza (Bartolo Colon pitched for RC, the Angels' Cal League affiliate, and Jered Weaver will do so tomorrow) unscathed, other than going hitless in four at-bats plus a walk for Inland Empire. Furcal remains on target to return Friday night, and boy, do the Dodgers need him. Ramon Martinez and Wilson Valdez have filled in capably at SS, playing error-free ball there through eight games. But this lineup needs its leadoff man and catalyst, even if Juan Pierre finally appears to be getting untracked with three hits in his past five at-bats (and it would have been four hits if a diving Todd Helton hadn't robbed him of a double in the third inning tonight). A lot of the Dodgers' troubles are of their own making. Take tonight's fourth inning, for example. Leading 1-0, the boys got a leadoff single by Russ Martin and a double by Nomar, setting them up with runners on second and third and none out. But Jeff Kent, a savvy veteran who is going to the Hall of Fame but who has never been big on being patient or working counts, then grounded to third on the first pitch. And although the Dodgers had plenty more chances in the inning, the fact they didn't score could be traced to that at-bat by Kent -- who wound up going 0 for 3 to snap a 12-game hitting streak that began last season. Consequently, another key play in this game happened in the top of the eighth. After Joe Beimel walked Todd Helton to load the bases with one out for Matt Holliday, what did Holliday do? Why, swing at the first pitch, of course. No need to be patient against a guy who just walked, on five pitches no less, the one batter he was brought in to retire. The result was that Holliday grounded back to the mound, and Beimel turned a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning and the threat, and the Dodgers scored the tiebreaking run in the bottom of the inning. Hasta manana.

Forget the long layoff, and forget what Grady said before the game about the guy only giving him four or five innings. If he keeps going this way, he'll be in this game for a while. Tomko had retired all 11 batters he has faced, including five strikeouts and a strong defensive play by Wilson Valdez on the lightning-fast Willy Taveras, until hitting Garrett Atkins with two outs in the fourth. Dodgers took the lead in the first on a single and stolen base by Russell Martin and a single by Nomar. Dodgers 1, Rockies 0, top 4

Matt Kemp went on the 15-day DL with what is Grade 1 separation that isn't supposed to take longer than two weeks to heal. RHP Chin-hui Tsao was recalled, I'm guessing just to hold down Kemp's roster spot for a couple of days until Rafael Furcal comes off the DL on Friday. With Tomko having not pitched since March 31, Grady isn't looking for more than four or five innings out of him tonight, so it made sense to go with a 12th pitcher for now, but even Grady admitted there was no glaring need for one -- and there certainly won't be a glaring need when Furcal comes back. Tsao also can go two innings, which he'll almost undoubtedly be called upon to do behind Tomko.

Juan Pierre, who has just one bunt single through seven games, is taking bunting practice with Maury Wills on the field. Wilson Valdez also is taking some. It's another beautiful day here, even better than yesterday because you can actually see the San Gabriels today. But it's a night game, so you won't see them for long. Pitching matchup MIGHT favor the Rockies, even though Rodrigo Lopez the A.L. with 18 losses for Baltimore last year while posting a 5.90 ERA. Fact is, to lose that many games, you have to be a good pitcher, as strange as that sounds. You have to be good enough that your manager keeps sending you back out there every fifth day. Meanwhile, Brett Tomko hasn't pitched in a game since the Freeway Series finale on March 31. But as they say, there is a reason why you play the games and they aren't won on paper. ... Heading downstairs to get an update on Matt Kemp. Will try to post again during BP.

Matt Kemp is day to day with a bruised right shoulder, which is a lot better than being out four to six weeks with a dislocated one. He wasn't going to start tomorrow night anyway. Jason Schmidt is fine (dehydration) and won't miss a start. But the biggest news of the day is that Rafael Furcal is targeted to return on Friday night against the Friars. He'll begin a two-day rehab assignment for single-A Inland Empire at Rancho Cucamonga tomorrow. He'll DH tomorrow and play SS Wed., then be re-evaluated. Dodgers are off Thursday. Dodgers fell to 4-3.

But I'm going to limit myself to one rant today, because this is one of these perfect Dodger Stadium days. Well, it's a little smoggy, and you can't see the San Gabriels. But the ballpark looks beautiful, the grass is perfectly manicured, and it's time for a game that counts, the first one played in this park since Game 3 of the NLDS with the Mets last fall. Because the press box is so crowded (that's normal for an opener) and there isn't a lot of space to type and keep a scorecard at the same time, I'm going to refrain from in-game updates, which I'll resume tomorrow night. I'll check back after the game. Time to tee it up.

Let me qualify what I'm about to say with two things. First, it's the home opener, and there are a lot of kinks to be worked out. Second, the average fan isn't affected by this and never will be, so you probably won't care, so I apologize in advance if this comes across as me whining. But here goes: The Dodgers have a longstanding policy concerning the only two elevators in the stadium, which are side by side. Three to four hours before home games, the media and a few hundred team employees begin arriving AT THE SAME TIME AS THE PLAYERS. The media parks outside Top of the Park and accesses the elevators on Level 9 and takes them down to the press box on Level 5. Most of the employees seem to access the elevators on Level 8 or below and take it to whichever floor they need to get to. And the players access it on Level 8 and take it down the clubhouse on Level 1. But here's where the policy comes in: if ONE player gets on the elevator in Level 8, that player automatically is taken directly to Level 1 without stopping on any other floor. There could be 20 OTHER PEOPLE on the elevator, and all 20 of them must ride all the way down with THAT ONE PLAYER before they are taken back up to their respective destination floors. Meanwhile, if there is a series of players getting on elevators one or two at a time (the players tend to arrive at around the same time), those elevators NEVER STOP ON ANY OTHER FLOOR. The result is that non-playing personnel are routinely left waiting for an elevator to pick them up for 10-15 minutes at a time. Today, I ended up taking the stairs down, from Level 9 to Level 5, which is farther than it sounds, and this isn't an easy trip because it's not one continuous stairwell, it's a series of zigzags as the stairwell switches locations. Try doing that while carrying a computer bag stuffed not only with a computer, but with several books, reference guides, etc. At any rate, when I complained (for about the 2,567th time in the past four years) to a club official, this club official said to me, "We have to take care of our players." To which the obvious response is, "You ARE taking care of your players IN THE FORM OF A $115 MILLION PAYROLL." Exactly how making your players stop for 5-10 seconds each on one or two or three or four floors on their way to the clubhouse to avoid inconveniencing any number of other people constitutes a failure to "take care of our players" isn't exactly clear to me at this point. ... But other than that, hey, it's opening day. Let's all be happy.

Grady says Wilson Valdez (SS), Ramon Martinez (3B) and Matt Kemp (RF) all will be back in the lineup. The pitching matchup is Jason Schmidt against lefty Jeff Francis. Country singer Taylor Swift will sing the anthem (what, they couldn't get the Sippy Cups?), and in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his Rookie of the Year season, Steve Sax will throw out the ceremonial first pitch (insert your own punch line here). Gotta go catch a flight home. Hope to see you at Chavez Ravine. Again, Happy Easter everyone. Or, as Pepe Yniguez taught me this morning, "Feliz Dia de Resurreccion." Sure hope I spelled that correctly.

Matt Kemp had a career-high three hits, raising his average to .462. Valdez had his second three-hit day in a row and is batting .600. Dodgers come home 4-2 and on a four-game winning streak. Bochy got run in the top of the ninth arguing a foul/fair call on a Kent double that eventually led to the Dodgers' final run. Billingsley went two innings behind Wolf, who got through six on 99 pitches, and Broxton worked the ninth. And it may be a long, long summer in San Francisco.

Dodgers hung a four on the Giants in the sixth inning, the key hit being a two-run triple by, yes, Wilson Valdez, who now is 5 for 8 for the season. After throwing 56 pitches in the first two innings, Randy Wolf has thrown 43 over the next four and is STILL IN THE GAME. Zito just left after six innings plus two batters. Giants fans cheered him off the field for some reason. It appears the Dodgers will come home with a 4-2 record. Won't be enough to get them into the division lead, though, because first-place Arizona had the incredible luck of playing a four-game series with those horrendous Washington Nats this weekend. D-backs swept, of course. Gonzo just went deep AGAIN, a three-run shot, and has four RBI for the day. Dodgers 9, Giants 1, top 7

Randy Wolf was awful in the first inning, throwing a staggering 38 pitches. But the Geriatrics, er, Giants, were even worse, parlaying the longest half-inning in recent memory into EXACTLY ONE RUN. The Dodgers quickly erased that margin against Barry Zito on an RBI groundout by Ramon Martinez in the second after a double by Wilson Valdez (who now is 4 for 6 for the season) put Matt Kemp on third. Wolf also struggled in the second, walking two of the first three batters to load the bases with none out. But after Zito struck out, Omar Vizquel took a horrible at-bat, hacking at an 0-1 pitch from the control-challenged Wolf and grounding it sharply at Wilson Betemit for an inning-ending double play. Gonzo just gave the Dodgers their first lead with his first home run as a Dodger leading off the fourth. Gonzo hit just three of his 15 homers last season against LHPs. Dodgers 2, Giants 1, top 4

He continues to improve each day, and Grady called it a "day-to-day" thing now that Furcal is eligible to come off the DL. I suppose it's conceivable that he'll play in tomorrow's home opener, but not likely. "I'm not going to put a wounded bird out there," trainer Stan Conte said. ... James Loney played his second game in a row in right field for Las Vegas on Saturday and threw a runner out at second base. In other minor-league news, Inland Empire catcher Lucas May has six hits and two walks in his past 10 plate appearances. He went 3 for 3 in Saturday's win over High Desert, combining with Blake DeWitt to hit consecutive homers in the ninth inning.

Too bad they can't start the game right now. It's partly cloudy, but brilliantly sunny at 10 a.m. The field is sunsplashed, with the shadow of one of the light towers falling across center field. After parking in media lot D, three of us were held up slightly as the Lefty O'Doul Bridge was raised to let a sailboat pass underneath. Yesterday morning, you couldn't see the East Bay for the fog. Today, you can even see the mountains beyond the East Bay. It's enough to put me in a semi-decent mood, even though I haven't had breakfast yet. And best of all, the Sippy Cups AREN'T here today. I'm off to the clubhouse to see the boys, who are going for a three-game sweep of Los Gigantes today. Home opener tomorrow at 1:10. Later.

Exciting guy that I am, I'll probably grab a quick dinner at a greasy spoon, then go back to my room and find something really, really good to watch on TV. Anyway, in four career starts at Pac Bell/SBC/AT&T Park, Derek Lowe now has a 1.50 ERA. Speaking of Pac Bell/SBC/AT&T, the Dodgers have now won seven consecutive games here and are 9-2 here since the start of last season. ... The Sippy Cups played a rendition of the national anthem that was almost unrecognizable. Not sure how the people out in the stands felt about it (didn't hear much booing or cheering), but suffice to say, it wasn't a hit in the press box. ... Jeff Kent has hit safely in all five games this season. ... Manager Grady Little admitted before the game that this team really, really misses Rafael Furcal, not only at shortstop but also at the top of the batting order. Little also conceded that Furcal's absence might be putting undue pressure on Juan Pierre in the leadoff spot. Pierre is hitting .143 (3 for 21). ... That's all I have for today. Happy Easter, everyone.

Lowe went seven innings, gave up just four hits and recorded 15 groundball outs. Wilson Valdez, who went 3 for 4, had nine assists in his first start at shortstop. Grady Little said Valdez will start at short again tomorrow, with Ramon Martinez at third. That means Wilson Betemit, who drove in the tying run with a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning but otherwise went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, will sit. Betemit, who last year' couldn't hit lefties, can't seem to hit righties either this year. He is 1 for 15 overall (0 for 6 right-handed and 1 for 9 left-handed). Dodgers creep above the .500 mark (3-2) for the first time this season with their third win in a row, all of which have been saved by Takashi Saito.

Derek Lowe has gotten through six innings on less than 85 pitches and has retired 18 of 22 batters, 12 of them on ground balls. This is D-Lowe at his finest, and he's going to go deep into this game, which is what Grady loves. Meanwhile, Wilson Valdez has made three NICE plays behind Lowe, including going deep in the hole for a grounder and still throwing out the speedy Dave Roberts to start the bottom of the sixth. Valdez also singled with one out in the fifth to start a rally that was keyed around Jeff Kent's two-run double down the leftfield line. Russ Ortiz is long gone, having given up three runs on seven hits over five innings, and in a refreshing twist, the Dodgers worked him for 95 pitches. Valdez just came up with his third hit of the game, putting runners on the corners with one out against Kevin Correia and giving Valdez a .600 average (3 for 5) for the season. Dodgers 3, Giants 1, top 7

Derek Lowe has given up just two hits, but they came in succession, and the second was an RBI double by Rich Aurilia. Other than that, D-Lowe has retired nine of 11 batters, six of them via ground ball. Meanwhile -- and this will no doubt shock you -- the Dodgers haven't scored a run yet. Russ Ortiz apparently is back to his old self, although the Dodgers aren't mounting much of a challenge. Wilson Valdez, starting for the first time, turned a single into an all-too-easy out at second when he tried to stretch it in the first inning. And Valdez then ended the third by grounding out with runners on second and third. Dodgers have two hits off Ortiz, including a double byEthier. Giants 1, Dodgers 0, top 4

Wilson Valdez is getting his first start today in place of Rafael Furcal. Ramon Martinez started the first four games in Furcal's absence. And Mike Lieberthal is getting his first start behind the plate because it's a day game after a night game, and even iron man Russell Martin needs to rest once in a while. ... If you read my off-day feature on Juan Pierre in Friday's Daily News, I reported that the Giants offered Pierre a three-year, $30 million contract, to which Pierre had all but agreed when the Dodgers came in at the last minute and blew the Giants away with a five-year, $44 million deal that Pierre accepted. While it's true the Giants did OFFER Pierre three years and $30M, the deal they almost agreed to, according to multiple sources I have talked to this morning, was four years and $36M after the Giants increased their offer. That makes the Dodgers' offer of five years and $44M more understandable -- and more necessary to get the deal done. I THOUGHT I had done my homework on that one, but obviously, I hadn't done enough. My apologies.

A band called the Sippy Cups is warming up on top of the Dodgers dugout, apparently for a pregame show. My guess is they're a local band of some kind, but if you want to know more, feel free to google them. All I know is one of them keeps playing the first six notes of the old Jimi Hendrix national anthem rift (Oh Say Can You See) over and over again, without going any farther into the song than that. ... It's a densely overcast morning here, so much so that you can't even see the East Bay from McCovey Cove, but right now it doesn't feel like it's as cold as it was last night. There is some rain in the forecast, but the tarp is off the infield, although it's laying across left field like it was just taken off in the last few minutes. ... Brady Clark has emerged from the clubhouse and is standing on the warning track in front of the dugout, bat in hand, watching intently as the Sippy Cups prepare for their show. ... By the way, I had lunch yesterday with a close buddy of mine, Chris Haft, who covers the Giants for mlb.com, and we went to MoMo's, at the corner of 2nd and King, or directly across King from the leftfield corner at AT&T Park. Place was great. I highly recommend it for a pregame meal if you're ever up here. I went with the basic bacon cheeseburger and fries, but the burger was served on a ciabatta roll, which gave it a unique texture and flavor.

One of the most awkward, difficult and regretful parts of my job is when I have to be critical in print of a player I really like, respect and admire. But in the interest of professionalism, it's something that has to be done, and all you can do is what you have to do while hoping the player in question understands that. Such was the case tonight with Luis Gonzalez, one of the classiest players I have ever had the privelege of covering. In tomorrow's game story, you will notice that I raise the question, as politely as possible, of whether the Dodgers wouldn't be better served to have Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier manning the corner outfield spots -- which would necessarily mean moving Gonzalez to the bench. It's hard to ignore what has gone on in left field in the first four games of the season, especially after Gonzo failed to catch what should have been an inning-ending fly ball from Barry Bonds in the eighth, allowing the potential tying run to reach second base. But I think that play was just an isolated incident. The more alarming issue with Gonzalez is that opposing baserunners are routinely taking extra bases on him. Twice in four games, a routine single has become a double. Twice in the first TWO games, Gonzo failed to get to balls that might have been catchable. This guy is one of the most media-friendly players in the game, and no one is rooting harder for him than those of us who are SUPPOSED to be impartial but are also human. But to ignore what has gone on in left field this week would be to ignore my obligation to you, the reader. And if it makes things uncomfortable for me in the clubhouse, well, that's part of my job, too.

This one could get interesting if the visibility goes way down. The fog has been steadily descending on the ballpark for the last inning or so, although it's not enough to wreak havoc -- yet. Brad Penny looks good so far, but Noah Lowry looks better -- he has given up just two hits, including one to Penny. Dodgers are doing a better job of working counts, but it isn't doing them much good. Lowry already has struck out three batters looking. Kudos to Russell Martin, though. He threw out a would-be basestealer in each of the first two innings. This probably is the last in-game update because I'm back on the West Coast, where the newspaper's deadlines come into play. In another couple of innings, I'll have to start writing a runner, which is that quoteless story that gets filed as soon as the game ends for the early edition. But I promise at least one more entry later on tonight, even if it's around 11:30 or so. Lowry just walked Russ Martin to start the fourth. Dodgers 0, Giants 0, top 4.

Well, not exactly Hef and the girls. But Playboy magazine's baseball preview issue, which hit newsstands today, has the Dodgers winning the 2007 World Series -- and NO, I did NOT actually buy a copy, nor do I have a subscription. The only reason I know this is that someone at the magazine emailed me a press release alerting me to it. The entire baseball preview package was actually done by Tracy Ringolsby, the guy who covers the Rockies for the Rocky Mountain News and is a very close friend of mine. Tracy actually taught me how to cover baseball during my days at that paper back in the late '90s. So while Playboy isn't exactly synonymous with baseball expertise, it is worth mentioning that the guy they commissioned to do this package for them is one of the most respected baseball writers in the business, a guy who actually entered the writer's wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame last summer. And while Playboy is the first publication I can think of that has the Dodgers actually WINNING the World Series, it's at least the third (Sports Illustrated, Street and Smith's) that I can think of that has them REACHING the World Series.

Rafael Furcal isn't coming back tomorrow and probably not Sunday, either. But he is still improving. Today, he ran sprints while wearing spikes and made at least one hard cut while doing so. He also took BP and a few ground balls at SS. But he still felt a little pain in his left ankle when he ran, so he isn't ready yet. ... At first glance, it looks like the schedule makers might have done the Dodgers a favor, at least where today's game is concerned. Because the Dodgers began their season on Monday and the Giants didn't start theirs until Tuesday, the Dodgers won't need a fifth starter until next Tuesday. The Giants will be forced to go with fifth starter Russ Ortiz today, while the Dodgers will counter with their de facto ace, Derek Lowe. However, this isn't the mismatch it appears to be. Although Ortiz appeared to be at the end of his career as recently as last year -- he has lost his past 11 decisions, a span of 30 appearances during which he has a 7.93 ERA -- he had an oustanding spring, giving up just six earned runs in 18 innings. over five Cactus League appearances. The real test, of course, will be today. The game will be nationally televised on Fox, which is why it's starting at such a weird time (12:55)

James Loney continued to make a case for a spot on the big-league roster, hitting the first pitch he saw at Triple-A Las Vegas some 440 feet for a home run in Thursday's 4-3 loss at Salt Lake. The blast came off Angels prospect Kasey Olenberger. It was Loney's only hit of the game. In other minor-league heroics, top pitching prospect Scott Elbert struck out nine batters in six innings for Double-A Jacksonville, but the Suns lost anyway, 3-1 to Tennessee. Elbert gave up three runs on four hits.

Greetings from one of my all-time favorite hotels, the historic Westin St. Francis, where the Dodgers are no longer boarding this season. They moved across the street to the Hotel Nikko. Nothing personal against the boys, but it's always nice when they stay somewhere other than where I stay, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual. The Giants finally beat the Padres tonight, just in time to renew their rivalry with the Dodgers this weekend, with both teams coming in with 1-2 records. Ironically, although it's not nearly as cold here as it was in Milwaukee, the cold could play a much bigger role in this weekend's series. Saturday's high isn't expected to get out of the 50s, and AT&T Park is wide open, not like Miller Park, where the roof was closed for all three games. That's all I got for today. Hasta manana.

Crazy game, and the Dodgers certainly have little reason to be pleased with themselves. But they managed to hold on despite the fact they are now 2 for 19 for the season with runners in scoring position and they are making way too many outs early in counts, especially on the first pitch. Grady had to use Saito for five outs, which he doesn't like to do, but I'm not sure why he used Broxton in the seventh instead of the eighth. At any rate, the boys aren't winless anymore at 1-2. They'll take a relaxing day off by the Bay and try to get back to .500 on Friday night.

Jason Schmidt only lasted five innings, throwing 95 pitches, but he did fine until there were two outs in the fifth, when he promptly walked the next three guys. He did manage to get out of that jam by getting Prince Fielder to pop up, leaving Schmidt in line for the win. Grady then doubleswitched Joe Beimel and Matt Kemp (RF) into the game, although he forgot to call the press box first to ask us what we thought he should do. The Dodgers continue to swing at first pitches with alarming regularity against Jeff Suppan, but it worked for Kemp -- he led off the seventh with a double and is now on third after Pierre's sacrifice. Brewers infield is in. ... Polish won the sausage race, creating a three-way tie atop the standings as Polish, Italian and Chorizo all have one win apiece for the season. ... Dodgers 2, Brewers 1, top 7

Now the ENTIRE TEAM is going to wear No. 42 that day, in the ultimate tribute to Jackie. ... On another note, the trio of Russell Martin, Nomar and Jeff Kent just went down on three pitches in the top of the fifth. THREE PITCHES. And they wonder why they have only scored six runs in their first 23 innings this season. Nice approach to hitting.

The Dodgers came up with a two-spot in the fourth inning against former Daily News part-time sports staffer Jeff Suppan, and it all started with a leadoff bunt single by Juan Pierre, his second hit of the game. Nomar Garciaparra drove home the first run with a sac fly to to left, scoring Pierre from third, and Jeff Kent then drove in Russell Martin from first with a double to the wall in right-center. Meanwhile, Jason Schmidt's velocity, according to the scoreboard gun reading, is still consistently in the 80s, but so far it has been enough to get the job done. He has retired nine of 10 batters, giving up a harmless, two-out single to Geoff Jenkins in the second. BTW, the Dodgers are 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and 1 for 15 RISP for the season. Dodgers 2, Brewers 0, bottom 4

Commissioner Bud Selig, at the request of Cincinnati center fielder Ken Griffey Jr., has unretired Jackie Robinson's No. 42 for one day only, that being the April 15 celebration of the 60th anniversary of Robinson's breaking baseball's color barrier. Teams have the option of participating, and the Dodgers have chosen to do so. Griffey will wear No. 42 that day, as will Dodgers center fielder Juan Pierre. No word on whether any other clubs will participate. ... Grady Little didn't take kindly to being question in print this morning about his decision to let Randy Wolf hit for himself in the sixth inning last night, when the Dodgers had a chance to break open a game they led by one run and eventually lost by one run. He cut his pregame media session after providing curt answers to three questions, one of which was about whether he planned to try to get Saito into a game soon. "Whenever there is a decision to be made on a pitcher, I'll call upstairs and see what you guys think I should do first." ... Grady also chose not to start Brady Clark tonight, despite the fact Clark is 10 for 30 with two homers against Jeff Suppan. Asked why, Little said, "Because I'm the manager." Which is EXACTLY the reason he's going to be criticized from time to time.

... but it's really not THAT bad. It has been snowing lightly all day, but the wind is blowing so hard that the snow isn't sticking to anything. Mostly, it's just cold, and it's that biting, Midwestern kind of cold that we fortunately don't have to deal with back in SoCal. The forecast high has dropped to 32 degrees (that's freezing. for those who struggled in science class). But I will NEVER rip Miller Park again, because for all that is going on outside, it's nice and toasty inside. One of the Brewers coaches is pitching BP to about 10 young boys who are here on a field trip or something, and not one of them is bundled up. Randy Wolf is doing his running around the warning track in a T-shirt and shorts. ... By the way, the Dodgers have a special offer for fans who carpool to Monday's home opener: a free ticket to a future game for each passenger. But there are several catches: first, you have to arrive at the stadium between 9:30 and 10:15 a.m. (game time is 1:10 p.m.), you have to park in Lot 15 (a farflung lot that is used only for sellouts), and the offer is limited to the first 600 cars. Those fans looking to take advantage of this should enter through the Academy gate. They will also be given early entrance to the park (the leftfield pavilion, not necessarily their assigned seating area) to watch batting practice. Oh, and the lots on Stadium Way by the Los Angeles Fire Dept. training facility will cost just $5. Most importantly, ALL OF THIS IS FOR OPENING DAY ONLY

After watching his club come up with a collective nine hits in its first two games of the season and strand eight baserunners in tonight's loss, Grady Little offered a bold prediction about his club, which is hitting .143: "We think we're going to jump on somebody tomorrow." Well, that somebody will have to be Jeff Suppan, who while with St. Louis last season allowed the Dodgers just one earned run in 14 innings over two appearances. Little's comment clearly was meant to convey an absence of panic for the 0-2 Dodgers, who are a fashionable pick to win the National League pennant this season. But what Grady and the Dodgers really need tonight is a command performance from Jason Schmidt in his Dodgers debut -- something they got from Derek Lowe in a 2-1 victory here last Sept. 6, the last time the Dodgers went into the final game of a series at Miller Park looking to avoid being swept.

If there was a bright spot for the still-winless Dodgers, it was that Jonathan Broxton blew away three consecutive batters in the eighth, throwing 11 pitches, 10 of them for strikes. But the Dodgers were never really in the game after Mench's home run, even though they were down by only a run. Dodgers go to 0-2 for the first time since 2002, when they started 0-3 but finished 92-70.

Brewers LF Kevin Mench, whom his teammates call Shrek for his resemblance to the Mike Myers movie character, took Randy Wolf deep in the sixth, turning a 3-2 Dodgers lead into a 4-3 deficit. Wolf had settled in nicely just before that, retiring eight in a row before giving up a well-placed infield single to Johnny Estrada. Mench followed that with a two-run blast into the Brewers bullpen in left-center. Russell Martin has a single, double and homer and is 6 for 9 lifetime against Chris Capuano, who left the game after five innings. Jeff Kent just followed a walk to Nomar by flying out on the first pitch from Matt Wise. No need to work the count or anything. The chorizo, a new addition to the sausage race this year, won easily tonight, matching the Italian for the lead in the sausage-race standings. And Corey Hart isn't wearing sunglasses. Dodgers are six outs away from going 0-2. Brewers 4, Dodgers 3, middle 7, Billingsley coming on

The sun was almost down by the time the game started, and it certainly was down by the second inning, when Milwaukee's Johnny Estrada hit a catchable fly ball to left-center that Gonzo ran to but somehow failed to catch. It rolled to the wall for a double. Then, Bill Hall hit what looked like a routine single to left in the third inning, but turned it into a double simply because he knew Gonzo didn't have the arm to throw him out at second. The throw came in to the third-base side, and Hall slid in easily. Gonzo's a great guy, and I'm glad he's here. But there is no way around it: his first two games have been an adventure out there. He's also 0 for 5, but that's nothing unique on this team, at least not so far. Meanwhile, Randy Wolf has been shaky, walking one, hitting two and giving up an opposite-field bomb to Prince Fielder. Dodgers 2, Brewers 2, top 4

This is what I tried to describe verbally in yesterday's blog, but I thought a visual would give you a better idea. This is the view Luis Gonzalez had from left field in Miller Park yesterday, when he lost that fly ball in the windows. As you can see, this is a massive window panel, and when the roof is closed, it makes it darker inside the park, which in turn makes the sun shine more brightly through those windows. It's no wonder so many left fielders lose sight of so many pop flies during day games here.

Those windows apparently are a topic of controversy among players around the league. For those who haven't been here, there are two very large, arched window panels (we're talking each one the size of a small airplane hangar) above the upper deck behind first and third base. In front of each panel is this elaborate tapestry of steel girders that support the roof, which also is arched to conform with the tops of the windows. When a ball is hit high in the air against the windows behind first base, where the afternoon sun is, it is almost impossible for the left fielder to see the ball. That's what happened on the ball Gonzo misjudged in the fourth inning. The other problem is that somehow, even though the roof was closed, the grass in the outfield was wet, causing Juan Pierre and Andre Ethier to slip and slide on two occasions in particular. The first was on a double by Corey Hart (wonder if he'll be wearing sunglasses for tomorrow's night game) leading off the second that should have been ruled a single and error. Juan Pierre went to grab the ball, which was your basic single to shallow center, but he slipped as he bent over for it and failed to pick it up. Hart, who had slowed slightly rounding first, took off for second. Then, on a single by Prince Fielder in the fourth, Ethier had to hurry to get to it to stop J.J. Hardy from going first to third. Ethier succeeded, but as he wheeled to throw the ball back in, he, too, slipped, and two large divots came up behind him. Ethier later admitted that the grass was wet and was causing problems. Pierre said it was wet, but no more than usual for this ballpark, which is strange considering that the roof is always closed if it's raining. Jeff Kent summed it up this way: ``This was just a bad investment in a ballpark. From Day One. I can (complain) and moan and make jokes, but this is the park (the Brewers) play in, and they have to play here, too.'' ... Good quote, but on a day when the roof was closed, this was the best quote of the day, from Grady Little, about the usual pregame pomp and circumstance (and distractions) that come with the territory on opening day: "I don't think there will be a flyover. That should take away a couple of seconds." ... I'll check in when I arrive at the park tomorrow, probably around 3 o'clock (that's 1 o'clock SoCal time). See ya then.

Sheets finally gave up another hit, a double down the leftfield line to Brady Clark with one out in the ninth, but it was too late to matter. With the stuff Sheets had today, this game was over before it started, and there is nothing the Dodgers can do but come back tomorrow and hope for something better against Chris Capuano. This is the Dodgers' fourth consecutive opening-day loss.

You know it's bad when they bring in Mark Hendrickson to start the fifth inning. Luis Gonzalez badly misjudged a fly ball by Geoff Jenkins in the fourth that more or less put the game away. Lowe left after that inning, having given up six earned on eight hits and five walks in four innings. In three opening day starts for the Dodgers, he has given up 15 ER on 25 hits in 16 IP, For those scoring at home, that's an 8.44 ERA, and he's about to go to 0-3 in those starts. Meanwhile, Ben Sheets has retired 20 of 21, the lone exception being the homer by Kent. And the Italian sausage just won the first sausage race of the year. Brewers 7, Dodgers 1, top 7

Derek Lowe has given up a run in each inning and been in constant trouble. He has already walked four, including Geoff Jenkins after starting him 0-2 in the third, and has thrown way too many pitches. A couple of guys were up stretching in the bullpen in the third, but they sat back down when the inning ended. Meanwhile, Ben Sheets has been unhittable to everyone but Jeff Kent, who homered to straightaway center in his first at-bat. Brewers center fielder Bill Hall and Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier have made spectacular, diving catches, but Ethier's was bigger. It turned a potential two-run double by Corey Hart into a sac fly in the third. Brewers 3, Dodgers 1, top 4

Formal player intros are over. Dodgers look really sharp in their new road unis. They're basically the same, but besides adding names to the back, they took out the white trim around the lettering. It's almost the same road uniform from the 1960s. Also, the piping is gone from around the collar, but it remains down the pant legs. Grady is exchanging lineup cards right now with Brewers bench coach Dale Sveum. Talk to you in the fourth inning or so.

Although club officials remain hopeful, it looks like Rafael Furcal might not be ready by Saturday. He played catch with Stan Conte at about 75 feet this morning and threw very gingerly, even grimacing on some of the throws. That little hop step required to make a long throw like that? He took that step almost in slow motion. And he has yet to run at all. Even though he says he'll be ready as soon as he can run. club officials might want him to run for a couple of days just to make sure. He won't be rushed back, that's for sure, because the Dodgers can't afford to lose him long term. There isn't much depth at that position, at least a player of his caliber.

In a wise decision on the part of Brewers management, the Miller Park roof will remain closed for today's lidlifter. Not sure if we're going to reach that forecast high of 63 degrees, but right now, it is, as a columnist I worked with years ago once wrote, "Colder than an Alaskan milkshake." Stopped at a Starbucks in Brookfield, Wis., on my way to the park this morning and saw Geoff Jenkins in there. Great minds think alike, I suppose. Not sure if it was seeing a ballplayer or just the jolt I got from the coffee (they featured a special darker blend today), but it sort of sunk in that opening day IS REALLY, FINALLY HERE. I'm heading down to see the boys. More updates as the day goes on.

I have the TV in my room tuned to a local station here in Milwaukee. The sports segment featured a brief piece on the Brewers and the fact they have higher expectations than in the past. And then, as he kicked it back to the news desk, the sports anchor says, "My prediction: If they stay healthy, things could get interesting." Wow, talk about a bold prediction. Hope nobody makes the poor guy eat crow if, say, things don't get interesting.

Greetings from the hometown of Laverne and Shirley, where the Dodgers will officially kick off their 2007 season in a little more than 16 hours. Just checked with Dodgers PR man Josh Rawitch to see if anything had happened today with Larry Bigbie, whose window of opportunity for exercising his out clause is closing fast. Josh said there was no news. Sounds like there is at least a possibility Bigbie will agree to stay with the club and go to the minors. It's tough to find a big-league job right now, because clubs are busy setting their final rosters -- which means subtracting players, not adding them. ... It is about a thousand different kinds of cold here right now. It was raining when I arrived, and some of those rain drops looked and felt suspiciously like sleet. But the forecast for tomorrow is 63 degrees and sunny, so I won't be shocked if the roof is left open to allow some of that sunshine into the opener. Just left a message for Brewers PR man Mike Vassallo, one of my oldest and closest friends in the game, to ask him that very question, but he hasn't gotten back to me yet. Like most of the handful of retractable-roof parks around the league, Miller Park has a completely different personality and feel depending on whether the roof is open or closed. ... btw, a heartfelt thank you goes out to my Daily News colleague, Rich Hammond, who so dutifully filled in for me on the beat this weekend so I could catch up on the mountain of last-minute stuff that was due just before opening day. Rich, who also covers the Kings for us, has a new Kings blog on this same site that you should check out if you haven't yet. ... Finally, if you pick up the paper tomorrow, you will find that my advance story on tomorrow's game centers not on the Dodgers, but on the Brewers. Fact is, after chronicling this team every single day for the past six weeks, I determined there was nothing else that could possibly be written about them until they play a game -- especially considering the mountain of copy we ran in last week's baseball preview issue, which I thought was put together remarkably well by our in-house people. But I also felt the Brewers were a compelling story, just the way they have quickly transformed themselves from perennial pretenders to possible contenders in the NL Central. They have soooo much young talent, and these next three days should provide some riveting matchups. ... Next time you hear from me, it will be opening day. Good night.