Saito's simulated game went really well. He'll throw another one either Tues. or Wed. and probably be activated Friday. And Rafael Furcal did the most he has done, taking ground balls and running. Said he felt great afterward, but also cautioned that it's goig to be more about how he feels tomorrow.

Martin. C
Ethier. RF
Ramirez. LF
Loney. 1B
Blake. 3B
Kemp. CF
DeWitt. 2B
Berroa. SS
Kershaw. LHP

Turns out the Las Vegas Review-Journal DID have the Dodgers-might-vacate story the same day the LV Sun had it. Again, my apologies, this time to Todd Dewey, the R-J reporter who had the story. ... After FURTHER investigation, it appears that all of this is related to the fact the Diamondbacks are moving their Triple-A affiliation from Tucson to Reno, which wasn't a Triple-A market before. I'm told Tucson is bracing for the possibility of no longer being a Triple-A market now,but I'm also told the Giants are considering moving there, which would open up Fresno. But it sounds like the most likely scenario for the Dodgers is that they will end up back in Albuquerque, where they were for almost 30 years before switching their affiliation to Vegas in 2001. New stadium there, with all the amenities and all that. But none of this is going to be resolved before Sept. 15.

Manny Ramirez didn't seem to be around after the game, this after he hit his 521st career home run to tie Willie McCovey, Frank Thomas and Ted Williams for 17th place on the all-time list and drove in five runs to give him 1,706 for his career, putting him 20th on the all-time RBI list ahead of Reggie Jackson (1,702) and Frank Thomas (1,704). It wasn't a big deal that he wasn't around. He's a nice enough guy, but he's fairly useless as an interview, and I'm guessing that's by design. Sure is entertaining to watch him play, though. ... Dodgers are in first place alone for the first time since April 4, when they were 3-1 and had a half-game lead for all of one day. They are not 72-70 for the season, leading the Snakes by a half-game. ... Dodgers have drawn 17 walks, three of them intentional, in the first two games of this series. What this proves is that they are working counts relentlessly. They chased Dan Haren after four innings and 82 pitches, then ran Brandon Webb out of the game after 5 2/3 and 100 pitches.

First of all, let me set the record straight on one thing: when I first referenced this on this blog a couple of days ago, I credited the Las Vegas Review-Journal for the story in which Las Vegas 51s owner Don Logan said he felt the Dodgers were looking to move their Triple-A affiliation elsewhere. It was actually the Las Vegas Sun that had the story, a reporter named Ron Kantowski in Wednesday's edition, so I apologize to him and his paper for the error. ... Now, after looking into this myself, I'm finally starting to get some information, albeit in dribs and drabs. Turns out, though, that Don Logan ISN'T just trying to light a fire under the Dodgers to get them to hurry up with an inevitable renewal of their player-development contract with his club. Turns out, that renewal isn't inevitable at all, and the Dodgers ARE at least open to the possibility of moving, and Mr. Logan is correct in his assessment that this is based on his club having a subpar facility. At any rate, the Dodgers won't make a decision until AFTER Sept. 15, when a couple of clubs are expected to announce new affiliation agreements. Once the Dodgers see what other Triple-A markets are available -- the Marlins are expected to vacate Albuquerque, and there is a possibility the Giants are leaving Fresno for Tucson -- they will make a decision. The club also is believed to be looking to move its Double-A affiliation out of Jacksonville, Fla., strictly for proximity reasons. But the problem with that is that there are no Double-A teams west of El Paso, Texas.

By the way, here's the link to that story in the Sun.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep/03/51s-may-end-month-orphans/

They're waiting to see whether Casey Blake can throw across the diamond. You will recall he was hit by a pitch on the right biceps last night. He is batting fifth. If he can't go Nomar will play 3B and bat fifth.

In his past two starts, Derek Lowe has pitched 14 shutout innings, all against the Snakes, and allowed a TOTAL of six hits. Over his past five starts, he is 3-1 with a 1.02 ERA (four runs, 35 1/3 innings). This guy has survived the late stages of a playoff race before and emerged from it doused with champagne. That experience makes him an absolutely critical piece for the Dodgers, who improved to 71-70 and moved within a half-game of the Snakes and now appear to have momentum squarely on their side in this division race. And if Lowe is down to his final few weeks with the Dodgers, he is at least making them count. On the flip side, in Dan Haren's past two starts, both against the Dodgers, he has allowed 10 earned runs on 16 hits over 11 innings. Tonight, he was gone after four. ... Andre Ethier went 5 for 5 tonight, falling a triple short of the cycle -- and no, that probably wouldn't have been a triple if he had kept running in the sixth inning instead of pulling up and not getting back to the bag in time. Even if he makes it to third, it's a double and an error. Ethier did drive in five runs, and he now is batting .733 (11 for 15) for the homestand. He also has a five-game hitting streak, during which he is batting a less-impressive .650 (13 for 20).

Don't get excited about that, either. It's only their likenesses, posted on the leftfield wall at AT&T Park this weekend. The Giants, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their move from New York, have been honoring all their former players this season on a decade-by-decade basis, posting photos of eight players from each decade out there, and they are up to this decade now. (What do you call this decade, anyway? Is it the ZERO's?) The other players are Kirk Rueter, Robb Nen, Omar Vizquel, Rich Aurilia, J.T. Snow and some guy named Bonds.

But don't get excited. It's only Pablo Ozuna, whom they DFA'd last week. They purchased his contract and cleared a 40-man spot by placing Mario Alvarez on the 60-day DL. And I BELIEVE this is the first time this season, spring training and regular-season combined, that I have ever typed the name Mario Alvarez. If you didn't know, he's a pitcher. We don't even know what's wrong with him yet, but Rawitch is trying to find out.

We got an official explanation for flipping Kershaw and Maddux in the rotation, although the key word here is ``official.'' Joe said Clayton pitched so well on Tuesday night against the Pods (seven-plus innings, three runs on three hits) that he is being kept on an every-fifth-day schedule and that the Diamondbacks' additon of Adam Dunn and the recent hot-hitting of Stephen Drew mean it might behoove the Dodgers the use their only LH starter in this series. The unofficial reason? Not sure, but it could have something to do with Kershaw being a better pitcher right now. ... Saito's simulated game will be either postgame tomorrow or pregame Sunday, and the second one will be Tuesday. ... Furcal is here and rehabbing, but not close to returning. ... Jeff Kent is going on the trip with the team. Not sure why. He can't play before Sept. 14, and even if he does come back, it isn't likely to be before the start of the next homestand on Sept. 19. I guess they're taking him along for what he brings to the clubhouse. ... Blake hitting cleanup tonight. ... There you go Jayrew.

C Martin
RF Ethier
LF Ramirez
3B Blake
1B Loney
CF Kemp
2B DeWitt
SS Berroa
RH Lowe

This just came from the club. If there are no lingering effects, he'll throw the first of two simulated games on Saturday.

Takashi Saito threw 32 pitches in his bullpen session this morning (both fastballs and curveballs). He did not report any problems following the outing.