June 2008 Archives

Same old, same old. Dodgers went 1 for 9 w/RISP and the one hit didn't even get the run home, a single by Luis Maza in the fifth on which Blake DeWitt could only move up one base to third. Two strikeouts and a fly ball later, DeWitt still hadn't moved, and the Dodgers still hadn't scored. They have now scored a total of two runs in their past three games, both of them on sacrifice flies. And Jason Repko's first major-league game since October 2006, when he pinch ran in Game 1 of the NLCS? He went 0 for 5 with four Ks that would have been five Ks if plate ump Gary Cederstrom hadn't called a balk on Jose Valverde as Repko was striking out for the fifth time. Repko also misplayed a ball in CF, a key moment in a decisive, three-run fourth for the 'Stros. Eric Stults wasn't going to dominate forever, and this ballpark isn't kind to lefties with its short porch in left field. If that got in Stults' head, he wouldn't admit it afterward. But that fourth-inning rally did start with a one-out walk to Lance Berkman, who had taken Stults off the ivory-colored wall ABOVE the leftfield paviliion in the first inning. With half the season still to come, Berkman looks suspiciously like the N.L. MVP. ... Dodgers fall to 38-44. The bad news is the Snakes won, so the boys fall to 3 1/2 back. The good news is the Giants are getting hammered at home by the Cubs, so they'll stay 2 1/2 behind the Dodgers.

As Joe Torre said, it could have been a lot worse. JP should be able to start doing some form of exercise in about six days. Meanwhile, Matt Kemp is out tonight, and possibly tomorrow as well, with an infection in his right eye. He couldn't get his contact lens in this morning. And Angel Berroa, who went 4 for 28 on the homestand, also is sitting. ... Finally, an I call 'em or what? Repko leading off.

CF Repko
RF Ethier
C Martin
2B Kent
1B Loney
LF Young
3B DeWitt
SS Maza
LH Stults

JP has a sprained MCL in his left knee. That's what the MRI showed. Doesn't sound like something that will keep him out for a long period, but I'm not a doctor, so that's just a guess. Also just a guess: Repko probably leading off tonight, but the lineup isn't here yet.

And hold the phone on what I reported earlier today about Pierre, because he may NOT be the everyday LF. In fact, he may be headed to the DL. Or not. He isn't flying to Houston with the team tonight, and he will have an MRI tomorrow. If it shows nothing, I'm guessing he'll fly to Houston on Tuesday and maybe play that night. If it shows something, he'll probably go on the DL for the first time in his career, and the Dodgers undoubtedly will recall Jason Repko from Vegas and put him in the leadoff spot until Furcal is activated in a week. Torre said after the game that Delwyn Young is the most likely candidate to lead off tomorrow night, when the Dodgers will operate with 24 players, but he didn't commit to that. Said Matt Kemp is a remote possibility, too. If you didn't see it, Pierre stole second in the sixth inning, sliding in headfirst as always, and Erick Aybar fell on the back of Pierre's left knee. Pierre rolled around in agony for a few minutes, then tried to walk it off, then tried to talk Torre into leaving him in the game, but that wasn't going to happen. ... Dodgers fall to 38-43 and stay 2 1/2 behind the Snakes. Meanwhile, the Giants are creeping up again. They're just 2 1/2 behind the Dodgers, whom they will host for three starting Friday.

Torre just told us this morning, although he said Rafael Furcal would probably go back into the leadoff spot when he comes back, with Pierre dropping to second.
``(Pierre) has been that consistent guy for us every day, and he refuses to acknowledge any bumps or bruises, even though you know he has them,'' Torre said. ``He has been great. Juan is going to be our left fielder, and Andruw will be our center fielder.''
That means, of course, that Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp will compete for playing time in RF. Although Torre wouldn't acknowledge that was part of the plan, it is apparent that those two benefitted from pushing each other early in the season. Ned Colletti is a big proponent in the value of having players compete, his thinking being that it brings out the best in the players doing the competing.

This morning's other news is that Chan Ho Park is out of the rotation. It isn't that Joe is backing off on his plan to go with a six-man rotation. It's just that it won't start until Brad Penny comes off the DL, probably on Saturday at San Francisco, when he is tentatively slated to pitch UNLESS he suffers some sort of setback in his simulated game on Tuesday at Houston. Yes, Chan Ho has had two really good starts in a row. But they weren't going to go with seven starters, so somebody was going to have to go sometime, and Joe wants Chan Ho as a long reliever, a role he has been really good in all year.

Here's today's lineup

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

Here are the four occasions during MLB's modern ear (1900-present) that what happened tonight happened previously:

April 12, 1992 -- Boston's Matt Young in a 2-1 loss at Cleveland (see previous post)

July 1, 1990--Yankees' Andy Hawkins no-hits the White Sox for eight innings in a 4-0 loss at Comiskey Park

April 30, 1967--Baltimore's Steve Barber (8 2/3) and Stu Miller (1/3) combined to shut out Detroit for NINE innings at Memorial Stadium, but the Tigers win 2-1.

April 23, 1964--Houston's Ken Johnson no-hits the Reds for nine innings at Houston, but the Reds win 1-0.

The last time the Dodgers were no-hit at home was on April 8, 1994, by Atlanta's Kent Mercker, and the only other time it happened at Chavez Ravine was on July 28, 1991, when Dennis Martinez pitched a perfect game for Montreal. Finally, Montreal's Mark Gardner no-hit the Dodgers for nine innings on July 26, 1991, then gave up a hit in the 10th and lost the game 1-0. From what I understand, Gardner was INITIALLY credited with a no-hitter in that game, but that ruling later was nullified, and the no-hitter came off the books.

The rule is that it doesn't go into the books as a no-no if the visiting team no-hits the home team for eight innings in a game the home team wins without batting in the bottom of the ninth. There are all kinds of rules, such as rain-shortened games, extra-inning games, etc. But basically, the only way to get credit for a no-hitter is to no-hit a team for at least nine innings and win the game. This is the first one of these in the majors since Matt Young did it for Boston at Cleveland on April 12, 1992, with the Indians winning 2-1. By that time, Young had been converted into a serviceable starter, several years after he had been a horrendous closer for the Dodgers. ... Anyhoo, what got lost in the way Jered Weaver pitched tonight was the fact that Chad Billingsley absolutely DOMINATED in what statistically was his best outing of the season. This marked the third time he has thrown seven shutout innings, all three of them coming in the past six weeks, but he allowed four hits each of the first two times. Tonight, he allowed only three, and struck out seven. He did walk three, but obviously, none of them came back to haunt him. He was helped by two spectacular plays in RF by Andre Ethier, one a running grab of a ball hit up the gap by Howie Kendrick with a man on first in the seventh inning, taking away what probably would have been an RBI double. He also made a great play to cut off a ball that was heading toward the corner in the sixth and gunned down Erick Aybar trying to stretch it into a double. Then, in the ninth, Luis Maza, who had just entered defensively for Jeff Kent to start the inning, made an unbelievable diving stop of a grounder to his left by Casey Kotchman, and Maza needed every inch of stretch he could get out of his body and his arms to get to it. He got up and threw Kotchman out. ... Also lost in all the oddities of this game was the fact the Dodgers have now won an interleague series for just the second time in the past three seasons, and they also won their first series against any team other than the Cincinnati Reds since taking two of three at Milwaukee May 13-15. First back-to-back shutouts for the boys since May 29-30, 2007, with both of those coming at Washington. ... Dodgers improve to 38-42 and stay 2 1/2 behind the Snakes.

He pitched 2 2/3 innings, gave up a run (earned) on three hits, walked two and struck out one. Left with Vegas leading 4-1 over Fresno. Threw 45 pitches, right on schedule. We'll probably find out what the next step is tomorrow morning, but at this point, I can't imagine it's anything other than him making another rehab start for the 51s in a few days.

... unless he feels some sort of residual negative effect from the 45-pitch simulated game he pitched today, which was split into three ``innings.'' Rafael Furcal, Danny Ardoin, Andruw Jones and Mark Sweeney all took turns taking their cuts, and Kuroda looked good. .. As for Brad Penny, he is probably going to throw a similar simulated game (trying saying that three times quickly) sometime during the Houston series, although there still is a slim chance he could be sent on a minor-league rehab, something manager Joe Torre said he would rather not do. Guessing if the sim game goes well, Penny would come off the DL and return by the start of the next homestand a week from Monday if not sooner. ... Update on bullpen coach Ken Howell, who is hospitalized: he is being administered antibiotics for a foot infection, which is believed to be diabetes-related. He will remain at University Hospital for now and will not make the Dodgers' trip to Houston and San Francisco. Triple-A Las Vegas pitching coach Jim Slaton, who grew up in the Antelope Valley and informed me in spring training that his parents are avid Daily News readers, will fill in for Howell until he returns.

Although I learned many years ago to never fill out my scorecard this far in advance of game time, because when you do, it's all but guaranteed that someone will be late scratch, and you will have to get out the whiteout. But these are the lineups as of right now, three hours, 38 minutes before first pitch.

Angels:

Izturis. 3B
Aybar. SS
Anderson. LF
Guerrero. RF
Hunter. CF
Kotchman. 1B
Kendrick. 2B
Mathis. C
Weaver. RHP

Dodgers:

Pierre. LF
Ethier. RF
Martin. C
Kent. 2B
Loney. 1B
Kemp. CF
DeWitt. 3B
Berroa. SS
Billingsley. RHP

Anybody who could have imagined these Dodgers beating Joe Saunders before the game started would have seemed delusional at the time. But now, they seem prescient. Russell Martin homered in the first inning, a solo shot, and Andre Ethier hit a three-run blast in the seventh after entering defensively to start the inning. It marked the first time the Dodgers homered twice in the same game since June 7, the day they beat the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano. Only three of the runs came off Saunders, because the Dodgers drove his pitch count to 92 by the end of the fifth inning, so Scioscia had to pinch hit for him in the sixth. Chan Ho Park was magnificent, shutting out the Halos on four hits over six innings, and he now has allowed a run on seven hits over 11 innings in two starts since being inserted into the rotation. Brian Falkenborg, Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito retired the final nine Angels batters in order, Broxton and Saito striking out the final six. Dodgers go to 37-42 and move within 2 1/2 of the Snakes, the closest they have been since May 30. The Snakes are now leading the division at 40-40. Unbelievable.

... even if it's delivered with crossed fingers and held breath. ... Rafael Furcal, Andruw Jones and Nomar Garciaparra all are scheduled to begin minor-league rehabilitation assignments on Monday at Las Vegas, and Furcal and Garciaparra are expected for now to rejoin the team in time for the final homestand of the first half, which begins a week from Monday. Jones is expected for now to rejoin the team in time for the start of the second half on July 18 at Arizona. His rehab will be split into two segments, the first four days to test his knee and make sure it holds up to the stress, then a three-day break back in Los Angeles, then eight more days at Vegas to get his swing back in midseason form. ... Jason Schmidt will start his second rehab assignment by pitching for Las Vegas tonight at Fresno. His previous assignment was spent entirely with Single-A Inland Empire. He'll throw 45 pitches. ... Brad Penny will NOT throw a simulated game tomorrow, but he will throw a bullpen, as will Hiroki Kuroda, and Kuroda might even pitch batting practice to one or two batters.

Finally, here's today's lineup

LF Pierre
CF Kemp
C Martin
2B Kent
1B Loney
3B LaRoche
RF Young
SS Berroa
RH Park

Can't believe THIS lineup didn't score. Dodgers left at least one runner on base in each of the first seven innings, then went without a whimper over the final two. Three times, the Dodgers got a man to third with less than two outs. Obviously, they didn't score any of them. Forget about the standings, because if this team doesn't learn situational hitting, it's not going anywhere. Snakes are idle today, so the boys fall 3 1/2 back, and their record falls to 36-42. Starting to look like a long summer, folks.

The former big-league right-hander was last seen going 0-5 with a 7.20 ERA in six starts for the Nationals last year before they released him. He also spent 2 1/2 seasons with the Giants and 1 1/2 with the Cubs. For his career, he is 23-29 with a 4.25 ERA in the majors. But to illustrate just how far his star has fallen, the Dodgers have assigned him to high Single-A Inland Empire. He was originally drafted by the Giants as a first-round sandwich pick in 1999.

He'll play for the World Team. He is batting .294 for Double-A Jacksonville, with 11 doubles, a triple, two homers, 30 RBI and 51 runs scored. He has a .409 on-base percentage, having walked 50 times while striking out just 44 times. ... The U.S. team will feature the U.S. Olympic team's coaching staff, meaning it will be managed by former Dodgers skipper Davey Johnson. The hitting coach will be former Dodgers OF Reggie Smith. The game will be played on July 13 at Yankee Stadium.

He already fielded a one-hop throw from third for a force and started a GIDP, all in the first inning. Looks pretty comfortable there so far. The 3B who made that throw was Russell Martin, who is starting there for the fourth time while Ardoin catches. ... Dodgers stole THREE bases in the bottom of the first and DIDN'T SCORE. Now that's hard to do.

LF Pierre
CF Kemp
3B Martin
1B Loney
2B LaRoche
RF Young
SS Berroa
C Ardoin
LH Kershaw

Eric Stults becomes the second Dodgers pitcher, and arguably the least likely, to throw a complete-game shutout this month, this year or in any of the past three years, and he was dazzling. He held the Sox to four hits and allowed only two runners to get as far as second base. Torre intended to take him out after eight innings, going so far as to shake his hand and tell him he was done, but Russell Martin pled Stults' case to Torre, and Torre agreed to let him start the ninth and take it batter by batter. So I'm sure he was cutting it close when he started the first batter, Carlos Quentin, off 3-0. But Quentin eventually flied to deep center, and Stults wound up pitching a perfect inning. He threw 116 pitches, an incredible 81 of them for strikes. In case you forgot, Kuroda had the other shutout, on June 6 against the Cubs. It was also a four-hitter. ... The boys go to 36-41 and move within three games of the Snakes, who are now just one game above .500 at 40-39. What a division. ... See ya bright and early.

This is from the group interview he did earlier today. I wasn't there for it, but Padilla was.

``To me, it sounds like an excuse and that's the hardest part for me," Proctor said. ``Bottom line, I don't care how bad you're hurt it's just about execution. I don't like how this thing looks right now but you have to take it how it is.
``Right now all I care about is the respect of my teammates and my coaches. As long as those guys understand this situation that's all that matters because those are the guys that battle together every day.''

This is Torre:

"You ask if anything was bothering him and he'd say, 'I'm all right,' " Torre said. "That would be the answer. You love him for his heart and he has a belly full of guts and all that stuff but he doesn't always make the right choices."

This is Proctor again:

"I don't like talking about injuries," Proctor said. "I wanted to go my entire career without going on the DL and unfortunately now that's lost. Right now I can focus on getting healthy and getting right, that way I can take the ball every time."

OK, this is going to sound like a manager covering his player's rear end, but after listening to Torre's explanation for the Proctor issue and checking it out with another source, it appears that what Torre said in his pregame media session is legit. Basically, Joe admitted that the original plan with Proctor was to option him to Vegas, and apparently, Proctor was willing to go, but after continuing to press him on the issue of his physical health, only then did Proctor admit that there was a problem with his elbow.
``I know it sounds like he just did that to keep from going to the minor leagues,'' Torre said. ``But I checked with (trainer) Stan (Conte), and I think he had the same conversation with (Proctor) late last night.''
Torre went on to say that Proctor isn't the type of pitcher to admit -- either to his manager or to himself -- that he is hurt.
``Scotty is that guy who figures that even in spite of it, he can go out and get people out,'' Torre said.
Torre said Proctor was even willing to accept the option and go to Vegas and pitch hurt, but that club officials weren't going to allow him to do that.
So there you have it. That's it from me for a while. Padilla is covering the game tonight while I work on some other stuff. I'll check in with a recap when it's over.

Not sure what the injury is, but what I can tell you is that we were originally told he was being optioned to Las Vegas. I'm not sure what's behind that, because we haven't talked to anyone yet, but rest assured we will. ... Falkenborg has 13 saves at Vegas and a 3.60 ERA in 32 relief appearances. He isn't on the 40-man, so to clear a spot, the club moved Gary Bennett to the 60-day DL, which is significant for Bennett because it means he isn't coming back anytime soon. According to my very quick math, July 18 will be the day he becomes eligible.

Well, at least it was quick. Two hours, five minutes, to be exact, in a game that perfectly illustrated everything that this Dodgers offense is struggling with right now. Good postgame quote from Jeff Kent about the team's lack of patience:

``In reality, it's a catch between patience and being aggressive. There is that fine line. There is a time to be patient and a time to be aggressive when you're an offensive player. There is a time to be patient when you're coaching, too. There are decisions to be made about your action plan. There is a time to be aggressive and take some action, because you can't wait too long.
``As long as I have been playing, there has been that fine line. Coaches can say be patient, but in the same breath, they're saying this (opposing pitcher) throws strikes early. How can you be patient when a guy throws strikes early? That's the catch, and it's hard.''

Kent was trying to be as diplomatic as he possibly could. Let me say what he couldn't, or wouldn't:

Your humble correspondent and blog host (that would be me) is a firm believer in the Joe Torre approach to hitting, the idea that you make an opposing pitcher work as much as possible, throw as many pitches as possible and that you go to the plate with an idea of exactly what you want to do. The proof is in the pudding -- and in the four World Series and six A.L. pennants Torre's Yankees teams won by taking that approach. But you have to remember, those were VETERAN teams. This is a young team. And it's just possible that they aren't ready to take on this cerebral approach to the game just yet. Not that they won't ever be. But let's put it this way: this approach has been preached to them since Day One of spring training, and it obviously still hasn't caught on with any consistency -- and because these guys are so young, it might not catch on anytime soon ,either (read: anytime in 2008). These guys are still at a stage of their careers where they would prefer to keep things as simple as possible, and Torre's way is definitely not simple.

Dodgers fall to 35-41 and remain four behind the Snakes, who lost at Boston.

His name is Doug Eddings, and he has been around for a while. Anyway, he just did something that I thought was great in this era of confrontational umpires. He rang up Nick Swisher to end the third inning, and Swisher responded by dropping his bat in an exaggerated show of disbelief that a lot of umpires would have interpreted as an attempt to show them up. Eddings did it the old fashioned way. He immediately turned his back and walked about 15 feet away from home plate, toward the Dodgers dugout, as the Dodgers jogged off the field. At this point, if Swisher wants to continue the argument, he has to FOLLOW Eddings onto the grass in foul territory. Wisely, he chose not to do so.

Was off my game on that first post today, so we'll just forget it ever happened. ... Nomar appears close to going back out on his rehab. He would have 19 days left, but I doubt it will take that long before he comes back. Torre said it could happen as soon as next week, when the team goes on the road. ... Still no timetable on Andruw Jones, either, but he seems to be progressing well.

Apparently, the fact he took ground balls means nothing more than the fact he took ground balls. He still hasn't run, and that will be the big test he has to be pass before he is allowed to go out on a minor-league rehab assignment. If I had to guess, it still looks like he won't be back before the All-Star break.

Several of them, in fact, and it appeared effortless. Blake DeWitt was taking them at 3B at the same time, and both players were throwing across to ... Andruw Jones standing on 1B. All of this has to be a good sign, but I'm not sure exactly what it means in terms of the next step. I'll try to find out when I get downstairs.

Here's tonight's lineup, with no Ethier or DeWitt. LaRoche starts against a RH
LF Pierre
CF Kemp
2B Kemp
C Martin
1B Loney
3B LaRoche
RF Young
SS Berroa
RH Lowe

The boys hung four on Paul Byrd before he even recorded an out, but they would get no more. Thanks to the bullpen, it stood up. Dodgers improve to 2-7 in interleague games this season with six more to go. They're 35-40 overall, and they actually gained a game in the standings today, moving within 3 1/2 of the Snakes, who lost at Minny. ... By the way, I'm interested in hearing whether anyone agrees with me on this, but IMHO, there is simply too much artificial noise at Dodger Stadium. Everything that happens on the field, whether it's a strikeout by the opposing team, a walk by a Dodgers batter, a stolen base by Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp NOT striking out, there has to be some sort of loud sound effect played over the PA. And if nothing happens for a while, they have to play some sound effect anyway, like that super-annoying EV-RY-BOD-Y-CLAP-YOUR-HANDS chant. This is a knowledgeable fan base in Los Angeles, They know when to cheer, they know when to clap their hands, and they know when the Dodgers do something good.

Kent is sitting. Apparently, there is no roster move to add a reliever, or at least we haven't been given one yet.

Pierre. LF
Kemp. CF
Loney. 1B
Martin. C
DeWitt. 3B
Ethier. RF
Berroa. SS
Maza. 2B
Billingsley. P

I was all set to write about the Dodgers' bullpen coming through yet again. And then, in the 11th inning, a couple of guys got on against Cory Wade. And then, for some reason, Joe Torre lifted Wade for Scott Proctor, and that's when it all broke loose. Five batters later, it was Proctor whom Torre was coming to get. Proctor didn't record an out, gave up three singles and walked two (one intentional), although it was Wade who got tagged with the loss. Proctor had a good inning last night, but something clearly isn't right with him, whether it's something physical or something mental. Could it be that he is just worn down from all the innings he has pitched the past couple of years? The Dodgers, meanwhile, appear to be going nowhere. They still can't beat American League teams -- 1-7 this year and 16-40 since the start of 2005. They fall to 34-40 for the season. Snakes are scoreless in the second at Minnesota, but does it really matter?

Sitting here last night, I couldn't help but be reminded of the press box, er, sweat box, at old Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It was all concrete, so the chairs would send shivers down your spine every time you scooted forward or backward. Even the counter top that you worked on was concrete, although they painted it ballpark green. There might have been no place in America more miserable than St. Louis in June, July and August, what with the combination of the heat, the suffocating humidity and that old stadium that thankfully is long gone now, But I have to say, this soon-to-be-replaced-and-moved box at Chavez Ravine wasn't much more comfortable last night. I can't remember, in the four-plus years I have lived in Los Angeles, there EVER being humidity on the level of last night. When you're working, you just kind of tune it out and press ahead. But by the end of the night, as I was leaving, I just felt nasty and disgusting. I'm sure the Indians felt right at home, though. ... No news or lineup yet today. I'm sure the lineup is coming shortly. As for news, I can't imagine there is going to be that much today, but we'll see.

After the boys rallied for two in the eighth and two in the ninth to erase a 4-0 deficit, this smelled a lot like the sort of emotional victory that could have turned their season around, especially with Arizona having already lost. But after they left the bases loaded in the ninth, and after Takashi Saito gave up two in the 10th, it smacked of the sort of game that could send them reeling. Only time will tell. At any rate, the Dodgers left 11 men on base, eight of them in scoring position and five of them at third base. Juan Pierre was stranded at third base three times, including as the potential winning run in the ninth. Dodgers fall to 34-39 and remain 4 1/2 back.

Jones had previously hit in the cage only. He looks good and is getting close to being ready to go on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment. ... Ramon Troncoso, who began the season in the majors and was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on April 16, was called up to take Hiroki Kuroda's spot on the roster and Chan Ho Park's spot in the bullpen.

Here's the lineup

LF Pierre
CF Kemp
2B Kent
1B Loney
3B LaRoche
RF Ethier
SS Berroa
C Ardoin
LH Kershaw

Eric Stults was outstanding, going six innings and allowing three runs, only one of which was earned. With that, he matched his victory total from each of his first two seasons and ran his career mark to 3-4. James Loney had another big day, with a double and two singles. Matt Kemp had a big day, with a home run and a two-run double. And Stults even contributed at the plate with a perfectly executed hit-and-run through the left side of the infield when shortstop Paul Janish went to cover the bag with Angel Berroa breaking from first. That led to a Dodgers' run on Juan Pierre's subsequent bunt single. ... Dodgers win their season series from the Reds for the fourth consecutive year, taking six of seven. Dodgers go to 34-38 with their first three-game winning streak since the last time they swept the Reds almost a month ago. Snakes and A's are scoreless in the fourth.

First two-game winning streak since they took the middle two games of that four-game split with the Cubs to close out the last homestand. The diagnosis on Kuroda is good. He's probably going on the DL so they can call up a reliever to replace Chan Ho Park, who is going to start in place of Kuroda on Saturday against the Tribe. But if you do the math, he hasn't pitched in a week, so he'll be eligible to return a week from Saturday against the Angels, so he'll only miss one more start in addition to the one he already missed tonight. ... Because I know someone is going to ask me, the reason D-Lowe was yanked with a 4-1 lead with one out in the sixth and after just 85 pitches was because he threw 121 his last time out and because being moved up a day messed with his between-starts routine (even though he was pitching on normal rest). Derek had done his lower-body workout on Tuesday, before he was told he was pitching. He normally does that TWO days before he pitches. ... Dodgers go to 33-38. Snakes are up BIG on the Charlie Finleys, so probably no movement in the standings tonight.

When he woke up this morning, something ``didn't feel right,'' according to Joe Torre. Well, of course it didn't. Nomar went 1 for 2 with a home run in his debut for Triple-A Las Vegas last night against Tacoma. Stan Conte talked to him today and said Nomar felt confident he would be ready to play by Friday, which I guess means he's out for tomorrow, too.

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

It isn't that often on Dodgers road trips that I stay at the team hotel, but I usually do here because there aren't that many choices, and the Westin Cincinnati is probably the best hotel in town. Well, this morning at about 11:15, I was lacing up my shoes in ancticipation of heading out when the fire alarm went off. Like I usually do with fire alarms, I ignored it, although I realized it meant I was probably going to have to walk down 13 flights of stairs to get out. Well, then they came onto the intercom and said, ``Please evacuate the building, this is NOT a drill.'' So I entered the stairwell, immediately ran into Mike Noto, the radio engineer for the Dodgers' Spanish-language radio broadcasts who was coming down from the 14th floor, and we proceeded to walk all the way down to the street, where there already were about five fire trucks blocking the street, with hose lines laid. Immediately ran into several Dodgers personnel, some of whom (I won't name names) admitted that they had still been sleeping when the alarm went off. After about 20 minutes, we were allowed back in. We never really did find out where the fire was. Not sure exactly what the point of this story is, except that I don't have any news on anything yet, and I figured I should post something before heading to the clubhouse.

Most interesting thing that happened in this one was that Troy from West Virginia got hauled out by four cops, resisting all the way. According to the arrest report -- which somehow had been posted above Joe Beimel's locker by the time the game ended -- he was charged with disorderly conduct (fighting) and resisting arrest. I asked Joe if he was going to go bail his No. 1 fan out of jail, and I got a very definitive NO. ... Big night for Billingsley, who took a shutout into the seventh inning before Troy's favorite player relieved him and got out of a mini-jam. Saito got his first save in almost a month (May 21 to be exact), and Jeff Kent went 3 for 4 with a double, a run and an RBI. ... Dodgers improve to 32-38 and snap a five-game losing streak. Snakes are getting pounded 8-0 by the A's, so unless they mount a comeback for the ages, the Dodgers will pick up a game in the standings.

They ruined this place a few years ago when they built that monstrosity in center field -- it's a party deck. It obscures the view of a beautiful old courthouse across the river in Newport, Ky. All the scenery you see in the background, beyond the Ohio River, is Kentucky. At the bottom of the screen, you can see the very top of a TV monitor in the front row. Every seat in the front row of this press box has an individual TV monitor for replays. My last year covering the Reds, which was the first year they moved into this park, they were so bad (69-93 if I remember correctly) and their games were often so boring that I would frequently switch my monitor over to TNT and watch Law & Order reruns. ... By the way, the Dodgers have agreed to terms with their fifth-round draft pick, right-hander JonMichael Redding out of something called Florida Community College. They have now signed three of their top five picks, with first-rounder Ethan Martin and second-round Josh Lindblom still to go. Florida State and Rice have been eliminated from the College World Series, so negotiations will begin soon with sixth-rounder Anthony Delmonico (FSU SS) and seventh-rounder Allen St. Clair (Rice LHP) should get under way soon.

This doesn't sound like anything major, but he told Joe Torre today that he has shoulder discomfort and that he has had it for a while. Not sure why he is only now telling the manager, but that's what happened. Derek Lowe will start in place of Kuroda tomorrow night, that will be on normal rest because of the off-day. Stults goes Thursday, Kershaw moves up to Friday. ... The other bad news is that Torre acknowledged today that Rafael Furcal probably won't be back before the All-Star break, which isn't a huge development given that the week before the break was the earliest he could possibly return anyway. ... There is SOME good news. Andruw Jones has been hitting at Dodger Stadium as part of his rehab, and from what I'm told, his swing looks better than it has all season. No longer dropping the elbow. Maybe the time away was just what he needed. No word yet on when he might start his minor-league rehab.

Berroa plays SS, Maza sits. Other than that, it's about what you would expect.

LF Pierre
3B DeWitt
2B Kent
C Martin
1B Loney
CF Kemp
RF Ethier
SS Berroa
RH Billingsley

He is already here. He'll pitch Friday night unless Torre decides to bring Kershaw back that night because of the off-day and the fact he didn't throw that many pitches (65) on Sunday. But they are so careful with Kershaw that I can't see that happening. ... Saw Troy from West Virginia walking around downtown in his Dodgers jersey today as I was driving to the park. Those muttonchop sideburns are the greatest.

Dr. ElAttrache found no structural damage in Brad Penny's shoulder, just some mild inflammation and some mild tendinitis. He won't pitch on Friday, but he WILL throw on Friday. No word yet on whether he is headed to the DL, but it's probably a safe bet at this point. ... Nomar Garciaparra also saw Dr. ElAttrache today and was cleared to begin his minor-league rehab assignment tomorrow night with Triple-A Las Vegas. ... Chin-lung Hu saw the eye doctor, who told him there is nothing wrong with his eyes. He'll return to action immediately.

If I lost you at the headline, don't worry, I understand. This place is the exact opposite of that old saying, ``It's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.'' I lived here for four years, and it was GREAT. Made a lot of great friends, had a great time, all that. But to come here for four days and stay in a hotel downtown, well, that isn't so great. As for the Dodgers, they really need to win this series, because they haven't won one since sweeping the Reds at Dodger Stadium May 19-21. Wow, that was almost a month ago. They do have one split since then, at home against the Cubs last weekend. But the Dodgers need momentum to take into that all American League homestand they have coming up. ... I'm not expecting any update on Brad Penny until tomorrow. The MRI results probably won't come until this evening, by which time it will be really late out here.

The ninth-inning rally was great and all, but a loss is a loss, and the losses are starting to pile up for this team, which has now lost five in a row. This is getting dire. Worst part is, the Dodgers will begin a nine-game homestand on Friday night that consists entirely of American League opponents, and the Dodgers proved yet again this weekend that they simply can't compete with good A.L. teams. At least two of those teams coming in, the White Sox and Angels, are VERY good teams. ... Dodgers fall to 31-38, and they haven't been seven games under .500 since July 28, 2006, when they were 48-55 after winning the first of what would be 17 victories in 18 games. That entire stretch camea against Washington, Cincinnati, Florida, Colorado and San Francisco, all of whom finished well under .500 that season. The Dodgers aren't going to win 17 of 18 now. Snakes are losing 6-2 to the Royals in the fifth inning.

It is REALLY raining here, coming down in torrents. They just put on the tarp. The worst possible scenario is this game getting rained out because the Dodgers don't come back, and the fact the Tigers are starting to look like a contender and the Dodgers aren't raises the very real possibility that the Dodgers might have to come back here in September for a game that would mean nothing to them but might mean a lot to the Tigers. ... Once, when I was a young scribe, I asked a grizzled older scribe during a rain delay if the rain was supposed to stop. ``It always does,'' he said. ``The record is 40 days and 40 nights.'' ... Game is scoreless after four innings. Kershaw has walked a couple, but is otherwise pitching really well. ... By the way, this city gets a bad rap, and some of it is deserved. But I should point out that the hospitality I have encountered here this weekend has been amazing, both at my hotel, the Westin Southfield in Southfield, Mich., and among the employees here at the ballpark. Everyone goes the extra mile to make you comfortable here, and it's very much appreciated. ... As I sit here waiting out this rain delay, I can't help but admire some of the great old buildings that can be seen beyond right field. This is an old city, and the early-20th century architecture -- some of it may go back farther than that, actually -- is really something to behold. The modern-looking Renaissance Center, probably the most recongnizable landmark in the Detroit skyline (you've seen it, it's a really tall cylinder surrounded by four shorter cylinders), actually looks kind of out of place among all the much older buildings. ... The sun just came out, but it's still raining hard.

LaRoche got hit in the face by a bad-hop grounder during BP and had a severe nosebleed, but he's fine.

LF Pierre
2B Maza
3B DeWitt
DH Martin
1B Loney
CF Kemp
RF Ethier
SS Berroa
C Ardoin

LH Kershaw

... and especially to my own dad, Mr. Mickey Jackson, back in Fayetteville, Ark., who so many years ago introduced me to this game that I now cover almost every day. I had actually forgotten that today was Father's Day until a very friendly stadium worker with whom I shared an elevator this morning wished me a Happy Father's Day. ... Kind of ironic that the world lost Tim Russert on Father's Day weekend, what with his having written that book Big Russ and Me about his relationship with his father. I haven't had the chance to read it, or even acquire it at this point, but it has been on my list for a while. ... Nothing new on the Dodgers so far today, and we probably won't know anything concrete on Penny until late tomorrow or possibly even Tuesday (my money's on Tuesday). My guess is he won't be DL'd until then, either, just on the very slight chance that he'll be told everything is fine and be given the go-ahead to continue pitching.

If you have watched him pitch these past few weeks, it was fairly obvious something wasn't right. He just hasn't been himself. Below is the story I filed for tomorrow's paper which gives all the details. Should know more on Monday, according to Stan Conte, but my guess is it's highly unlikely that he'll be told nothing is wrong and he can just keep on pitching. That NEVER happens in a case like this.

By Tony Jackson
Staff Writer
DETROIT -- On an afternoon that wasn't nearly as long ago as it now seems, a day when Dodger Stadium was bathed in bright sunshine and even brighter hopes for the home team, Brad Penny took the mound and looked every bit the part of a two-time All-Star. He pitched into the seventh inning, shutting out the San Francisco Giants on four hits, and ultimately got credit for the Dodgers' first season-opening victory in five years.
Two and a half months later, the real Penny hasn't been seen since. And after what happened on Saturday, when the Dodgers fell 12-7 to the Detroit Tigers before 42,348 at Comerica Park, the knockoff version might not be seen for a while, either.
Penny, who has been taking oral doses of an anti-inflammatory drug called toradal before starts for most of the season to lessen the effects of discomfort he now says he has been feeling in his shoulder for weeks, will fly back to Los Angeles this morning and see team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday. The veteran right-hander is expected to undergo an MRI exam to determine why he hasn't gotten any better.
The decision was made after Penny's latest implosion, a 3 2/3-inning, seven-run nightmare that was horribly timed to coincide with a day when the Dodgers' train derailment of an offense finally seemed to get itself back on track. And the saddest part of the whole thing is that Penny's potential absence isn't likely to have much of an effect given the way he has pitched lately, and against the backdrop of a starting rotation whose combined ERA drops by nearly half a run (4.43 to 3.98) when you remove Penny's numbers from the equation.
It isn't that the pain has gotten worse. It's just that there is so much more of it.
``I didn't feel good in the first inning, and I didn't feel good in the bullpen,'' Penny told reporters. ``I feel it on every pitch, so that makes it tough. It affects everything. The big thing is location. When you know it's going to hurt, you don't really want to throw it.
``It's not going to get any better, so I need to find out what's going on.''
For two innings, Penny looked fine, even if he didn't feel that way. He retired the Tigers in order in both of them. But it was clear something was wrong by the third, when he walked the first two batters, gave up a game-tying single to Curtis Granderson and was lucky to keep it there when he got Placido Polanco to ground into an inning-ending double play.
By the fourth, the Tigers were exploding for six hits off Penny. Two of them were two-run homers by Miguel Cabrera and Marcus Thames. Another was an RBI triple by Curtis Granderson.
It isn't immediately clear what Penny's absence will mean for the rotation. It also was revealed after the game that long reliever Chan Ho Park, the most likely to step in if there were an opening, also is dealing with a shoulder issue. But that one is believed to be minor, and manager Joe Torre said Park should be available for today's series finale.
It also isn't immediately clear whether Penny will even be absent. But then, these things almost never end well.
``It's obviously something we have to tend to,'' Torre said. ``We'll have to wait and see what Dr. ElAttrache says.''
Although Penny is the Dodgers' alleged ace, he has mostly been a shadow of his usual self, whether because of the injury or not. Although he had given the Dodgers (31-37) quality starts in each of his previous two outings, he hadn't gotten enough run support to win either of them. In his five starts before that, he had given up 29 earned runs in 27 2/3 innings.
Penny (5-9) hasn't been credited with a win since May 2.
At least this time, he couldn't complain about the offense -- not that he ever complained about it anyway. It might have been the pregame meeting called by hitting coach Mike Easler, or it might have been some jitters on the part of Tigers right-hander Eddie Bonine (1-0), who was making his major-league debut. But whatever it was, the Dodgers exploded for seven runs on 13 hits, with six of those hits going for extra bases.
Andre Ethier had a huge day, going 2 for 4 with a two-run double and a two-run homer, and James Loney went 3 for 5 with two doubles and scored two runs.
That, alas, was little comfort to Penny.
``I'm not doing the team any good,'' he said. ``I'm not doing myself any good.''

The Dodgers finally broke out and scored some runs -- and their pitching completely collapsed. Whatever is wrong with Brad Penny seems to be anyone's guess at this point.He was perfect through two, shaky through three and long gone through four, having been lit up for seven earned runs on seven hits over 3 2/3. Scott Proctor wasn't much better, although three of the four runs he gave up over the next two innings were unearned. I'm sure when we get down to the clubhouse in a few, somebody is going to tell us that it's early. But the Dodgers, who fell to 31-37, are 13 games away from the halfway mark. If this is going to turn around, it needs to turn around QUICKLY. ... Snakes play later, but again, they're hosting the Royals, so it seems rather bleak.

Second time this year he has done so.

LF Pierre
3B DeWitt
2B Kent
1B Loney
C Martin
RF Ethier
CF Kemp
DH Young
SS Berroa

RH Penny

It's getting to a point where it doesn't even matter who many runs the other team scores. Dodgers have now gone 23 innings without scoring, and they have scored one run in their past 27 innings. The most life they showed all night was in the bottom of the eighth, when Cory Wade hit Carlos Guillen on the right upper arm and Guillen started jawing at him. Wade, the rookie, pointed at first base, as if to tell Guillen, the veteran, to shut up and take his base. Both benches and bullpens quickly emptied, but Wade and Guillen never got close to each other, and both stayed in the game. Wade then gave up a two-run homer to Magglio Ordonez, but that was all moot. This one was over from the moment Marcus Thames went yard to lead off the fifth, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Then again, maybe it was over before it started. ... Dodgers fall to 31-36, a season-worst five games below .500. Snakes are scoreless, but they're hosting the Royals, so ... Oh, and the Giants are hosting Oakland tonight, and if they win, they'll be just a half-game behind the Dodgers.

Dodgers have now gone 19 consecutive innings without scoring. They're down 2-0 in the sixth, which might as well by 20-0. Anyway, here's the photo. Glassed-in press box here, so I hope it didn't create a glare.

A few minutes ago, I had my doubts. But now they are tentatively slated to start at 7:45 (that's 4:45 back home). Gives me a little more time to get a little more pregame work done. I'm going to wait until they take the tarp off to take a photo to post.

Anyway, here is tonight's lineup, in case this game actually happens:

CF Pierre
LF Young
RF Ethier
2B Kent
C Martin
1B Loney
3B LaRoche
DH Sweeney
SS Berroa

RH Lowe

My first time at Comerica Park since the 2005 All-Star Game, and before that, I was here with the Reds for a three-game series in 2000, the year it opened. Nice to see some different scenery for a change, and this is the Dodgers' only interleague road series this year other than the one in Anaheim. I'll try to post a photo later tonight. It's gray and overcast, and there is a chance of rain, but I'm told they have a good drainage system here -- most of the new parks do -- so there is very little chance of not getting the game in. ... No news so far, at least not that I'm aware of.

That's the score that goes into the books if a team forfeits -- which the Dodgers didn't, but they should have. They could have been in Detroit having dinner by now. This one was probably over before it started, from the moment Bud Black announced Jake Peavy would come off the DL and start this game. If not, it was definitely over after Brian Giles' three-run HR in the bottom of the first, before Kuroda so much as recorded an out. The Dodgers went 0 for 5 w/RISP and 0 for 12 over the past two games. And this time, they can't console themselves with knowing the Diamondbacks also lost, because they didn't. They came back from 4-0 to win 5-4 at New York. Dodgers fall to 31-35, with their next three games in an A.L. park -- and you know what that means. ... By the way, this may mean absolutely nothing, but in his past two starts with Martin behind the plate, Kuroda is 0-2 with a 21.60 ERA, giving up six runs in each and not getting out of the third inning in either. In his past two starts with Ardoin catching, Kuroda is 1-1 with a 0.59, including the only complete-game shutout by a Dodgers pitcher in the past three seasons.

With Kemp out, Joe decided NOT to start Danny Ardoin despite Kuroda's recent success with him catching because Joe didn't want to take both Kemp's and Martin's bats out of the lineup. So, Russ is playing. And because it's a day game after a night game, Kent is resting.

CF Pierre
LF Young
RF Ethier
C Martin
1B Loney
3B DeWitt
SS Berroa
2B Maza
RH Kuroda

It's two games. How it works, from what I'm told, is that simply by appealing, the situation is reviewed by an independent party (NOT Bob Watson). That person then can arbitrarily reduce the suspension. Had that person NOT reduced the suspension from its original four games, Matt Kemp THEN could have requested an appeal hearing and gotten one. He chose to simply get it out of the way now, which is probably wise on his part -- especially since he is 1 for 13 with six Ks, so a couple of days away from it can't hurt him. ... Terry Tiffee cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas, where he is expected to play tonight.

The boys went hitless in seven ABs with RISP, including 0 for 1 with a man on third and less than two outs. Randy Wolf, facing the Dodgers for the first time since they didn't re-sign him last winter, stuffed them on a run and four hits over seven dominating innings. Andy LaRoche hit his second major-league homer to account for that lone run. It was a first-pitch shot to straightaway left, caroming off a railing on the left side of the second deck and falling into the deck below. Dodgers fall to 31-34 and stay 3 1/2 behind the Snakes. ... Young players, particularly those with the ability to hit for power, have a tendency to swing for the fences at times, usually to their detriment. Along those lines, I ran across this doozy of a stat after Matt Kemp struck out three times tonight, the second time in three games he has done that. Kemp's past two HRs came on June 2 against Colorado's Jorge De La Rosa and Saturday against the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano. Immediately after the first one, Kemp went 1 for 15 with an infield single and six strikeouts. Immediately after the second one, he is 1 for 13 with an infield single and six strikeouts and counting.

One of them is third-rounder Kyle Russell, the outfielder out of the University of Texas, who is close to agreement on a signing bonus of just more than $400,000. The other is USC outfielder Nick Buss, whom they drafted in the eighth round.

Only two left-handed batters. Andre Ethier sits in favor of switch-hitting Delwyn Young. James Loney sits in favor of Andy LaRoche. Pierre (.429) and DeWitt (.348) are burning up lefties, so they're playing.

LF Pierre
RF Young
2B Kent
C Martin
CF Kemp
1B LaRoche
3B DeWitt
SS Berroa
RH Billingsley

Visiting writers sit in the second row here, so you can see the head of one of the guys from the San Diego Union-Tribune directly in front of me. Directly in front of HIM is a TV monitor, which creates another partial obstruction, but it's easy to see around. ... By the way, Blake DeWitt was named National League Rookie of the Month for May today. Good for him.

Don't look now, but the Dodgers have won three out of four -- and they have scored seven runs twice in their past three games. Russell Martin had a big night, but as usual, he is also having a big year. He went 3 for 5 with three RBI and three runs scored, and he is hitting .321. His power numbers are off slightly from last year, but in this lineup, whose power numbers aren't off? Dodgers go to 31-33 and remain 3 1/2 behind the Snakes, who won at New York. ... I tried to post a Petco photo earlier tonight, but it didn't work. Going to give it another shot tomorrow, with the help of the head techster back at the office, who is going to coax me through it over the phone.

He still feels good, but Dr. Watkins examined him over the weekend and determined that he won't be ready to play in actual games for at least another two weeks. After that, or whenever he IS ready, he would need a rehab of a week or so. That means best-case scenario is he is activated the week before the All-Star break -- and so far, there is nothing about this whole matter that would suggest the best-case scenario is the most likely one. ... Nomar Garciaparra, meanwhile, is expected to start a rehab assignment possibly by the end of this week, and he is expected to play exclusively SS on that assignment -- which means he'll probably be the Dodgers' everyday SS, the position where he became a star in the late 1990s, when he returns. Torre said Nomar won't need the full 20 days.

LF Pierre
RF Ethier
2B Kent
C Martin
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
SS Berroa
LH Kershaw

Oh, wait, there he is. I didn't see him at first, as he is wearing a camouflage T-shirt. Andruw Jones and Nomar Garciaparra are taking part in the early BP session, but it doesn't look like Rafael Furcal is out there. ... Cloudy, overcast and cool down here, although I had nice lunch on the patio at Island Prime, a place Dodgers PR staffer Mark Rogoff recommended, and it was well worth the trip. The drive down was smooth and uneventful. Came a different way because I had to go to Pasadena this morning to take care of a minor matter with my car, so I took the 210 to the 57 and caught the 5 just south of Angel Stadium. I hadn't driven that stretch of the 57 in years and had forgotten how scenic it was. ... Speaking of Rogoff, he just sent along this stat: Chad Billingsley's 2.96 road ERA since his big league debut on June 15, 2006 ranks fourth in the Majors in that time behind only John Lackey (2.87), Josh Beckett (2.95), and Cla Meredith (2.95)

The Dodgers did the best thing they possibly could have done for Chin-lung Hu today, shipping him and his .159 average to Las Vegas. Corresponding move will come tomorrow. Guessing it's Andy LaRoche unless there is another trade in the offing -- or unless Rafael Furcal talks his way into an early return, which probably wouldn't be a wise move. ... Also, shortstop Devaris Strange-Gordon, the Dodgers' fourth-round draft pick out of Southeastern University in Florida and the son of Phillies reliever Tom Gordon, agreed to terms today. Believed to be for somewhere around $225,000.

Dodgers posted a 2.57 team ERA on this homestand -- and went 3-4. So what does tell you? That their offense isn't very good. James Loney extended his hitting streak to eight games tonight, but the only run scored on a groundout, and it was unearned. Jason Marquis completely handcuffed the Dodgers, who fell to 30-33 and missed another chance to gain ground on the Snakes, who lost. For now, the margin remains four games. The good news, of course, is that the Dodgers finally reached the end of this interminable stretch of 17 consecutive games without an off-day -- they went 5-12 and averaged 2.8 runs a game, and it would have been even worse than that if they hadn't scored nine, eight and seven in three of those games. I'm taking tomorrow off, unless Ned acquires David Ortiz and Josh Beckett for a minor-league player to be named later. See ya Tuesday from the town that bills itself America's Finest City (a tad arrogant, don't you think?)

LF Pierre
RF Ethier
2B Kent
C Martin
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
SS Berroa
RH Penny

He's in the lineup today, although DeJon Watson said he'll probably DH. But he just jammed his finger when he got hit by a pitch last night, and although he did leave the game for precautionary reasons, he is not seriously injured, and this shouldn't jeopardize a big-league callup that it sounds like could be imminent.

First two-game winning streak in more than two weeks. The boys rode another solid performance from Derek Lowe, who now has a 1.86 ERA over his past four starts, and a three-run homer by Matt Kemp that capped a five-run seventh. All the Dodgers' offense came against Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, who was touched for seven earned runs on 13 hits over 6 2/3 innings. Russell Martin also homered, a two-run shot, and drove in a third run with a single that put the Dodgers ahead to stay in the seventh. Saito struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth. Dodgers go to 30-32. Snakes play later at Pittsburgh.

Dodgers are facing Carlos Zambrano, who is 8-1 with a 2.51 ERA. Good luck.

LF Pierre
RF Ethier
2B Kent
C Martin
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
SS Hu
RH Lowe

I had this one pegged all wrong, but in hindsight, it makes sense. They had to clear a 40-man spot for Berroa, and Terry Tiffee is more expendable if he should get claimed off waivers by another club. This might mean Hu and Berroa split time at SS until Furcal comes back, which he is TENTATIVELY expected to do on July 17 at Cincinnati, at which point Hu is almost certain to go back to Triple-A. I explain this every time someone gets designated for assignment, but in case you missed it, that means the club has 10 days to trade, release or outright that player. Before he can be released or outrighted, he must clear waivers, and that means he has to be ON waivers for three full business days without being claimed by another club. The Dodgers can waive him at any point during the 10-day period, they don't have to do it immediately. I'm not sure whether Tiffee has ever been outrighted before, but if it's at least the player's second outright, he has the right to refuse the assignment and become a free agent. ... The Tiffee move means the Dodgers reduce the number of Arkansas natives on their roster from one to zero.

Saw Richard Lewis getting out of a limo as I was walking into the park this morning. He was greeted by ``the paparazzi,'' which from my awkward vantage point appeared in this case to consist of one guy with a digital camera and another guy with a microphone. Not sure what he's doing here, but it didn't appear that he was simply here to take in a ballgame, especially given that he arrived three hours before first pitch in a limo and seemed to be wearing (again from my awkward vantage point) a suit -- black, of course. Might have something to do with the Fox broadcast.Maybe he's doing the lineups. ... Still haven't heard of a corresponding roster move for Berroa. Still haven't even heard whether Berroa made it in, for that matter. ... I did learn this morning, thanks to one of you posting it here, that Jeff Weaver threw the most recent complete-game shutout by a Dodgers pitcher on Sept. 12, 2005, not D-Lowe, who pitched one on Aug. 12 of that year. Sorry for the mix-up

What better night than tonight, when there were 10 Japanese sumo wrestlers in the house, for Hiroki Kuroda to pitch the Dodgers' first complete-game shutout in almost three years? The last one was by D-Lowe at Wrigley Field on Aug. 31, 2005, and the last complete game of any kind by a Dodgers pitcher was Chad Billingsley last July 23 at Houston. This one was a study in complete domination, Kuroda striking out 11 while giving up just four hits and allowing only one baserunner past first base. He did it on an economical 112 pitches -- and more importantly in a game that started at 7:40, he did it in an economical two hours, 34 minutes. ... Dodgers go to 29-32 and remain four games behind the Snakes. Bright and early tomorrow. Sayonara.

Ned said he hopes Berroa will arrive by game time tomorrow. Corresponding moves will be announced then, but one of them almost certainly will be Hu going to Vegas. Not sure about the 40-man move yet.

We're still trying to run that down. Meanwhile, the 51s placed Yhency Brazoban on the seven-day DL with right shoulder inflammation.

I'm sure the trade wouldn't have gotten done any other way. ... By the way, there are 10 sumo wrestlers here who were on the field during Cubs batting practice, with the grand champion hanging out at the batting cage with Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry. Thankfully, they all wore kimonos. They are in town for the Sakura Cup, to be held starting tomorrow at the Sports Arena.

They got the former A.L. Rookie of the Year, who has apparently been in the minors since last year, for minor-leaguer Juan Rivera. Berroa apparently will fill a utility infield role for the Dodgers, which might mean he plays SS every day until Furcal comes back. He is making $4.75 million in this final season of a four-year, $11 million deal he signed with the Royals four years ago, plus a $500,000 buyout of a $5.5 million option for next season, but you can bet the Royals are picking up almost all of that just to get rid of him. Berroa won the AL ROY in 2003, when he hit .287 with 17 homers, 73 RBI and 21 steals. This year, he was hitting .291 with 10 HR and 27 RBI for Triple-A Omaha. No corresponding move so far ,either for the 25-man or 40-man. ... By the way, Furcal will go to San Diego with the team next week to work out, then probably do a rehab while the team is in Detroit next weekend. That means his tentative target for a return is the Dodgers' series in Cincinnati, which begins a week from Tuesday.

First, here's the lineup, with Ethier and Martin sitting. Martin sitting because of day game after night game tomorrow

LF Pierre
RF Young
2B Kent
1B Loney
CF Kemp
3B DeWitt
C Ardoin
SS Hu
RH Kuroda

Secondly, here's the draft list, which again didn't copy-and-paste well, but it should be easy to decipher

Round/Pick
Name
Position
DOB
B-T
Ht./Wt.
School

1/15
Ethan Martin
RHP
6/6/89
R-R
6-3/200
Stephens County High School (GA)

2/61
Josh Lindblom
RHP
6/15/87
R-R
6-5/240
Purdue University

3/93
Kyle Russell
OF
6/27/86
L-L
6-5/190
University of Texas

4/127
Devaris Strange-Gordon
INF
4/22/88
L-R
5-11/150
Southeastern University (FL)

5/157
JonMichael Redding
RHP
11/16/87
R-R
6-1/195
Florida Community College

6/187
Anthony Delmonico
SS
4/27/87
R-R
6-0/195
Florida State University

7/217
Allen St. Clair
LHP
7/30/86
L-L
6-5/225
Rice University

8/247
Nick Buss
OF
12/15/86
L-R
6-2/185
University of Southern California

9/277
Steven Caseres
1B
3/26/87
L-R
6-4/200
James Madison University

10/307
Christopher Joyce
LHP
12/25/89
L-L
6-0/185
Dos Pueblos High School (CA)

11/337
Nathan Eovaldi
RHP
2/13/90
R-R
6-3/195
Alvin High School (TX)

12/367
Austin Yount
3B
10/9/86
L-R
6-0/185
Stanford University

13/397
Lenell McGee
OF
8/10/86
R-R
6-2/200
Oakton Community College (IL)

14/427
Brenton Calfee
OF
6/2/86
L-R
6-6/215
Angelo State University (TX)

15/457
Albert Goulder
1B
5/3/86
L-L
6-2/205
Louisiana Tech University

16/487
Kyle Conley
OF
5/7/87
R-R
6-3/210
University of Washington

17/517
Daniel Coulombe
LHP
10/26/89
L-L
5-10/185
Chaparral High School (AZ)

18/547
Carl Webster
RHP
2/10/90
R-R
6-2/165
McMichael High School (NC)

19/577
David Rollins
LHP
12/21/89
L-L
5-11/175
First Baptist Academy (TX)

20/607
Zackary Cox
3B
5/9/89
L-R
6-0/185
Pleasure Ridge Park High School (KY)

21/637
David Sever
RHP
9/17/86
R-R
6-4/220
St. Louis University

22/667
Matthew Smith
RHP
11/2/86
R-R
6-6/230
Wichita State University

23/697
Brian Ruggiano
2B
6/9/86
R-R
6-1/200
Texas A&M University

24/727
Roberto Feliciano
LHP
8/16/90
L-L
6-0/214
Puerto Rico BB Academy High School

25/757
Gerald Sands
OF
9/28/87
R-R
6-4/210
Catawba College (NC)

26/787
Cody Weiss
RHP
8/14/90
R-R
5-11/190
Parkland High School (PA)

27/817
Clayton Allison
RHP
10/10/85
R-R
6-5/235
Fresno State University

28/847
Jordan Roberts
LHP
1/5/86
L-L
6-1/180
Embry-Riddle University (FL)

29/877
Jonathan Runnels
LHP
2/7/86
L-L
6-1/185
Rice University

30/907
Garett Green
INF
2/24/85
R-R
5-11/190
San Diego State University

31/937
Matthew Magill
RHP
11/10/89
R-R
6-3/175
Royal High School (CA)

32/967
Shan Sullivan
3B
5/7/86
R-R
6-1/210
Angelo State University (TX)

33/997
Melvin Ray
OF
4/23/89
R-R
6-4/205
North Florida Christian High School

34/1027
Andrew Darwin
OF
1/15/90
R-R
6-3/190
San Jacinto High School (CA)

35/1057
Adam Westmoreland
LHP
1/10/90
L-L
6-4/270
Brookland-Cayce High School (SC)

36/1087
Jake New
OF
12/12/85
L-L
6-0/185
Tennessee Tech University

37/1117
William Clinard
RHP
11/3/89
R-R
6-3/213
East Robertson High School (TN)

38/1147
Thomas Nurre
1B
2/11/87
R-R
6-3/235
Miami University

39/1177
Matt Murray
RHP
12/28/89
R-R
6-4/225
Owen J Roberts High School (PA)

40/1207
Jimmy Parque
OF
10/3/88
L-L
5-9/165
Skyline College (CA)

41/1237
Jeff Bandy
C
3/26/90
R-R
6-4/210
Thousand Oaks High School (CA)

42/1267
Adam Moskowitz
INF
7/30/90
R-R
6-0/185
Valley High School (IA)

43/1297
Gregory Zebrack
OF
8/28/90
R-R
6-1/190
Campbell Hall High School (CA)

44/1327
Matthew Reed
LHP
4/19/90
L-L
6-2/200
West Stanly High School (NC)

45/1357
Ryan Arp
C
11/16/85
R-R
5-11/186
University of Iowa

Are you tired of reading about Dodgers' losses? I know I'm tired of writing about them. So instead of doing that, I thought I would post another one of those press box photos the boss asked me for. Almost all of you have seen Dodger Stadium, but tonight before the sun went down was a particularly gorgeous evening here. For numerous reasons, I sit in the second row, even though the Daily News has two assigned spots in the first row. The head in the lower-left corner of the photo belongs to Kevin Pearson of the Press-Enterprise, who was here filling in for Diamond Leung tonight. The boss also specified that the views I post be completely authentic, to include all obstructions such as raised laptop screens, the backs of other reporters' heads, cups of coffee. etc. So here you go. If you're really bored, you can use this photo to play Where's Lou Piniella? ... btw, Dodgers fall to 28-32 and four behind the Snakes.

100_0111[1]

The Dodgers' last pick of the day was infielder Anthony Delmonico of Florida State, son of former University of Tennessee head coach Rod Delmonico. In a several-degrees-of-separation twist, Rod Delmonico was Luke Hochevar's college coach. Hochevar was the guy the Dodgers drafted in the first round in 2005, who agreed verbally to a $2.98 million signing bonus, then abruptly changed his mind and never did sign. He re-entered the draft the following summer and went to Kansas City. ... It doesn't look like the Dodgers run much risk of repeating that scenario. All indications are Ethan Martin wants to sign quickly and get his pro career started. Slot money for the 15th pick is $1.73 million, and the Dodgers have a history of staying pretty close to slot, without much wiggle room.

This didn't copy-and-paste very well, but here are the Dodgers' first five picks, with some bio info at the bottom

Pk/Rd
Name
Pos.
DOB
B-T
Ht./Wt.
School

1/1
Ethan Martin
RHP
6/6/89
R-R
6-3/200
Stephens County High School (GA)

2/2
Josh Lindblom
RHP
6/15/87
R-R
6-5/240
Purdue University

3/3
Kyle Russell
OF
6/27/86
L-L
6-5/190
University of Texas

4/4
Devaris Strange-Gordon
INF
4/22/88
L-R
5-11/150
Seminole Community College (FL)

5/5
JonMichael Redding
RHP
11/16/87
R-R
6-1/195
Florida Community College

Martin last week was named the 2008 Gatorade Georgia State High School Player of the Year. He was a 2007 AFLAC All-American.

Lindblom was a 2007 Cape Cod League All-Star, and entered the 2008 season on USA Baseball's "watch list" for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top player in college baseball. The 20-year-old went 1-2 with 12 saves and a 3.32 ERA in 30 games this year while serving as Purdue's closer. He was originally selected by Houston in the third round of the 2005 Draft after his senior season at Harrison High School (Indiana). He entered the draft that year as the state of Indiana's top prospect, according to Baseball America. Lindblom played the 2006 season at the University of Tennessee before transferring to Purdue.

Russell hit .296 with 19 home runs and 56 RBI in 57 games with the University of Texas this season. He ended the season as Texas' all-time home run leader with 57. Russell earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in 2008, and was also tabbed Most Outstanding Player of the 2008 NCAA Houston Regional last weekend after hitting four home runs in four games, including two in a victory over Sam Houston State. In 2007, the left-handed hitter earned first-team Louisville Slugger All-American honors and Big 12 Player of the Year accolades after leading the nation with 28 home runs. Russell was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2007 MLB Draft

Strange-Gordon is the 20-year-old son of Major League pitcher Tom Gordon.

He says he notified the coaching staff at Clemson, where he had committed to go as a quarterback, that he plans to sign with Dodgers. He is being advised by Al Goetz, the same agent who has Jonathan Broxton, who like Martin is from Georgia. ... By the way, Ethan also said he didn't actually THROW his helmet in advance of that incident in the state championship game, that he started up the first base line because he thought he had taken ball four but that when it subequently was called a strike for the final out of the inning, he waited for a teammate to bring him his glove, then casually tossed his helmet into the dugout as he would after any other inning.

Matt Kemp is apparently appealing his suspension, because he is in tonight's lineup

Pierre. LF
Kemp. CF
Ethier. RF
Kent. 2B
Martin. C
Loney. 1B
DeWitt. 3B
Hu. SS
Billingsley. P

This is from the Dodgers' PR office:

Martin last week was named the 2008 Georgia State High School Player of the Year by Gatorade after going 11-1 with a 0.99 ERA as a senior at Stephens County High School prior to the Class AAA Georgia State Championship Series last Friday. He also had 141 strikeouts in 79.0 innings of work entering the AAA final series. Martin had entered the season as a Baseball America Second-Team Pre-Season High School All-American.
The 6-foot-2, 195 pounder was named a 2007 AFLAC All-American after his junior season, during which he went 6-1 with 81 strikeouts and a 1.41 ERA.
The 18-year-old is rated by Baseball America as having the second-best fastball among draft-eligible high school pitchers. He is also rated by the publication as having the third-best secondary pitch.
Martin entered the draft as the eighth-best pitcher among draft-eligible players, and the 16th overall prospect, according to Baseball America.
Will get hitting stats as well.

He's a right-hander out of Stephens County High School in Georgia. He comes to the Dodgers amid a mini-controversy in which he was involved only by extension. His school was fined $1,000 this week after an incident in the Class AAA state championship game last week. Martin, who was playing SS in that game, argued with the home plate umpire after being called out on strikes and wound up throwing his helmet during the argument. During the next half-inning, Martin's younger brother Cody was pitching, and catcher Matt Hill appeared to duck out of the way of a pitch, allowing it to hit the umpire. For the record, both pitcher and catcher deny doing anything intentional. And again, Ethan Martin wasn't DIRECTLY involved in the incident. Below is a foxsports.com account of the story.

The Georgia High School Association has fined a school $1,000 for an incident in the state playoffs last weekend in Cartersville, Ga.
In the fourth inning of Saturday's deciding game of the Class AAA championship series, Stephens County catcher Matt Hill ducked and did not attempt to catch a pitch that struck the home plate umpire, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Stephens coach Mark Gosnell said Hill and pitcher Cody Martin denied plotting to hit the umpire, who was not hurt, and said the passed ball during a 13-1 loss to Cartersville was a result of a signaling mix-up.
But GHSA executive director Ralph Swearngin believed otherwise after viewing video of the play.
"I made my decision primarily by watching whether the catcher tracked the pitch with his eyes," he told the paper. "In my opinion, he did not. I think that he would have been searching for the ball if it were a matter of being crossed up."
Stephens County principal David Friend said he thought the ruling, which included placing the baseball program on "severe warning status," was fair.
"I told (Swearngin) that I thought we deserved it," Friend said. "We had the opportunity to be on a big stage, in a state championship series, and we had several players who didn't represent school way I think they should have. Not just that pitch, but the overall behavior."
In the half inning prior to the beaning, shortstop Ethan Martin argued with the plate umpire and threw his helmet after becoming the ninth straight Stephens batter to strike out.
Two batters later, Cody Martin, Ethan's younger brother, threw the pitch that hit the umpire. Hill, the catcher, dropped to his knees and ducked as the ball approached.
As part of the penalty, Gosnell and his assistants must complete a sportsmanship education program.

My buddy Kevin Baxter from the Times posted this one this morning. I tried to post the link to his story, but it didn't work -- that old lack of tech savvy coming back to haunt me again. Just go to latimes.com, click sports, then click Dodgers. It'll come up.

He cleared waivers and was released by the Dodgers, then quickly snatched up by the team for which he became an All-Star and a 21-game winner in 2003. White Sox will pay a prorated share of the major-league minimum (about $260,000). Dodgers are still on the hook for a little less than $5 million this year (prorated share of $7 million) plus the $375,000 buyout of Loaiza's $7.5 million option for next season.

Getting really old having to walk into that clubhouse every day and ask these guys why they can't generate any offense. We get tired of asking, and they get tired of being asked. Makes for a tense, uncomfortable environment for everyone involved, but it's beginning to look like it might go on for a while. This team seemed absolutely lifeless today. They were facing Aaron Cook, who is a legitimately good pitcher, but they also hit ONE BALL out of the infield in the first six innings, a two-out single by Blake DeWitt in the second inning. Something has to give, or this season is going to start circling the drain -- or at least it would be if the Diamondbacks weren't battling their own demons right now. They lost again, so the Dodgers stay within striking distance at 3 1/2 back, even though they are now 28-31 for the season (I think I erroneously wrote last night, both on this blog and in the paper, that they were 27-29). Of course, with this team, striking distance is a relative term. Once Jeff Baker homered off Clayton Kershaw in the second inning, giving the Rockies a 2-0 lead, that didn't feel much like striking distance for these Dodgers. ... Still nothing from the league office on possible suspensions for Matt Kemp/Yorvit Torrealba. Probably won't know until tomorrow at this point, as it's already way past closing time in Manhattan.

... Clayton Kershaw WILL make his next scheduled start, on Tuesday at San Diego, thus pushing everybody else back a day. He then would start again the following Sunday at Detroit. Joe Torre leaves this stuff mostly to Rick Honeycutt, who keeps a detailed chart and is very cognizant of the innings-pitched limit that has been placed on Kershaw this season. What this also means is that Derek Lowe will get to pitch in Detroit, his hometown, when he would have missed that series if Kershaw had been skipped the next time through. As it stands, D-Lowe will now pitch the opener at Comerica Park a week from Friday. ... No word on suspensions for Matt Kemp and Yorvit Torrealba, but Torre seemed to acknowledge this morning that they probably are coming. ``I'm not saying I'm expecting it, but if you look at what has been happening with any kind of incident, there always seems to be some kind of punishment,'' Torre said.

All the details on the Matt Kemp-Yorvit Torrealba brawl in the eighth inning can be found in my game story for tomorrow's paper, which should be posted on the web site (www.dailynews.com) within the hour. A few of you have emailed me at various times this season to ask about Scott Elbert, the Dodgers' first-round pick in the 2004 draft. He's the left-hander who is one of the organization's most prized pitching prospects who missed almost all of last season and so far all of this one after undergoing major shoulder surgery last spring. Well, he was promoted from extended spring training to Double-A Jacksonville today, which I ASSUME means he will start pitching in actual minor-league games soon. To make room for him on the Suns' roster, the Dodgers released Rick Asadoorian, a journeyman minor-league who was in big-league camp this year. ... Dodgers fall to 27-29 after losing for the ninth time in their past 12 games, scoring a total of 11 runs in those losses. Snakes lost, so the margin is still 3 1/2.

Ethier is sitting, the reason being those vs. LH numbers I posted earlier, so Delwyn Young plays RF. Hu is in, Maza is out. And no news on Furcal.

LF Pierre
CF Kemp
2B Kent
C Martin
1B Loney
RF Young
3B DeWitt
SS Hu
RH Penny

... are happening right now, Terry Tiffee, who is really an infielder, is also taking part. It's a nice day at the yard, but a tad smoggy, and you can't see the mountains. ... Ran across this interesting stat in the Dodgers game notes today: Blake DeWitt, James Loney and Juan Pierre, all left-handed hitters, are batting .338 (49 for 145) against left-handed pitchers this season. Pierre is eighth in the majors with a .419 average against lefties, while DeWitt is 13th (.366), and Loney is batting .262 (not sure where that ranks). The only lefty hitter who struggles against lefties in Andre Ethier, who is hitting just .163 (7 for 43). Lefty Jeff Francis starts for the Rockies tonight.

The temptation is to say, sure, the Dodgers can come home and beat up on the team with the worst record in the majors, but that pales in comparison to losing six of seven on the trip to Chicago and New York. But this isn't college football, where strength of schedule is taken into account. Every one of these games counts in the standings, and the Dodgers have now beaten the defending N.L. champs six out of seven times this season -- and the Dodgers picked up a game on the Snakes tonight, moving within 3 1/2 games of the division lead. ... Derek Lowe, who appears to be on a roll, pitched another gem, allowing one run on five hits over eight strong innings and recording 14 groundball outs. ... Matt Kemp went 3 for 5 with two doubles and a home run. Andre Ethier and Jeff Kent also homered, and James Loney went 2 for 3. ... Oh, and Blake DeWitt made a great, heads-up recovery after messing up on the bases in the eighth. Thinking Loney would try to score from second on Danny Ardoin's two-out hit to right, DeWitt rounded second and went halfway to third before he realized Loney had held up. But DeWitt managed to engage Rockies infielders Todd Helton and Omar Quintanilla just long enough that Loney was able to scamper home uncontested with the Dodgers' final run, crossing the plate well ahead of the eventual tag of DeWitt by Garrett Atkins. ... Dodgers go to 27-28.

Sounds like MLB is perfectly fine with the Dodgers exploiting the loophole in the rules. Jason Schmidt's rehab assignment for his right shoulder stopped days short of the 30-day limit when he ``suffered'' a ``left calf injury'' in his most recent rehab start. That means the clock will start all over again when he makes his next rehab start, as long as he doesn't make it before Sunday.

Apparently, Rafael Furcal is resisting the notion of going on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment before he returns, something Joe Torre wants him to do just to be on the safe side this time. Furcal seemed on the verge of returning two weeks ago, but he then suddenly suffered a setback with his back. He has been out now for almost a month. ... Nomar is taking batting practice. No update so far on Schmidt.

The 30-day limit only gives Jason Schmidt time to make one more start. ``We think he needs more than that,'' Joe Torre said. But last night, as he was pitching 3 2/3 innings for Single-A Inland Empire against Lancaster, throwing 65 pitches and routinely hitting 91 mph on the gun, Schmidt was hit in the left calf at one point by a line drive. It didn't knock him out of the game. He kept pitching. But now, the Dodgers can say he incurred an additional injury, something they are believed to have already formally notified the league office of. That means that if Schmidt goes at least seven days without pitching again -- that would allow him to make his next rehab start as soon as a week from today -- the 30 days could start all over, beginning with the day he makes his next rehab. Funny how things work out.

It's a beautiful day in the Big Apple, would have been a great afternoon for a ballgame, but ESPN had to step in and screw that all up. So we wait. I did have a great lunch today with Jaime Jarrin at the Carnegie Deli. As I looked around at all the celebrities whose pictures were on the wall (if you have never been there, almost every square inch of wall space is covered by photos of celebs who have stopped in for a nosh), I couldn't believe Jaime's wasn't there. I mean, the guy is a Hall of Famer and has a star on the Walk of Fame, but no photo at the Carnegie Deli? Lasorda has a photo in there.

Anyway, here's the lineup for the game, which still doesn't start for another 2 1/2 hours. Ether is sitting. He has never faced Johan Santana, but that guy has a way of messing up left-handed hitters for weeks after they face him. Guess Torre is taking his chances with Loney and DeWitt.

LF Pierre
CF Kemp
2B Kent
1B Loney
C Martin
RF Young
3B DeWitt
SS Maza
RH Kuroda