Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Ethier, RF
Kent, 2B
Gonzo, LF
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
Hillenbrand, 3B
Billingsley, P

>> Manager Grady Little decided to have Wells pitch against the Padres, followed by Derek Lowe and Chad Billingsley. Rookie No. 5 starter Eric Stults will next pitch Sept. 4 against the Chicago Cubs. <<

## Nomar Garciaparra, out since Aug. 13 with a strained left calf, is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday but isn't likely to be ready to return this week. ##

http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_6736755

on a lighter note, upon hearing i'm moving to the bay area, someone wrote a note on my blog expressing the hope i wouldn't become a giants fan. after i responded by saying i would rather eat my own children than root for the giants, another friend made this. enjoy:

http://tinyurl.com/27jk7n

(A high five to anyone who can name the film without cheating)

I bring the offense with me DT posters. Call your bookies and put down the mortgage payment, I'm bringing home a laugher tonight.

Oh yeah, where's Kemp in that lineup? If he hits one over the fence, can he space out while running the bases without comment?

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

Gotham City was destroyed by a massive earthquake. The Cataclysm, as it came to be called, was particularly devastating as it came just as Gotham was reemerging from the horror of The Clench - a massive outbreak of an Ebola virus variant. Lex Luthor profited massively in the wake of the disaster as his company oversaw the rebuilding of the city.

There have now been 3 Robins -- Dick Grayson, who grew up and became Nightwing, Jason Todd, who was murdered, and Tim Drake, who is just a yute and attends a school called Brentwood Academy.

There is no longer any dividing line between hot superhero-type comic strip girls and hot Heavy Metal-type comic strip girls.

Please return to your regularly scheduled business.

It's full of 'em!

No matter what your opinion of his baserunning skills or baseball savvy, you shoot yourself in both feet when you willingly bench your best, and probably hottest, player.

Billingsley is pitching tonight, so I'm not going to go so far as saying that I hope the Dodgers lose. But if they do lose, it will have been richly deserved. Incompetence and lunacy should not be rewarded.

Dodgers OPS+ leaders
Matt Kemp 125
Russell Martin 118
Jeff Kent 117

Dodgers EQA leaders
Matt Kemp .301
Russell Martin .298
Jeff Kent .292

Dodgers batting average leaders
Matt Kemp .333
James Loney .302
Russell Martin .295

Dodgers slugging percentage leaders
Matt Kemp .516
Jeff Kent .484
Wilson Betemit .474

By any measure, traditional or sabermetric, Matt Kemp is the best hitter on the Dodgers. He also has six multi-hit games in his last 10 starts. How long is this going to go on, him rotting on the bench every third game?

Shuttle between DS and where?

At least now I know where not to take my money. If, in fact, I had any.

Therefore, you must try to suck and win at the same time. I see what they're doing, and though I don't agree with it, I damn sure respect it. Building character is important.

>> Asked whether he saw himself coming back to play under similar circumstances, Gonzalez replied, "No, no, not here. <<

## Gonzalez said that he is looking forward to collecting his 2,500th hit, a milestone of which he is 14 shy. Once there, he intends to aim for 3,000. ##

http://tinyurl.com/3x5zso

In an interview earlier this season Gonzalez admitted that his one remaining goal was to get 3,000 hits. And although he didn't say it I'm sure he feels that 3,000 hits would ensure his induction into the Hall of Fame. In fact, he said that he believed he could reach that goal by playing two more years after this one. But that doesn't seem possible now because it would appear that he is going to be some 500 hits shy when this season ends. In any event, even if he is to reach 3,000 hits in three years he must do it as a starter. Platooning and pinch hitting would take way too long. That may have been one of the reasons he preferred to sign for one year instead of two (the possibility that he would be stuck in a platoon situation during the second year). I expect him to look for a team during this off season that will offer him a job as a starter. If he can find one he will not return to the Dodgers.

We just need William Holden to come and blow it up.

-- conservative most of the time, with occasional wild indulgences that seem to lack strategic focus

-- very focused on the PR of every move, which tends him toward short-term thinking,

-- trusts the farm system will correct all his mistakes.

When the Dodgers were loafing around in the 1990s, I remember Fred Claire's response was to snap his suspenders and say, "Yeah, but five ROY in a row? You think that happens by accident?"

The only difference is that Colletti is presiding over a greatly revived minor league system and amateur scouting, thanks to Dan Evans and Logan White, so the conservative strategy might, in fact, work out.

Plus, if he screws up the concessions and bathrooms on the Field level he only has to go back and fix one level instead of four. Also, he'll know what not to do when the other levels are renovated.

And it makes you James Donald. "Madness! Madness!"

>> Kennedy, 28, was assigned to the triple-A Syracuse SkyChiefs, but could be promoted when major-league rosters expand on Sept. 1. <<

http://tinyurl.com/33k8vd

12 for 54 .222 Avg.

1 HR
3 2B
5 BB
10 K
7 RBIs

He is in a bit of a slump.

And Saito is not Saito.

I think whatever strategy they look at regarding public transportation, they are going to have work with the MTA.

Now, maybe this year, Gonzo isn't complaining but Little just wants to keep him happy. In any case, that wouldn't be my primary worry. Kemp would be in my lineup every day.

Playing which position(s)?

When I read that article this morning about him whining to the LA Times, I told a friend of mine that I hope Little doesn't just automatically put him back in the lineup. So disappointing!! And so the wrong message to send out.

Not that any person in a hurry would want to go that way.

it took me almost 2 hours.

Trains don't go there anymore. It's too crowded.

Hilarious.

---

I wonder if Ruggiano will be another Victorino, another OF that got away. To be honest, I never gave him much thought, though I only saw him play (in a game televised online) once and only followed him casually.