It's coming down pretty hard outside so I'm guessing the first pitch will be delayed, if the game gets in at all. Most talk is that we'd play a day-night double header tomorrow if we don't get this one in, but as I type this in the clubhouse, everyone is preparing to play at 3:55 as scheduled. I guess that's how you have to do it to stay ready to go.

Speaking of rain (this is arguably my worst transition ever), tickets for the Madonna show at Dodger Stadium on Nov. 6 go on sale tomorrow. She once had a song called "Rain." Anyway, she'll join a long list of incredible musicians to play at Dodger Stadium as part of the "Sweet & Sticky Tour"...what else can I say? I figured maybe some of you are big fans, right?

Moving on...it was 31 years ago today that Joe Torre the player became Joe Torre the manager and in fact, he was both at the same time for a few weeks. He's gone on to become the only person in big league history with 2,000 hits as a player and 2,000 wins as a manager, which is a truly impressive feat.

For the Dodger history buffs, that same day J.R. Richard threw a complete game against the Dodgers in a 5-2 Houston win.

As for today's game, same lineup as yesterday, with Billingsley on the bump. 

Pierre, LF

Kemp, CF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

Ethier, RF

DeWitt, 3B

Maza, SS

Billingsley, P

It's pretty amazing that we've lost four in a row and haven't managed to lose a game in the standings. Guess we should just say thanks and not wonder why.

Here's the lineup tonight, which has six guys age 26 or less.

Pierre, LF

Kemp, CF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

Ethier, RF

DeWitt, 3B

Maza, SS

Kershaw, P

It's a circus! We just got finished with the 40-plus media outlets that jammed into our dugout to talk to Joe Torre about his return to New York. I certainly understand why it's a big story, but it certainly tells you how much this man was beloved here.

Of course, for all of us, the four World Championships and 12 straight playoff appearances are not something that comfort anyone while we're losing. That was as frustrating a series as I can remember and I know that everyone knows we have to play better. I think we just have to feel fortunate that we didn't lose any ground in the standings.

Meanwhile, despite arriving at 4:30 a.m., we popped over to Yankee Stadium today for a tour of the old and new stadiums and both are pretty cool for different reasons. Hard to believe that after this year, Dodger Stadium will be the third-oldest in baseball. As for Shea Stadium, barring a postseason return, this is our final series here and safe to say, I don't know many who will miss this joint.

On the bright side, Jeff Kent is expected to play tonight so let's hope he's back on track with his three-hit game on Monday. Here's the lineup:

Pierre, LF

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Maza, SS

Penny, P

Anyone else remember this game? Derek allowed an infield single to start the game at Wrigley Field and retired 26 of the next 28 guys for a complete-game one-hitter. I'd sure love to see that tonight before a late night departure for Manhattan.

Jeff Kent's back is still tight so it's a similar lineup to last night but with Russell back in the lineup so no in-game interviews with him today!

Speaking of Russell, safe to say that I'm pretty surprised he's fourth in NL All-Star balloting. I'm fairly certain that putting on a full-bore campaign for him this year shouldn't be necessary. The country knows who he is...now it's up to Dodger fans to get out the vote up to 25 times each.

And, for all the Joe Beimel fans (and clearly there are many of you based on the Fans' Vote Bobblehead), there will be a live chat with the lefty next Tuesday, June 3 at 2 p.m. PT.

Game's on KCAL in Los Angeles, with the pregame show starting at 4:30 p.m. Larry Bowa will have his regular segment, plus plenty more from Eric Karros and Gary Miller. Here's the lineup:

Pierre, LF

Maza, 2B

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Lowe, P

Wow. I'm not sure I've ever seen a city go from so nice to so cold in a shorter amount of time. It's 40 something degrees with 20 mph winds here, so it should make for an interesting game. Of course, both teams face the same elements, so it'll come down to who handles them better and can get some offense going. I'd imagine that getting jammed with a pitch tonight won't feel very good on the hands.

One lucky guy who doesn't have to play in this weather is Russell Martin, who has tonight off. Right now he's actually got my cell phone and is doing an "interview" with LA native Tyson Chandler, the center for the New Orleans Hornets. It's part of an ESPN the Magazine piece that will be coming out soon, so keep a lookout for it.

As I type this, I'm also in the Wrigley Field visitor's clubhouse, where it is easily the smallest locker room in the National League (and probably the Majors, though I've never been to Fenway). With ESPN here tonight, plus a ton of Japanese media to cover the big matchup between Kuroda and Fukudome, it's a little tight in here. But, it's the big leagues, so you won't hear me complaining.

Actually, being in this clubhouse reminds me of a game here several years back when we lost 20-1 and poor Jose Antonio Nunez, who was a Rule 5 pick, had to just take the beating for the team. Afterward, there was tons of media on site (myself included, as I was covering the team that year for dodgers.com) and the tight confines of this clubhouse did not make for a happy group of Dodgers. Here's hoping we're the ones scoring 20 runs tonight.

I'd also like to send out get well wishes to Andruw Jones on behalf of the entire organization. He had his surgery this morning back in Los Angeles to clean up the tear in the meniscus of his right knee. I'm certainly hoping that the time away will fix him physically and get him back in a positive frame of mind when he gets back in four to six weeks.

As for tonight's game, we are on FSN Prime Ticket and Blake DeWitt will be wearing a mic, so that should add a fun element to the broadcast. Here's the lineup:

Pierre, LF

Maza, SS

Ethier, RF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Ardoin, C

Kuroda, P

I hope everyone gets a moment today to stop and think about the significance of today. I know we'll all be doing it at 3 p.m. at Wrigley Field, where the game will stop and everyone will pay tribute to those who have lost their lives fighting for our country.

Courtesy of retrosheet's Dave Smith, here are some notes about Memorial Day in Dodger history:

In Brooklyn: 65 wins, 56 losses, 1 tie

In LA: 28 wins, 21 losses, 0 tie

All Dodgers (1890-2007): 93 wins, 77 losses, 1 tie

- Memorial Day was celebrated on May 30 through 1970 (it started after the Civil War). From 1971 to now, the date changes as it is the last Monday in May. These records are for the official holiday dates from 1971 forward.
- The Dodgers played 58 doubleheaders on Memorial Day from 1890-1957 (68 seasons) and have three in Los Angeles. The last was 1980 in Cincinnati.
- The Dodgers have failed to play on Memorial Day in 8 seasons from 1890-2007.  These were: 1897, 1909, 1915, 1948, 1986, 1996, 2003, 2007.
- Of those 8 seasons with no games, the first three were Sundays and Brooklyn often did not play on Sundays in those years, especially at home.  In 1948 they were rained out and the four seasons in LA were years they were not scheduled. 

Here's today's lineup:

Pierre, LF

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Sweeney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Maza, SS

Billingsley, P

When we arrived at Spring Training in mid February, neither Clayton Kershaw nor Blake DeWitt was in big league camp and here it is, May 25, and they will both play key roles in today's game and potentially, the course of the 2008 season for the Dodgers.

With Andruw now going down and joining Furcal, Nomar, and Schmidt on the DL, it's a very different team than the one that showed up in Vero just three and a half months ago. It just goes to show how quickly things can change, when you consider that three and a half months from now, we'll be in early September, hopefully gearing up for a pennant race. I guess it's also a reminder of just how long the season is and how each game is extremely important, but is just one part of a huge puzzle. I think that's how I manage to remain positive after tough losses and not get too excited after big wins. It's a big picture, and hopefully we can all see it ending with a celebration in October.

Speaking of DeWitt, he's the subject of Ken Levine's blog entry as a write-in candidate for the All-Star Game. For those who do not know Ken, he's one of the two hosts of postgame DodgerTalk on KABC 790 and the Sunday Night Sports Final, which airs tonight from 6-9 p.m. Josh Suchon, the other host, is set to fly with us to Chicago tonight, so Brian Kamenetzky will host alongside Ken this evening and there's some good stuff coming your way.

In the eight o'clock hour, they'll be interviewing Roy Gleason and for those who don't know his story, check this article out from a few years ago.  In the nine o'clock hour, Maury Wills will be a guest, as we wind down the 1960s celebration and head toward the 70s for the month of June.

That's the past. The present and future will be on display today at the stadium, with Clayton Kershaw taking the mound backed by Loney, Martin, Kemp, Ethier, DeWitt, and Hu. Here's the actual lineup:

Pierre, LF

Maza, 2B

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Kershaw, P

That's what Vin Scully called Clayton Kershaw's curveball back in Spring Training and it'll be on display tomorrow at Dodger Stadium in his big league debut.

To make room for him, Esteban Loaiza was designated for assignment and Yhency Brazoban was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas...

Here's hoping tomorrow's the start of a very special career and tonight is the start of a nice winning streak. More for the park in a bit...

UPDATE:

Pierre, LF

Maza, 2B

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Penny, P

Props go to Joe Beimel, whose fivesome took home first place at yesterday's Dodgers Dream Foundation Charity Golf Invitational with a score of -17 under. As for the media groups, we did okay but were hardly contenders. A fivesome of myself and Mark Rogoff from our office was joined by Yahoo's Tim Brown, KABC's Josh Suchon and LA Times.com blogger Brian Kamenetzky and finished 10 under par. Joe Jareck from our office led a group with FSN's Michael Eaves and Lya Vallat, KFWB's Bill Seward and our TV stage director (Vin's right-hand mand) Boyd Robertson and they were five under par.

But more importantly, we raised six figures again for the foundation, which is what really matters.

Some good chatter yesterday regarding Blake DeWitt's year-end projections and not surprisingly, there were three "off-day" stories on him, as his hometown Cardinals are here for three games. Tony Jackson's Daily News piece, Diamond Leung's article in the Press Enterprise, and Dylan Hernandez's feature in the L.A. Times. They're all good reading about a very humble and talented third baseman.

As for today, Raffy is not yet ready to come off the DL, so no moves will be made today. And nothing new yet on the Kershaw front, though speculation is certainly running rampant.

Here's the lineup:

Pierre, LF

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Lowe, P

Now that was a pretty solid series all around...I'm sure there are naysayers who will point out that the Reds' record is four games under .500, but it's important to remember that they were the hottest team in baseball when they arrived, winners of six in a row.

In any event, I also wanted to make sure that all of you knew about this weekend's luncheon where you can meet and get autographs from the Dodgers' stars of the 1960s. You can purchase online, if you're interested, but for more information, visit this page.

And finally, as we head out tomorrow for the Dodgers Dream Foundation Golf tournament, I'll leave you all to ponder this thought, which I've been wondering the last 24 hours or so.

Given how well Blake DeWitt is playing (.325, 4 HR, 23 RBI), he's on pace for 14 homers and 81 RBI, not to mention the fact that he's yet to make an out with the bases loaded (6-for-6). The question is, what is your reasonable expectation of him for the season, given all that you know. Is it fair to think he's going to hit .325 all year? If not, what is fair for a guy who has never played over Double-A and wasn't even on the 40-man entering Spring Training. And do you think he's going to hit more than 14 homers and drive in more than 80 runs, or is it more likely in your mind that he'll experience some growing pains this season?

Just some food for thought on an off day...no right answers and I certainly hope he can keep up the incredible offense and defensive contributions. Curious to see what you all think.

As many of you have been reading, one of the regular contributors to this blog is Scott Akasaki, our manager of team travel. Some of you know about him, but now the whole world does, as he was featured in recent article of Forbes magazine.

His latest post is below...

For a couple of years, our team would not stay at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee because of rumored ghost visitations to our players' rooms.  I recall hearing a story about a former third baseman on our team who left the hotel in the middle of the night because he woke up after all the lights in his room were turned on.  Problem was he distinctly remembers turning all the lights off before falling asleep.

On our most recent trip to Milwaukee, we checked in to The Pfister Hotel once again simply because hotel is probably the best hotel in Milwaukee.  At the end of our brief stay there, I did not hear of any visitations from the supernatural but there might have been a few player pranks in the works.  One player who did not make the trip told me yesterday that if we stayed there again next year, he already wants a room in a different hotel.

There are actually enough ghost stories in baseball that there is a book titled "Haunted Baseball" and a website that shares the same name.  Some of our players have stories themselves from their minor league days to urban legends that they have heard over the years.

UPDATE

Today's lineup is the same as yesterday's, but since I never got around to posting that one, here it is...

Pierre, LF

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Kuroda, P

As you might have heard by now, Mike Piazza officially announced his retirement today and all of us at the Dodgers wish him the best of luck. There's never been a better offensive catcher in the history of the game - you can make an argument that a few might have been as good, but you'd be hard-pressed to find one better. The fact that he was a 62nd-rounder for the Dodgers tells you a lot about the player development system and his desire to reach the Major Leagues. He clearly became one of the fan favorites during his time in Los Angeles, which came to an end 10 years ago last Friday. His rightful place in Cooperstown awaits him in 2013 and we all wish nothing but the best for him and his family.

As for catchers coming and going, Gary Bennett is headed to the disabled list today and Danny Ardoin's contract has been purchased from Las Vegas, sending Jason Schmidt to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Ardoin on the 40-man roster.

No medical update that I'm aware of on Andruw Jones' right knee as of right now, but you can tune in after tonight's game to see FSN's Before the Bigs on him, as they traveled to Curacao during the winter and spoke to everyone who knew him before he became a teenage World Series hero. The series they've done includes Russell Martin, Bill Mueller, Brad Penny, Randy Wolf and several others, and it shows the "other" side of these guys that we see in uniform night after night.

Lineup to be posted as an update later this afternoon...

All sorts of former Dodgers here, between the Reds' manager Dusty Baker, Nationals broadcaster Don Sutton (who is here promoting awareness for his cancer foundation), Jim Lefebvre (who is here with the Chinese National Baseball Team)...throw in Ron Cey, who walked by my office a few minutes ago and it's quite an impressive lot. I think it's something we take for granted, sometimes, just how many former players are involved in the organization in one way or another, so it's cool to see so many here at one time.

In fact, there will be a lot more this weekend as we celebrate the 60s, with a luncheon at the stadium that fans can purchase tickets to (email fanfeeback@ladodgers.com for info), the photo day on Sunday which will inclue 60s guys and even a 60s themed fireworks show on Friday...break out the tie-dye shirts and come on down to the yard.

Meanwhile, Andruw Jones is out of the lineup with a "crank right knee" as Joe Torre put it, though he said he could play if he had to. Furcal is eligible to come off on Wednesday but Joe thinks it's more likely to be on Friday.  Here's the group taking the field tonight against the Reds...

Pierre, LF

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Penny, P

I figured after posting back-to-back lineups that got changed minutes after I put them up, there was no point in posting yesterdays. It seems to have worked, as the lineup stayed the same and the team came through with a nice win.

It's pretty amazing that there are nine different nationalities on the team and yesterday was the first time in baseball history that a Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese pitcher appeared in the same game. The globalization of baseball is really something that's hard to fathom.

No lineup to post yet, but in case I don't get to it later, don't forget to tune into the Sunday night show on KABC 790 from 7-10 p.m. tonight. Wes Parker is the 60s guest of the week, as we gear up for next weekend's 60s celebration at Dodger Stadium. I wasn't around then, but for those of you who were fans in the 60s, what's your favorite memory of that decade?

Down in Anaheim, here's what's doing...DeWitt with another day off so Russ returns to the hot corner again.

Pierre, DH

Jones, CF

Kemp, RF

Kent, 2B

Martin, 3B

Loney, 1B

Ethier, LF

Maza, SS

Bennett, C

Kuroda, P

The worst part about missing the Milwaukee trip (other than not seeing last night's come-from-behind clutch victory), is that they have some of the best press box food in the game, including bratwurst that can only be enjoyed in Wisconsin.  So in honor of it, last night I watched the game on TV while BBQing burgers and dogs. Not quite the same.

Luis Maza gets his first big league start today. Kemp gets the day off...should be back in there tomorrow, as Torre said he thinks Pierre or Sweeney will DH in Anaheim. Here's the lineup against Ben Sheets:

Pierre, LF

Jones, CF

Ethier, RF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

DeWitt, 3B

Maza, SS

Billingsley, P

Pierre, LF

Jones, CF

Kemp, RF

Kent, 2B

Martin, C

Loney, 1B

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Lowe, P

Read a very interesting article today on Andruw Jones, lest anyone believe that his horrible start to the season isn't bothering him. I know that a lot of people would like for him to snap and run renegade on a Powerade container a la Carlos Perez, but I think we all know that it probably won't help him raise his batting average.

I'm as bummed about it as any fan out there and I'm guessing the only person who feels worse is Andruw himself.

In any event, he's out of the lineup for tonight and here's who is in it...

Pierre, LF

Ethier, RF

Kemp, CF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Penny, P

A heads up to all that Rafael Furcal did not make the trip to Milwaukee and instead, saw spine specialist Dr. Robert Watkins. He had an MRI which showed no change from last September - in fact, it looked better. However, he will get a cortisone shot tomorrow and will start rehab here in Los Angeles on Wednesday with our physical therapist, Sue Falsone.

Assuming Raffy is put on the DL tomorrow, we'll have a corresponding move at that time.

On a lighter note, check out these hilarious spots from Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier for Easton. I guess this might have made the rounds already, but I hadn't seen it until today.

As the team heads to Milwaukee for three games, I'll be staying in Los Angeles preparing for the upcoming homestand, as well as a number of other events on the calendar.

For those of you Hollywood fans, we had quite a few celebs show up this weekend, including Matthew McConaughey and Pamela Anderson and Kristi Yamaguchi, among others. If you're into that sort of thing, be sure to mark your calendar for Hollywood Stars, which is June 21 this year, and will actually be after the day game instead of before a night game this year. It's always a pretty cool event and we're looking to add a few twists to it this year.

The day before that (June 20), we'll be getting our Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the morning, which is open to the public and definitely worth seeing if you've never witnessed one of those ceremonies. Yeah, I know that if you live in LA, you usually only venture to the Walk of Fame when you're with tourists, but having seen two of the ceremonies for Jim Hill and the late Stu Nahan, it's a cool thing to check off on life's "to do" list.

And finally, I know there was some chatter in yesterday's comments about Joe Torre's pregame statements on Andre Ethier. For what it's worth, I actually think he was talking about Andruw Jones when he said what he said. I was there when the discussion took place and it was a little confusing at the time...I think the reporter said "Andre" but Joe heard "Andruw" and it resulted in the statement that Andre was searching for his swing. In any event, I don't think it was malicious intent by the reporter(s) who wrote it...just something that happens over the course of a 162-game season, which includes 324 media sessions with Joe.

To all the moms out there, here's to you. May you raise great Dodger fans and enjoy the day.

We've got a couple great moms being honored here at the stadium today - Nancy Colton, our longtime season ticket holder and Desiree Sanchez, who has worked in our ticket office for several years. Both are currently battling breast cancer and are an inspiration to us all. They'll throw out the first pitch on behalf of all the women in the world who are fighting this heartbreaking disease and all the healthy women out there who can learn a lesson from their courageous stories.

Of course, there's something all you Dodger fans can do to help and that's assist in the search for a cure. Of course, there's ThinkCure, among numerous fantastic charities, but in this case, you can help raise money AND see two legends in one night. Vin Scully and John Wooden will take part in an event at the Nokia theatre on June 13 and proceeds from the event go to ThinkCure and Mattel Children's Hospital. You can purchase tickets at this link and get a once-in-a-lifetime experience while helping so many others along the way.

And if you're looking for something to do for Mom, bring her down to the stadium, where she can get a rose handed to her by a Dodger player or coach and a free Smashbox lip gloss for the first 25,000 in the house. Even better, you can walk around the warning track on the field with your mom after the game, something neither of you will likely forget for a long time.

Most of our players will be swinging pink bats and helping raise awareness and money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which also helps in finding a cure for breast cancer.

Here's the lineup for the day...

Pierre, LF

Ethier, RF

Kemp, CF

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

DeWitt, 3B

Young, 2B

Hu, SS

Kuroda, P

Another night off for Raffy, whose back is still bugging him when he runs. Saito also went home again, as he's still pretty sick. That leaves the lineup at:

Pierre, LF

DeWitt, 3B

Kemp, RF

Kent, 2B

Martin, C

Loney, 1B

Jones, CF

Hu, SS

Billingsley, P

Joe would like to give Kent tomorrow off, if he can. Perhaps he can watch Jason Schmidt thrown an inning in Lancaster.

The Astros are in town and the stadium will be nearly filled with 50,000-plus beanie-wearing fans.

This morning, I had the opportunity to go to City Hall with Takashi Saito, who earned an award from Mayor Villaraigosa for his contributions to Los Angeles. It really does make you shake your head in disbelief at all that he's accomplished over the past two seasons and it couldn't happen to a nicer human being. Unfortunately the language barrier has hindered our ability to get to know Saito the way we might get to know other players, but he always seems to have a smile on his face.

The event today also got me thinking how strange it must be to come from another country and yet, find yourself standing in front of the Mayor and City Council, receiving an award. Most of what was being said, Saito didn't understand, but his interpreter, Kenji, was trying to fill in the blanks for him.

In any event, it was a classy morning for a classy person and we're all proud that he's a Dodger.

As for tonight's game, Furcal needs another day, according to Joe Torre. Brazoban was recalled and is available for the game. It seems he's lost about seven to 10 pounds in the minors.

The team is leaning toward having Jason Schmidt throw an inning on Sunday in Lancaster for the Inland Empire 66ers.

Here's the team going out for tonight's game:

Pierre, LF

Martin, C

Kemp, RF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Jones, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Lowe, P

As bad as yesterday was for Brad Penny on the mound, it didn't stop him from spending quality time in the community today, as promised, during his second annual fishing trip.

We left from Long Beach at noon with about 40 kids, many of whom have never had the chance to go fishing before, let alone meet a big leaguer. This was an idea Brad came up with last year and he's teamed with Dan Hernandez Youth Foundation and the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation to make it happen.

The kids seemed to really enjoy themselves and there should be a recap and photos on the front of the site shortly.

Of course, we all would have loved for him to throw a no-hitter before heading out on the boat, but such is life. Even a two-time All-Star has a bad day from time to time, but in this case, he followed it up with an even better one.

We'll know our transaction tomorrow to correspond with Loaiza going on the DL. Until then...

Hope you snuck out of the office for today's game...Furcal still out with a stiff back, but hopefully tomorrow's off day will do some good. The same goes for Andruw, who will hopefully get to clear his head and start from scratch on Friday.

Pierre, LF

Ethier, RF

Kemp, CF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B (happy 24th birthday)

Martin, C

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Penny, P

Furcal was a late scratch from the lineup with a stiff back, so here's the group going out tonight against the Mets:

Pierre, LF

Jones, CF

Kemp, RF

Kent, 2B

Martin, C

Loney, 1B

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, SS

Kuroda, P

And for those of you thinking about it, go ahead and take tomorrow off from work or school. You have my permission. There's a 12:10 game at Dodger Stadium, so if your boss thinks you need to be in the office, just let him or her know that you have a blackberry (you do, don't you?) and that you'll be "working from home" tomorrow.

Another busy day getting back into the swing of things here. There will be a nice tribute to Buzzie Bavasi at tonight's game and here's the lineup against the Mets:

Furcal, SS

Pierre, LF

Kemp, RF

Kent, 2B

Martin, C

Loney, 1B

Jones, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Billingsley, P

Just getting around to starting to answer some of the comments from the past 10 days or so...I noticed one about the new X-mo camera that FSN has installed at the stadium, so here's what our partners over there had to say:

X-MO CAMERA:

The X-mo camera slows game action down to 2,000 frames per second (at 1080i/p and 720p formats) and is considered a "high-speed" HD camera. Producers can utilize this technology to enhance a great catch, decipher a close call at the plate, detect the impact of the ball on the bat, etc.  The X-mo may be used for replay and/or live game camera purposes.
The camera is located field level behind home plate.

HD DIAMOND CAMS:
 
Located only at Dodger Stadium, three separate "diamond cameras" are installed at home plate, first base and in front of the pitchers mound. These miniature cameras provide viewers at home with a never-before seen angles to the action (ie. making a slide at home plate, deciphering a close call at on the bag or detecting pitcher's release). Housed inside a protective box - for weather related purposes - the camera itself emerges 3/8" above the infield dirt and comes with a modified wide-angle lens. The camera itself uses Dodger Stadium's existing fiber infrastructure and is controlled remotely from inside the production truck. The HD diamond cam versions were implemented in 2008.

---

Here's today's lineup in Colorado as the team looks for a full road-trip sweep...

Furcal, SS

Pierre, LF

Kemp, CF

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

Ethier, RF

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, 2B

Lowe, P

Here's tonight's lineup in Denver. Martin back at third against the lefty, with Bennett getting the start and DeWitt getting the night off (or at least the beginning of the night).

Furcal, SS

Pierre, LF

Kemp, RF

Kent, 2B

Martin, 3B

Loney, 1B

Jones, CF

Bennett, C

Loaiza, P

It is a huge loss for the entire Dodger organization and our hearts go out to his family. Buzzie was behind four of our six World Championships and though I only spoke with him a few times, he was always very gracious. His son, Bill, who is now the Mariners' GM, was our farm director for a couple of years and one of the finest people I've met in the game.

Here is what a few Dodgers had to say about the former GM, who lived to be 93.

One of the amazing things I've found about the game of baseball is how cyclical it is, and I had received the following post from Scott Akasaki not long before getting the word about Buzzie. Just as one longtime baseball career was coming to a close, another is just beginning and Scott wrote about it for Inside the Dodgers:

"One of the best things about being the Traveling Secretary is that you are amongst the first to greet a player when he gets called up to the Major Leagues.  It is difficult to duplicate the feeling of playing a little part in one man's life-long journey to an ultimate objective -- the fruition of a goal more than a decade in the making.  This past week reminded me of why this job is one of the best gigs in the business.

Late Thursday night, our Assistant General Manager Kim Ng contacted me and said that we were calling up pitcher Cory Wade from AA Jacksonville.  At the time, Cory was on crowded bus from Montgomery to Huntsville, having just finished a night game against the Montgomery Biscuits.   After spending some phone time with our 24-hour travel service, I exchanged text messages with our Jacksonville trainer Carlos Olivas, who gave the travel itinerary to Cory.

Getting from Huntsville to Los Angeles is not exactly direct.  We had to fly Cory from Huntsville to Cincinnati and then from Cincinnati to Los Angeles.  Since we're dealing with connecting flights and a the loss of time thanks to the time change, Cory did not arrive to Dodger Stadium till about 4:30 p.m. PST despite learning about his promotion around 2:30 a.m. CST. 

Cory had no idea that his promotion to the Major Leagues was so close.  In fact, even before departing on his AA road trip, he did not pack a sport coat and slacks, which is standard travel attire when promoted to the Major Leagues.  Cory showed up in jeans, a t-shirt, and with some bleary eyes.  I explained to him some team rules and when he walked into the home clubhouse, he was immediately stopped by the Dodgers' local media.

Cory told the media about getting the word of his promotion, the unexpected nature of his call up, and how much everything had moved so fast for him.  Cory talked about how he woke up his father and his fiancée upon hearing the news.  Earlier this spring, Cory and his fiancée welcomed a new baby.  Coupled with his call to Majors, the 2008 calendar year is certainly one that Cory and his family will never forget."

Another day in the D.R. and another great victory for the big league club. Maybe we should stay down here until the team loses a game! Unfortunately, that's not going to happen, as we're returning to the States this morning and then flying back with the team to Denver, but it's been an unbelievably productive trip for each of us in our various area of responsibility.

Yesterday morning there was an intrasquad game and beforehand, Ned Colletti spoke to all the prospects and coaches here. He gave each of them a t-shirt that had the organization's slogan for the season - Players Win Games, Teams Win Championships. Only this wasn't the English version that was given to all of the players and front office members in Los Angeles. This was a Spanish-language shirt made especially for this group and you could see the significance of the statement setting in with these 16-, 17-, and 18-year old kids at Campo Las Palmas.

After an intrasquad game here, we took five players, all the coaches, and some of the staff to Futuro Vivo, a local school that the Dodgers have supported for many years. We had a 100-pound suitcase of Dodger items (actually, it was 99.8 pounds which was the only way we were allowed to bring it on the plane) to hand out to the 500-plus kids and they were thrilled to get Dodger memorabilia down here. Everything from pencils and notebooks to Furcal bobblehead dolls and team photo calendars. For the school's baseball team, we gave new baseball gloves, t-shirts/uniform tops, and several baseballs...and the love of Dodger baseball was spread again to another huge group of youngsters. Jose Vizcaino spoke to the kids about working hard, staying in school and following their dreams, which are all invaluable lessons coming from a guy who grew up without much money in a town of 1,500 and has become an incredible success in his life, both on and off the field. In getting to know him this week, he's truly a superstar for this organization.

The finale to the trip was a staff dinner hosted by Ned Colletti for the entire Campo Las Palmas staff, from the front office to the coaches. It was at an unbelievable restaurant in Boca Chica that was literally situated over the water on a dock, just before the sun went down. It gave us a chance to get to know our colleagues on a personal level and vice versa and a nice surprise came at the start of the dinner, when Ramon Martinez and Pedro Astacio joined us at the invitation of Vizcaino.

Of course, all throughout the amazing meal, we continued to follow the game on our blackberries and were thrilled to see a victory again in Miami. Here's hoping for a sweep this afternoon and a nice flight back to Denver for the weekend series against Colorado.