Just a short note from Fresno where I am watching the Las Vegas club this week. Nomar Garciaparra played his first rehab game last night. He led off, playing first base and hit the first pitch of the game to right center for a double. His second at-bat he also lined the first pitch for a single. He later grounded to short. In all, Nomar played five innings and looked like the Nomar of old. Tonight he will play nine innings.

Two very interesting stories came out today and both were hatched in the Dodgers’ Asian Operations Department, something most teams don’t even have. Tony Jackson of the Daily News wrote about Takashi Saito and Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register wrote a great feature on Hong-Chih Kuo. That duo has really been incredible for us this year and will likely play a very big role in 2006 (I’m talking about Kuo and Saito, not Jackson and Plunkett, but I like those guys, too).

As for how Saito got his nickname, he told me the other day that Andre Ethier actually coined it. No one knows why yet, but hopefully we can ask Andre the next time we see him.

For those who heard the rumor out there yesterday, I figured I should clear up the whole Ernie Banks thing. On Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, the Cubs turned a double play early in the game and I heard cheering coming from the back of the press box. When I looked over, I saw four people that I didn’t recognize and so I went over to explain to them that this is a working press box and that people should not be cheering in there. This is a rule enforced at press boxes around the country by every PR director in the league.

Of course, when I got there, I noticed that sitting next to the four gentlemen was Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame Cubs’ shortstop. He was not in my sight from my seat in the press box, but once I realized it was him, I immediately told him that while people aren’t supposed to cheer in the press box, of course he could feel free to root for his Cubbies. Being in the 500-home run club does have its privileges.

But, being the classy guy that he is, Ernie and his friends decided to stop cheering and I guess people thought that meant I had told him to "stuff it." At least, that’s what sports talk radio was saying yesterday afternoon when I got several calls and emails from people asking why I had told Ernie Banks he couldn’t root for the Cubs.  The report came from our friend Ben Maller, who was sitting nearby in the press box and wrote about it for his sports blog, tongue-in-cheek.

And so the story goes…but, it’s safe to say that I won’t be throwing any Hall of Famers out of the press box anytime soon.

JR

There was an interesting article today in the Daily News about the Dodgers’ Think Blue Rewards program, which is basically like a frequent flier program for an airline, only now you get points for going to Dodger games, purchasing items at local stores in Los Angeles and much more. We invited a few different reporters to Dodger Stadium so they could take batting practice, which is one of the prizes you can redeem your points for if you’re a member of the program.

Well, we wound up using one of our season ticket account executives to throw BP and he drilled T.J. Simers three times. I wish I had been there to see it, but alas, I was busy in the office. From what I heard, though, T.J. actually hit pretty well and by the time I saw him, he was trying to convince Grady that he belonged in the starting lineup.

Meanwhile, it’s an offday at Dodger Stadium so most of us are here trying to catch up on the things that never get done during a homestand. I can finally see my desk!

If you’re itching to hear Nomar’s rehab start you can now do that online.

Otherwise, take a night off and let’s get back to baseball tomorrow. Should be a fun weekend against the Diamondbacks.

In case word hasn’t made it out yet, Nomar is currently driving to Fresno to play for Triple-A Las Vegas tomorrow and Friday. If all goes well, he’ll be back in the starting lineup in LA on Saturday vs. Arizona.

Furcal, SS

Lofton, CF

Cruz, RF

Kent, 2B

Saenz, 1B

Mueller, 3B

Alomar, C

Repko, LF

Penny, P

It’s amazing how much one victory can change the way everyone thinks. Imagine, if we had lost last night’s game, we’re 6-9 and everyone is starting to think that we’re falling apart. Instead, we’re 7-8 with a great walk-off win and everyone’s feeling great. It’s strange how that works, but fortunately people who have watched baseball for years know how long the season is and that one win or loss in April doesn’t really make or break a season. Of course, we now have one more win we don’t "need" in September, but I’ve always found it interesting how much it changes people’s moods, thought processes and outlook.

On the injury front, Nomar is getting closer to making his Dodger debut, while Yhency Brazoban’s surgery went well yesterday. We’re all thinking of him and his recovery today, as it’s a long road back from Tommy John surgery, but everyone is hopeful he’ll be back and better than ever in about a year.

As for the offense, the Dodger hitters got together before yesterday’s game and while it didn’t create an offensive outburst, we doubled our hit production from the previous two nights and got a victory, which is what counts.

Finally, after Jason Repko chatted with fans yesterday, Dodger Vice Chairman and President Jamie McCourt will host a live chat tomorrow on USA Today.com.

Kent is, in fact, back in the lineup. And right now, he’s on a mountain just beyond Dodger Stadium, where he’s taking a cover photo for the upcoming Dodgers Magazine. Out of curiosity, do any of you guys read Dodgers Magazine (the game program) and what are your thoughts?

Anyway, here’s the lineup:

Furcal, SS

Lofton, CF

Drew, RF

Kent, 2B

Ledee, LF

Mueller, 3B

Loney, 1B

Navarro, C

Lowe P

In case you haven’t heard, Jason Repko will take part in a live chat today at 2 p.m. PT. It should last about half an hour. It’s the sixth of a series we’re doing, with all the upcoming ones listed here. Kim Ng is next on May 9. Pretty much, we’ll do one every other Tuesday at 2 p.m., rotating between an executive and a player.

We called up Oscar Robles today and designated Cody Ross for assignment. Obviously it’s tough to see Cody go, but with Jeff Kent out of the lineup, it was clear that there was a need for another infielder.

The good news is, Jeff’s eye exam came back fine, but he’s still got some soreness and a headache, so he’s out of the lineup today. He’s going to be reevaluated by Dr. Mellman in a little while, but it looks like he’s doing okay. In fact, he even had some playful banter with T.J. Simers, so it’s safe to say that his sense of humor is still intact.

As for Cody, I got a chance to catch up with him before he left and he’s in good spirits. He knows that this was just a situation of too many good outfielders and that it could mean a better opportunity for him elsewhere.

Today we have:

Furcal, SS

Lofton, CF

Cruz, LF

Drew, RF

Saenz, 1B

Mueller, 3B

Robles, 2B

Navarro, C

Tomko, P