Clearly Andre is popular, as we had tons of questions flowing in from you guys and your fellow Dodger fans during his live chat. The transcript should be up shortly. Here’s today’s lineup:

Furcal, SS

Lofton, CF

Garciaparra, 1B

Drew, RF

Kent, 2B

Ethier, LF

Lugo, 3B

Hall, C

Hendrickson, P

Roy will answer the question about the Arizona Fall League shortly. Time to turn the tables on the Padres, who seem to have been our toughest opponent all year.

…that is, days with the same lineup. Plenty more below:

Furcal, SS

Lofton, CF (baseball hottest hitter finally qualifies for league leaders)

Nomar, 1B

Drew, RF

Kent, 2B

Ethier, LF

Betemit, 3B

Martin, C

Billingsley, P (second-best ERA among MLB starters since the break)

Here are some game notes to snack on:

STAYING HOT IN AUGUST – The club record for wins in August was 20, set by the 1983 Dodgers. The team is five victories shy of that mark with nine games to go.

LOOKOUT LEADERBOARD – Kenny Lofton has now tallied the necessary amount of plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders and is tied for seventh in the NL with a .319 batting average. He leads the NL with a .350 average (27-for-60) in August and is 10 points short of the club record for highest average in a month. According to STATS, LLC, Lofton’s current mark would be the third-highest by a Dodger in any month behind Pedro Guerrero (.460 in July 1985) and Willie Davis (.459 in August 1969).

NOT JUST THIS SEASON OR THIS MONTH – Since the start of the 2005 season, only two players in baseball have a better average than Kenny Lofton among big leaguers with 600 or more plate appearances. Miguel Cabrera (.329) and Albert Pujols (.328) are just above Lofton (.327). During that span, Lofton has stolen 46 bases and has been caught just six times for an 88 percent success rate. He also has a .384 on-base percentage since the start of last year.

WILSON TOPS RUSSELL – Wilson Betemit is now 16-2 in his starts for the Dodgers, including victories in his first 14 starts. Russell Martin was 15-2 in his first 17 starts, including a 5-0 mark to start his big league career.

OUTFIELD OF DREAMS – Since the Dodgers’ began their recent hot streak on July 27, J.D. Drew has led the team with 18 runs batted in while playing in 21 games during that stretch. Andre Ethier is second on the club with 15 RBI during that span. Combined with Kenny Lofton, the trio of outfielders is batting .352 (77-for-219) with seven homers, 41 RBI, 38 runs scored and eight stolen bases in the Dodgers’ last 22 games.

SLAMMIN’ SAMMY – Takashi Saito came on yesterday with the bases loaded in a 5-1 game and struck out three of the four batters he faced for his 14th save in 15 chances. Saito lowered his ERA to 2.24, which is the lowest mark of any National League pitcher with 50 or more innings, ahead of Billy Wagner (2.27). Saito joins the Twins Joe Nathan (25/26) and Pittsburgh’s Mike Gonzalez (21/21) as the only pitchers in baseball with 10 or more saves and one or less blown saves.

How much fun was yesterday’s game? The stadium was electric, Saito was superb and taking the series from the Giants in dramatic fashion made yesterday’s game about as exciting as any we’ve had all year long. I don’t think any of us can possibly describe Saito’s value to the team this year and to top it off, he’s really an awesome guy. His English is very limited, but he’s always smiling and joking with his teammates, except when he’s on the mound. That’s when he means business.

No one ever sent me the photo of the flags from up north, so I can’t post them, but I did take note of how great it looked seeing the Dodger flag high atop AT&T Park.

Going back to my theory the other day that the NL West isn’t as bad as everyone says it is, it’s no longer even the closest race in the Majors. The Central is separated by 2.5 games but as we all know, with six weeks left in the season, a lot of things are still very possible. No one is printing playoff tickets just yet, but for those of you who are season ticket holders, be on the lookout for information very soon about buying yours in advance, as this is the time that all teams that are still in contention start to send out invoices.

Also, if you want a chance to chat with Andre Ethier, tomorrow is the day at 2 p.m. PT.

I have to give a shout out to Seth Amitin, who won the Daily News columnist contest on the newspaper’s web site. He’ll get to spend a day in the press box at Dodger Stadium and he’s done some very nice work over the past few weeks. I also have to admit that he’s the younger brother of a friend of mine growing up, but fortunately I had nothing to do with the voting or the contest at all. Still, it was a neat idea that the Daily News came up with.

If you’re near a TV today at 3:40 PT, Julio Lugo will be on ESPN News and tomorrow, Andre Ethier will be doing the same at 3:40 PT. Just a few of the countless requests pouring in these days to talk to the boys.

Finally, a book recommendation for anyone looking for some late summer reading. I recently borrowed Anderson Cooper’s "Dispatches from the Edge" from Grady Little’s wife, Debi, who had first loaned it to bullpen coach Dan Warthen. It’s a very quick and interesting read and I’m almost halfway done after picking it up on the plane yesterday from the Bay Area. Though this book has nothing to do with baseball, there are some real similarities in his life as a news/war correspondent and those of us who work in the game.

While none of us have seen the horrors and tragedies that he has in his lifetime, and baseball is absolutely nothing like a war zone, it’s the constant pace of life that ties us together. In the book, Cooper writes: "I sometimes believe it’s motion that keeps me alive…I tried to settle down back home in Los Angeles, but I missed that feeling, that rush. I went to see a doctor about it. He told me I should slow down for a while, take a break. I just nodded and left, booked a flight out that day. It didn’t seem possible to stop."

One of these days, life will slow down, but I hope it’s not until the end of October and there’s a parade that caps it all off.

According to Grady, this is the first time we’ll run the same lineup out there three days in a row:

Furcal, SS

Lofton, CF

Nomar, 1B

Drew, RF

Kent, 2B

Ethier, LF

Betemit, 3B

Martin, C

Lowe, P

Maddux sent down 32 in a row last night, the most by a Dodger since Don Sutton in 1976 (33). Pretty efficient, if you ask me.

Today, we look to make it seven series in a row that we’ve won…

It’s chilly outside…a good time to get hot.

Furcal, SS (his rt. shoulder seems fine…just tightened up last night in the cold)

Lofton, CF (third-best average in baseball since the beginning of last year)

Nomar, 1B

Drew, RF

Kent, 2B

Ethier, LF

Betemit, 3B

Martin, C

Maddux, P (going for Top 10 in wins again)

Furcal, SS

Lofton, CF

Nomar, 1B

Drew, RF

Kent, 2B

Ethier, LF

Betemit, 3B

Martin, C

Penny, P

Last week, Mark Langill, myself and our Sr. VP of Public Affairs, Howard Sunkin, talked to a class of journalism/PR graduate students from USC and I got an interesting question from one of the students. She asked me how I can gauge whether or not we’re doing a good job in PR and my answer was that we’re a lot different from your typical PR firm.

For any of you who might work in PR at a firm, you probably know that the job is to get your client’s name out in the media, wherever and whenever possible. However, the Dodgers are similar to politics and entertainment in that, we have countless media members covering us on a daily basis and therefore, we don’t have to proactively seek coverage that often. While we do plenty of this when there’s a good story to get out there, more often than not, we have to turn down some media requests because the volume is too high.

What I told this student was that one of the ways we really gauge success in our department is if we are able to keep the focus on the field. It’s very obvious that the reason you all come to this blog or follow the Dodgers is because of what goes on down on the field. While our main goals also include providing an unparalleled fan experience and a commitment to the community like never before, those are probably not as important to you guys as a winning team, year-in and year-out, which is our main goal at the Dodgers.

Today, I’d have to say, was a good news day for the Dodgers, as the L.A. Times and Daily News both had front page stories about the club that spanned much of the front section. While I haven’t seen the hard copy of the papers and have only read them online, I was emailed this morning by three people in my office to tell me how cool it looks on the cover of the whole newspaper. And of course, while we’d love to take credit for this in our department, I think it’s pretty clear that when we’re winning, we have a great PR department and when we’re not, we’re pretty lousy – or at least that’s what it looks like. Sure, there are things that we can do to help bring to light a lot of the positive things we do on a daily basis – community visits, renovation to the stadium, feel-good stories about our players, etc. – but there’s a limit to what we can do.  Nonetheless, grab a copy of the local papers if you want to get an overall take on what’s gone on during this recent hot stretch.

A couple other good stories you might want to check out are from Doug Krikorian at the Long Beach Press Telegram and a feature on Ned Colletti in the Chicago Tribune.

Meanwhile, I’ll definitely put the photo of the flags from AT&T Park on the blog once it’s sent to me. Back home in LA, our team president, Jamie McCourt, has emailed the front office to say that everyone can go home at 2 p.m. today, right after they finish their first-place ice cream. If you haven’t heard about that tradition yet, check out the Times story I linked to above.

That’s all for now. Heading to the park in an hour or two and will post the lineup when I get there.

In about two hours, we’ll board the bus for the airport and head up north for a series against our longtime rivals, the Giants. Though I have to admit I really like the city of San Francisco, I could do without the team. Giants PR guys aside, I would love nothing more than to get going again with a three-game sweep in Pac Bell Park/SBC Park/AT&T Park…

As I have mentioned the last few days have been incredibly busy for our offices, as homestands are always busy and unprecedented 17-1 runs make them even crazier. We had just about every national media outlet calling to speak with or cover our players or staff, who have appeared on everything from Baseball Tonight to Rome is Burning, CBSSportsline.com, CNNSI.com (John Donovan’s All-Rookie team) and (Jon Weisman’s in-depth view of Andre Ethier), Yahoo Sports (great article on all the rookies) and countless others. Our guys have been on radio stations from Los Angeles to Canada and local TV stations all across the country. All of this takes coordination, which is really what our department does on a daily basis.

For any of our Spanish-speaking fans, you’ve got to check out Boris Mizrahi’s article about Wilson Betemit. I highlight this article not only because it’s a good read, but also because Boris was extremely helpful to me in 2002 when I covered the Caribbean Series in Caracas and throughout Venezuela. He helped an out-of-town journalist when he didn’t have to and I’m glad to see he’s got a gig writing for MLB.com.

Anyway, between the hospital visit, elementary school visit, autograph sessions, live web chats and much more and there’s certainly been plenty to do around here.

I’ll be interested in seeing just how the FAA’s new regulations affect our charter flight today. We’ve been told that we can’t bring liquids on the plane, much like any normal flight, but I’m sure that air travel in general will be a little strange. I have yet to fly since last week’s terrorism plot was foiled and while I’m not terribly concerned, you’re always a little more careful when things like that happen.

For now, enjoy the day away from the game (who am I kidding, you’re still reading this right now) and we’ll be back at it again tomorrow.

If you’re sitting in your office right now, wondering why you’re at work and not at Dodger Stadium, I don’t blame you. Suddenly you feel a bit of a cold coming on and you walk, sniffling and coughing, into your bosses’ office and tell them that you’re not feeling well and that you’ll have to go home for the day. Somehow, on your way home, you happen to pass Elysian Park Ave. and before you know it, you’re watching history in the making from the reserved level or pavilions.

Does this sort of thing happen every time we have a day game? I don’t think I really have to answer that question.

Here’s the lineup:

Lofton, CF

Lugo, SS (he’s now played 2B, 3B, SS, LF and CF in two weeks)

Nomar, 1B

Drew, RF

Kent, 2B

Ethier, LF

Betemit, 3B

Hall, C

Hendrickson, P (going for his fourth good start in a row)

I just grabbed the lineup card from last night’s game for our archives. If you haven’t seen the latest issue of ESPN the Magazine, there’s a great two-page spread about the incredible historical stuff the Dodgers have saved over the years. This is how stuff like that winds up in the archives. Something big happens and someone in the offices snaps a photo, grabs an item or asks the ticket office for some ticket stock. Hopefully it’ll be on display for all of you to see sometime soon at Dodger Stadium. And then there’s Al LaMacchia, who has witnessed history from a scout’s perspective.

Here are a few game notes to keep people updated:

THREE WEEKS AGO TODAY – On July 26, the Dodgers were in last place, a season-high 7.5 games out of first. In the past 20 days, they have gained 11.0 games in the NL West standings, having won six straight and 17 of their last 18 games. That stretch was preceded by a 1-13 stretch. The Dodgers have either had the division lead or shared it for 23 days this season.

PARTY LIKE IT’S 1899 – In the modern era (since 1900), the Dodgers have never had an 18-game span like their current one. The last time they went 17-1 over 18 games was in May/June, 1899 when they were still called the Superbas and won 20 of 21 games. In fact, over the past 20 years, the only NL team to win 17 of 18 games was the 1986 Mets, who went on to win a World Championship.         Source: Elias Sports Bureau

TO BE 18 AGAIN – During the last 18 games, the Dodgers have hit .297 as a team (181-for-610) with 99 runs scored for an average of 5.5 runs per game. They’ve been paced by Kenny Lofton (.429), Nomar Garciaparra (.350), Rafael Furcal (.347, 12 RBI) and Andre Ethier (.338, 12 RBI). During those 18 games, the pitching staff has a 2.37 ERA (41 ER/156.0 IP) with 136 strikeouts and 50 walks. Leading the way has been Brad Penny (3-0, 3.15), Derek Lowe (3-1, 2.93), Jonathan Broxton (0 ER/10.0 IP) and Greg Maddux (1-0, 0.90 ERA).

LOFTY NUMBERS – Since the start of the 2005 season, only two players in baseball have a better average than Kenny Lofton among big leaguers with 600 or more plate appearances. Albert Pujols (.331) and Miguel Cabrera (.328) are just above Lofton (.326). During that span, Lofton has stolen 43 bases and has been caught just six times for an 88 percent success rate. He also has a .381 on-base percentage since the start of last year.

HE’S ONE HALL OF AN INFLUENCE – Since Greg Maddux joined the Dodgers, the team’s ERA is 2.13 (32 ER/135.0 IP). Prior to that, the team’s ERA was 4.45 (465 ER/941.0 IP). Overall, the Dodger pitching staff has a 4.16 ERA this year, fourth-best in the National League.

Yes, it’s another song title but it’s relevant again this time.

With the victory tonight, the Dodgers have won 17 of 18 games for the first time since 1899, when they won 20 of 21. And with the Padres’ loss, the Dodgers now lead the West by 3.5 games, their largest lead of the season.

As you can expect, it’s been really busy around here with media and with a day game tomorrow, I’m not sure how much more I’ll get to write in the morning, but enjoy this victory…the team’s never been hotter in any of our lifetimes.