To answer the question posed, no, there isn’t a belief right now that Jeff has to go on the DL. Grady just got done telling the reporters that Jeff is still possibly available for today or tomorrow but that they just don’t want to risk injuring it further. With the All-Star Break around the corner, I don’t think anyone is contemplating DLing Jeff until we see how he is on Thursday.

Also, there was a question about the bugs on the field at Dodger Stadium that you always see players waving their hands at. I spoke with Eric Hansen, our head groundskeeper and basically what he was able to tell me was that these have been here for years and that they’re small, black flies that we’ve tried to help get rid of, to no avail. Some days they’re worse than others and there doesn’t appear to be much of a pattern. But, I can attest to the fact that they’ve been at the stadium since at least 1994, which is when I first recall seeing them.

Furcal, SS

Cruz, LF

Nomar, 1B

Drew, RF

Kemp, CF

Martinez, 2B

Izturis, 3B

Hall, C

Lowe, P

Kent scratched again. Go back to the other lineup.

Good news on Jeff Kent…he’s in the lineup tonight, so in the one below, you can take out Ramon Martinez, bump Ethier down a spot and put Kent in the lineup.

Bad news though on Eric Gagne, who did not react as we had hoped to the epidural and therefore, will undergo back surgery tomorrow and will be forced to miss the rest of the season. This is obviously very disappointing for Eric and we wish him nothing but the best in his recovery. According to Dr. Watkins, who is doing the surgery, he is expected to be ready for Spring Training. We’ll all keep our fingers crossed.

Furcal, SS

Lofton, CF

Garciaparra, 1B

Drew, RF
Ethier, LF

Martinez, 2B

Izzy, 3B

Martin, C

Billingsley, P

All night long I had intended to post a thank you message and try and sum up this whole Internet campaign for Nomar’s All-Star candidacy and with everything going on tonight (Gagne, the game, guest radio appearances this weekend by Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile which we’ll announce tomorrow), I never got a chance to do so.

But, on the long drive home after a tough loss, it dawned on me that there really isn’t a need to say much more than, "You did it." With all the debating about whether or not the current system is the right one or whether voting 25 times makes you a big fan or not, the only thing that truly matters is that the guy who deserved to play in the All-Star Game is the guy that’s going to Pittsburgh.

So thank you from the Dodger organization and thank you from Nomar. He’s going to be sending out an email to Dodger fans tomorrow and having spoken to him right after Grady let him know that he made it, I can personally tell you all that he was genuinely appreciative of everything that was done on his behalf.

So sleep well despite the loss. Today was a win for Dodger fans all around the world.

You guys did it!!

More later on this, but for now, here’s our lineup with a missing person in it…still TBA based on BP.

UPDATE: Martinez is now at second base. Also, we got the bad news that Eric Gagne has a herniated disc in his back. He received an epidural earlier today and we’ll see how he is tomorrow, but unfortunately this is not good news for him or Dodger fans.

Jeff Kent is also out of the lineup tonight, but it’s still more precautionary at this point. Stan Johnston told me a little while ago that he could’ve gone out there tonight, but they don’t want him to make it worse. He’s day-to-day at this point.

Furcal, SS

Lofton, CF

Nomar, 1B

Drew, RF

Martinez, 2B

Ethier, LF

Izzy, 3B

Martin, C

Hendrickson, P

So it comes down to the next 21 and a half hours for Nomar and the All-Star campaign. And here are my final thoughts.

I actually agree with Jon Weisman’s Dodger Thoughts post the other day — whether or not you vote 25, 50 or 2,000 times for Nomar does not make you either a die-hard Dodger fan or a bad Dodger fan. As someone whose work day starts before 9 a.m. and lasts until 11 p.m. on many days, I can certainly understand that people get busy with their jobs, their kids, their hobbies or simply don’t care much about whether or not a player from their team goes to the All-Star Game.

But here’s what I’m tired of.

I’m tired of hearing how Red Sox fans are better than Dodger fans. Or that Yankee fans support their team more than Dodger fans. Or that the Cardinals have the best fans in baseball. I think that’s a crock.

Anyone who has seen the attendance figures in baseball knows where the best fans are and anyone who has been here when this place rocks with 56,000 fans shouldn’t have their loyalty to the club questioned. While other teams are building stadiums with capacities around 40,000, we’ve got fans practically hanging over the reserved level about 20-25 nights a year here.

That’s why we’re campaigning for Nomar – to silence anyone who thinks that as a whole, Dodger fans are too passive. And more importantly, because he deserves to be playing with the best players in the game next week. If I didn’t really believe that, I wouldn’t try to convince fans to spend a couple minutes of their precious time and help get him there.

If you want to, vote now. If you don’t, no big deal. Just keep rooting for the club down the stretch and keep putting your thoughts on the blog. We’re all ecstatic that fans have been able to post their comments here and that there’s truly a place for you to communicate with the front office and vice versa.

Now let’s go sweep the D’backs.

First, we got word that Eric Gagne was experiencing back pains today so he was taken to St. Vincent’s hospital, where he will be seen by Dr. Watkins. We’re hoping it’s nothing serious and that he recovers quickly.

Also, a speedy recovery wish goes out to Dioner Navarro, who was in a car accident today in Tampa with his wife and baby boy. Fortunately, all three were safe from injury despite having the car roll over twice on the freeway.

Here’s the lineup:

Furcal, SS

Izzy, 3B

Nomar, 1B

Drew, RF

Kent, 2B

Ethier, LF

Kemp, CF

Martin, C

Penny, P

Every Major League road trip either Ned Colletti, Kim Ng or myself accompany the team. Last week it was my turn as I made the trip to Minneapolis for our three-game series with the Twins. I looked forward to this trip for selfish reasons, as I pitched for the Twins 1986-1990 and made many friends as well as meeting my wife Mary Jo, who is from Richfield, Mn.

The most important job on a Major League trip is to keep Ned informed as much as possible on anything that is affecting the club. The first thing I try to do is to make contact with the opposing GM to let him know that I am with the team. Twins GM Terry Ryan and I go back a long ways to when I was a Twin and he was the team’s scouting director, so our conversation was very easy and to the point. We went over both our clubs, our needs and who was available for trade. Terry is one of the best GMs in the business, yet you might not find a more modest or more accommodating man in the industry. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and the organization he has built.

I also took the time to speak with Twins manager and my ex-teammate, Ron Gardenhire. Before batting practice I will check in with Grady to see how things are with him and to discuss any issues concerning the team. Sometimes the conversation may last only a few minutes depending on how things are going.

Being on the road also gives me more time to get feedback from our coaches about the young players that we’re transitioning into the big leagues.

On this particular trip, we consummated the deal with Tampa Bay where we acquired Mark Hendrickson and Toby Hall for Dionner Navarro and Jae Seo. On the morning that Grady and I received word from Ned that the trade was official, we both went to Jae’s hotel room to give him the news. Sometimes this can be very shocking to a player. However, Jae took the news well and we wished him the best.

I then spoke to Director of Public Relations Josh Rawitch to let him know that Jae had been informed. He then let us know when the trade will be announced publicly. The next call is to Mitch Poole, our clubhouse manager, to let him know that the trade is official and when he can expect the new players to report. Also, we make sure to speak with Team Travel Manager Scott Akasaki so that all arrangements can be made to get the players from both teams to the cities where they will be playing.

After each game, I check with our trainer Stan Johnston as to how the team came out of the game, health wise. I will then check with Grady to make sure everything is ok on his end before calling Ned to get him up to date.                      

Unfortunately, this did not turn out to be one of the club’s better road trips as we walked headlong into an extremely hot Twins team.