A nice way to break out of the offensive skid yesterday…I’d certainly like to see us spread the scoring around a little bit rather than big outbursts followed by one-run games, but obviously I can’t arrange for that to happen. It seems strange that we’ve scored 82 runs, allowed 71 and are three games under .500. Law of averages would seem to indicate we should be a game over .500 or thereabouts right now, but that’s why laws don’t apply on the field, right?

In any event, here’s tonight’s lineup:

Furcal, SS (tied with Johnny Frederick for the second-most leadoff homers in Dodger history)

Martin, C

Nomar, 3B

Kent, 2B

Ethier, RF

Kemp, CF

Loney, 1B

Pierre, LF

Kuo, P

Now that was a weekend I’d like to quickly forget…there’s nothing more that can be said on that front. Three runs in three days won’t get it done, no matter how good our pitching can be, so let’s hope we can get well soon in Cincy before returning home.

Speaking of getting well soon, our sincere thoughts go out to former Dodger coach Preston Gomez, who celebrated his birthday yesterday in the hospital following a bad car accident earlier this month. Bill Plunkett, who used to cover the Dodgers for the OC Register and now covers the Angels, posted a blog about Preston yesterday with an update on his condition.

Furcal, SS

Martin, C

Nomar, 3B

Kent, 2B

Ethier, LF

Kemp, RF

Loney, 1B

Jones, CF

Penny, P

 

For those not in LA, keep an eye out on TBS for today’s game with this lineup…

Furcal, SS

Pierre, LF

Loney, 1B

Jones, CF

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

DeWitt, 3B

Hu, 2B

Kuroda, P

Furcal, SS

Ethier, LF

Kemp, RF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Nomar, 3B

Jones, CF

Bennett, C

Billingsley, P

We will be sending out a press release shortly announcing that July 25 will be Brad Penny Bobblehead while the Fans Vote Bobblehead on Aug. 12 will be Joe Beimel.

I wanted to break the news here, as I know that there are many who believe that somehow we didn’t want Joe to get this bobblehead. For what it’s worth, I’m happy to say that from the very beginning when we saw how the voting process was going, I have been of the belief that we should be making a Beimel bobblehead. It was only due to a a joking comment in the clubhouse and an off-the-cuff text message that Joe sent to his buddy that this entire thing took a turn for the dramatic. As I’ve said all along, there are no conspiracies here and I’m sure that everyone in the soon-to-be sellout crowd that night will come to love their Beimel bobblehead as much as every other we’ve given away over the years.

With that, here’s the lineup in Atlanta:

Furcal, SS

Kemp, RF

Ethier, LF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

Jones, CF

Nomar, 3B

Lowe, P

Nomar has been activated and is in the lineup. Joe Torre has yet to announce the corresponding move, but expects to announce it after batting practice.

Furcal, SS

Martin, C

Kemp, RF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Jones, CF

Nomar, 3B

Pierre, LF

Penny, P

We’ve certainly had our share of tough games so far this season, but last night definitely takes the cake. Saito has been nearly automatic for two years, so it’s hard to be upset when he shows that he’s human. Still, everyone knows that we’ve got to start winning now and hopefully tonight’s the night.

Also, thanks for those of you who have shared their thoughts on the Fans Vote Bobblehead. I know that we’re getting closer to announcing results of that vote, as well as who will be depicted in the third bobblehead on July 25, so stay tuned on that front. I definitely have to give a shout out to the people at dodgerblues.com, who have taken their humor to an entirely new level (not to mention their love of yours truly). Rest assured, Blues Brothers, there are no conspiracy theorists around Dodger Stadium.

Far more important than any of that, though, is our celebration tonight of Jackie Robinson. Sixty-one years ago today, he broke the color barrier for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the game and world haven’t been the same since. We remember him, we honor him, and we thank him for everything with some great pregame ceremonies planned. If you can still come down and grab a ticket, you definitely should…

Here’s tonight’s lineup…

Furcal, SS

Kemp, RF

Ethier, LF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

Jones, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Kuo, P

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Time to get the offense going…no doubt about that. Here’s the crew that will try to make tonight’s game more like Saturday’s than Sunday’s…

Furcal, SS

Ethier, LF

Kemp, RF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

Jones, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Kuroda, P

And of course, a very happy anniversary to Tommy Lasorda and his wife Jo!

Sorry for failing to post the lineup yesterday…was actually away from the stadium for a day, attending a close friend’s wedding. Now back at it again Sunday morning…

I also didn’t get the chance to post about Friday night’s suite event in which we hosted seveal of the Dodger fans who have their own blogs about the Dodgers. As many of you probably know, there are a handful of fans who put quite a bit of time into hosting these sites and they’ve become a great forum for fans to cheer, chat, gripe and get to know one another.

Back during the winter, we reached out to the 15 or so sites that are the most established and began sending them our media releases. After all, if they’re going to be writing about the Dodgers every day, they might as well have the most up to date information, right? On Friday, with short notice, five of the sites’ administrators were able to make it out and hear from the people who make many decisions around here, including Frank McCourt, Ned Colletti and Tommy Lasorda.

I think that most of the people in the suite got a better understanding of what goes into a lot of the decisions made here, both on and off the field, and for that, the entire event was well worth it. As the world continues to change and fans get their information from a number of different areas, this is certainly one that only seems to be getting bigger.

In any event, here’s the lineup for the series finale this afternoon…

Furcal, SS

Pierre, LF

Ethier, RF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Martin, C

Jones, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Billingsley, P

 

 

 

Many of you have had questions and or posted comments about our autograph policy during batting practice and I want to thank you all for your patience in getting a response. I didn’t want to post anything until we had all the correct information and I’m happy to say that thanks to the feedback of you and other fans, we have decided to essentially return to our previous pregame autograph policy.

As you probably know by now, renovations to the Field Level prompted us to limit traffic to only those with tickets to that concourse.  Members of our organization were concerned that our revamped areas, if open to all 56,000 fans, would cause long lines at the new concession stands, even though shorter lines were the goal.  

So here’s the new (or old, actually), policy: Fans who enter the Left Field Pavilion or the left field Field Level entrance for batting practice can do so starting two hours before the game until 90 minutes before the game (same as recent years). Such fans may stay on the Field Level until batting practice ends, which is 50 minutes before the scheduled first pitch. At that time, fans return to their seats.

On days when teams do not take batting practice, fans may still remain on the Field Level until 50 minutes before the scheduled start of the game.

The popularity of the new concessions still prompts us to limit traffic on the Field Level to fans holding Field Level tickets once Batting Practice ends.  We will continue to evaluate the length of the lines as the season continues.

In addition, the center field area, on the warning track, is also available to fans on a first-come, first-served basis to shag home run balls during Batting Practice. 

Plus, beyond the center field wall is “Autograph Alley,” where at least one former Dodger will sign autographs before every game from approximately two hours prior to game time until 15 minutes before first pitch. Dodgers expected this weekend include Ron Cey and Rudy Law (tonight), Wes Parker (Saturday), and Tommy Davis (Sunday). For the series Monday through Wednesday, the “probables” are “Sweet” Lou Johnson, Ken Landreaux, and Ken McMullen.

Again, thank you for your candid feedback and for your patience.

Now, back to what you’re really waiting for…tonight’s lineup.

Furcal, SS
Pierre, LF
Ethier, RF
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
Jones, CF
DeWitt, 3B
Penny, P