As you can imagine, much of today has been spent planning for next week’s onslaught of media that is following the home run chase. There was an interesting article on SI.com about those covering it, many of whom we’ll see next week en masse. Among the many things we have to take into consideration is where all these people will park, where they’ll sit, where all the photographers will shoot from, etc.

And we’re hoping to see some of you at the Sleepover tonight at Dodger Stadium. The game will be on DodgerVision, with this lineup:

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Loney, 1B

Kent, 2B (five career homers off Fogg, tied for his most against any pitcher)

Gonzo, LF

Nomar, 3B

Ethier, RF

Lieberthal, C

Tomko, P

I wish there was more I could do to moderate the comments on the blog but to be honest, I simply don’t have enough time to figure out who’s starting fights with whom and try to keep you all in grown-up mode. I certainly hope that you can learn to police yourselves and ignore those who are out of line.

If you think about all the different personalities that visit this site, you’re obviously not going to get along with everyone. It’s that way in any walk of life, so engage in conversations with those who are acting like adults and ignore the others. That’s really all I can tell you guys and hopefully you’ll work it out amongst yourselves.

Still no word on Derek’s MRI…here’s the lineup for tonight in Colorado:

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Martin, C

Gonzo, LF

Nomar, 3B

Loney, 1B

Betemit, 2B

Kemp, RF

Penny, P (looking to become the first Dodger starting pitcher to start the year 13-1 since 1920 and first in baseball since Roger Clemens in 2001, according to STATS, LLC)

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Gonzo, LF

Betemit, 3B

Loney, 1B

Kemp, RF

Lowe, P

Also, Saito threw off a mound today, about 40 pitches and everything went well. I can’t imagine he’ll be in the game tonight after that many pitches earlier in the afternoon, but hopefully he’ll be available tomorrow.

Also, Hong-Chih Kuo had arthroscopic surgery today to remove loose bodies from his elbow and as soon as more info is available, we’ll pass it along.

The lineup is the same as last night.

As for the question about public appearances or a chance to meet the Dodger players, here are some upcoming opportunities:

8/3 James Loney at the Staples in Burbank

8/4 Matt Kemp at the Staples in Venice

8/4 Chad Billingsley at the AT&T store in Alhambra

8/8 Ramon Martinez at the Cacique Cheeses in Valencia

8/8 Joe Beimel at the AT&T Store in Sherman Oaks

8/13 Wilson Betemit at the Cacique Cheeses store in Los Angeles

In most of these cases, the signing is from 12-1 p.m. but please contact the store directly to confirm the time.

Despite Eric Stults’ great game yesterday, more pitching is needed right now so he was optioned back to Triple-A and Eric Hull was recalled. He’s with the team in Houston right now. Takashi Saito should be arriving in Houston tonight and I still don’t have any sort of update yet medically, but once we do, I’ll pass it along or it will surely be in Ken Gurnick’s notebook.

Here’s the lineup:

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B (has reached base in 33 straight games, the longest streak in MLB in 2007)

Gonzo, LF

Nomar, 3B (birthday boy, along with Kuo, Stan Johnston and the late Pee Wee Reese and Don Drysdale)

Loney, 1B

Ethier, RF

Billingsley, P

The Dodgers have the best record in the NL and tickets are still available to see them play the team with the second-best record. Plus, if you’ve got kids, they can come and get autographs from Dodger players, who will be at the entrances signing from 11:15 – 12 p.m.

And if you’re a big kid and want an autograph, you can even purchase the jerseys worn by the players in today’s game at the silent auction on the Club Level during the game or a live auction right after the game.

It was great to meet many of the Dodger Thoughts people out here yesterday and our thanks go out to Jon Weisman for the kind words on his site. However, I cannot personally take all the credit. As with everything we do, it was a team effort and Camille Johnston was the one who had the idea of inviting Frank McCourt. I think he genuinely enjoyed chatting with those who were here, as did Camille and I.

One thing that came up that surprised me was how few people knew about the guest relations department. So keep in mind that if you’re at a game and a fan nearby is getting unruly or ruining the fan experience for everyone else, all you have to do is call (323) 224-1507 and let them know where you’re sitting and security will come down and warn that person so you don’t have to point them out publicly and worry about upsetting them. The number is also posted regularly on the ribbon boards that wrap the Loge Level.

That was just one of the many subjects touched on, but we certainly encourage people to post their questions here and we’ll do our best to get back to everyone.

Here’s today’s lineup:

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF (14-game hitting streak)

Martin, C (chat with him on Tuesday at 2 p.m. PT)

Kent, 2B

Gonzo, LF

Nomar, 3B

Loney, 1B

Ethier, RF (batting .425 in July)

Stults, P

A large group from Dodger Thoughts is coming to today’s game and we’ve got a few cool things in store for them. I’m fairly certain that anyone that reads this blog also reads Jon Weisman’s site every day, as he does an incredible job of "covering" the Dodgers for someone who isn’t out here every day. I’m sure when he started his blog five years ago today, he didn’t think it would become what it has but it’s very obvious what a big role it plays in many of your lives, which is something he should be proud of…

Meanwhile, I see a lot of chatter every day about who should be in the lineup, but strangely, there’s not a lot of talk about trade winds. It almost feels like the deadline isn’t 10 days away. What do you all think? Do you like the team as it is or would you go out and add something to it. If so, what? (and try to be realistic).

Today’s game is on FOX and thought it’s not on "national" TV, it is on in 118 markets across the country so it’ll be the most watched game in the country.

Meanwhile, here’s a cool note: The Dodgers are donating 400 bags of sunflower seeds to Blue Star Mother’s of America for U.S. troops overseas through our seed supplier, David Seeds.  The individual bags of seeds will be placed in care packages for the troops.  Blue Star Mothers of America is a 501(c)3 service organization of Mothers who have, or have had, children honorably serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Here’s today’s lineup:

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Martin, C (you can chat with him live on Tuesday at 2 p.m. PT)

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Betemit, 3B

Ethier, RF

Kemp, LF

Penny, P (trying to be the first Dodger since Phil Regan in 1966 to start out 12-1

Somehow I feel like I’ve betrayed the masses by only posting lineups for a few days. I’m hoping to write more tonight during the game (though please don’t think that means there’s a big move coming because as far as I know, there isn’t). And let’s be honest, you’re coming here for the lineup, not my rambling.

If you want to hear straight from Ned, tune into AM 570 at 5 p.m., as he’ll be on with Petros and Money. And there’s info coming about a new program we’re starting with KFWB, so at the very least I’ll write about that tonight.

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Gonzo, LF

Nomar, 3B

Loney, 1B

Kemp, RF

Tomko, P

Please forgive the short posts…been busy of late. Here’s the lineup:

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Gonzo, LF

Nomar, 3B

Loney, 1B

Kemp, RF

Lowe, P

An early start today…try to get some work done at the office, would ya?

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Martin, C

Gonzo, LF

Betemit, 3B

Loney, 1B

Ethier, RF

Martinez, 2B

Billingsley, P