Wow. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a city go from so nice to so cold in a shorter amount of time. It’s 40 something degrees with 20 mph winds here, so it should make for an interesting game. Of course, both teams face the same elements, so it’ll come down to who handles them better and can get some offense going. I’d imagine that getting jammed with a pitch tonight won’t feel very good on the hands.

One lucky guy who doesn’t have to play in this weather is Russell Martin, who has tonight off. Right now he’s actually got my cell phone and is doing an “interview” with LA native Tyson Chandler, the center for the New Orleans Hornets. It’s part of an ESPN the Magazine piece that will be coming out soon, so keep a lookout for it.

As I type this, I’m also in the Wrigley Field visitor’s clubhouse, where it is easily the smallest locker room in the National League (and probably the Majors, though I’ve never been to Fenway). With ESPN here tonight, plus a ton of Japanese media to cover the big matchup between Kuroda and Fukudome, it’s a little tight in here. But, it’s the big leagues, so you won’t hear me complaining.

Actually, being in this clubhouse reminds me of a game here several years back when we lost 20-1 and poor Jose Antonio Nunez, who was a Rule 5 pick, had to just take the beating for the team. Afterward, there was tons of media on site (myself included, as I was covering the team that year for dodgers.com) and the tight confines of this clubhouse did not make for a happy group of Dodgers. Here’s hoping we’re the ones scoring 20 runs tonight.

I’d also like to send out get well wishes to Andruw Jones on behalf of the entire organization. He had his surgery this morning back in Los Angeles to clean up the tear in the meniscus of his right knee. I’m certainly hoping that the time away will fix him physically and get him back in a positive frame of mind when he gets back in four to six weeks.

As for tonight’s game, we are on FSN Prime Ticket and Blake DeWitt will be wearing a mic, so that should add a fun element to the broadcast. Here’s the lineup:

Pierre, LF

Maza, SS

Ethier, RF

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Ardoin, C

Kuroda, P