… and everything will be allright!  Chin-lung Hu Got the winning hit, but Andre Ethier continues to get some very important hits.  He was 2-4 with his first HR and is rapidly establishing himself as a fixture in the Dodger lineup.  He has settled nicely into the #5 hole and I wouldn’t be surprised if he hits in that position the rest of the year. 

With Loney in the #3 spot and a RH hitter like Kent in the #4 spot we have great balance.  I think that Jones will be fine in the #6 spot and everyone should not panic just because he is off to a slow start.  He will pick it up and hit his usual .260 and 35 HR.  He’s a streak hitter and the #6 spot is perfect for him.  Matt Kemp needs to play every day and just work his way through things.  He will look bad, very bad at times - but he has to play and work through it.  This kid has that stuff Superstars are made of and HE HAS TO PLAY!

Now, I am sure that Joe was told by Ned to let Pierre lead off so that he could be “showcased” (Pierre didn’t co-operate by going 0-4), but we just need to take what we can get for Pierre and call up Repko - we’ll be a better team for it!  Juan Pierre has no position on this team.  However, he is going to play more.  Diamond Leung reports the following:

Despite Juan Pierre going 0 for 4 with four flyouts, Joe Torre liked the plate appearances and will start Pierre against Dan Haren tomorrow in the Diamondbacks’ home opener. “He had pretty good at-bats,” Torre said. “He hit them at people.” Torre didn’t pinch hit for Pierre in a tie game in the seventh, choosing to use Matt Kemp as a pinch runner even though Kemp played the field in the bottom of the inning, sending Pierre to the bench anyway. Pierre is now batting .091, and Kemp is bating .125.

Can you say “SHOWCASING?”  Make it happen, Ned.  I like Pierre, but he has no place on this team.

Lowe pitched another very good game and is showing he can be a good Number 2 for us.  Our bullpen continues to be stellar and our closer looks to be “lights out” again.   However, it is troubling that we aren’t hitting better.  Tony Jackson has a few stats that are very telling”:

The Dodgers are hitting .229 as a team, including .245 with RISP. Andruw Jones is batting .136. Matt Kemp is hitting .125. Russell Martin is hitting .095. And Jeff Kent is hitting .176. AND THIS TEAM IS 4-2 AND TIED FOR FIRST PLACE IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST. For that, they can thank a pitching staff that now has a collective 1.70 ERA for the season. All in all, not a bad result considering. If this team puts it together offensively and continues to pitch like this, it’s going to be a fun year. Just taking two of three in San Diego, in a ballpark where they always seem to shoot themselves in the foot, is huge for the Dodgers. On to Arizona, for three games against the OTHER first-place team in the N.L. West.

Beimel, Proctor, Tronscoso, Broxton and Saito all have no ERA.  C-Bill is the only reliever who has given up any rins and he’s not a reliever!

SUNDAY’S BOXSCORE

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT:

Las Vegas Lost 3-2 and is now 0-4 to start the season.

Move along, there’s nothing to see here folks!

• BOXSCORE

The Jacksonville Suns Won 2-1. 

Highlights:

• Ivan DeJesus, Jr. is hitting .385 after going 2-3
• Eduardo Sierra won his 2nd game
• Brazoban notched his 2nd save 
• BOXSCORE

The Inland Empire  66′ers lost 8-7.  

Lowlights:

• Ryan Rogowski was 2-5, with 2 runs scored in the leadoff spot
• Josh Bell was 3-5 and is at .471 - 30 pounds lighter may make him an elite player
• BOXSCORE

The Great Lakes Loons won 4-3 and are now 3-1

Highlights:

• Andrew Lambo was 3-5 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI
• Preston Mattingly was 2-5 
• Jon Dutton pitched 3.1 innings with 5 K’s in relief
• BOXSCORE

Starting Lineup:

Game Notes:

• The Dodgers did not homer in their first four Spring Training contests this year but ultimately ended up with a National League lead-tying 35 home runs this Spring. Similarly, the club has managed just one home run through the first five regular season games.

• The Dodgers are the only team in baseball that has not allowed 10 runs yet this season. The pitching staff has the best ERA in baseball at 1.84 (9 ER/44.0 IP) while the starting pitchers have posted a 2.20 mark (7 ER/28.2 IP) through their first five games of the season.  Dodger pitchers have also permitted just one home run in five games this season, the lowest total in baseball. Offensively, the Dodgers have scored 17 runs through five games, the fifth lowest total in the Majors.

• Larry Bowa returns to the third base coaching box following a suspension that stemmed from an ejection on Tuesday night.

Maybe that will fire the Dodgers up a bit.  Tony Jackson has a great article on Bowa in the OC REGISTER.  Here’s a sampling:

…Or watch Bowa after a player dogs it up the first-base line on a ground ball, throws to the wrong base or fails to hit a cutoff man.

“I know they say you have to stay positive with everybody,” Bowa said. “But I don’t like for players to take things for granted. This is a game you have to respect. You have to respect the opportunity, and you have to respect the game itself. You play the game hard for 27 outs and nine innings, and if you can’t stand out there for 31/ 2 hours and do things the right way, then you need to go do something else.” 

And most important, play the game right. That’s the principle Bowa tries now to instill in the players he mentors.

“I’ll never get on a guy for a physical mistake,” Bowa said. “You’re going to strike out. You’re going to make errors. This game is hard. But it’s the mental mistakes that you have to eliminate.

“When I played, the players would usually police themselves. If a guy didn’t run hard, the whole bench would let him know it when he got back to the dugout. But nowadays, you don’t see that as much.”

That’s where Bowa comes in.

That attitude is why Bowa is here.

There was no game yesterday.  It was over the instant Jake Peavy took the mound.  Nothing to note, nothing to talk about, nothing happened! 

Well, Andre Ethier did make a fine catch in RF, but that was about it!  That and Raffy’s triple and Loney’s double was all there was.  Tony Jackson pointed this out:

Since the start of last season, the No. 1 starters for the Rockies, Padres and Diamondbacks — Jeff Francis, Jake Peavy and Brandon Webb, respectively — are now a combined 11-0 with a 1.71 ERA in 14 starts against the Dodgers, who are 1-13 in those 14 games. If this team is to contend, it HAS to find a way to beat good pitching, at least once in a while. …

I knew we had trouble with other team’s aces, but that is crazy!  We HAVE to fix that.  Try, no!  There is no try - we do or we don’t do!  Fix it, Mike & Joe!  Joe Torre, in fact really scoed our only run when he argued that Baseball Rule 7.04c states, “Each runner, other than the batter, may without liability to be put out, advance one base when . . . a fielder, after catching a fly ball, falls into a bench or stand, or falls across ropes into a crowd when spectators are on the field.”  That caused Furcal to score from 3B.  Way to go Joe, maybe you can pinch hit tomorrow.

BOXSCORE

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT:

 LAS VEGAS lost 5-3 and is now 0-3 to statr the season.

Lowlights:

• John Lindsey and ramon Martinez were both 2-4 
• Terry Tiffee was 3-4
• Jon Meloan started and pitched 4 innings, allowing 7 hits, 2 runs and striking out 3 while walking none
• Greg Miller was the loser with 2 innings, 2 hits, 2 runs, ony 1 BB and 4 K’s - Sounds better than he did last year
• BOXSCORE

The Jacksonville Suns were postponed due to rain. 

The Inland Empire 66′ers lost 5-2.  

Lowlights:

• Josh Bell was 2-4 and even stole a base - 30 pounds lighter and he can run!
• James Adkins pitched 4 innings of 2 hit 0 run ball
• BOXSCORE

The Great Lakes Loons lost 4-3

Lowlights:

• Van Slyke was 2-4
• Mattingly was 1-4 with a HR
• Lambo was 1-4
• Smit pitched 5 innings of 2 hit/0 run /6 K ball
• BOXSCORE