Its 6:15 pm as I type this and the Dodgers still have not given anyone in the press box tonight’s Dodgers lineup. Not sure what the deal is but its creating a bit of a stir here. I wonder what Torre is up to?
Unfortunately for all of us I was stuck in the worst traffic on the way to the game from San Diego and was very late (4:45). Too late to catch Torre for a pre-game talk.
I did catch BP and Ethier hitting the snot out of the ball once again. The ball just jumps off of his bat and has a crisp sound. One can tell its him hitting without even looking in the direction of the cage.
Nomar seemed very happy to be back in LA. He came over to the Dodgers side and into the stands near where the McCourts sit.
I caught Casey Blake giving lip service to Matt Holiday during 
Dodgers BP. Holiday was sitting directly behind the cage enjoying the sunshine. Hmmm, maybe he’s contemplating what playing on the Dodgers would feel like? Hey Holiday, it feels like victory!
Tonight is the last night of the free parking promotion, that seems to have been a great success. There were 3,841 walk-ups last night. That’s the second highest of the year and second only to the Ethier batting practice jersey give away night (3,933). At least Ethier is clutch when it comes to promotions (think Carne Asade Sunday with Dre)!
So this is the rubber match of our series with the lowly Athletics of Oakland. We are 4-4 in Interleague play so far this season, which is good…. for us. We are 94-105 lifetime in Interleague play.
The Dodgers have won 7 of their last 10 series finales and are 13-8 overall in the last game of a series. So the numbers are with us tonight. However, we are 0-2 in games I have attended as a member of the press. I may not come anymore if that streak continues! Overall we have won 17 of 21 series this season.
Martin has thrown out 13 runners this season, tops in the NL and tied for first in all of MLB behind Gerald Laird. The staff ERA of 3.34 when Martin is behind the plate is tops in the league and Martin also leads the league in innings caught this season with 499. Tired? Probably. Washed up? Probably not! Martin also launched his own site today, www.RussellMartin55.com, so feel free to get anything you want to off of your chest by leaving him a comment here. 
Mitch Jones will hopefully get some PT tonight, he really lights up the stands here. It would be great to see him hit one out tonight. I have to say that he is not a big guy, even though he is a power hitter.
Check him out waiting his turn in the cages tonight. Duncan is only about a foot and a half shorter than Duncan while on one knee!
UPDATE:
Lineup:
Furcal
Pierre
Hudson
Blake
Ehtier
Kemp
Loney
Martin
Wolf
Very nice info Miguel. Its hard to teach us old dogs new tricks i.e. twat,twit or tweet, I have a hard enough time texting. Thanks again for the .com. I will check it out. Have a Dodgerdog for all of us.
Complimentary Dodger Dogs come out in the 5th inning. I'll try to save room!
They're intentionally walking Loney to get to Martin and load the bases with one out! They must have read our blog and the post at http://mikesciosciastragicillness.com/ today.
And…. the strategy worked. Martin lined softly to short, all but killing the rally with the pitcher up next. Even in the 8 hole he's an offfensive liability! This is exactly the reason I don't like seeing Loney so low in the lineup! He's our best RBI guy and needs protection.
Great job Miguel. I am sooooo jealous!
Here's what will make you feel better, at least you were'nt stuck in sweltering LA traffic today!
That's the part I don't miss. Indy's worst day is not close to LA's best day. That part drives me crazy when I'm in LA. When I was in LA, my wife said, "You'd love to live there wouldn't you?"
UH, NO!
If I could just go to Dodgers games, well – maybe!
It took a bad throw to get Pierre at 2B!
Hey Miguel,
Please don't tell anyone about the strippers, lap dances, filet mignon and all the free booze in the Pressbox.
Shhhh, damnit my wife might be watching the blog!
I would like to figure out a way to make Matt Holliday a Dodger!
How about this?
1B – Loney
2B – Hudson
SS – Furcal
3B – Blake
LF – Ramirez
CF -Kemp
RF – Holliday
C – Ellis
In case you haven't figured it out, I traded Martin and Ethier for Holliday.
Lineup:
1. Furcal SS
2. Hudson 2B
3. Manny LF
4. Holliday RF
5. Loney 1B
6. Kemp CF
7. Blake 3B
8. Ellis C
Nobody's here, Miguel.
I ran them all off talking bad about Andre Ethier!
That was a terrible throw that the catcher cutoff to nab Pierre trying to stretch the RBI single.
The catcher had 3 assists in that inning, rare, and to three different positions!
Horrible play by Furcal to tell Pierre to throw to 2B!
Raffy has been hanging out with Andruw Jones too much!
OK, if no one else wants to talk here, I am out!
His first year out of Colorado and Holliday is on course for his worst year since 2004. Ethier might actually have a better year than he does. Andre is two years younger and several million cheaper.
You sure you want to make that trade?