Hopefully most of you saved all the flowers and cards for mom until this evening, because if she's a Dodger fan, following the total downer of an 8-5 loss to the Astros Sunday afternoon, she'll likely need a little pick-me up.   While it was their fourth straight loss, the Dodgers did manage to flip the script enough to keep things interesting.  First, they got a great showing from a starting pitcher, something that has clearly been lacking over the last few weeks.  Then, they watched that lead disappear when entrusted to what has been one of the league's most reliable bullpens. 

About the only constant was an offense that, at least between the first and ninth innings, was nowhere to be found.  Yes, they put up a nickel, which isn't that bad, but three of the five came after the game was basically out of reach. 

The only gloss that could be put on this one was that of the lip variety, handed out to fans before the game.  (Hi-O!  Try the veal, and click on below for the breakdown.)

The Dodgers, who had previously been wielding brooms with authority, will look to avoid being swept themselves this afternoon by Houston, when Hiroki Kuroda takes the mound against Shawn Chacon for the Astros.  It won't happen without a little more production from the sticks.  The Blue have scored all of two runs in their last three games, including Saturday night's 5-0 shutout loss to the Astros, in which LA was shut down against a guy whose seven scoreless frames lowered his ERA to a still shoddy 6.27. 

Perhaps they can find inspiration from their mothers, as MLB again celebrates Mother's Day around the league.  Players will be breaking out the now traditional pink bats and wristbands in support of breast cancer research and awareness. 

That's not just a fun lyric from Outkast's "Hey Ya" (which may very well be the catchiest song ever written.  My dad is 62-year old Midwesterner, about as unhip as they come and even he dug the song when he heard it.).  It would be an apt description of both the Dodger hitting and starting pitching of late.  The former can't get much going and the latter can't prevent an opponent from getting going in ASAP fashion.  Put that all together and you're looking at a result like tonight's 5-0 loss to the Houston Astros.  Not much to analyze, really.  Virtual no hitting + early innings of shaky pitching = unpleasant box score in nearly all cases.  Kinda no way around it.  Nonetheless, some specific details will be shared below in the breakdown.   

Earlier this season on Lakersblog, BK and I started doing a semi-regular item saluting a particular comment or observation that really grabs our attention.  It can be a terrific observation about the Dodgers/baseball or simply something hilarious (and given our collective sensibilities, it's usually the latter).  Unless somebody can cite a persuasive argument, I see no reason not to carry on the "tradition" here.  Thus, without further adieu, the winner of Blue Notes' inaugural "Big Comment Award" goes to...

Benzo Jones, for this gem reference to BK's Friday and Saturday Ravine pastrami updates.

"Are you sure all that pastrami wasn't for Jones... I mean he can afford it.  This is painful. Maybe I'll watch some of my wife's Tivo'd Oprah."

The zing on Jones made me chuckle (although, given the price of a Cantor's sandwich, Andruw can't afford nearly as many as you'd figure).  But the Oprah follow up, which any red blooded male can  immediately recognize as the height of sheer and unbridled surrender, is a brilliant capper.  If there's a way one can sink any lower, I don't wanna know.  Congrats, Mr. Jones.  Funny stuff.

By the way, this won't be a daily conceit, so if you say something funny and it goes unrewarded, please don't take it personally.

AK

I got back to taking the stairs, so if there was pastrami in the vicinity as I made my way down to the clubhouse, I was totally unaware. Beyond that?  Tonight was a good example of one of baseball's great truisms: There are a lot of times when from day to day, absolutely nothing changes.  Saturday night's pregame would qualify as one of those times.  The conversation with Joe Torre could have been Xeroxed from yesterday.  We opened with Furcal (not playing, more on that below), touched on Jason Schmidt's rehab stint tomorrow in Lancaster,   kicked around some Andruw Jones (with a little extra time spent on the subject, since TJ Simers was working on a column about him), and discussed the third base situation.  I half expected to see Ned Ryerson (Needle Nose Ned?  Ned the Head?) on my way back to the press box. 

I did not. 

As such, though, I'm afraid there is precious little to report from the park that you don't already know, other than again reconfirming that if the people over at Myoplex were smart, they'd sign James Loney up for an endorsement deal ASAP, since he sucks those things down like they could be banned tomorrow. 

The Dodgers learned last year, when Rafael Furcal was hobbled with an ankle injury and the life was sucked out of their lineup like it was hooked to that funky machine in The Princess Bride, that his presence makes a substantial difference in the dynamics of the team.  Over the last three games while Furcal has been laid up with a bum back, they've received a reminder.  Friday night, it came in the form of a 7-1 loss to the Astros in which the Dodger bats were, as was the case in Wednesday afternoon's 12-1 loss to New York, inert against Houston starter Brian Moehler and a batch of relievers. It was enough to get some thinking of what a Furcal-less future might look like if the Blue don't resign the free agent to be.  The hope is that he'll play tonight, which ideally solves one problem.  The other, though, is still a question.  That would be pitching.  Derek Lowe again struggled on Friday, extending a string of short outings from Blue starters.  The box shows six earned runs, eight hits and two walks in only 5.1 innings for the righty- not quite what he, or the Dodgers, were looking for. 

How big a problem are the short outings from the starters?  Depends on your perspective, really.  At least the pen got a boost with the return of Yhency Brazoban, who has made his way back from a host of injuries. 

As a wise (fictional) man once said, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains."  Well, Friday night, the Dodgers could have used some of the wet stuff, since it was pretty clear early on they weren't going to get the W.  Not much to analyze in this one.  Derek Lowe again wasn't sharp, and the Dodger bats were oddly silent against Houston starter Brian Moehler, who made his first start of the '08 season and entered the contest with a 7.04 ERA in 7.2 innings of work.  The result was a 7-1 loss to the Astros.  I'm not trying to get lazy here, but this was a game without much nuance. 

If it's any consolation, the fearsome threesome that did much of the damage against Lowe- Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, and Miguel Tejada- have been killing opposing pitchers of late.  Especially Berkman, who tonight was 3-4 with a homer, two runs scored and a pair of RBIs, giving him a robust 15 hits in his last 30 at bats.  Da-yum. 

There is no elevator (or, if you prefer, "lift") that requires more patience than the one at Dodger Stadium.  Whatever gerbil the Stadium Ops folk use to power that bad boy is sadly overworked, and thus I almost never take it.  Yes, I'm one of the few media people on the planet who routinely uses the stairs, in part to help justify the amount of eating I do during the course of the game.  My distaste for Dodger Dogs is well documented, but they literally give 'em away in the press box, and during particularly slow games I've been known to partake.  Plus, they have soft serve up here, and man do I loves me some ice cream.  Anything I can do to mitigate the damage is worth the effort, hence the steps.  But the other reason is that the freakin' thing takes so long, I just get tired of waiting. 

Today, though, the doors opened up as I walked by, so I went ahead and took the ride down.  One floor down, the thing stops, the doors open, and in comes something I thought I'd never see- an oversized dolly carrying nothing but pastrami.  Boxes and boxes of the authentic Canter's variety, destined I assume for the new Canter's stand that opened up at the top of the season.  I've never wanted to knock over a liquor store before, but after hanging out so close to all that deliciousness, I totally understand the compulsion.

Anyway... In other (more relevant) news, Rafael Furcal's balky (not Balki) back is still sore enough to keep him out of the lineup.  is still out.  "We're going to wait another day or so.  It's better, but it's not like he just goes up there and tries to put the ball in play," Joe Torre said.  "It's progressively getting better, and I don't want to lose that right now.  I think he understands.  He's too important for us to send out there (if he's not right)... It's getting better every day, and I certainly don't want to go backwards now." 

The Dodgers had the day off on Thursday before kicking off a three game set against the 'Stros tonight at the Ravine, and took advantage of the time.  Brad Penny took a bunch of kids fishing while other players pitched in to help raise money for survivors of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.  For Andy LaRoche, who wasn't actually resting, it was yet another chance to continue the cycle of self-abuse that has plagued him through his short career, this time fouling a ball off an already sore toe.  Doesn't sound like a big issue, but we'll pass along news as we hear it. 

Hopefully Matt Kemp (whose new "Kemp's Kids" program starts tonight) spent the time doing nothing that would hurt the outstanding form he's shown of late, Kemp has stolen eight bases in his last nine games, raised his average over 40 points during an 11 game hitting streak, and has shown signs of increased maturity all year. He's putting in the time, and it's paying off.  As a group, the Dodgers are showing increased patience at the plate as they absorb Joe Torre's philosophy of plate discipline, and trying to push opposing starters out of games earlier.  After all, not every team has a pen as effective as LA's.

Rob at 6-4-2 gives his take on the DeWitt quandry, while Helene Elliott of the LAT looks at new Dodgers VP for Marketing, Charles Steinberg's approach to baseball and fans. 

Good numbers for DeWitt here (thanks to Rob for the link). 

It's been a topsy turvy, whirlwind of an up and down, box of chocolates thrill ride for the Blue over the first 21% of the '08 season.  Lots of good, lots of bad, lots of issues still floating over the squad.  Thankfully, as we always do when 21% of the season is in the books, we can ask some questions and try to address them.  Questions of the Day, if you will. Feel free to answer along! 

Q: What to do with Blake DeWitt?

This is a toughie, one that AK and I discussed at length in yesterday's Purple, Gold, and Blue podcast.  Certainly he's been terrifyingly good over the last week or so, has shown great poise and patience, and a couple muffs notwithstanding, solid skills at third.  But if he was to Wally Pipp both Nomar Garciaparra and Andy LaRoche, I have a feeling that over the long haul, he'd cool off considerably.  I don't mean this to diminish what the future mayor of Sikeston has accomplished, but in some ways he's been the beneficiary of low expectations in the same way that Andy LaRoche was punished by high ones when he struggled last year.  Nobody expected anything from DeWitt, so that he's been legitimately good makes it seem even better.  I'm still of the mind that a) over a full season his production will taper (wait, I already said that- damn!), b) it's important to get LaRoche back and playing, and finally give him a chance to establish himself, and c) back to DeWitt, it's better to send a kid down with a fully positive experience rather than waiting for him to stall, then shipping him out.