The 2006 Dodgers has been nothing if not interesting, and you can take a pick from a variety of reasons. If you like your teams absurdly streaky, the Dodgers had you covered and then some. If you enjoy the return of local products done (and still doing) good, Nomar Garciaparra certainly fits the bill. Junkie for roster turnover? First-year GM Ned Colletti pulled that off. Twice. For that matter, Colletti's arrival itself, along with new skipper Grady Little, have given fans plenty to keep their eye on.

But for my money, the most enjoyable and exciting part of this season has been watching a plethora of rookie talent develop and make its presence felt. And make a difference, often carrying the team through various stretches when the veterans were either injured or simply under-performing. They've become a huge part of this team's present and future, and for that, Dodgers fans should be very optimistic.

There have been a lot of first year guys making contributions all season, but the five guys who've spent the most time up are Chad Billingsley, Jonathon Broxton, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin and Takashi Saito (36 years old, but a rookie nonetheless). I caught up with all five at various times last week and will be posting a series of interviews with each. The first is with Russell Martin, one of the most mature young athletes I've ever met. He's also a born leader, which comes across both from talking with him and hearing others talk about him. I didn't have a ton of time with Martin, as we talked on the day of Nomar's "salami," so the clubhouse was predictably chaotic. But in talking about his rookie season, making himself an equal with the vets, and being proud of his dad, the words make it clear that the dish is in good hands. Here's what he had to say.

Andrew Kamenetzky: Have you had a chance to take a moment and reflect upon your rookie season? Just thinking about it?

Russell Martin: Well, I don't really think about personal statistics or anything like that. Is that what you're talking about?

AK: No, I mean just the entire experience in general.

RM: Oh, OK. It kind of happened quickly. I came up, got my opportunity and I just tried to make the best of it. My attitude is just out there and play hard every day. Just try to take of the things that I can take care of. Things that I don't have control of, I don't worry about. It's been fun, the whole season, and I'm just happy to be here. Now we're in a playoff run and it's the reason I play baseball.

Programming Note: Sorry for the slow posting last night. Tonight, we'll try to figure something out so that comments stay refreshed over the course of the evening, as we'll be in the air again during the game. Fingers crossed.

If you're the guy with the Nomar voodoo doll, please put it down. The guy's got enough injuries to deal with at this point, especially now that he's added a strained oblique to the bum quad and swollen knee that have plagued him for weeks. Besides, if his two-hit, one-homer, three-RBI night in L.A.'s 11-4 romp over Colorado is any indication, the pin treatment isn't hurting him anyway.

Garciaparra's big night, along with an even bigger one from Russell Martin (four RBIs) and some killer work from Rafael Furcal and Kenny Lofton were enough to overcome a performance from Greg Maddux that was less Picasso and more starving artist in nature. Still technically art, but nothing that'll find the walls of a museum. Whatever. All that mattered to the future HOFer — just one of the AARP crowd making an impact down the stretch — was that the win put the Blue ahead in the wild card race thanks to Philly's 4-3 loss to Washington. Not to mention screwing with Jason Jennings' attempt at becoming a historical footnote.

After a day of rest, refocusing and regrouping, the Dodgers head into, as Mitch Martin would say, "Denver. The sunshine state. Gorgeous!" What awaits the squad upon this voyage to Colorado? A three-day series with the Rockies, half of the remaining games that will make or break the Dodgers' playoff hopes (given a boost by Houston last night).

The mountain-residing ball players have already been eliminated from contention, which may or may not be a good thing. Teams with nothing to lose often compete with an unpredictability that can be tough to counter or prepare for. Then again, given the topsy-turvy nature of the Blue's entire season, it's only fitting that "the unknown" play a large factor right down to the wire. But for what it's worth, they've had more than their share of luck against Colorado this season.

The Dodgers have been plagued all season by starters who have been unable to go deep into games, putting serious strain on a bullpen that has been inconsistent all year and faded badly down the stretch. One relatively consistent exception has been Derek Lowe, who has lasted at least seven innings in seven of his 10 starts since Aug. 1 and has been L.A.'s most consistent starter this season. His team leading 212 IP beat runner-up Brad Penny by 24 innings, and the innings difference has been even more pronounced in the second half.

As a member of the '04 championship Red Sox (as he'll remind you from time to time), Lowe is one member of the Blue with plenty of postseason experience, and he hopes to make it back this season. We had a chance to sit down with him before Wednesday's game.

—BK

Brian Kamenetzky: Have you been on many teams with this sort of night and day, multiple personality problem?

Derek Lowe: I've never been on a team that has had this much change, either. I think that has something to do with it, from the standpoint of, as we all know there's only three guys on this team that started the year on the pitching staff. So with all those changes I think you're going to get ups and downs, but at this point in the season, this is who you are. We've got 11 to go, and hopefully we get hot the last 11, instead of being the team that didn't win many for 11.

BK: So what's good about who you are? What works?

DL: The fact that we could get hot, and reel off seven or eight. Obviously the negative side is we've shown that maybe we lose more games in a row than we should.

All tied up, bases loaded, two out, must-win game. Technically, a broken-bat single will do the trick, but this is L.A. Where's the sense of drama in that? You know what makes for better Hollywood-style highlights? Walk off grand slams, like the one Nomar Garciaparra crushed to left center, giving the Blue a 5-1 win Sunday afternoon.

With San Diego and Philadelphia both winning, L.A. couldn't afford to slip back any more in the NL West or wild card. With only six games left, including three in Colorado and three more in San Francisco (where the games will matter, even if they don't), the math puts a beat down on teams that fall behind.

Not much of a postgame report, since I was off doing some separate interviews with a few players that had to be completed before the team hits the road. They'll be posted throughout the course of the upcoming week and hopefully, everyone will dig them. But I would be remiss in my Blue duties if I didn't at least create a new thread to celebrate Nomar's jack of all jacks. Methinks he'll probably frame this box score.

—AK

Hey all! Sorry this just went up. I was having some issues signing on with the wireless. Plus, I couldn't get a seat in the press area, it's so crowded. The media lot was even full, forcing me to find parking elsewhere. I'm actually live blogging from a dining room table while watching a TV. That's how much I care about you good people!

First Inning
Good start, both by the Dodgers and Mr. Kuo.

Nomar just misses. The crowd grew electric as that ball started dropping. FYI, this is the earliest I've seen folks get to the Ravine in quite some time. I don't know if it's because people didn't have to work today or because the urgency is there. But well done, Blue Nation.

The good thing about baseball is that there are 161 tomorrows. Of course, the way the Dodgers are limping towards the end of the year, that's the bad thing, too. Depending on your perspective, the Blue have seven more chances to make things right, or seven more cracks at totally crushing the spirit of loyal fans across these great fifty states. And I don't want to be a pessimist, but given the general tenor of L.A.'s September, your average betting man would throw the mortgage down on the latter. There are plenty of places to find fault, but start with starters who rarely finish, or even come close.

"I think if you sit back and itemize everything throughout the course of a season, how you do is going to be based on your starting pitching. Whether it's April, or May, and throughout the course of the season. When they're strong, it's good, when they're faltering, things are a lot tougher," Little said. And the high pitch counts his starters have racked up don't just screw with the bullpen. The effects are felt all over. "You ask your defensive players to stay on their toes, and that becomes a difficult thing to do and comes into play." Anyone looking for evidence of that can check the tape of last night's loss.

There are some people who feel that when things go badly, everything might as well come off the rails, with the hope of getting everything bad outta the way in one shot. For such mentalities, last night's 9-3 trouncing by the D-Backs may carry a positive of sorts. For everyone else (people we at Blue Notes like to call "cognizant of how a playoff race works"), there was nada good about the disastrous outing. Were the game arbitrarily called after the first inning (which would have surely raised some D-Back front office eyebrows), Blue smiles would have filled L.A.

Doubles by Nomar and a newly dialed in J.D. Drew. Quick 3-0 Dodgers lead. From there, little went the Dodgers' way. Snakes starter Miguel Batista became a finely tuned machine. For their part, L.A. pitchers became lemons a used car salesman wouldn't have the heart to pawn off. Brad Penny, who apparently hit the wall after the All-Star break, put his team in early trouble, giving up five runs and a kajillion pitches in five innings. Those in relief looked just as worn down as the early season ace. It's hardly unusual these days to see Penny huffing and puffing through a game. Russell Martin? That's kinda surprising. One would assume the box score didn't perk the rook up much, either.

Here we go!!!

First Inning
Well, you'd like things to start out a little less ominously than a first batter hit. But hey, it's early. In the meantime, Martin was pretty close on that throw to nail Byrnes swiping second. The crowd really expected an out.

Not quite sure what that meeting of the mind on the mound was about, but I hope nobody's concerned the wheels are already coming off. Nope. 3rd out pop out to Betemit. Wheels still on.

Of course, if Byrnes first at-bat hit was an omen against those live blogging for the Dodgers, Furcal's same knock will equally spook those in Phoenix online rooting Snakes. The whole thing just evened itself out. Still anybody's game.

Dude! Raffy even stole second, just like Byrnes. This game is so back to neutral.

Ain't neutral anymore after that double by Nomar. Two runs scored. 2-0 Dodgers.

Jeff Kent either changed his entrance music to some hip hop song, or P.A. guy is freelancing from the playbook. But in any event, didn't see that coming.

It wasn't back to back, but we'll still call Drew's almost immediate two-base hit after Nomar's a "double double." Why the hell not? Nomar scores. 3-0 Dodgers.