The Ravine was fairly well packed for Monday night's matchup against the D-Backs, and a feisty, excitable bunch they were.  Unfortunately, the Blue didn't give them much to cheer about, and given little alternative, there was a whole lot of booing and hissing in L.A.'s 9-1 loss.  Starter Randy Wolf, with Sunday's 17 inning, bullpen burning affair in the rear view mirror (objects are closer than they appear), flirted with trouble all night before finally taking her home for the evening in the fifth and sixth innings.  The killer blows came from Arizona catcher Chris Snyder, who with pitcher Brandon Webb on deck singled home Eric Byrnes on a horrible two strike, two out offering from Wolf.  Webb then followed with a flair to center that Juan Pierre misplayed then dropped when he dove after the ball in an attempt to recover.  4-0.  The Diamondbacks added another pair in the sixth, again with two outs, both charged to Wolf, who didn't make it out of the inning.  Thus, his fun little streak of five straight six inning efforts ended on a night where the Blue really needed him to go seven and beyond.  Not that Grady didn't push him.  110 pitches worth of pushing, to be exact.  And man alive, did the hometown hero hear it from the fans.  They were not afraid to boo (or get oddly enthusiastic down 7-0 when the Dodgers staged a mini-rally accounting for their lone run).  I imagine Little wanted to boo, too, since he was forced to use Rudy Seanez, Brett Tomko, and Joe Beimel just to get out of the game. 

Of course, you can argue Wolf's performance really didn't matter much, since L.A. was unable to muster an attack on Cy Young winner Brandon Webb.  A pair of hits through six, and four overall.  The Dodgers weren't able to accomplish much all night.  Unless, of course, you count enhancing the value of Webb or centerfielder Chris Young, who had a pair of homers, three hits, and three RBIs.  Don't look now, but with the win the D-Backs are a half-game ahead of the Blue.     

More on the game to come.  Sorry.  NOW ADDED AFTER THE JUMP.

BK   

And while I'm fairly sure that Steve Garvey is starting at first and former British ski jumping sensation Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards is on the mound for the Blue, I can't be entirely certain.  Fortunately, most of time when I was interviewing people I had the ol' recorder going, so the quotes can probably be trusted.  Moving on...

Because he caught all 17 innings of Sunday's marathon win in San Diego, Russell Martin is getting one of those rare Russell Martin Days Off.  Not that he thinks he needs it.  Talking to Martin before the game, he said he came through the game just fine.  No fatigue.  Hunger, yes ("I should have had a Snickers, or something," he said).  Fatigue, no.  "That's why you get in shape in the offseason.  I'd tell you guys if I was sore or anything, but really, I'm not.  They were quick innings."

Yeah, Russ, but there were 17 of them.  Martin shrugged off that point, unsure what to do with the awe expressed at his stamina by the media throng before him.  Of course, we're a bunch who can't look at a flight of stairs without panting and sprints only when free food is involved, which probably puts everything in perspective. 

Minus all the CGI-created soldiers and 200 mil in box office receipts, but you get what we mean.  A big time, 17 inning battle went down in the SD and when the smoke finally cleared, it revealed a 5-4 Dodger victory.  The offensive gladiator for the Blue was the recently recruited Brady Clark, who doubled in Wilson Valdez for the game winning RBI in the top of the 17th.  You could sense things were heading L.A.'s way even before Clark's fortuitous hit, since Valdez reached base after the throw to first that beat him got bricked.  Of course, it was also a nice bit of luck that backup catcher Pete LaForest was playing first at the time. 

I'm not going to lie.  With the Lakers playing Game 4 against the Suns today at Staples (both K brothers in attendance) at the same time the Dodgers were facing the Pads at PETCO, I figured I'd have to catch the end of the baseball game on the ol' DVR when I got home.  Shows what I know.  In fact, I was able to enjoy a couple innings.  Fortunate, too, since the machine probably stopped recording around the 11th.  Not nearly enough to see the conclusion of Sunday's 17 frame, 4 hour 55 minute, ultimately satisfying 5-4 win.  Brady Clark drove home Wilson Valdez with a two-out double for the go-ahead run, capitalizing on an error by San Diego catcher-turned-first baseman Pete LaForest.  In the bottom of the inning, Chad Billingsley pitched around a Ramon Martinez miscue to pick up his second win of the season.  Big ups for a Dodgers staff that allowed only nine hits and four walks all day. 

More on the game tomorrow. 

BK

Anyone who forgot the little boost Greg Maddux gave the Dodgers pitching staff last year had a chance to reminisce Saturday night.  Not just because Maddux pitched well (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER) in San Diego's 3-2 win over the Blue at PETCO, but because between the always efficient righty and a generally sharp Brett Tomko, the game was finished in barely over two hours.  Would have been shorter, too, if Maddux hadn't attempted about seventy-eight pickoff attempts on Juan Pierre at second base in the first and third innings.  For Tomko, everything went swimmingly before and after the fourth inning.  Just not in the fourth inning itself.  Tomko lost the no-hitter, shutout, and potential win in a span of four straight hits and three San Diego runs, all with two outs.  So the pitchers were stingy, save an inning.  And offensively, the Dodgers didn't really spread the wealth, either.  Six hits total, five between Juan Pierre and Jeff Kent, accounting for both Dodger runs.  5-8 for that tandem, 1-23 for everyone else.  Yeeps. 

There were a lot of fun things to take away from Friday night's 6-5 win over the Padres at PETCO.  Yes, there was the whole four-run-rally-off-perhaps-the-greatest-closer-of-all-time-on-the-night-he's-being-honored thing as the Dodgers blew up on Trevor Hoffman in the ninth, ruining Trevor Hoffman Night.  Though really, if it's not done with a bunch of consecutive homers, is it worth talking about?  Then there's the ascension of Russell Martin, whose two-run double off Hells Bells put the Blue ahead, Nomar's four hit night (and the fact he's hitting around a billion with runners in scoring position), and a box score that shows another solid outing from Mark Hendrickson (five IP, 1 ER, 4 Ks)... though not such a hot night from Chad Billingsley.   But what put the Dodgers in a position to make their miracle comeback was some excellent glove work, particularly from Andre Ethier, whose two diving catches (including one with the bases loaded in the eighth) saved at least three or four runs.  Rafael Furcal, Garciaparra, and Jeff Kent flashed some leather as well.  And while chicks may dig the long ball, on this squad, it's all about the cowhide. 

Plenty more on the game coming up tomorrow morning, but it'll be nice for Dodger fans to put head to pillow knowing the losing streak is officially, mercifully, blessedly over at four thanks to a 6-5 comeback win over the Padres at PETCO Friday night.  And it came courtesy of some serious glove work and a four run ninth off uber-closer Trevor Hoffman... on Trevor Hoffman Night, no less!  It's never a bad thing when irony injects itself into the sports world.  And while last night was dedicated to Nomar bobbleheads at the Ravine, Garciaparra celebrated tonight with four hits and a pair of RBIs.  We can all forgive him for being off by a day.

BK

It's the first trivia question of the year, so I figured I'd go with something fairly reasonable.  It's still early, and I don't want anyone pulling a brain hammy on the first go round.  So brush off your Dodgers history banks and see what you find.  As always, no cheating.  And, of course, a steaming hot bowl of pride to the first to answer the question correctly.  So without further delay:

QUESTION: At 2014, Pee Wee Reese has played more games at shortstop than any other Dodger in Franchise history.  But who is the leader since the team moved to L.A.?  While your at it, name the Los Angeles career game leaders by position (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, C, P).

BK

On the bright side, the Dodgers had plenty of chances in their 5-4 loss to the Giants Thursday night at Chavez Ravine.  Oh wait, that just makes it all the more frustrating.  Our bad.  It was the fourth in a row for the Blue, who now find themselves in a tie for first in the West with the scalding hot Giants.  And it came on Nomar Bobblehead Night, no less.  Just adds to the sting.   The air was thick with missed opportunties early, as L.A. put a whopping 10 of their first 15 batters on base, but scored only three times.  Juan Pierre didn't help matters, missing a squeeze sign in the second and compounding the error with some less-than-clutch (though none too simple) defense in the eighth.  But don't just blame J.P.  There are plenty of candidates for your collective ire.  The box score shows that starter Brad Penny was good, not great, but considering he probably should have had a 29 run cushion, it's hard to skewer him too much. 

Since, you know, he's a hell of a lot bigger than me.  Like, way the hell bigger.  But I even have less desire to go nose to nose with the fire-throwing righty now that I'm aware of his Ultimate Fighting knowledge.  Or more specifically, Pride Fighting Championships, a Japanese rival circuit that Penny was watching on the clubhouse TV.  Dude knew all the competitors, what you're allowed to do and what's against the rules (choking is cool, but hits to the back of the head are a no-no.  Which makes sense, since you wouldn't want anyone getting hurt.) and was even familiar with the commentators' background.  And if Penny's anything of a quick study, I'll go out on a limb and declare him a black belt in "brawl."  Brady Clark is a "Pride" novice, but Penny gladly took him under his wing to explain the finer points.  Clark seemed entertained enough, although not to the point where he's debating a career change.  I asked Clark what his asking price would be to step into the ring.  A cool ten mil, and it would require a financial crisis.