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Not to be confused, of course, with a welcome to either the Pleasuredome, the Terrordome, or if you're in no particular need of a hero, Thunderdome.  We're talking Kosuke Fukodome, the Cubs' Japanese outfielder whose first MLB foray against hurler and fellow countryman Hiroki Kuroda became nothing short of a media extravaganza.  As for the game played to mark this meeting, 3-1 in favor of the import currently residing in Chicago.   Not that his guest was a slouch by any stretch.  Kuroda tossed himself a plenty winnable outing, with just two runs allowed (one earned) over 6.1 frames of work.  Unfortunately, that seventh frame he exited also saw his good work unravel in irreversible fashion.  With two on, one out, and Jonathon Broxton taking over for Kuroda, an error by Blake BeWitt allowing Ryan Theriot to score a tying run.  Then came ribbies from Aramis Ramirez and that Fukodome character (who also played some quality D to help his squad's cause).  Not a ton of scorage, but the box score's margin for error was pretty small.  A Blue lineup robbed at the last minute of Jeff Kent managed only six hits and was pretty much owned by Sean Gallagher.

Another night on the mound, another night without run support for Hiroki Kuroda.  His line Tuesday in Chicago, a very respectable 6.1 innings of seven hit ball, allowing two runs... only one earned.  But, as has become their custom, the Blue provided no cover for Kuroda, scoring a lone run in support of the effort.  The astute among you will realize that though you don't yet know the final score, the Dodgers were on the wrong end of it.  A 3-1 disadvantage, to be exact, with every Chicago score coming in the seventh inning.  Blake DeWitt's throwing error allowed Ryan Theriot to cross the plate and tie things up at one apiece.  From there, Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukodome provided go ahead and insurance ribbie knocks.  Not a particularly large tally, but big enough to ice a box score when your opponent only musters a sextet of hits on the evening.

To add insult to injury, ESPN was reporting before the game that Kuroda and Fukodome were going out to dinner afterward, with Kuroda already on the hook for the check.  Hopefully, his teammates will throw a few bucks his way and at least cover the tip. 

AK

Give the Dodgers this much.  They may have put up a 3-1 loss to the Cubs on Monday, but at least they didn't have their butts handed to them from start to finish in every facet.  In fact, the Blue actually provided themselves with a seriously legit and utterly uncapitalized foundation to come out on top.  For example, Chad Billingsley's start on the hill showed once again that he's currently the best hurler in L.A.'s rotation.  His six inning yielded just a pair of runs (courtesy of Derrek Lee's first inning blast), with those seven strikeouts doing plenty to offset that damage.  That pair of Chicago scores was also in continual threat of being surpassed, what with the ten hits accrued by the good guys.   Unfortunately, those knocks ended up of the "hard" variety, with baserunners continually orphaned like Little Annie on the base paths.  Some of the credit goes to Cub hurler Ryan Dempster, some of the blame goes towards hitters simply failing on a regular basis.  Of their seventeen attempts with dudes on the bags and waiting, only twice did they produce a hit.   Bases were even chock full on two of those occasions, making the empty box score even more frustrating. 

Although to be fair, the issue probably wasn't the kid himself, nor is the solution sending him back to AA as a means of preserving future results.  Instead, the more rationale means of preventing another 3-1 loss  (to the Cubs or otherwise) would be jump all over the chances provided.  Those opportunities began with the solid start put forth by Chad Billingsley (six innings/seven strike outs, a two run jack served to Derrek Lee providing the majority of the tarnish) and ended with a solid, if mostly wasted, offensive showing from the Dodgers.  Their ten hits amounted to a dozen runners left stranded in the bags, eight of which were in position to eventually cross home plate.  A pair of bases loaded/one out offerings gone uncashed in the box score.   The sensible minds would likely agree that those factors added up bigger towards the than defeat than a pesky rook's presence.  Or to paraphrase it in a more "Scooby Doo" kinda way, "They  wouldn't have made it even without that meddling kid."    

AK

Not that anybody thought if Clayton Kershaw's debut resulted in a shelling, the Dodger organization would renounce his rights and tell him to apply at the nearest Starbucks.  Either way, big plans for this wunderkid would remain the same.  But when his opening foray onto the big stage played a large role in creating a 4-3 win over the Cardinals, pies are now a little higher in the sky.  With all the eyes and hopes of Dodger fans squarely upon him, Kershaw made Skip Schumaker both the first big league batter he ever faced and the first big league batter he ever struck out.  Hard to kick things off in much better fashion.  From there, Kershaw's six innings, featured plenty of highlights.  Seven strike outs.  An array of nasty pitches.  Remaining neither intimidated by Albert Pujols or after a 32-pitch first inning resulted in a run.  Of course, there were other "firsts" of sorts besides Kershaw playing their triumphant part.  Luis Maza's solo shot in the box score's opening frame (his first in the bigs), plus newcomer Terry Tiffee's first Dodger at bat, a shot that got lost in the sun, putting him on base to eventually cross the plate after Andre Ethier put a game winning knock.   

Here's a breakdown of Kershaw's mechanics, complete with video highlights.  You can also analyze Kershaw from a fantasy perspective.

Certainly when he was selected in the first round of the '06 draft, Dodger fans looked forward to the day they'd see Clayton Kershaw on the hill at Dodger Stadium.  After a strong '07 in the bushes, the interest grew.  After The Curveball, fans began salivating.  Sunday afternoon, they could mop up their collective pool of drool, because the kid made his Big League debut in fine fashion over the first six innings of what would become a 4-3, 10 inning win for the Blue.  Kershaw didn't play into the decision, but he showed all the stuff that has baseball folk positively giddy over his potential.  A big curveball, a wicked heater, and a decent changeup mixed in. 

The Dodgers, meanwhile, pick up a big win before heading out for a series in Chicago against the Cubs, starting tomorrow afternoon. 

Click below for the breakdown. 

Remember, comments have to be moderated (assuming a fair number of people participate), so if you don't see yours right away, it's coming...

Thanks! 

BK

PROGRAMMING NOTE: To mark the momentous occasion of Clayton Kershaw's debut, we'll have a Live Blog for Sunday afternoon's game.  Stop by at game time!

UPDATE (12:01)!!!!!: Click below for the lineups.  No real surprises.  Kent gets his normal Sunday rest (much needed, I might add...), everything else is what you'd expect.

A few thoughts on the debut of Clayton Kershaw...

• When forming expectations, try to remember he's barely 20 years old.  It's a good idea not to make assumptions (good or bad) about the next 10 years of his career based on his next five starts.  Remember, Sandy Koufax wasn't Sandy Koufax until a few years into his career.  And try not to make Sandy Koufax comparisons.
• As evidenced by Friday night's 2-1 loss and last night's 4-0 Cards win, unless Kershaw can hit, he won't solve what is currently LA's most fundamental problem. 
• The situation for Kershaw is good.  He's up without having to carry the rotation.  If he pitches well, great.  If he pitches poorly, it doesn't hurt that much.  If you're going to have a 20 year old on the hill, this is how it should be done.  That said, the guys around him are going to have to pick up the pace to support Kershaw, if the goal is to limit the workload of the bullpen.  Kershaw's innings and pitches will be strictly limited, so to expect him to regularly go deep into games isn't realistic.  Fortunately, there are signs the other guys are turning it around.  Derek Lowe was outstanding Friday night.  Chad Billingsley is on the upswing, as is Hiroki Kuroda.  Brad Penny was good last night (even his bad third inning wasn't that bad). 
• The Blue were smart to stagger his starts so he'd debut at home and avoid next Sunday's national TV game.   The way it's set up now, Kershaw will see three different teams over his first three starts.  Better than having to face the Cubs twice and the Mets with the world watching. 

BK

Just when the Dodgers seemed to have turned a corner on their power outage with a trouncing sweep of the Reds, another drought has set in.  One day after scrounging up a mere run for their troubles, the Dodgers found themselves even less successful at the dish with a 4-0 loss to the Cardinals.  Their third blanking of the season pushed the Dodgers' dubious RISP clip over the last three games to 0-21.  Four of those scoring chances came tonight, strikingly indicative of the sparse opportunities the Dodgers had to even manufacture some action.  "We're not doing a good job of swinging the bats right now," said Joe Torre in stating a painfully clear truth.  "We're certainly less than average offensively."  I'm not sure why anybody would doubt the skip, but just in case, check out the box score and you're likely to be convinced he's right.

The breakdown is below. 

It was just announced that Andruw Jones will be undergoing surgery this Tuesday to, in layman talk, clean up the Meniscus in his right knee.  He's expected to miss 4-6 weeks.  Also, Nomar Garciaparra will be placed on the 60-Day DL and the oft-discussed Terry Tiffee will be taking his place.   

Ned Colletti should be talking with us soon and I'll update this announcement with anything from him, Jones, Joe Torre, etc.  But for now, that's the news.

UPDATE: Here are some comments from Ned Colletti, mostly about Jones, but also some interesting stuff on Kershaw. He also acknowledged the possiblity, albeit not a huge one, of Jason Repko rejoining the squad, which will strike the fancy of at least one Blue Notes regular:  Download ned_colletti_052408.mp3   

AK