Please do not play the violin during BP

At this point, everyone who has ever picked up a bat, watched a game, or read the paper know what's going wrong with Jones from a technical standpoint.  He knows, too.  Knowing, though, and fixing, are two different things.  "That's the problem," Torre said.  "You get up there and start thinking mechanical about your swing, and all of a sudden it's strike one and you didn't pay attention to where the pitch is coming from.  It's not easy, and once the game starts it speeds up, it becomes a little tougher to catch up, and you wind up falling back into bad habits."

In other news...

• Torre said that Rafael Furcal might come off the DL when he's eligible on Wednesday, but more likely they'll buy him an extra day by waiting until after Thursday's off day to activate him.  Having seen what his absence does to the team, the Dodgers are very much in "better safe than sorry" mode. 
   
• In what I can only imagine is some sort of marketing tie in with Universal Studios, four dudes dressed in Simpsons costumes are currently walking around the warning track.  Homer is throwing out the first pitch.  Can't say I expected that.  If I see Bleeding Gums Murphy, I'm going to get a sandwich.
   
• No change for Nomar and his injured calf.  "He tried to run the bases the other day, and he still feels it," Torre said.  "It's not godawful painful but it's still there and hasn't gone away."
   
• After some shoddy play this weekend, the Blue took extra infield before the game today.  The Dodgers have lost games over the course of the season, but they haven't looked as sloppy as they did at times in Anaheim.  No doubt the coaching staff found it disturbing.  Fans certainly did.
• More on this tomorrow, but before the game Gary Bennett spoke to the media quite candidly about his throwing issues, admitting that he's been seeing someone about the problem since about the first week after Spring Training. The problem, an inability to throw the ball back to the pitcher without lobbing it, is something that popped up this year, and one he's working to solve.  "Some days are better than others," Bennett said.  "All I can do is keep working on it and try to get better."  Interestingly, it's an issue for Bennett whether he's throwing in a live game or simply warming up a guy in the pen.  He doesn't think that issue is related to the errors he made this weekend, but is clearly frustrated and likely embarrassed by it.  There isn't anything a catcher does more basic than return the ball to the pitcher.  I give him a lot of credit for speaking openly about it.  A very stand up moment for a veteran player. 
   

LINEUPS

Dodgers:

Juan Pierre- LF
Andre Ethier- RF
Russell Martin- C
Jeff Kent- 2B
James Loney- 1B
Matt Kemp- CF
Blake DeWitt- 3B
Chin-lung Hu- SS
Brad Penny- P

Cincinnati: Warning- if you missed it, Adam Dunn is Red hot (pun not intended, but seemingly unavoidable).

Ryan Freel- 3B
Corey Patterson- CF
Ken Griffey Jr.- RF
Brandon Phillips- 2B
Adam Dunn- LF
Joey Votto- 1B
Jerry Hairston Jr.- SS
Paul Bako- C
Bronson Arroyo- P

BK