Scratched!
NOTE: Remember to join the live game blog tonight... assuming I can get the software working.
Scoops o' plenty Tuesday night at the Ravine, almost all health related. I'll present them in convenient, easily digested bullets, starting with the item most relevant to tonight's proceedings:
- Rafael Furcal was a late scratch from the lineup tonight with stiffness on the left side of his lower back. He tightened up in over the last three innings of last night's win, figured he'd be okay for today, but after getting some treatment and partaking in his customary pregame preparation, Furcal decided he'd be better off sitting this one out. "He's been nursing a little bit of a stiff back," Joe Torre said. "It doesn't seem to be something that's going to be a long term thing, but right now he is scratched." The problem seems to be muscular rather than some sort of pinched nerve type deal, which is good. Furcal did have some back trouble last year, but trainer Stan Conte didn't seem to believe it was necessarily a recurrence of the same issue. It hasn't been a problem at any other point this season. Conte said Furcal couldn't point to a specific moment in the game- a big swing or tough defensive play, both of which he had a few of last night. With a day game tomorrow and a day off Thursday, it wouldn't be shocking to see him sit for a couple games. The goal is avoid turning a two day injury into the two week version.
- Perhaps you missed the news that he'd been cranked back up, but Tony Abreu has been shut down at extended Spring Training in Vero. "He had two hits yesterday and seemed to feel alright during the game," Torre said. "Afterwards ,the same situation, the tightness in that right side (came back). We have shut him down for three to seven days. We don't know exactly what the next step is other than the resting time right now." Hopefully it's not a major problem, but I'll say (basically) the same thing about Abreu that I do about Andrew Bynum on the Lakers Blog: Until you see him back on the field doing stuff with the Major League squad, pretend like he doesn't exist.
- Jason Schmidt had his bullpen session pushed back, probably by a day or so. No arm trouble per se, but Conte and Torre categorized it as Schmidt simply needing more time to recover. General soreness, as opposed to something dangerous from a health standpoint. They're still planning on having him make some rehab appearances starting this weekend. If it was bad, they'd scratch that for sure.
So that's your medical update.
Regarding tonight's lineup, once again it's Juan Pierre instead of Andre Ethier. Not a surprise, but still a topic of conversation. No doubt, Pierre has been red hot. "Right now it's confidence I think with him. He's driving the ball more, not hitting the ball in the air as much. If he is hitting in the air, it's a line drive. He's pulled the ball a little more, and when he gets on the bases he's not shy, that's for sure," Torre said. Skip is pleased to see Pierre taking more pitches and displaying more patience at the plate, which has played a role in his increased production. "Right now, he's serving us very well."
I asked him what changes in the equation coming out of Spring Training when Ethier was ahead, and now when Pierre seems to have the PT advantage. "Andre certainly isn't doing anything wrong. He's hitting .300 and hit a home run the other day. Right now, with Juan in the lineup where he is, it looks like it's giving us more energy. A lot of times when you have a Furcal and a Pierre and Matt Kemp, you can manufacture some things that the lack of speed doesn't allow you to manufacture. He seems to give us more options and different ways to be productive. It's not that one is right and one is wrong, it's just that they're different and right now, this one is one is working. When it's time to make a change, we'll make a change."
The elephant in the room is Andruw Jones, who is being outplayed by all three of his outfield mates. But in some ways, his slump necessitates keeping him in the lineup. If he's going to be productive, it will come out of PT, and Torre believes (as do I) that it's too early to sit him down for extended periods of time.
So there you have it.
LINEUPS:
METS-
Jose Reyes- SS
Ryan Church- RF
David Wright- 3B
Carlos Beltran- CF
Moises Alou- LF
Carlos Delgado- 1B
Brian Schnieder- C
Luis Castillo- 2B
Nelson Figueroa- P
DODGERS- With Furcal out, Pierre moves to the top spot and Jones gets bumped to the two hole. Chin-lung Hu starts at short.
Juan Pierre- LF
Andruw Jones- CF
Matt Kemp- RF
Jeff Kent- 2B
James Loney- 1B
Russell Martin- C
Blake DeWitt- 3B
Chin-lung Hu- SS
Hiroki Kuroda- P
BK
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What is with you guys!!! Just because of a fat contract you are cheating Either of being one of the best OF in the game. Eat the money Torre and put the man in the game, you are causing another out in your lineup w/o him.
Its a shame, I wish my Brewers would have the option to play 4 OF that can produce!!
Best of luck Dodgers
Posted by: Brewers Fan | May 06, 2008 at 07:40 PM
What is with you guys!! Just because of a fat contract for a washed up OF in Pierre you are keeping Either from becoming one of the best OF in the game!!!
Put the man in the game and keep him there! Put Kemp on the opposite side with Jones in CF and you have the one of the best OF in the MLB.
Tell Torre to be a manager and put the best players on the field!! Stand up for what is right.
I wish the Brewers had the problem that the Dodgers do with keeping someone of Either's caliber on the bench.
Doesnt make sense at all.
Brewers Fan
Posted by: BrewersFan | May 06, 2008 at 07:47 PM
Would it possible for you guys to start a new blog every 5 minutes during a 24 hour period so there is no continuity in our posted comments?
This blog really is starting to suck, no wonder there are so few posts as compared to last year.
You 2 guys have fallen in love with yourselves. You're like the person at party that must interrupt evryone else's conversation.
Posted by: DODGER 55 | May 06, 2008 at 07:55 PM
DODGER 55-
Sorry you're unhappy, but honestly, I'm not sure what you're complaining about. Today, other than to let people know about the live blog (something we see as a nice feature, by the way), we haven't done anything out of the ordinary. Our daily news post, one on an interseting thing I found on BP, and our pregame. Nothing unusual, and certainly no different than the kind of thing we did last season when (at least I'm guessing by your post) we weren't in love with ourselves.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | May 06, 2008 at 08:59 PM
Dodger 55,
It's true that BK is completely in love with himself. But I actually hate myself, so I think the end result comes out pretty even in the wash.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | May 06, 2008 at 10:15 PM
torre is a senile old coot.....furcal hurt, so he puts FAJ (fatso andruw jones) in the #2 hole......also, dodger mgt (colletti, torre, etc.) very clueless, as dewitt proving he is the best 3rd base solution organization has had since beltre, and dewitt was at best mgt's 4th choice, following laroche, "no-more" and abreu.....incredible that professional baseball execs could be so inept/clueless, and at the other end of spectrum colletti hands millions to the likes of FAJ and washed-up schmidt (to name but 2!)......toree is either stupid or senile, playing FAJ while one of (usually either ethier or pierre) sits on bench......amazing team can win w/such terrible managerial jobs, both front office (colletti) and field (senile torre)
p.s. "grandpa" kent is hitless now for 2 straight games, yet still hits cleanup (bat him 8th and if he "cries/whines," as he is wont to do, then just flat-out bench him; hu is the future and better anyway!)
Posted by: bigunit | May 06, 2008 at 10:52 PM
Can't believe all this complaining. You'd think the Dodgers were losing 9 of 10 games! Torre's doing a great job, especially managing pitchers. He seems to have a better feel than Grady Little who sometimes waited one or two batters too long. Hope Andruw turns around this month. He's been an empty shirt up to now. But I can see Torre's point about needing him to play like his old self if we're going to keep playing into October.
Posted by: kdf | May 07, 2008 at 12:33 AM
KDF, AJ and empty shirt do not belong in the same sentence! His jersey is like a moomoo.
Posted by: poppinfresh | May 07, 2008 at 07:30 AM
"Just because of a fat contract for a washed up OF in Pierre you are keeping Either from becoming one of the best OF in the game!!!"
I'm decent, but I will never be one of the best OF in the game. Even I admit that. Boy, is Andre fat, You should see him out of uniform. Weebles wobble....
Posted by: Andre Ethier | May 07, 2008 at 09:05 AM
Andre how many other players post on here?!?!
Posted by: poppinfresh | May 07, 2008 at 12:26 PM