If six turned out to be nine...

"I think it took us a little time to gain some trust here, too, in what we're trying to do, and meanwhile convince the players that we're not trying to make any wholesale changes here, we're just trying to help the young players get better.  I had a sense that once they started trusting that fact, we'd see some progress.  But as far as this club, the pitching has held us in there and kept us close.  Casey Blake has made a significant difference in our personality, and when Manny came in, he's like that one player who can make a difference in a ballclub, personality wise and giving a club a feeling that they have a chance to win."

Other topics of conversation tonight:

• Jeff Kent in the three spot.  As many have written about, Kent maintains his hot streak has nothing to do with hitting in front of Manny.  To an extent, he has a point- Kent was certainly swinging a better bat even before Ramirez arrived, but to refuse to acknowledge any help is a little goofy.  It's a defense mechanism, in my mind.  No hitter wants to think that his skills are linked to another player, because if that player goes away, so do the skills.  But as Torre explained it, it's precisely because Kent is a quality bat that he can hit in front of Manny.  "The fact that he's hitting in front of Manny means that they don't want to walk him, and he's a patient enough hitter to take advantage of that.  That's my opinion.  I think it's helped him."  The pitcher, he explained, will start any at bat trying to get the batter out, but things change deeper into the AB.  Kent is savvy enough to turn that to his advantage.  "If you don't get to the point where the pitcher has to throw a strike, he never will." 
• Torre expressed confidence that he could use Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, or even Chan Ho Park in late inning, high leverage situations.  Tonight, everyone ought to be available in the pen.
• No news yet on Penny, but Torre admitted that at this point, they have to proceed as if he won't be back this season.  "I can't think that Penny is going to come back, off of what's happened this year."  Not that they have medical news pointing in that direction, but based on what he's seen- a guy who has struggled with shoulder discomfort, spent time on the DL, who tried to come back, and still has the same discomfort.  When players get shut down at this point of the season, it's best to prepare for the worst and adjust to good news.  The same logic, by the way, would apply to Rafael Furcal. 
• Don't be surprised to see Nomar get a little time at first, depending on the opposing pitcher.  Torre said he almost gave him a start there last night against the tough lefty Manny Parra.  Beyond the matchups, it also provides Nomar a chance to play but under less stress, similar to how a day at third gives Russell Martin a day off without actually sitting him.

Audio:

• Torre: Download joe_torre_8.16.mp3
• Torre II: Download joe_torre_8.16 II.mp3

Lineups: Ethier is back in.  Loney bats behind Manny, Blake back to eighth.   Still no Ryan Braun for the Brewers. 

Brewers:

Durham.      2B
Hardy.        SS
Kapler.        LF
Fielder.        1B
Hart.          RF
Counsell.     3B
Cameron.    CF
Kendall.        C
Bush.          RHP

Dodgers:

Kemp.         CF
Ethier.        RF
Kent.          2B
Ramirez.      LF
Loney.          1B
Martin.        C
Garciaparra.  SS
Blake.          3B
Lowe.         RHP

BK

*Go ahead and look around the web.  I defy you to find one that bad...