44. A number that has been on my mind all season for two reasons. First, Hank Aaron. With all the commotion over Barry Bonds' career home run total, one cannot avoid thinking about his amazing career. It is a wonderful accident of history that the color barrier was broken when it was (or that Hank was born when he was). Otherwise, he might be no more lauded than is Josh Gibson. The other reason I've been thinking of 44 this year is Takashi Saito. I don't know if last night's order of appearance (Beimel, Baez, Saito) was an indication of Grady Little's ranking of his bullpen or not, but in my mind he's our best reliever. I assume he was pitching with a four run lead because he needed the work.
With a series victory over the Angels in hand for the first time since Mike Scioscia took over as Angels' manager, Derek Lowe takes the mound against Ervin Santana. This seems like a pretty good matchup for the Dodgers. Anderson is back in left, which would be a lot more impressive if Guerrero was in right. Maybe Scioscia is afraid his arm will fall off if he has to throw to the plate all day again. Whatever the case, the boys in blue attempt to forge deeper into the unknown with a win today. Does anyone else feel something good brewing?
Go Blue.
The Pitching Matchup:
Ervin Santana (RHP, Angels) vs. Derek Lowe (RHP, Dodgers)
For the (17-26) Anaheim Angels:
Figgins, RF
Cabrera, SS
Kennedy, 2B
Anderson, LF
McPherson, 3B
Quinlan, 1B
Mike Napoili, C
Murphy, CF
Santana, P
For your (23-20) Los Angeles Dodgers:
Furcal, SS
Lofton, CF
Garciaparra, 1B
Drew, RF
Kent, 2B
Aybar, 3B
Ethier, LF
Martin, C
Lowe, P