Jeff Kent is still out of the lineup. The word is that he's available, but it sure would be nice to see him out there heading into Atlanta. The Braves are having a good year (surprise!) and sit in a similar position to the Dodgers.
Kemp is starting in left field today, which I guess means that Grady (or Ned) wants to get a look at him before they send him down. This feels like rookie overkill to me. Ethier and Cruz are both fine, and anything you see from Kemp will be more a product of small sample size than his actual ability to handle the bigs. Which, by the way, is a very good reason not to run around offering up Dioner Navarro trades to anyone who will listen. Two catchers ar good to have, especially if they're cheap, and especially if you don't know which one is the better hitter. Remember, Navarro is younger than Martin, and it's not like he's some sort of failure. Steve Lyons says the Dodgers won't trade him because of what they paid for him. I guess Steve didn't take Econ 101, where they teach you about sunk costs. I don't think Ned's that dumb.
Penny needs to step up once again and get this series started right.
Go BLue
The Pitching Matchup:
Jae Seo (RHP, Dodgers) vs. John Thomson (RHP, Braves)
For your (28-22) Los Angeles Dodgers:
Furcal, SS
Lofton, CF
Garciaparra, 1B
Drew, RF
Kemp, LF
Aybar, 3B
Martinez, 2B
Martin, C
Penny, P
For the (27-23) Atlanta Braves:
Giles, 2B
Renteria, SS
Chipper Jones, 3B
Andruw Jones, CF
LaRoche, 1B
Francoeur, RF
Langerhans, LF
Pratt, C
Thomson, P