Sitting atop the hotly contested NL West, the Dodgers take another crack at the Rockies tonight. If these guys were friends, the Dodgers would have to consider letting up just to avoid breaking the Rockies' spirits. But they're not, they're professionals, and we fans can just sit back and enjoy the dominance.
Little continues to juggle the lineup, and I have no problem with it. Who knows which of these guys is most likely to produce on any given night? He seems to be keeping the known quantities in (or out) of the lineup: Furcal, Lofton, Garciaparra, Drew. This makes sense, even with Furcal struggling. Do you really think Martinez would be a better bet a shortstop? But it makes sense to rotate Kemp and Ethier, Guzman, Aybar, and Martinez. It keeps them fresh on the field, and fresh in the minds of other GM's.
The thin starting rotation (a nice effort by Brad Penny last night notwithstanding) shows again with Brett Tomko, now a couple of weeks away from his last good start, going up against Jason Jennings. While Tomko is very likeable, and has put up some good starts, one has to wonder what it would take to pry Zambrano away from the Cubs....
Regardless, Tomko and his team of (4) rookies will hit the field tonight in Denver with the passion of front-runners and a pretty decent shot of putting some more ground between themselves and the Giants and Rockies. We'll have to see about the Padres and Diamondbacks tonight.
Go Blue.
The Pitching Match-up:
Brett Tomko (RHP. Dodgers) vs. Jason Jennings (RHP, Rockies)
For your Los Angeles Dodgers:
Furcal, SS
Lofton, CF
Garciaparra, 1B
Drew, RF
Kemp, LF
Aybar, 2B
Guzman, 3B
Martin, C
Tomko, P
For the Colorado Rockies:
Carroll, 2B
Sullivan, CF
Helton, 1B
Holliday, LF
Atkins, 3B
Hawpe, RF
Closser, C
Quntanilla, SS
Jennings, P