Extra! Extra! (8.29)

Just when it looked like the Dodgers would open their series against Cincinnati with a cakewalk, the Reds decided to make life difficult. In the end, L.A. got their 6-5 win, but it took a lot of work to get there. Brad Penny was laboring from the start, dancing in and out of trouble like a live-action Frogger game. Five walks and 104 pitches through only five innings. Perhaps he should have been throwing some of these? Yet somehow Penny managed to keep crossing the street and reach the lily pad without getting squished (three double plays turned by the Dodgers D didn't hurt).

Russell Martin and Jason Repko provided the O from the bottom of the lineup, but after a big-time Cincinnati comeback in the eighth, Jonathan Broxton was called in to nail down the win. His five-out save was enough to raise some statistical eyebrows (like the eyebrows raised when Pam Anderson was put on the Jumbotron...). Combine the Dodgers win with San Diego's loss to Arizona, and the Dodgers again lead the NL West by three games. (Magic Number, 29!)

Blue Meanies

The Dodgers celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' 1966 concert at Chavez Ravine during their 6-5 win over the Reds Monday night, but picking up the W was no easy task Because of some loose mound work from the get-go.

Despite his efforts to Act Naturally, Brad Penny needed plenty of Help! to reach The End of his five innings without looking like the Fool on the Hill. Any way you slice it, when he ran up 105 pitches through five innings, you knew it would be a quick Hello Goodbye for the Dodgers All-Star. Penny had the Reds on a Magical Mystery Tour of the basepaths. Cincinnati runners were Here, There, and Everywhere in the early going, but if You've Got Trouble, the double play will make a pitcher Glad All Over. Penny managed to get three of them, enough to keep the damage to a minimum.

BK Live From the Ravine — Dodgers vs. Reds

FYI, 40 years ago tonight, the Beatles played a gig at Dodger Stadium. In honor of that night, they'll be playing Beatles music during breaks in the action, etc. If you can't pick up on that stuff during the broadcast, try to hum something from Help! or Sgt. Pepper between innings and you'll have a more authentic, at-the-game experience.

The good news is Penny is almost done with his warmup tosses, and hasn't freaked out yet. Like I said after his last blow up, I understood why he was so pissed that time, and the umps didn't do much to diffuse the situation. But I'm kicking around the idea of how much fun it would be if the Dodgers had a Ron Artest type. Sure, they had one in Milton Bradley, and we all know how that turned out, but every once in a while, it's kind of fun to have a loose cannon around.

Leadoff walk to Ryan Freel. Not an encouraging start.

Don't Worry, Takashi Saito Is Taking It Well

Make no mistake, the Dodgers are a patriotic bunch. After the U.S. made the final out in the sixth to win the Little League World Series, a huge cheer went up in the players training room (out of a reporters eye line, within his ear line, so to speak). Takashi Saito returned to the clubhouse, pretending to wipe away tears, but seemed more or less OK. I was concerned initially because ESPN showed a shot of all the kids on the Japanese team scooping up dirt from the infield. Considering how hard-ass some little league coaches are these days, it wouldn't have surprised me if they were being punished ("Because you lost, we're not leaving this field until every ounce of dirt has been cleaned up!"). Turns out, they were just taking home a memento or two. Whew!

The Dodgers are a relatively chipper bunch these days. They left town in first place and came home in first place. Repeat that a couple more times, and we'll all be around this October.

Tonight's Hurler!

There was some confusion in the national outlets (and at Blue Notes Central) as to the Dodgers starter. It's Brad Penny, not Mark Hendrickson. 

—BK

A Little Live Blog Before Mondays Are Lost to Football

Unless you find preseason football incredibly riveting, you probably have a little spare time tonight for the semipatented Blue Notes live blog. It's a 7:10 start at the Ravine. Be there, or be square.

—BK

Extra! Extra! (8.28)

A half game. That's all the Dodgers lost off their divison lead over their nine-game NL West lovefest, despite a 4-5 record and dropping all three in San Diego. Put that up against the five games the Dodgers lost during the Great Skid of '06, and it pretty much proves one thing — you have to be a special kind of crappy to fall out of contention in this division, which should help keep things tight. L.A.'s 6-3 win in Arizona on Sunday bumped their lead over the second-place Friars to two games, held the Giants back at 3.5, and likely gave "stick a fork in 'em" status, at least concerning the division — to the now-five-out D-Backs.

Salvaging the Trip

A three-game sweep at the hands of the Padres had many members of the Blue Nation ready to blow the proverbial Doomsday Whistle. But after a 6-3 win Sunday afternoon gave L.A. the rubber match of their weekend set against the Snakes, things are looking a little rosier. Chad Billingsley, who has been lights out from a statistical perspective throughout the second half, tamed the pitch count beast that has plagued him since joining the cool kids up in the majors. For the second time in three outings, Bills finished the seventh. It was especially important on Sunday, with the Dodgers pan fried like an egg at your local Denny's. Too much more of this, and Bills will be siphoning off ROY votes from Andre Ethier.

More on the game tomorrow.

—BK

Extra! Extra! (8.27)

Jeff Kent's been accused of being somewhat scowl-filled throughout his career. But if never grinning somehow equals more game-winning homers like the one in last night's 4-3 win over the D-Backs, the dude can remain surly for the rest of his days in blue. But the stylish homer was more than a tribute to the Tom Selleck's of the world. It provided relief for a team sweating a potential 5-game losing streak, Julio Lugo's agent, old grudges (although not from Brad Penny) possibly still brewing, and the condition of Derek Lowe's thumb. The digit distinguishing the sinker specialist from a monkey took a fourth inning whack from a Chad Tracy come backer. As it turns out, the ouchie won't likely amount to much more than soreness. But not knowing that at the time (and with the NL West remaining tight as ever) the blast prompting this box score was worth its weight in Jeff Kent frowns.

Extra! Extra! (8.26)

Sorry for the delay. Some issues surfaced creating an unavoidably late post time. Although really, isn't a little fitting for the news of last night's 9-7 loss to the D-Backs to come behind schedule, considering the game itself took it's sweet time to end? It took 15 innings for Orlando Hudson to finally put the game on ice with a walk-off jack. One expects the Dodgers have spent the equivalent 5 hours, six minutes (and then some) stewing in the visions of what might have been. Wasted opportunities, such as the multi-homer effort by J.D. Drew. Russell Martin's shot went by way of the scrap heap as well. Takashi Saito's blown save (Jonathon Broxton also had one of this own) was largely the result of a bad exchange between Wilson Betemit and Nomar Garciaparra. Thus, it's only fitting that Aaron Sele would worm his way out of 13th and 14th inning jams, just to see the "L" next to his name in the box score.