Jerry Sands makes his triumphant return to the Dodgers tonight against Colorado, hitting sixth and playing… right field. Just as we all expected? Despite some unfounded worry that Andre Ethier may be hurting, it’s a pretty good day for him to be taking a break; yesterday’s double aside, he’s generally atrocious against lefties, and Colorado starter Drew Pomeranz has allowed just eight singles in 64 plate appearances against fellow southpaws. On the other hand, it’s not like Juan Rivera really offers that much more against lefties either, so it’s hard to say there’s a big step up here.
Over the last few hours, there’s been some worry about Sands’ role on the team thanks to some quotes by Don Mattingly passed along by Eric Stephen, indicating that Rivera & James Loney would continue to platoon at first base, with Sands serving as a backup and potentially even going back down to ABQ when Adam Kennedy is activated on Thursday. Though that is beyond troubling to think about, I’m also not sure how likely that really is. Beyond the fact that it makes no sense to jettison Gwynn right now just to then replace Sands in three days, Mattingly has clearly shown how beyond finished he is with Juan Uribe (15 days since his last start) and Loney (often sitting against righties now). If Sands hits, they’ll find a place for him to play. If he doesn’t, then he’s going to have a hard time making a case to stay anyway. Either way, with Hanley Ramirez & Luis Cruz both around, I will be floored if Uribe & Kennedy are both on the active roster at the same time after Thursday.
By the way, if you thought the Cubs team the Dodgers just swept was bad, look at this Colorado lineup. No Troy Tulowitzki. No Michael Cuddyer. Now no Todd Helton, lost for the season due to hip surgery.
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Rockies
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Dodgers
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RF
|
Young |
LF
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Victorino
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|
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CF
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Fowler |
2B
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M.Ellis
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3B
|
Pacheco |
CF
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Kemp
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LF
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Gonzalez |
SS
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Ramirez
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C
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Hernandez
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1B
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Rivera
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|
|
1B
|
McBride |
RF
|
Sands
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|
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SS
|
Nelson |
3B
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Cruz
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|
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2B
|
Herrera |
C
|
A.Ellis
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P
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Pomerantz
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P
|
Capuano
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