Manny finally returned from his 50-game PED suspension on Friday night, much to the delight of the mass exodus of Dodger fans who overtook PETCO Park from L.A. He had an uneventful night, drawing just a walk in the first inning, but he ignited a Dodger offense that was lacking runs in the past week to 10 days, and the Blue scored five first inning runs en route to a 6-3 win. Hiroki Kuroda got the win in a solid effort,
Then with Friday's pomp and circumstance all but non-existent, Manny smacked his first homerun since returning in the first inning of yesterday's game, which the Padres eventually won, 7-4. Randy Wolf was solid for six innings, but the bullpen blew a 2-1 lead, and Wolf was tagged with yet another no-decision.
Just named to his first All-Star game, Chad Billingsley will take the bump for the Blue this afternoon against San Diego's Josh Banks.
Along with Billingsley, closer Jonathan Broxton and second baseman Orlando Hudson both made the NL All-Star squad. For Broxton, this is also his first selection while Hudson is making his second appearance. He was an All-Star for the D-backs in 2007.
Not making the team but still with a solid chance is centerfielder Matt Kemp. The NL is taking four first basemen, and only one backup third baseman, and with Carlos Beltran voted in as a starter but currently on the DL and not expected to activated by the Mets until the end of the month, the NL has no backup centerfielders on its roster. So, with both Kemp and Philadelphia's Shane Victorino among the five choices for the Final Vote in the NL, chances are, if one is voted in, the other will be selected as a replacement for Beltran.
They do have some good competition though. Washington shortstop Cristian Guzman, Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds, and Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval are the other choices. But with Washington and Arizona having awful seasons, it'd be hard-pressed to see fans give the nod to Guzman or Reynolds. Sandoval is having the best season among the remaining three players, so if he wins the vote, with Phillies manager Charlie Manuel managing the NL this year, you can bet Shane Victorino will get the nod over Kemp, even though Kemp is having a far superior season than Victorino.
The best case scenario for Kemp is for either him or Victorino to win the Final Vote. So get out and Vote for Matt Kemp, Dodger fans!
Then with Friday's pomp and circumstance all but non-existent, Manny smacked his first homerun since returning in the first inning of yesterday's game, which the Padres eventually won, 7-4. Randy Wolf was solid for six innings, but the bullpen blew a 2-1 lead, and Wolf was tagged with yet another no-decision.
Just named to his first All-Star game, Chad Billingsley will take the bump for the Blue this afternoon against San Diego's Josh Banks.
Along with Billingsley, closer Jonathan Broxton and second baseman Orlando Hudson both made the NL All-Star squad. For Broxton, this is also his first selection while Hudson is making his second appearance. He was an All-Star for the D-backs in 2007.
Not making the team but still with a solid chance is centerfielder Matt Kemp. The NL is taking four first basemen, and only one backup third baseman, and with Carlos Beltran voted in as a starter but currently on the DL and not expected to activated by the Mets until the end of the month, the NL has no backup centerfielders on its roster. So, with both Kemp and Philadelphia's Shane Victorino among the five choices for the Final Vote in the NL, chances are, if one is voted in, the other will be selected as a replacement for Beltran.
They do have some good competition though. Washington shortstop Cristian Guzman, Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds, and Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval are the other choices. But with Washington and Arizona having awful seasons, it'd be hard-pressed to see fans give the nod to Guzman or Reynolds. Sandoval is having the best season among the remaining three players, so if he wins the vote, with Phillies manager Charlie Manuel managing the NL this year, you can bet Shane Victorino will get the nod over Kemp, even though Kemp is having a far superior season than Victorino.
The best case scenario for Kemp is for either him or Victorino to win the Final Vote. So get out and Vote for Matt Kemp, Dodger fans!
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