Braves 10 Dodgers 2

Well, that's quite the Murderer's Row the Dodgers have assembled, isn't it? Here's a fun game -- match up the LA position players from last night's game with their ATL counterparts, then make a list of which Dodger players you'd rather have. OK, never mind -- I know you're quite busy, so I've done it for you. Here's the list:

Jeff Kent (by the slimmest of margins, and not for long)

Why does Jason Phillips play first base? Tell me one thing he does better than Hee Seop Choi. You can't -- there's nothing. I can't get over their refusal to play Choi against all right-handed pitchers. On the other hand, it's fun to watch the Dodgers shoot themselves in the foot, since it appears that's where they are aiming.

Young Master Francoeur had himself another day to remember, with a triple, HR, and his ninth Baserunner Kill^* in 30 games. Murph used to have months like this, but not often. Still no walks for "Frenchy" (or "Freedomy" or "Americany" if you must) in 113 plate appearances. In what plate appearance do you think he'll draw his first unintentional base on balls? I'll go with 147.

Chipper, Furcal, KJ, and McCann all reached base four times, and Andruw hit his 38th HR, which came with nobody on base, so evidently he was able to properly concentrate. It must be said that Andruw should probably have over 100 RBI by now....



^* Term invented by Bill James to replace outfield assist. Much more evocative, don't you think?

Update: Just took a look at Andruw's stats with and without Chipper in the lineup. Here they are:

With Chipper (68 games): .258/.328/.512 41 runs, 16 HR, 43 RBI
Without Chipper (51 games): .301/.394/.722 32 runs, 22 HR, 49 RBI

So far, with Chipper in the lineup, Andruw is having a Bad Andruw season, but he turns into Larry-Walker-At-Coors-Field without Chipper...