Juan Out, Andre In

Torre takes charge and makes Andre Ethier our starting left fielder. This may be the most important decision Joe makes this season. Ethier is poised to break out this year and may establish himself as one of the leagues better hitters. I see him, at a minimum, being our version of a younger Garrett Anderson. On the other hand, it's hard to believe Juan Pierre could excel in his new a role as a pinch hitter. Tony Jackson broke the story and adds,

"Torre said there also could still be a last-minute trade."

It sounds like something may be in the works. Who's crossing their fingers? Imagine the offensive production we could have with Kemp, Jones and Ethier in the outfield.

In other news, Chan Ho Park is going to Las Vegas and is expected to be the first call up.

Story Link: Tony Jackson:

UPDATE: It appears the trade talk is for a 3B/Utility infielder. Clarified by Diamond Leung Kevin Pearson.

Weekly Blog Kiosk 3/30/2008

And the battle for the pennant begins.

• Baseball plans to end the 68 year tradition of the Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown after the 2008 season. Some fans have gotten together to try to save the game. Check out Save the Hall of Fame Game website.
• Jeff Findley has some great Dodger related photos on his website.
• Eric Neel writes about the power of Torre.
• Mike from Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness writes a 2008 Dodger Preview for LA Taco.
• Ricky O'Donnell creates a Top Ten Future Stars of Professional Sports List. Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish is #1. He's a name to remember.
• Brent Shyer writes about the Dodgers first game in LA at Walter O'Malley.com.

AP/World Wide Photo

• Andruw Jones is now a blogger.
• Go Dodgers Blog got her season tickets and is visibly jazzed. She even post pictures of the tickets, parking pass (now I'm jealous) and a tote bag freebie for season ticket holders.
• Steve Finley Was Here picks the card of the week and it's former Dodger outfielder Henry Rodriguez.
• Dan Bretta shares some vintage photos he was able to pick-up directly from the photoalbum of former Brooklyn Robin/Dodgers star Dazzy Vance. These date from 1923. See Brooklyn Robins catcher Charlie Schmidt below. Notice the Brooklyn club flag on the top left.

UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot to mention this. Sunshine shares her pics from Fridays game against Boston. She has tons of pics. Then she post a challenging Dodger quiz. How many can you get right?