Dodgers Win Opening Day, 5-0 | Dodger Daydreams

Here is an excerpt from my blog post at my new blog: http://dodgersblog.mlblogs.com/
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The Dodgers opened up their 2008 Regular Season with a spectacular win over the San Francisco Giants, 5-0. Los Angeles capitalized on Barry Zito's poor pitching performance, scoring four runs on eight hits. The Dodgers are scheduled to play the Giants again today, currently on pace for a remarkable, and yet impossible, 162-0 record.

Brad Penny secured the win in six and two-thirds innings of work. The ace gave up only four hits, striking out three batters. Hopefully, Penny will continue to pitch like this throughout the Regular Season and truly challenge Johan Santana of the New York Mets for the National League's Cy Young Award.

Jeff Kent led the Dodgers' offense with an early two-run homerun off of Barry Zito. The 40-year-old veteran provided memorable advice to Blake DeWitt, aiding the rookie to hit .500 in the game with a single. During Spring Training, there were various reports questioning the relationships of the veterans and rookies in the Dodgers' organization. Obviously, there aren't any issues to be concerned about at the moment.

Rafael Furcal continued from where he left off in Spring Training, connecting for three hits including a triple. The stellar short-stop currently leads the Dodgers with a stunning .750 batting-average in the Regular Season. At this early point in the 2008 Regular Season, Furcal has a higher batting-average than both Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez combined.

Batting-Practice:

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Earlier this morning, it was confirmed that the Los Angeles Dodgers will be moving Andre Ethier to Right-Field (kicking Matt Kemp to the bench), and sending Juan Pierre back out to Left-Field for tonight's game. Joe Torre is supposedly "manipulating his line-up," and "managing the egos," of his roster. Hopefully, this will not be a permanent configuration for the outfield.
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There will be a FanNation exclusive later in the week, or possibly over the weekend.