WRITE ON: DODGERS COLUMNIST CONTEST.

PINSKY VS. PETERS

Boy to man

BARRY PINSKY

54

Financial Advisor

North Hollywood

You have to root for a kid who rode to the major leagues via the subways of Montreal. If Russell Martin were a movie, he'd be named Streetcar Named Desire . . . or Bound for Glory. Martin grew up the hard way, shuffled between divorced parents, his father an itinerant musician playing for spare change deep within the bowels of the French Canadian metropolis' transit system.

Russell Martin is the latest in a long, distinguished line of Dodger catchers of true grit.

Think Roseboro, Yeager, Scoscia, Piazza and especially Lo Duca, whom he strongly resembles in appearance and tenacity. The Dodgers often tend to overlook these diamonds in the rough, hidden beneath their masks and pads ... until they seize their moment in the majors and begin to tear up the league. Martin actually sacrificed his opportunity to play for the Canadian National Team in the World Baseball Classic in order to pursue a shot at the Dodgers' starting job.

After one of the most impressive springs in recent memory, he was rewarded with a one-way ticket back to Triple A. An injury to Navarro afforded the only break he needed.

Consider: Before Martin's arrival, the Dodgers were 12-17, with a team ERA of around 4.25, and had thrown out only 1 of 32 base-stealers. When Martin has played, the team record is 32-19, ERA 4.00, and 10 of 37 would-be thieves have been gunned down. He has helped to stabilize an erratic pitching staff, bats .283 and works indefatigably. After a recent 17-inning game, Martin begged to start the next day. He will not be joining the All-Stars in Pittsburgh, but he should be.

Perhaps more than any other player, a catcher's contributions are easily overlooked. Leadership and inspiration do not appear in the box scores. But Russell Martin is luminous. You can't miss his spirit and his powerful influence on the men around him, veterans and rookies alike. It's time for Russell Martin to stop riding the rails and settle in for the duration. ``Bien sur!''

Vote early and vote often

LINDY PETERS

53

Radio Host

Mendocino

Now the game means something. Ever since a grumpy Bud Selig declared an extra-inning All Star game a ``tie'', with no clear winner, baseball has marketed the game as something meaningful. No more ties. The winning team's league gets home-field advantage in the World Series. Nice concept, but is it working? Do fans vote with their heads or their hearts? And where are all the Dodger fans?

Last time I checked, the Dodgers were leading the majors in fan attendence, averaging over 45,000 seats a game.

Lets do the math. The fans get to vote for the starting team, right? Ballots are randomly handed-out by ushers at Dodger Stadium who encourage you to vote for the homeboys. Come on now! If you all voted early and voted often, all 8 position players should be Dodgers, because no other team even comes close to the number of home fans at each home game.

Where did you all learn to vote, Florida?

What about Nomar Garciaparra? Nomar is a natural hitter. He is currently second in batting average in the National League and can conceivably play all five infield positions. Sure, the game's best player is probably Albert Pujols, and he too plays firstbase. But he is coming off an injury and his bat looks slow right now. NL Manager Phil Garner of the Astros chose his homeboy Lance Berkman as firstbase back-up, so where does that leave Nomar? I think Garciaparra deserves to be an All Star. He has spent time in the American League as a shortstop, so he knows some of their best hitters.

Better yet, he knows their weaknesses and could pass this along to the pitching staff. He also knows the subtle differences in strategy between the two leagues. What more could you ask for in an All-Star? And who would you rather have hitting against Mariano Rivera in the bottom-of-the-ninth of a tie game, Dan Uggla (that could be ugly) or someone who has faced the Yankee several times, like Nomar? Only the warriors in cyberspace can save him now. If the Monster.com fan computer vote places Garciaparra on the National League team, justice will be served.

If not, Dodger fans only have themselves to blame. Next year, pay less attention to the beachball and more attention to the ballot!

SOONG vs. COTNER

A Saito for sore eyes

JOE SOONG

Risk management analyst

Like the Air Force, the Dodgers have a stealth weapon. His name is Takashi Saito.

Stepping into the void left by the injured Eric Gagne and inconsistent Danys Baez, closer Takeshi Saito has helped stabilize a sometimes shaky Dodgers bullpen. Taking on more and more responsibility, Saito has quietly, yet consistently put up numbers that made him a bona fide All-Star candidate.

Saito has been one of the season's most pleasant surprises for the Dodgers, seamlessly stepping into the closer's role, where he is, up to this point, perfect in converted save opportunities. His ERA has actually declined from the beginning of May until now, indicating that he is adjusting well to the high pressure closer role and that Major League hitters have not yet figured him out.

How does he measure up against the NL's best? Saito's playing time has been similar to the five closers who were either selected to this year's NL All-Star team (Brian Fuentes, COL; Tom Gordon, PHI; Trevor Hoffman, SD; Derrick Turnbow, MIL) or chosen as an NL Final Man candidate (Billy Wagner, NYM).

All of them, including Saito, appeared in at least 30 games and have pitched more than 30 innings.

Taking a look at year-to-date 2006 statistics up to the end of the Final Man voting last Thursday, Saito compared favorably to his better known All-Star peers. Leading the elite group, Saito's strikeout/walk ratio exceeded 6:1, and he also had the most strikeouts, 52. In comparison, Fuentes had 45 Ks and Wagner gave up 17 walks.

Measuring earned run average, only Hoffman had a lower ERA, 1.16, than Saito's 1.63 ERA. A comparison of batting averages revealed a similar story. Major League batters hit a paltry .167 against Saito.

Opponents hit .226 against Turnbow and .206 against Gordon.

Although he has 14 years of experience in Japanese baseball, Saito is a relative unknown to American baseball fans. However, his statistics are clear and convincing.

Saito as an All-Star candidate? The answer is a definite ``Yes.''

Star on, off the field

DAVID COTTER 

35

Journalist

Los Angeles

So Brad Penny gets to go to the All-Star Game on Tuesday and you just can't stop crying.

Yes, they could've picked someone else.

In related developments, water was recently determined to be ``wet.'' So dry your eyes and pat Penny on the back like the rest of the players and remember that people get what they deserve - and don't deserve - every day of their lives. Like Enron crook Ken Lay dying of a heart attack. In Aspen.

Of the 25 players on the active Dodgers roster, men stand worthy of All-Stardom for multiple reasons. Closer Danys Baez gets massive points for defecting from Cuba to play ball. There's vivacious Venezuelan pitcher Giovanni Carrara and his Mustang Sally of a fireball, and shortstop Rafael Furcal with his potential for unassisted triple plays -

of which there have been but 13 in the entire history of the game. And one player shines like moonstone when the spotlight turns his way.

Nomar Garciaparra.

The former Red Sox shortstop has gone to the All-Stars five times before, which means he knows where all the dings are on the field, so he won't trip. Speaking of which, Garciaparra's had only one error this year as first baseman, he's second in the NL with a .359 ERA and he's had 49 ribbies besides.

Plus, all his anticipatory tics and rituals are entertaining to watch superstition has always been a big part of this game and his quirks are as much tradition as the All-Star Game itself.

Even Penny wants him there Tuesday. And remember this, sports fans

October 2005: Garciaparra jumps from the balcony of his condo and saves two women drowning in Boston Harbor. Lives saved! At the risk of his own! Pedigrees just don't come much more golden than that. Press asks Nomar for a comment. No comment. This is a humble man!

What becomes an All-Star most? The ability to save lives on the field as well as out in the world in his spare time? Not necessarily but it sure doesn't hurt.