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About two weeks ahead of schedule, Dodger outfielder Juan Pierre healed up from a sprained right knee, completed a Vegas rehab assignment and got himself back on the 25-man roster. Dude does everything pretty fast, it would appear. To make room for Pierre, utility man Delwyn Young was placed on the 15-Day DL with an oblique strain, retroactive to yesterday.

Pierre’s availability for the lineup card has already created one issue (in my mind, at least) and allows another to potentially loom (in the mind of everybody I know who follows the Dodgers). The former is Joe Torre’s statement that Pierre will resume his old role as leadoff man, despite being generally outproduced at the top of the order by fill-in Matt Kemp. Yes, Pierre is closer to a “traditional #1 spot guy” and strikes out less often than Kemp, but he’s also plenty capable of generating his own outs without offering as much potential offense. I would bat him at the bottom of the order and stick with what’s worked best.                

But the bigger issue is how Torre handles his season-long “four outfielders” question. In the past, he’s seemed married to the idea of playing Pierre and Jones as more or less everyday outfielders, which would leave Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier competing for PT. It didn’t make sense earlier in the season, and given how the youngster duo is producing of late, the notion is insane. For the Dodger sake, this can’t continue. If Torre wants to emphasize defense, make Pierre the fourth guy. If he wants to emphasize (relatively speaking) offense, sit Jones more often. But both can’t possibly be everyday players on a team that struggles this much to score runs. It simply won’t work.

AK

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