Manny Ramirez is back and better than ever. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MATTHEW FALKENBURY
ASSISTANT EDITOR

Welcome to our first installment of “Interview with Blogger” where we aim to get a look at the teams coming up on Mets schedule, from the people who know them best, Their Fans.

In advance of tonight’s first game of three against the Los Angeles Dodgers, I did an Interview with Brendan Scolari of True Blue L.A.

Matthew Falkenbury: What do you think of the return of Manny Ramirez and could that lead to the Dodgers possibly trading Juan Pierre?

Brendan Scolari: I think nearly every Dodger fan is ecstatic to have Manny back in the lineup. His presence is a huge boost to the offense, the Dodgers were scoring more than a run less per game on average during Manny’s suspension (5.55 vs. 4.40). Even though the team was 29-21 without Manny, the offense was struggling and the dominance that was seen earlier in the season was gone.

Juan Pierre did a more than admirable job filling in but he obviously doesn’t have the talent to make up for Manny’s loss. Pierre won’t be traded though, of that I am nearly positive. He doesn’t have much value around the league because of his contract and Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti has said he wants to keep Pierre for depth and to push the other outfielders. While I think trading Pierre would be nice to free up salary, it doesn’t look like a possibility at this point.

MF: 2. What player this season has made the biggest difference for the Dodgers getting off to a good start in the first half?

BS: It is hard to give credit to just one player but I’m going to have to go with Matt Kemp. He has gone from being a nice player last year to being a legitimate NL MVP candidate in ’09. That may seem absurd but Kemp has been absolutely fantastic. He’s raised his slash stats from .290/.340/.459 last year to .305/.369/.474 this year and stolen 19 out of 23 bases. His biggest improvement though has been in the field. Last year he was only an average centerfielder but this year he looks like a Gold Glover out in center field..

The numbers bear this out as well, his UZR/150 is 15.8 runs, the highest in the league for center fielders. Honorable mentions include Casey Blake, Randy Wolf, and Juan Pierre. All three veterans have stepped up big time so far this year.

MF: 3. What has Joe Torre done differently in his tenure as Manager that past Dodger mangers haven’t done?

BS: Torre helps to calm the clubhouse and keep everyone steady all season long. He is able to keep all of the players in check and has for the most part kept there from being any internal problems with the team.

That said, he does still make questionable lineup decisions (like having Matt Kemp bat eigth or having Andre Ethier and James Loney, two lefties, back to back) and some of the Dodger’s best relievers have been overused so far this season. The biggest factor in Torre’s success compared to that of recent managers is just that there is so much more talent on the team this year than there has been in the past.

MF: 4. What Mets player(s) do Dodgers fans worry about the most?

BS: Fortunately the Dodgers won’t have to face most of the Mets best players, with Beltran and Reyes injured and Santana not pitching in the series. But David Wright, despite his batting average driven success this season, could be in line for a big series with two flyball prone lefites in Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw starting.

Gary Sheffield could see the same benefits although most of the rest of the Mets hitters in their current lineup aren’t too scary. On the pitching side, Mike Pelfrey will be the toughest starter the Dodgers have to go against and of course you never want to have to depend on scoring against K-Rod in the 9th.

MF: 5. What is the key for the Dodgers in this series against the Mets?

BS: The key for the Dodgers has to be starting pitching. Let’s be honest, the Dodgers should score quite a few runs off the Mets unimpressive trio of starters this series. Pelfrey is solid but not special, Perez has struggled mightily and the Dodgers destroy lefties (to the tune of a .293/.374/.455 team line), and Livan Hernandez is still Livan Hernandez.

If Kershaw can harness his control, Hiroki Kuroda can build on the success of his last few starts, and Wolf can pitch the way he has been most of the season then the Dodgers should have a great chance to win each of their respective games and take a series on the road. The bullpen has been taxed a bit lately so the starters eating up some innings should make the relievers a more effective group too.

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