There’s no holding back -- youth will be served

The last we saw of Nomar Garciaparra on Monday night, he was really upset, bat in hand and Mariano Duncan restraining him -- as if there were any chance of Garciaparra hitting the home plate umpire or anything else these days.

On Tuesday, the Choking Dogs announced they were putting Garciaparra on the disabled list, making one wonder if Duncan had somehow injured Garciaparra, and if so, maybe the Dogs should have him start holding back Mark Hendrickson, Olmedo Saenz and Ramon Martinez. Or, at the very least, block them from entering Dodger Stadium.

Manager Grady Little said Garciaparra injured a calf a few days ago. Garciaparra said he hurt it on the last homestand. Both stories sounded better than having to admit he hurt himself while getting ejected from a game.

That clears the way, of course, for the Dogs to further advance their kiddie cause, but apparently the upstart they have in mind for third base is not ready. Andy LaRoche is coming off an injury, so Shea Hillenbrand will step in for now. I guess it’s too late to ask Duncan to restrain Hillenbrand from joining the team.

Get well quick cards, by the way, can be sent to LaRoche in care of the Dodgers’ minor league squad in Las Vegas. I’d suggest having Hillenbrand deliver them to better prepare himself for his next job after baseball.

NOW THAT the Dodgers have gotten rid of Garciaparra, I wondered about Luis Gonzalez. Gonzalez apparently declined to feign an injury, so the old man was simply removed from the lineup so that another kid, Matt Kemp, might take his place. Gonzalez last homered July 18, the Dodgers going into a tailspin ever since, which makes this ongoing disaster obviously his fault.

“Does this mean you’re finished?” I said, knowing the Dogs now will do everything they can to play next year’s outfield together of Juan Pierre, Andre Ethier and Kemp.

“I signed a one-year deal here, but I’m not ready to retire,” said Gonzalez, who will turn 40 the first week of September -- making him old enough to be the father of some of the Dogs’ youngsters.

“You probably think I’m finished,” Gonzalez said. “Say I go out in the next three or four games and get really hot. What are you going to do then?”

“Faint,” I said. I’d be shocked if he even gets the chance to start again in the next three or four games.

I THOUGHT I would work my way around all the old guys, beginning with Garciaparra, moving to Gonzalez and then Jeff Kent.

“We’ve only had two old guys playing all year -- just two,” Kent said, while pointing to himself and Gonzalez. “And I’m swinging the bat like an 18-year-old.”

I gave him that. He began the night 0 for 19, getting as many hits as any 18-year-old sitting in the stands these days.

But then by my count, I’ve had the Choking Dogs playing with three old guys all season long -- Kent, Gonzalez and Garciaparra.

“Garciaparra is not old; he’s like 35,” Kent said.

But he’s swinging the bat this season like an old lady, and as fond as the Parking Lot Attendant, Ned Colletti and Plaschke are of the kids, maybe it’s just time to play them.

I wish I could describe the look on Kent’s face. I would imagine it’s what you would see if he came out to the parking lot and saw Barry Bonds trying to steal his prized motorcycle. Or told him what Plaschke thinks the Dodgers should do down the road.

“I don’t have a future; I’m not a youth,” Kent snarled. “This is what I’m all about, playing baseball to win, and I still think we can win.”

Kent is going to think the Dogs still have a chance the day after they’ve been officially eliminated. He’s a grinder, every-day businessman at the ballpark, and although he has nothing against young players, he wants them to feel what it’s like to play as if every game really does count.

Next year, the Dodgers figure to start the season the way they lined up Tuesday night, with LaRoche replacing Hillenbrand. After seven innings against a pitcher with a 2-7 career record and 6.16 ERA, they trailed the mighty Astros by only four runs. Yeah, just wait until next year.

But what about Kent? Will he return to play with all the kids?

“I want to win,” he said, and so Kent would like to see the players of the future play now as if it really matters, and benefit from it, not just be happy to have made it to the major leagues.

If the Dodgers make the move to the kids under the supposition they no longer have anything to lose, or they’re already finished, do the kids really gain anything by playing the rest of the season like so many exhibition games?

Make them sweat, Kent said. This isn’t spring training for Kemp, but rather a 43-game run to still make the playoffs, as Kent insisted.

“Come on, humor an old man,” Kent said. “Sell it like you really mean it -- like we really do have something to play for out there. There are a lot of games left; that’s where I see hope. Why not us? Why can’t we still win it?”

It depends, I guess, on one’s point of view. Will Gonzalez, Garciaparra and Kent still factor down the stretch, or have the goodbyes already begun?

Are the Dodgers already positioning themselves for next year, or do they still make the attempt to combine youth with experience and make one last serious run?

Hard to make a serious run, of course, when a veteran such as Mark Sweeney doesn’t even know how many outs there are in the ninth inning.

TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Aron Lanza:

“Five Rookie of the Year winners in the ‘90s got the Dodgers an 0-6 playoff record. And if Hillenbrand is the solution, what the heck was the question?”

I don’t understand why folks have to be so negative.

T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.