Normally, it's worth dwelling on the final score, except during Spring Training, especially this early in Spring Training, when all the important stuff happens in the first few innings.  On Friday, the Blue may have lost 10-3 but there were encouraging signs to take away from the afternoon.  The biggies were Hiroki Kuroda's two scoreless innings on the mound and Andy LaRoche's run scoring double in the first. 

Turning that smile upside down, it's fair to say that Esteban Loaiza (2 IP, 3 ER, 4 hits... if he kept going, I probably would have hit a five somewhere) is still looking for his mojo.  It's February 29th- fun to say- so there's no reason to freak out, but for those in the Dodger Nation who are a little leery about Loaiza manning the fifth spot in the rotation, today did nothing to de-leery anyone.  Still, Loaiza's first effort of the spring was Cy Young material compared to Greg Miller.  The big lefty allowed five runs on three hits and two walks, all without recording an out.  If you happened to see the broadcast on ESPN, Miller was nowhere near the plate when the inning started, then too near it as it went on. 

For a guy who has rather famously struggled with control issues, it wasn't an auspicious way to kick off the '08 season for Miller. 

BK

Okay, it's just spring training and it's only one opening spring training contest.  But for the time being the Dodgers are absolutely infallible, courtesy of a 5-4 win over the Braves.  So infallible, in fact, that they're able to overcome similar base running issues that oft did in the team last season.  The victory itself came in comeback fashion, powered by John Lindsay's ninth inning ribbie single.  That's the good news.  The bad news was the sight of Matt Kemp sliding into third base, only to find James Loney standing on the bag.  Ouch-ke!  Particularly in the case of this young outfielder, who was often prone to hoofing gaffes in 2007.   And you don't want to spark the ire of a third base coach who isn't one of them namby-pamby, helmet wearing types.  All is good between the instructor and instructee, but clearly, kinks are in need of ironing out.  That mission, generally speaking, will fall upon Joe Torre's flexible shoulders.  And shockingly enough, a dude with rings galore, instant cred and a well-tested ability to bond with players is confident to do things as he pleases.  Nice to have a sense of assurance, because it won't be a cakewalk. 

Just a quick reminder, before we get too deep into the youth vs. experience debates over the 3B/OF situations, about what really went wrong in '07.

BK

Last season, the Dodgers lost 951 player games and over $20 million in salary to injury, no shock for a team that seems to use half its operating budget on MRIs.  Will Carroll, the guru of sports injuries at Baseball Prospectus (among other places), has been issuing his Team Health Reports throughout the month, and has finally reached the Dodgers.  By Carroll's calculations, the Blue have the worst Three-Year health ranking in baseball, though things are moving in the right direction under Stan Conte: 

Stan Conte came in to improve the injury situation for the Dodgers. The idea may be that Stan's a miracle worker, having held together much of the Giants' successful years with little more than athletic tape and hard work, but rebuilding what was once a proud, cutting-edge system takes longer than a year. While the Dodgers are now in the middle of the pack, that's better than the three-year rank, so although they lost tons of valuable days to talent languishing on the DL, it wasn't as bad as it has been in the recent past.

Let's face it, no matter who the trainer and physicians are, they can't save guys like Darren Dreifort or Kevin Brown from the DL. The difference is that these days taking a calculated risk on someone like a Jason Schmidt or last year's experiment with Randy Wolf can be entirely valid moves. These can be the type of gambles that Conte could make pay off, and the cheap Wolf-style signings are easier to make pay off above a club's investment. The problem is that Schmidt is getting paid ace money while only offering a realistic hope that he comes back to league average.

The vast majority of the losses the Dodgers took last season came from those two pitchers, plus the season-long injury to Jason Repko. Taken in light of these, the turnaround that the Dodgers saw last season, taking them to mid-pack, was pretty special, but not enough to get away from the worst Three-Year Rank in the game. Conte's methods worked well in San Francisco, but it's interesting that the Dodgers had to bring in a Giant to do this. Like many things in the organization, the advantage they once had in this area was lost, but could be regained."

Carroll then breaks down the roster, looking position by position at the potential for injury.  I'm not going to paste the thing here- really, you should subscribe (these people gotta eat, you know)- but to summarize, here are some of the guys worth worrying about, in Carroll's estimation:  Russell Martin (rest issues), Raffy Furcal (lingering ankle/back issues?), Chad Billingsley (waistline issues), Anmar LaRochiaparra (really, does this require an explanation?), and Jason Schmidt (see previous).

BK 

Okay, it's not really Opening Day, per se, but the Blue will take the field against representatives from an entirely different organization today against the Braves, 10:05 a.m. local start.  Already, Joe Torre is cautioning against reading too much into the lineup- get used to that- that features Juan Pierre on top followed by Raffy Furcal, and the Dodgers are handling a pitcher with caution.  Chad Billingsley was to start, but will be replaced with Jason Johnson because of a tight groin muscle.  That's a part of the body that should be loosey-goosey, for sure, so as a precautionary measure he'll pitch a Minor League simulated game instead.  Better safe than sorry when handling a kid well on his way to establishing himself as an artist on the mound. 

Looking ahead to actual Opening Day, just in case there was any confusion over who should start, Derek Lowe says it's Brad Penny.  Joe Torre seems to agree.  That's one less question for Dylan Hernandez to answer, as he breaks down some of the outstanding issues still surrounding the Blue, which include left field, Andruw Jones's weight, third base, Jason Schmidt, and Hiroki Kuroda.

In a couple years, the Dodgers hope James McDonald and Clayton Kershaw are in L.A. helping to anchor the staff.  The future looks bright for both, but for McDonald, the path to the bigs hasn't been nearly as linear. 

Normally, we don't do a lot of shilling for ticket sales, but news that a new batch of ducats- SRO, so you know- for the March 29th exhibition game against the Red Sox at the Coliseum seems worth passing along.  Info in the press release below.

BK

Well, not rock and roll, but fantasy ball, which is about as far away from rock star cool as it gets (this from a guy currently struggling to figure out who should be his third keeper before draft day...).  But whatever.  Most of us can't rip off hot riffs like Keith Richards, but we can operate a computer, draft and then manage a fake baseball team.  You do what you can.  With that in mind, here's ESPN.com's fantasy preview of the Dodgers (we'll post more previews throughout the spring...).  Some highlights, in paraphrased form:

• Don't overrate Dodger Stadium as a pitcher's park
• First Dodger to draft:  Russell Martin
• Look to the children: Kemp. Loney.  LaRoche (he's a sleeper!). 

Remember, too, that Loney says in a chat for Dodgers.com he's going to do well this year, and is a worthy fantasy option.  I'd be nervous if he said otherwise, but still, it's encouraging.

Just out of curiosity, do those of you who play fantasy ball gravitate towards Dodgers players?  Do you try to avoid them?  Or are you cold hearted and dispassionate, with the ability to cut hometown heroes if they disappoint?  I know there are all kinds of approaches on this one. 

BK

PROGRAMMING NOTE:  Join us for today's edition of Purple, Gold, and Blue.  We'll have John Ireland of CBS/KCAL talking Lakers, and Molly Knight of ESPN The Magazine talking Dodgers.  11 am.  Click on the show widget at right to tune in.

Joe Torre admits it's a nice problem to have, this "too many outfielders" thing.  Especially nice when, as they did in Tuesday's intrasquad game, they start whacking balls all over the place.  Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier both went yard (off James McDonald and Cory Wade, respectively), as did Jason Repko, who after a winter of rehab and paternally aided BP ought to carry some wood around, just to knock on it.  Juan Pierre was also busy.  No homer- this story ain't that good- but JP had two hits and made a nice catch in left to take extras away from Repko.  Toss in Delwyn Young, who is out of options and spent Tuesday not in the OF, but filling in at second for Jeff Kent and a slow healing Tony Abreu, and the Dodgers' depth chart is, for at least today, a very crowded place. "It will be difficult with everybody in the mix, the number of outfielders we have that are capable of playing at this level," said Torre.

On the mound, Jason Schmidt hit his first bump in the road back to health.  Nothing major, but the righty wasn't all that thrilled with his bullpen session yesterday, struggling to get loose and find pop on his pitches.   "Maybe I've hit a fatigue stage. I'm trying not to get frustrated and not put myself under the microscope. I've been through rehab before and I know you don't always feel better each and every time. It's just been going so good, you want it to just keep going all spring. But I know to expect to have dips like this."

Excerpts from today's Spring Training Notes, courtesy of Dodgers PR:

TAKE TWO: The Dodgers played their second intrasquad game this afternoon with “Team Koufax” besting “Team Drysdale,” 6-4, in a seven-inning affair.  Right-handers Mario Alvarez and Ramon Troncoso each fired scoreless innings for the winning team, while right-hander Justin Orenduff struck out two and allowed just one hit over two shutout frames for the “Drysdale” squad. Non-roster invitee Rick Asadoorian worked a 1-2-3 inning and fanned two in his only inning of work. At the plate, Juan Pierre had two hits, a run, and an RBI, but the long ball stole the show at Holman Stadium on this day. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, and Jason Repko all hit home runs on the afternoon. For Repko, today marked his first competitive action in a Dodger uniform since tearing his hamstring last March. In addition to the homer, Repko put his arm on display in the second inning, firing a laser to Martin that almost threw out Angel Chavez....   

HE’S GOT IT WADE: Dodger right-hander Cory Wade tossed an inning in the intrasquad game today and gave up a solo homer to Andre Ethier, but that mistake should be easily shaken off when the hurler thinks of what took place about 72 hours ago. Amaya Isabelle Wade was born in Ogden, Utah on Saturday weighing seven pounds and nine ounces. Amaya is Wade’s first child and this marks the second Dodger baby this spring and it’s still February. Jason Repko’s wife, Traci, gave birth to the couple’s first child last Thursday...

THAT’S A LONG ROE TO HOE – The Dodgers would like to wish a Happy Birthday to former hurler Elwin Charles “Preacher” Roe, who turns 93 years young today. Roe pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1948-54 and went 93-37 (.715) with a 3.26 ERA for the famed “Boys of Summer.” The Arkansas native was a sparkling 22-3 in 1951 and was 2-1 with a 2.54 ERA in three World Series starts following the 1949, ’52 and’53 National League pennant-winning seasons. After being traded from the Pirates to the Dodgers in December of 1947, the five-time All-Star once said of the Dodgers’ superior middle infield (Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson), “A pitcher should pay to pitch for the Dodgers. The Pirate's second baseman and shortstop were like goalposts with the ball bouncing between them.” Happy Birthday Preacher!...

COME ON DOWN: The Dodgers will be holding their annual free agent tryout this Friday, Feb. 29 on fields 5 and 6. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the players will start going through workouts at 9 a.m. Typically, the workout involves a 60-yard dash, batting practice, and throwing drills from shortstop to first (infielders) and right-center to third base (outfielders).

I find that last item particularly compelling.  My glove is in the car, and if I left now, I might make it to Vero by Friday...

BK

The entertainment just keeps coming in Vero for the Dodgers.  On the heels of the public humiliation of some members of the coaching staff, Mark Sweeney has taken it upon himself to institute an American Idol style competition in camp, similar to the one's the Giants have had for the last couple of seasons.  You know, the one that produced the fairly disturbing scene pictured at left.  But it'll make for fun bonding time, and since there is significant work going on for the Blue these days (and because Bonds isn't a Dodger), it should just make for good times. 

On the field, the battle for third base continues to be a major talking point.  Nomar is looking for a bounce back season, and is conceding nothing in his competition with Andy LaRoche for the starting gig- but questions the characterization of the situation as a competition.  Everyone, he says, is on the same team with the same goal.  And while he certainly concedes that his '07 was disappointing, it's clear Nomar believes declarations of his demise are premature.  Meanwhile, Andy LaRoche says he's healthy and comfortable, and is excited about his first real opportunity to win a job in a Major League camp.