Knotted up baseball

What's the beauty of spring training?  Some would say the thrill of watching a young prospect try to carve out a spot with the big club.  Others would say it's witnessing a team forge the early groundwork for a season-long bonding session.  But if you ask the folks over at Blue Notes, it's the ability to end a contest on a tie, such as the case in yesterday's 4-4 match against the Orioles of Baltimore.  Everything got evened out after a ninth inning bloop single from Andre Ethier on the heels of Xavier Paul's two-run jack, but eventually came to a close one frame later when Andy LaRoche (no lock to remain up if he doesn't win the starting hot corner gig) struck out with men on.  A big day for Paul in general, who managed to impress his skip with his ability to accrue a drawn out base on balls.  Chin-Lung Hu is another young player trying to catch his manager's eye, even while knowing he's bound for Vegas in nine out of ten cases.  At any rate, Hu gets a free trip to China for his troubles and he's down for the travel.  Juan Pierre will remain stateside, running his butt off.  Such displays of effort are another day at the office for the speedy outfielder, even if the results can't always be counted on to match (Dodger Thoughts offers a nice breakdown of the dilemma involving Pierre). 

Another item that's uncertain?  The health and general status of Jason Schmidt, who most certainly won't be ready come opening day.