More photos » Mark Duncan - AP

Ramon Ortiz has been unquestionably solid so far this spring. The question is, what does it mean?

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Ramon Ortiz was solid again today for the Dodgers, his third straight sharp outing, throwing four shutout innings in Tempe in the Dodgers' 4-0 win over the Angels.  In three appearances, Ortiz has put up impressive numbers:

Those numbers sure are great, but they illustrate the age-old argument of how to weight spring training statistics.  What is more telling: the small sample size of three spring outings, or a track record of five years?  Here is how Ortiz has fared since leaving the Angels:

It would be great if Ortiz, who turns 37 a week from tomorrow, has suddenly turned over a new leaf as a pitcher, something he hinted at after today's game.  Per the Associated Press:

He credits his experience in Japan with teaching him a different approach to pitching.

"I'll take 93 or 94 [mph] on the corner rather than 97 right down the middle," said Ortiz, who said he adjusted to more of a finesse approach because of the tight Japanese strike zone. "Japan helped me a lot."

Ortiz was good in Triple A last season, but does that mean he will be effective this year, for the Dodgers, in the major leagues?  The main difference I can find is in his ground ball rate, which was better in 2009 than in recent years (I don't have batted ball splits for his season in Japan).  Per FanGraphs and MinorLeagueSplits.com:

There wasn't a huge improvement in 2009, but it was an improvement, which is important since Ortiz has always been prone to give up the home run.  If Ortiz is a new pitcher, more power to him, and it will help the Dodgers.  But even though the club over the last two years has received positive contributions from Chan Ho Park and Jeff Weaver, both with no recent success to their name at the time, color me skeptical that Ramon Ortiz will make it three years in a row for the Dodgers.

Other notes from today's game:

• One day after 2009 12th round draft pick Brian Cavazos-Galvez launched a home run, the Dodgers today got a blast from 2009 4th round draft pick Angelo Songco, who powered a ball over the right field fence in the seventh inning
• Ethan Martin, rated by True Blue LA readers as the fifth-best Dodger prospect, made his debut in big league camp, allowing two hits while striking out one in a scoreless inning.
• Vicente Padilla, who was scheduled to start today's game in Tempe, instead threw 77 pitches in a simulated game at Camelback Ranch, per the Associated Press
• After the game, the Dodgers reassigned Argenis Reyes to minor league camp, and optioned Ivan DeJesus and pitchers Brent Leach and Travis Schlichting, reducing the number of players in major league camp to 50. 
• Ronald Belisario, who will make 51 players in camp once he is allowed entry into the country, was called a "long shot" by Joe Torre to make the opening day roster
• Torre, on the potential options for the out-of-options Charlie Haeger: "He will have the opportunity to be a reliever because he can pitch everyday. The fact that he's out of options means you have to look at him for the fifth starter."
• Benjamin Hill of MiLB.com takes a look at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, currently under management by Minor League Baseball
• There will be a private memorial service for Willie Davis Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, per the Associated Press

The Dodgers are off tomorrow, but return to action Wednesday at Camelback Ranch against the White Sox.

Today's Box Score

Chris Withrow, seen here from last June at Class A Inland Empire, struck out three batters in his first career inning in big league camp.

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Today's Dodgers 6-4 win over the Rangers at Camelback Ranch had it's moments, notably a booming Matt Kemp home run and three solid innings from Hiroki Kuroda, allowing just two unearned runs in his second start of the spring.  But the star of the day was Chris Withrow, making his first career appearance in big league camp.

Withrow, who was voted by True Blue LA readers as the top Dodger prospect this winter, entered the game in the eighth inning, and proceeded to record all three outs via strikeout.  Mitch Moreland, Kevin Richardson, and Max Ramirez all went down swinging against the fire-balling right-hander.  "The kid's got a good arm," said manager Don Mattingly, "you like to see that."  The only runner allowed by Withrow was a bad-grip curve ball that hit Chad "son of Jim" Tracy.

The youthful infusion inspired by Withrow extended to the offense, as fellow minor leaguer Brian Cavazos-Galvez crushed a home run over the bullpen in left field to start the bottom of the eighth.

Speaking of youth, Charley Steiner mentioned during the Prime Ticket broadcast that fellow highly-regarded pitching prospect Ethan Martin would likely pitch an inning on Monday in Tempe against the Angels.

Garret Anderson made his Dodger debut at designated hitter, collecting a hit in his three at-bats as the designated hitter.  "I wanted to get him an extra at bat today so that why he was the DH," said Mattingly, "Garret looked OK. We're just getting him going. We'll talk to him in the morning about playing the field tomorrow. "

Regarding the battle for the second base job, Jim Bowden of XM and Fox Sports tweeted this (hat tip to Tripon for the link):

Larry Bowa told me that Blake DeWitt is in lead for Dodgers 2B opening

The Dodger plane from Taiwan is scheduled to touch down in Phoenix at roughly 5:45pm.  Joe Torre is expected in camp tomorrow, but Mattingly said he wasn't sure if he or Torre would manage the next few games.

UPDATE: Rangers' pitcher Michael Kirkman, who was hit in the face by a grounder late in the game, narrowly avoided serious injury.  From Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Left-hander Michael Kirkman was grazed in the left ear by a one-hopper hit back at him in the seventh inning and is OK. But both pitching coach Mike Maddux and trainer Jamie Reed said Kirkman was one inch from a "disaster."

Kirkman went down as the ball bounded into right field, but he was back on his feet before the play had ended.

Box Score

More photos » Wally Santana - AP

Manny Ramirez, fully stretched for the finale in Taiwan, added three hits, including a double.

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The Dodgers ended their Taiwan trip with a 11-1 win over the CPBL All-Stars at Kaohsiung County Stadium.  Among the highlights:

• Manny Ramirez hit the ball hard all night (or day, if you prefer), finishing with three hits, a double, and three runs scored.  His best hit ball was probably the long out to right field in his final at-bat
• Taiwanese native Chin-Lung Hu collected three hits, including a double
• James Loney has a pair of hits, including an RBI triple in the first inning
• Josh Towers started, and allowed one run in his three innings of work, allowing four hits while striking out two
• Josh Lindblom, who along with Towers and Jon Link were called "candidates to make the team," per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN L.A., pitched even better, allowing but two baserunners in his three scoreless innings while striking out four
• Trayvon Robinson hit an absolute bomb of a home run to center field, a two-run shot to close out the scoring in the top of the ninth
• Xavier Paul had a pair of RBI singles, before leaving the game with a broken bloody nose.  He also appeared to hit his head on the dugout while leaving the field.
• Apparently the seventh inning stretch at Kaohsiung County Stadium featured a singer reading the lyrics off his hand
• Before the game, Josh Rawitch of Inside the Dodgers wrote of the club's experience on the bullet train to Kaohsiung

Many thanks to the 18 of you that participated in a weekend overnight game thread for a game halfway around the world.  You, along with the folks at Dodger Thoughts, Dodgerfan.net, and the like, made this a fun night.

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Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, in Taiwan with the team, has a nice profile of Brian Barton, who just might be the most interesting man in the world:

Barton's statistical goals can be measured in hundreds, but it's not about home runs or RBIs.

"I want to visit a couple hundred countries eventually. That's a lifetime goal," he said.

Barton wants to take his family on one of these trips, so they can learn about life in other parts of the world as he has.

"I guess this passion is really from, when I was growing up, I wanted to be an astronaut," he said. "I always wanted to go into space, wondering what's out there, seeing the stars and the moon and thinking about life on other planets.

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Gurnick also reported that, aside from the reported $170,000 appearance fee received by Manny Ramirez, the players on the trip will get paid a few thousand dollars each:

All of the players will receive a fee from gate proceeds that will probably be about double the $3,000 each received from the China trip

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Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times wrote about Blake DeWitt's hot hitting and Chad Billingsley's developing changeup

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Tom Singer of MLB.com had a nice profile on many of the 10 players from minor league camp that played in Saturday's Cactus League game in Tucson, including Andrew Lambo, Preston Mattingly, Scott Van Slyke, and Dee Gordon.

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For the traveling Dodgers, they will head home today on another 15+ hour flight.  Meanwhile, at Camelback Ranch, the rest of the Dodgers will play the Rangers later today at 1:05pm (not noon, remember daylight savings!), on Prime Ticket.

Box Score

Eric Gagne has not looked good so far this spring (Photo by Jon SooHoo / LA Dodgers)

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Sure, Eric Gagne was the longest of long shots to make it this spring, and the spring itself still has three more weeks to it, but it is painful to watch the now-goggle-less Gagne struggle on the mound.  Gagne gave up three more runs today, on four hits, including a rocket home run to Brandon Allen, as the Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers 7-3.  Gagne has been scored upon in all three outings this spring, and even though the sample size is small, he has not looked the part of a major league pitcher out there on the mound.

Arizona announcer Jeff Munn, on the KTAR broadcast, summed up Gagne's day pretty well:

If Gagne is auditioning for a spot on the roster, he better burn the tape from today.

Not that there was much doubt before, but I think it's safe to say Ramon Troncoso will be able to claim his old number 38 back come opening day. 

In other news...

• Chad Billingsley pitched three scoreless innings, allowing three hits, a walk, a hit batsman, and had four strikeouts
• Scott Elbert did not fare so well, walking four hitters en route to giving up three runs in 1.2 innings in his first "A" game action this spring
• Blake DeWitt clubbed a three-run home run in the third inning which at the time gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead
• Pedro Baez, up from minor league camp, got the start at third base, and was the only player on either team to play all nine innings
• The Dodgers used ten players from minor league camp in today's game in Tucson: Baez, Andrew Lambo, Dee Gordon, Scott Van Slyke, Jaime Pedroza, Jay Gibbons, Brandon Watson, Steven Caseres, Preston Mattingly, and pitcher Matthew Sartor

The Dodgers play the final game of their Taiwan series tonight at 10pm, and play tomorrow at Camelback Ranch against the Rangers at 1pm.  Tomorrow's game will be on Prime Ticket, and will feature the Dodger debut of Garret Anderson.

Today's Box Score

More photos » Eric Risberg - AP

When Clayton Kershaw exhales, fastballs are known to have 3-5 mph more velocity

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Here are some notes from Dodgertown, after today's game, a 3-2 loss to Cincinnati:

• Clayton Kershaw gave up a pair of hits and a pair of walks in his three scoreless innings of work, striking out three
• Aroldis Chapman gave up only two infield singles in his two innings of work, striking out two batters.  Jon Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Chapman had this pitch speed sequence to Matt Kemp, which resulted in a strikeout on a slider: 100, 85, 99, 87, 83, 97, 90.  I can't wait to watch the video later tonight.
  
• Angelo Songco, the Dodgers' fourth round pick last year out of Loyola Marymount, had an RBI double in the ninth inning which produced the Dodgers' first run of the game
• Ivan DeJesus, making his first "A" game start of the spring, had two hits in his two at-bats (though he was also caught stealing in what looked to be a missed sign)
• Jason Repko made a great throw from left field, on the fly to catcher Brad Ausmus, to nail Jay Bruce, who was trying to score from second base on a single in the first inning
• Third base coach Larry Bowa left in the middle of the game and was taken to the emergency room because of stomach cramps, says Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.
• Don Mattingly, on Doug Mientkiewicz, who made his third straight start at first base: "He was fine. We were worried about him throwing, it looks like he can make that throw ok. He loves being out there."
• Tom Singer of MLB.com profiled Garret Anderson, set to make his spring debut Sunday.  Anderson sounds happy to be near home:
  

"There are 30 teams out there, and to get a chance to play at home is definitely a blessing. I grew up in a community 20 minutes away from Dodger Stadium. I watched games there growing up. When you get to a place like that, it's special; it takes you back to your childhood."

• Of Anderson, Mattingly said the Dodgers "first priority will be getting him in the outfield and getting at-bats. If he wants to work out at first, we'll take a look."
• The Dodgers signed 27-year old left-handed pitcher Sean Thompson to a minor league contract, per Our Sports Central.  Thompson pitched independent league baseball the past two years after six year in the minor league systems of the Padres, Royals, and Rockies.
• Charley Steiner still can't pronounce the last name of Carlos Monasterios, adding an extra t to make it "Montasterios."
• Follow Ramona Shelburne's travelogue of the Dodgers' trip to Taiwan on ESPN L.A.
• We will have a game thread for the second game of the Taiwan series, which starts tonight at 10pm.
  

Box Score

More photos » Gene J. Puskar - ASSOCIATED PRESS

With so many "no name" players active, Don Mattingly flip-flopped the two biggest names on his lineup card today.

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With the departure of 33 players to Taiwan this morning, the Dodgersare left with essentially a split squad for a week or so.  To combat that, a number of players from minor league camp will be used off and on this week.  Today, seven such players were used as the Dodgers tied the D-Backs 4-4 at Camelback Ranch.  Kyle Russell, Pedro Baez, Andrew Lambo, Jay Gibbons, Timo Perez, Brandon Watson, and Christian Lara all made the trek from the other side of camp to wear nameless uniforms -- with numbers ranging from 84 to 98 -- and bolster the club's roster.

Andre Ethierhit the Dodgers' second home run of the spring, but did so with an extra at-bat.  The original lineup had Ethier hitting third and Matt kemp fourth, but the Dodgers' lineup card presented to the umpires had Kemp listed third and Ethier fourth.  In the third inning, Ethier and Kemp made the final two outs, in that order.  Once the fourth inning started, after conferring with the umpires, acting manager Don Mattingly had Ethier leadoff the inning, and he deposited a Bobby Howry over the fence.  Even for managers, spring training is needed to iron out the kinks before the season begins.  "[Bench coach Bob Schaefer] puts it on the card and it's my job to check it," said Mattingly, "Its good to get something like this out of the way in spring."

Some other notes:

• Vicente Padilla and Ramon Ortiz, each on their second outing of the spring, each tossed three innings.
• Mattingly said Casey Blake is expected to play tomorrow, "as long as he comes in with no issues."
• Ramona Shelburne of ESPN L.A. is traveling with the Dodgers to Taiwan, and started her travelogue today
• Peter O'Malley remembers Willie Davis, per Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times
• Ethier and Kemp grace the cover of the 2010 Dodgers Media Guide, per Dylan Hernandez
• Tomorrow, when the Dodgers travel to Surprise to play the Royals, the probable pitchers are James McDonald, Russ Ortiz, Ramon Troncoso, Travis Schlichting, Javy Guerra, and Armando Zerpa.  Gil Meche is slated to start for the Royals.

Box Score

More photos » Eric Risberg - AP

The Bison celebrates the Dodgers' first home run of the spring, with his fellow silver slugging outfielder Andre Ethier

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One day after learning Russell Martin might miss a month or more, the Dodgers heard more bad news on the injury front today.  Cory Wade, who twice went on the disabled list in 2009 with right shoulder problems, has been shut down for two weeks after getting a cortisone shot on the same shoulder.  "They took an MRI and no structural problems," said manager Joe Torre, "it's similar to what he had last spring."

In other injury news, Casey Blake left today's game in Scottsdale against the Giants as a precaution, saying he felt something in his back while throwing (Ken Gurnick of MLB.com says it's a strained ribcage).  Blake may have had the quote of the day, per Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times:

"I don't think it's real serious but being Mar. 8, I didn't want to take any chances. Plus, I'm an old man."

Torre noted that Blake had no problems running or hitting, and that trainer Stan Conte felt this injury was "not an issue."  Then again, we thought Martin's injury wasn't serious at first, either.  Kudos to the Dodgers for playing it safe.

On the field, the Dodgers lost their game to the Giants in 10 innings, but had some highlights:

• Matt Kemp hit the first Dodger home run of the spring, taking Barry Zito deep in the first inning
• Blake DeWitt got on base all four times, with two hits and two walks
• Josh Towers, Carlos Monasterios, and Jon Link combined to retire 14 out of 15 batters.  Monasterios in particular threw a 3-2 changeup for a strikeout that had radio announcers Charley Steiner and Rick Monday excited.  Torre was also impressed, praising his changeup and how Monasterios kept the ball down
• Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw each gave up a run on three hits in their first two innings of the spring
• Josh Lindblom, in this morning's "B" game against the White Sox at Camelback Ranch, gave up just a single hit in two scoreless innings.  Said Torre: "Lindblom impressed me, he's simple to watch."
• Ramon Troncoso pitched a scoreless inning in the "B" game as well

Tomorrow, the Dodgers are back on television, playing the Rockies on Prime Ticket.  Scheduled to pitch are Hiroki Kuroda, Charlie Haeger, Hong Chih-Kuo, George Sherrill, and Jonathan Broxton.

Box Score

More photos » Mark Duncan - AP

Russell Martin will likely rest for a few days

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Russell Martin underwent an MRI this morning to deal with "soreness in his lower right abdomen", per Tony Jackson of ESPN, and will likely rest for a few days.  However, it might not be too serious.  "Hopefully it will get better with a little rest," said manager Joe Torre, "It couldn't be that bad if he's felt it for a few days and thought it was part of Spring Training soreness."  Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times reported Martin would be examined tonight by team doctor Neal ElAttrache.

On the field today, the Dodgers lost their home opener, 8-4 to the White Sox.  Fifth starter candidates each Eric Stults and Russ Ortiz each pitched two scoreless innings, and according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, "were so efficient in their innings, both went down to the bullpen to make another 15 throws to build their endurance."  Fellow fifth starter candidate James McDonald didn't fare as well, allowing three runs on five hits in his two innings.  He didn't pitch badly at first, getting dinked and dunked, but he did struggle.  Torre noted McDonald was having trouble locating his off-speed pitches, which led to trouble throwing strikes.

Manny Ramirez had two more hits, and is now hitting .800, which I believe would be a record.  Blake DeWitt filled in for Manny at designated hitter in the fifth inning, and added a hit and a walk himself, capping a perfect day for Dodger DHs.

Eric Gagne made his spring debut, even entering to "Welcome to the Jungle" at Camelback Ranch, but he didn't recapture the old magic just yet, giving up a pair of runs in his inning of work.  Gagne, who recently underwent Lasik surgery, no longer wears goggles on the mound.  It is almost as jarring seeing him out there as it was to see Casey Blake without his beard.

There is an 80% chance of rain tomorrow in Mesa, where the Dodgers are headed to play the Cubs.  Gurnick reports "of the seven known position starters, none are expected to make the trip."  Scheduled to pitch for the Dodgers are Clayton Kershaw, Josh Towers, Carlos Monasterios, Ramon Troncoso, Travis Schlichting, and Armando Zerpa.  Tom Gorzelanny, battling for a spot in the Cubs' rotation, is scheduled to start for Chicago.

Box Score