Thursday Dodger Notes: Is Brian Giles Done?

On the eve of the spring opener, here is what's going on in Dodgertown:

• Brian Giles, whose agent said he would retire if his right knee wouldn't allow him to perform up to his standards, is having trouble with that knee.  Giles told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com he wasn't sure his knee could take the punishment of playing, even at what essentially would be a pinch-hitting role, saying, "It's just okay. Obviously, I'll give it a few more days. It's not where I want it to be. I'll see if it gets better with more conditioning and how that changes it."  Tony Jackson, in his weekly ESPN.com chat, speculated that "Giles' knee will ultimately force him to retire in the next week or so."
• The Dodgers held an open tryout this morning at Camelback Ranch, and actually signed someone.  Ricardo "Ricky Rivas, a former 48th round pick of the Pirates and former Oklahoma State Cowboy pitcher, was inked to a minor league deal, per Gurnick. 
• Tim Brown of Yahoo compared and contrasted the weight fluctuations of catchers Russell Martin (up) and Geovany Soto of the Cubs (down), noting both are looking to rebound in 2010 after poor 2009 campaigns.
• Dodger single-game tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10am.  You can order online, over the phone (866-DODGERS), or in person at Dodger Stadium.  The Sunset gate will open at 8am, and Dodger legends Ron Cey and Sweet Lou Johnson will be there signing autographs between 10am and 11am.
• Former Dodger Orel Hershiser will join the ESPN Sunday Night broadcasting team of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan.  Kudos to Bulldog.
• As BHSportsGuy pointed out last night, a 6.4 earthquake hit Taiwan.  However, Ken Gurnick pointed out that the Dodgers' plans remain intact.
• Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts took a look at age 35 and older bench players in LA Dodger history, and concluded that older isn't necessarily better
• Shawn Hoffman of Baseball Prospectus looked a little more in-depth at the financial plans submitted in court filings by Jamie McCourt, calling the plan to grow revenue while keeping payroll relatively flat "a sales tool, pitching an investor on what they think he'll want to hear."
• Chad / Kensai of Memories of Kevin Malone took a look at high strikeout prospects in the minors over the last decade to see how they fared in the majors, in an effort to see the future of Kyle Russell.  [UPDATE: Chad also examines Scott Elbert in the latest of his Prospect Profiles 2010 series. -ed.]
  
• Tomorrow is the spring opener, at noon in a "road" game at Camelback Ranch against the White Sox.  Scheduled to pitch for the Dodgers are Vicente Padilla, Ramon Ortiz, Charlie Haeger, Luis Ayala, Scott Dohmann, and Jon Link.  Manny Ramirez will be the designated hitter.