Gagne going slow, feeling good
Closer Eric Gagne, however, is a different story. Recovering from elbow surgery, Gagne will take some extra time between bullpen sessions.
"I've been throwing two bullpens and maybe three a week during the last month, so I'll keep doing that," he said. "But I'll do some throwing every day. It feels really good, or I wouldn't be able to throw every day."
Gagne said there were no ill effects from throwing curveballs Thursday for the first time since the surgery.
"The first few weren't good, but that's the way it always is with me," he said.
Compensation: The signing of Jeff Weaver by the Angels means the Dodgers will have three of the first 31 picks in June's First-Year Player Draft.
They already own the seventh overall pick and now will receive the Angels' first-round pick (No. 25 overall) and the first sandwich pick between the first and second rounds (No. 31) as compensation for losing Weaver, who signed a one-year contract with the Angels.
The Dodgers lost their second- and third-round picks to Atlanta (for signing Rafael Furcal) and to Boston (for signing Bill Mueller).
The club did not sign last year's top pick, sandwich selection Luke Hochevar, and doesn't expect to after last year's messy negotiations, in which the right-hander from Tennessee initially changed agents in mid-stream, agreed to accept a $2.98 million bonus, then reneged and changed agents again. The Dodgers' offer was withdrawn and has not been reoffered under the regime of new general manager Ned Colletti.
"I don't think about it or worry about it," said Colletti, who will lose the negotiating rights to Hochevar in late May. "I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it."
Scott Boras represents Weaver and Hochevar.
Colletti said the money not spent on Hochevar was not specifically redirected toward his offseason free-agent spree.
Catcher battle familiar to Alomar
Dioner Navarro, 22, is expected behind the plate Opening Day. He's also blocking the path to the Major Leagues of 23-year-old Russell Martin, considered by many (inside the organization and out) to have an even higher ceiling than Navarro but is 1 1/2 years behind in Minor League seasoning.
Brought in to mentor the pair is 16-year veteran Sandy Alomar Jr. Now 39, Alomar once was Russell Martin.
Alomar's path to the Major Leagues as a top catching prospect for the San Diego Padres was blocked by Benito Santiago, who signed two years earlier and was two seasons ahead of Alomar as the Puerto Rican pair set out on careers that ultimately combined for 11 All-Star appearances.
Here's how jammed up things got for Alomar: He was Minor League Player of the Year in 1988, and the next year he was sent back for a second season of Triple-A because Santiago, the Rookie of the Year in 1987, was entrenched as the starter in San Diego. Alomar then won the Minor League Player of the Year award for a second time and the Padres finally traded him to Cleveland, where he was the unanimous Rookie of the Year in 1990.
The Dodgers can only hope their promising catchers turn out as well, although Martin would prefer an accelerated program.
"If they send me to Triple-A this year, that's cool with me, I'm still moving up," said Martin, a Southern League All-Star with Double-A Jacksonville last year. "But a second year at Triple-A? Then I'd have the feeling of what's going on?"
Alomar remembers that feeling. Demoted at the end of Spring Training in 1988, Alomar was told by club officials he belonged in the Major Leagues, but there wasn't room in San Diego and they couldn't get equal value back in a trade. So, down he went.
"I was frustrated," he admitted. "The first month, I really struggled. It affected my play. I'm an aggressive hitter, but I was swinging at everything. I remember we were playing in Colorado Springs and their manager, Mike Hargrove, called me over. I knew Grover because he had played with my dad. He said I was a way better player than that and just do what you're supposed to do and it will work out.
"That day I started on a rampage that lasted the rest of the season. I didn't even care anymore about being in the Minor Leagues or getting called up. I just wanted everybody to know I belonged in the Major Leagues. At the end of the day, looking back, the whole thing helped me develop into a better catcher. And it woke me up to the business of baseball."