--RHP Takashi Saito pitched a simulated game Tuesday to test his left buttocks, where tightness had forced him out of his scheduled fifth appearance of the spring Monday night. Saito threw 25 pitches and experienced no notable discomfort. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said if Saito bounces back from that all right, he will remain on schedule to be ready for the start of the regular season.

--2B Jeff Kent still has a chance of being ready for Opening Day. Kent has been testing his sore right hamstring, and for the past couple of days, he's had some success. He ran sprints and cuts and felt more freedom of movement.

--LF Juan Pierre was in a particularly sullen mood before Tuesday night's game with Kansas City, for which he was not in the starting lineup. Manager Joe Torre walked out to left field during batting practice and had a 14-minute conversation with Pierre. The veteran is having a horrible spring and is in danger of being pushed to the bench because Andre Ethier has played well.

--SS Rafael Furcal has sizzled of late, going 14-for-30 with two doubles, two triples, three home runs and six RBIs. It isn't clear yet whether Furcal will bat first or second in the everyday lineup because the Juan Pierre/Andre Ethier issue remains unresolved. If Pierre isn't in the everyday lineup, Furcal likely will be the regular leadoff man.

--RHP Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers' top pitching prospect, made yet another stellar appearance Tuesday against Milwaukee, shutting out what was essentially the Brewers' everyday lineup on one hit over three innings. Kershaw now has a 0.90 ERA over five appearances this spring, with 13 strikeouts in 10 innings. He is expected to begin the season at Class AA Jacksonville, but he likely will skip Class AAA and jump to the majors sometime between now and the All-Star break.

--RHP Rudy Seanez, a veteran who has spent three of his 16 big-league seasons with the Dodger, was released Wednesday. Seanez made five appearances for the Dodgers this spring, allowing four runs in 4 2/3 innings. He had a 4.57 ERA in 73 games for Los Angeles last year.

BY THE NUMBERS
12 -- Consecutive games within the National League West for the Dodgers to begin the season, six of them against San Diego. The fact the team figures to be without 2B Jeff Kent and 3B Nomar Garciaparra early in the season could loom large considering each of those games represents a two-game swing in the standings.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"The baseball part was still fun. But it was a little tougher to do, because in a lot of ways, it wasn't the same. You knew what the requirements were, but there was always the fact that what I thought was something to be proud of wasn't good enough in some ways. Because we had won so many World Series in such a short period of time, that became the only thing that was acceptable." -- Dodgers manager Joe Torre, on why his last three seasons with the New York Yankees -- after the team blew a 3-0 lead against Boston in the 2004 American League Championship Series -- weren't especially enjoyable.

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