The Dodgers suffered three key injuries in spring training, two of which took both their starting third base candidates, Nomar Garciaparra and Andy LaRoche, out of action until after Opening Day. 2B Jeff Kent also is a good bet to miss the opener, so the Dodgers will have to tread water for a while and hope Kent and Garciaparra can return quickly. LaRoche is expected to be out until late May. Manager Joe Torre might be well served to use Andre Ethier in left field and Matt Kemp in right, sitting veteran Juan Pierre, instead of having Ethier and Kemp share time in right while the popgun-hitting Pierre leads off.

ROTATION:

1. RHP Brad Penny

2. RHP Derek Lowe

3. RHP Chad Billingsley

4. RHP Hiroki Kuroda

5. RHP Esteban Loaiza

Club officials don't seem terribly concerned about the fact there isn't a left-hander among these five starters or among any of the top candidates to step in if anyone is injured. Penny and Lowe are savvy veterans at the front end. Billingsley appears to be coming into his own after two years of struggling with high pitch counts.

Kuroda, who has a vast assortment of pitches, should have a honeymoon period in his first season after coming over from Japan. Loaiza will hold down the fifth spot until RHP Jason Schmidt returns, probably in late May.

BULLPEN:

RHP Takashi Saito (closer)

RHP Jonathan Broxton

LHP Joe Beimel

RHP Scott Proctor

LHP Hong-Chih Kuo

RHP Rudy Seanez

RHP Chan Ho Park

This will be a strength, especially at the back end with Broxton setting up and Saito closing. Saito battled a calf injury early in camp and got off to a late start, but he is expected to have pitched about seven innings by Opening Day. Park is the surprise of the bunch, having all but nailed down a spot on the season-opening roster as a non-roster invitee. Kuo was out of minor league options, but Torre wanted two lefties in the pen anyway.

Beimel appeared in career-high 83 games last season. Proctor has appeared in that many each of the past two seasons.

LINEUP:

1. SS Rafael Furcal

2. LF Andre Ethier

3. C Russell Martin

4. 2B Jeff Kent

5. CF Andruw Jones

6. RF Matt Kemp

7. 1B James Loney

8. 3B Nomar Garciaparra

Once Kent and Garciaparra return from injuries, this will be a better group than it was last year, when the Dodgers finished next to last in the National League in home runs. But it has a dramatically different look than what the club officials thought it would when camp opened because it doesn't include Pierre at the top of the order.

The addition of Jones lengthens the lineup from top to bottom. He'll provide better protection for Kent, and his presence allows Torre to bat Loney, one of the league's best hitters, near the bottom of the order.

RESERVES:

C Gary Bennett

1B Mark Sweeney

INF Tony Abreu

OF Juan Pierre

OF Delwyn Young

A major question entering the season is how Pierre will adjust to coming off the bench, if in fact he is asked to do so. He has little to no power, so asking him to pinch-hit is a tall order. Sweeney is the primary left-handed pinch hitter, but there isn't an obvious candidate as a right-handed pinch hitter.

Young made the team despite a mediocre spring because he is out of minor league options, but he batted .382 in limited big-league time last season and can play all three positions.

ROOKIE WATCH: RHP Hiroki Kuroda is a rookie in name only, but there will be adjustments to be made in his first season in the United States. He wasn't exactly lights-out during the spring, but the Dodgers made a three-year, $35.3 million commitment to him over the winter, and he will have to deliver if the team is to contend. INF Chin-lung Hu will see big-league time sometime this season. A defensive wizard, he also made an impression with the bat during limited major league time last year.

MEDICAL WATCH:

RHP Takashi Saito (gluteus tightness) missed the March 24 game. He pitched a simulated game March 25 and felt better.

RHP Jason Schmidt (right shoulder surgery in June 2007) hit a plateau in his rehabilitation. He isn't expected back until at least late May.

3B Andy LaRoche (torn ligament in right wrist) had surgery March 10. He will be out eight to 10 weeks, putting him on track for a possible return in late May.

2B Jeff Kent (right hamstring strain) still couldn't play in a game a week before the season opener, making him questionable for the Opening Day lineup, but he isn't expected to miss significant time. He has been out since March 5.

3B Nomar Garciaparra (microfracture at base of right wrist) is out for Opening Day, but he isn't expected to miss more than the first few days of the regular season. He was injured March 7.

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