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Optimism spreads among LA Dodgers organization, fans

It's stunning how fast optimism has come back to Dodger Stadium, considering it feels like only last week that a new general manager was hiring a new manager and setting out to repair a wretched ballclub.

The Dodgers open the season today against the Atlanta Braves with crystal-baseball readers widely predicting a title in a weak division, with ticket sales brisker than they've been in a decade, and with Ned Colletti's mailbag reflecting an upbeat public mood.

Not that Colletti, the GM appointed in November, is letting it go to his head. Not that Grady Little, the manager named in December, is either. Not that any of the front-line players, about half of them recent arrivals as well, should be expected to either.

"The way I grew up," said Colletti, whose first family home in Chicago was a remodeled garage, "I don't take anything for granted or rest on anything. It's nice to read letters where people are complimentary, but that doesn't make me do my job any different."

During one of the Dodgers' last spring games over the weekend at Angel Stadium, Colletti looked out at a field he hadn't visited since he was the San Francisco Giants' assistant GM watching a World Series slip away.

"I don't get too far ahead of myself," said Colletti, who in a five-minute chat must have found half a dozen ways to state the nothing-for-granted theme. "I've see a lot of things in my career, including in this ballpark in 2002."

Run a scorekeeping pencil down the Dodgers' 117th Opening Day roster, and you could find another dozen illustrations of that premise. It is a team of veterans who have known personal glory and have seen what it takes to win championships but with few exceptions have not quite been able to clear that World Series hump. The exceptions are Opening Day starter Derek Lowe and third baseman Bill Mueller, winners with Boston in 2004, and Tuesday starter Brad Penny, a winner with Florida in 2003.

Little, the active manager with the highest winning percentage, saw his would-be pennant unravel in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series with the Red Sox.

Among other newcomers: Center fielder Kenny Lofton (a stolen-base leader) and catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. (a Rookie of the Year) went to the World Series twice, each suffering a Game 7 defeat, Lofton making the last out for San Francisco. First baseman Nomar Garciaparra (a Rookie of the Year and batting champion), has lost two league championship series and was traded away in the middle of Boston's title season. Pitcher Brett Tomko lost an ALCS when he was in Seattle. And shortstop Rafael Furcal (a Rookie of the Year) was injured and missed an NLCS loss in Atlanta.

"We're coming from a lot of different places, but we've got a common goal," Little said, "to play in the last game of the season."

The Dodgers are seeking a mere return to respectability after a 91-loss, fourth-place season that hastened owner Frank McCourt's firings of manager Jim Tracy and GM Paul DePodesta. Maybe there's a sign of optimism in the Dodgers topping 2.5 million ticket sales last week.

While the old guys are holding places for the young guys, the Dodgers should be at least an interesting team.

"I don't see anything that can keep us from being very competitive in September," Little said Sunday. "It's a long season, a lot of things are going to happen between now and September, and we've gotta play good more days than we don't."
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