Grady announced this morning that Rafael Furcal will lead off and Pierre will bat second…more later.

The first full-squad workout took place today and I’m glad to report that the sun has come out in Vero and things seem to be getting better by the day. There were no injuries to report, unless you count my pulled groin muscle from our nightly football games among the front office staff. I’m not going on the DL, though…this one should be day-to-day.

Along those lines, though, Yhency Brazoban took a huge step today in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, as he threw off the mound for the first time since injuring his elbow. Tony Jackson of the Daily News had a nice feature on him in this morning’s paper and though he does seem like a forgotten man at times because he’s not in the news a lot, you can rest assured that no one here has forgotten his abilities.

One really important thing to mention to those of you who haven’t filled your thirst for Dodger news – tomorrow is the start of Dodgers On Demand straight from Vero Beach, where our partners at Time Warner Cable will be posting 5-7 minute reports every day from Vero Beach, making them the only place on TV where you can get original news every day from Dodgertown. For any subscribers of Time Warner Digital Cable, you get this completely free. Just go to channel 1 and look in the "local" folder. This is a huge benefit to Dodger fans and TWC has a crew of four guys who have been working around the clock since they arrived to get this off the ground, so be sure to check it out.

Today was also a busy day in the PR Department, as we sent off the final proof to our yearly media guide, which we’re no longer calling a media guide. It’s now an information guide because the truth is, it’s equally as valuable to fans as it is to the media. You’ll be able to purchase copies at the Top of the Park Gift Store once the season starts and inside, you’ll find 500 pages of player bios, executive bios, history and records, player development bios and information and all sorts of other really interesting info for true fans. On the cover this year is Jackie Robinson because as you probably have heard, we’ll be celebrating the 60th anniversary of his Major League debut all season long.

And finally, we have had our partners from KCAL/CBS out here the last couple days, so Jim Hill taped about 20 interviews with various Dodger players. Be sure to check that out in the next couple of weeks, as they’ll be airing throughout the spring.

Just a few minutes ago, Grady announced that Derek Lowe would start on Opening Day again this year. The rest of the rotation is still to be determined, but for the third straight year, Derek will be on the hill in the first game.

In fact, it’s interesting to note that even with guys like Kevin Brown, Hideo Nomo and the like, the last time the same guy has made three consecutive Opening Day starts for us was 1995-98, when Ramon Martinez started four straight lid-lifters.

It’s starting to actually feel like spring out here. The sun is out and workouts are in full force. Plenty of bullpen sessions today from the same guys who threw two days ago (Penny, Tomko, Lowe, etc.) and lots more position players showing up and starting to take batting practice.

Tomorrow we should see the rest of the veterans here in preparation of Wednesday’s first full-squad workout.

Meanwhile, just like you all, a lot of our players and coaches are big sports fans outside of baseball. Derek Lowe went down to see the Daytona 500 yesterday from Jeff Gordon’s pit, which he said was a pretty cool experience. And last night, while many of us were hanging out in the Dodgertown lounge, Double-A pitching coach Danny Darwin was transfixed on the pro-bullriding event that was on ESPN. In fact, we have a former bull rider as part of our team – Stan Johnston, who is one of our trainers.

Another cool thing about Dodgertown is obviously the history we have here and last night, Signe Hilton, who is a member of our PR department, said that she felt like she was walking back 50 years in time just coming down the hallway that leads down to the lounge. It’s very true – there are great photos from the 50s on the walls and even the music sounds like it’s from that era. It’s just one of the neat things about this complex that hopefully all of you can experience in the next year or two.

And finally, don’t forget that tomorrow you can chat live on dodgers.com with Dodger closer Takashi Saito at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET.

That’s it for now. We’re eight days away from our first intrasquad game and nine days away from the first "real" pitch of the spring.

Spring Training hasn’t moved to Chicago, but gusts up to 20 miles per hour kept us all trying to stay active throughout the day. That wasn’t a problem for the players, who continued workouts today. Several guys threw their first bullpen sessions, including Jason Schmidt, Randy Wolf and Takashi Saito. It’s pretty amazing to see a decent-sized contingent of Japanese media following Saito, as he was a relative unknown a year ago this time, despite his success in Japan.

We also set up a quick photo with our three Taiwanese players (Tsao, Kuo and Hu), as today marks the Chinese New Year. Kuo told me that this is a big deal back home, kind of like Christmas, where they all receive and give gifts. He’s living with Tsao here in Vero, but they don’t seem to have plans to celebrate in any particular fashion.

Brett Tomko slightly sprained his ankle yesterday but said that he expects to still throw his bullpen tomorrow. And today is Manny Mota’s birthday, so a special welcome goes out to him.

Otherwise, it’s a quiet day around here. We added Kelly Stinnett to the mix as a non-roster invitee, so he showed up today, as did non-roster outfielder Larry Bigbie. And everyone under the sun is still talking about the goldmine that Matt White is sitting on in Massachussetts.

Don’t forget to listen to DodgerTalk tonight on KFWB 980 at 8 p.m. PT, as Joe Beimel will be a guest of the show.

And, I know some of you asked about when tickets go on sale for individual games, so check out this page for all the info.

Finally, I have heard that a past president of the Dodger Booster Club, Ross Daly, recently passed away, so our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and those who knew him.

I’m not sure if it’s the fleece I borrowed from the clubhouse or the fact that the sun came out, but it’s getting warmer here at Dodgertown. The first workout was today and it was great to see baseballs being thrown again at full speed, as I watched bullpen sessions from Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Brett Tomko and several other Dodgers.

Derek showed up this morning wearing a snow hat, which tells you just how cold it was early in the day, but by the time noon rolled around, it was much more comfortable.

There was a question about the mood here at Dodgertown and I’d have to say it’s extremely optimistic – probably more so than in any of the last few years that I can remember. People are excited to be here and position players are showing up early in hopes of impressing those around them and getting more work in. We’ve already seen Andy LaRoche, Wilson Betemit, Jason Repko, Matt Kemp, Wilson Valdez and Chin-lung Hu, all of whom are battling for either a spot on the team or a starting position. Juan Pierre is also here and from what I understand, he’s one of the hardest workers in baseball, so that didn’t really surprise me.

In terms of the mood regarding the likely move to Arizona in 2009, it doesn’t really seem to be affecting many people as far as I can tell. Honestly, it seems pretty far off and everyone seems far more focused on 2007.

I love the idea of a live webcam and will see if that’s feasible, but it could be tough just because everything is so spread out here from field to field. But it’s a good thought and I’ll see what others think about it over here.

Joining the blogging world in addition to the Kameneztky brothers at the L.A. Times and Tony Jackson at the Daily News is Diamond Leung, who is starting as our beat writer this year at the Riverside Press Enterprise. To read his blog, go here or check out the links on the left, where I’m adding all these as permanent links.

Also, as a side note, for those of you who haven’t heard, you can actually determine who the third bobblehead will be this year. Check out the fans’ vote to help pick the winner.

And finally, most of you have probably already read this on the site but in case you missed it, Ken Gurnick wrote an awesome article about non-roster invitee Matt White. Ken always has a way of finding a unique angle (remember Eric Langill’s story from last year?) and has also had a knack for picking a dark horse candidate early in camp. As an experienced writer and reporter, I really think Dodger fans are fortunate to have him giving up-to-the-minute news on a daily basis for MLB.com and dodgers.com.

And finally, there seems to be a ritual here in Vero Beach to see as many movies as we can see in the time we’re here. Last night, four of us saw three different flics and each got good reviews – The Last King of Scotland, Hannibal Rising and Music & Lyrics. So, if you’re seeking a decent film, those seem to be good choices.

We’re settled in at Dodgertown today and though it’s very cold, everything else feels like spring has begun. The staff here always does incredible work to make sure that when we arrive, it feels like home away from home, so our sincere thanks go out to Craig Callan and his staff.

Every pitcher and catcher is now in camp, as Greg Miller was the last to make it due to mechanical issues with the plane he was on. Rich Donnelly also reported a little late due to flight issues, but everyone is accounted for and they all took their physicals today (not the coaches, of course).

Takashi Saito has been battling a little problem in his right calf, so he’ll take it easy the first week or so, but he expects no problems at all.

Jason Schmidt arrived a few days ago and has been settling into Dodger blue. It’s nice to see him in those colors rather than the orange and black.

As always, you can get some great Dodger information from dodgers.com and Ken Gurnick, who files in depth stories every day that are posted in real time. The LA Times has followed suit, so be sure to check out Steve Henson’s coverage during the day.

On the Daily News site, Tony Jackson has joined the blogging world and from what I understand, will be doing it regularly, so check that out, too.

Plus, for those who don’t want to read their Dodger news but watch it, Time Warner Cable’s Dodgers On Demand is the only station that will be here all spring, bringing you Dodger updates regularly, starting on Feb. 21. This is an awesome new addition and a must-see for true fans. I’ll have more info on it later.

That’s about it for now. I’m trying to add some photos but have had some issues posting them, but will try to fix that shortly.

Hard to believe this is the last day I’ll be posting from Los Angeles for now, as we all leave in the morning. As you can imagine, everyone here is really excited to get back to baseball and we’re hoping that it is rubbing off on the fans.

To answer a few of the questions, first regarding DodgerTalk. I have passed your comments along to KFWB and they’ll do their best to address them. I can tell you that they are very serious about being a great partner to the Dodgers and while there are some unique difficulties that arise because they’re not a sports station, it’s not from a lack of effort. But all of these things are definitely part of our long-term thinking when it comes to radio and your thoughts are not falling on deaf ears.

As for Steve Lyons, he remains a part of the Dodger broadcast team when Vin Scully does not travel. He is also part of FSN Prime Ticket’s coverage and will be in Spring Training for their weekly television show. He’ll call a couple games from Vero Beach, too. Eric Karros is part of Think Blue TV, the pregame show that airs on KCAL 9 whenever our games are shown on that station.

As for the delay on radio, this is completely out of KFWB’s or the Dodgers’ hands, as the FCC has required this delay. Therefore, there aren’t any stations that do not have it and while I wish we could do something for all the fans who listen to the game inside the stadium, KFWB or other stations would be breaking the law if they didn’t have it delayed.

The season tickets and mini-plans should be mailed out in the next couple weeks, so thanks for your continued patience on that front.

And finally, I know how much you guys like minor league information, so I’m including the stuff below from the latest Baseball America. You can check out their website if you want more details, but please keep in mind this is just one opinion.

Top Dodger Prospects Entering 2007

1. Andy LaRoche

2. Clayton Kershaw

3. Scott Elbert

4. James Loney

5. Tony Abreu

6. Ivan DeJesus Jr.

7. Jon Meloan

8. Blake DeWitt

9. Josh Bell

10. Preston Mattingly

The next post will come from Dodgertown…

A few things to check out when you get a moment. First off, Charley Steiner did an interview with bizofbaseball.com, which is available here.

Also, Marlon Anderson spent today in New Orleans with Chris Capuano, LaTroy Hawkins and the Major League Baseball Players’ Trust, where they announced that their organization would be donating $1 million to Volunteers of America to assist their efforts to build housing units for people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina.

And Tommy Lasorda gave a motivational speech to a local fire department, one of the many things he does on a daily basis that the public rarely hears about.

In this morning’s Los Angeles Times, Steve Henson writes an incredible piece about the Dodgers’ history in China and throughout Asia, with great quotes from Frank McCourt, Dodgers’ Director of Asian Operations Acey Kohrogi and Peter O’Malley, among others.  The article touches on a number of things the team has done over the years and ties it into the Yankees’ first trip to China.

Steve also wrote a sidebar about who baseball’s Yao Ming will be, which is another interesting read.

As some of you know, the team has had roots all over the world since the 1950s, including Asia, Central and South America, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Russia, Ireland and countless other places on the globe. But I really think that because it’s not something that the casual fan sees, it’s also something that most people don’t realize. It’s stories like this that bring these efforts to the forefront and it’s these efforts that help the Dodgers land such talents as Fernando Valenzuela, Hideo Nomo, Chan Ho Park, Hong-Chih Kuo and Chin-lung Hu, among others.

And of course, this is not to ignore the efforts of the Dodgers and MLB in trying to find these talents at home, too. In yesterday’s Times, Helene Elliott wrote a piece that was also fantastic about the Urban Youth Academy in Compton. We stopped there for the caravan on Wednesdsay, so players like Nomar, Juan Pierre, James Loney and others got to interact with the youngsters on site. It’s at this academy and through the RBI program (Reviving Baseball in Innercities) where we signed or found players like Lyndon Poole and Trayvon Robinson, who we hope will one day be playing at Dodger Stadium. 

It’s really refreshing to see some great stories like this in the mainstream media, especially when you consider how the media has changed over the years to highlight the negative things that occur, not just in sports but in the world.