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Penny gives his take on tale of two seasons

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Times Staff Writer

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Brad Penny acknowledged that, as in 2006, he was lights-out leading up to the All-Star break last year. And he acknowledged that, as in 2006, his numbers declined over the second half last year.

But Penny said the two seasons were nothing alike, which could be why a subject that made him sore a year ago is a source of amusement this spring.

“People say, ‘Oh, your second half wasn’t as good as your first,’ ” Penny said. “Well, obviously, look at my numbers in the first half. I mean, it’s funny to me. You think I’m going to have a 2.3-something ERA the entire year?”

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Penny, who was 10-1 with a 2.39 earned-run average at the All-Star break, pointed out that his 3.84 ERA over the remainder of the season was similar to his career ERA, which stands today at 3.90. He finished the season a career-best 16-4 with a career-best 3.03 ERA.

Whatever decline he experienced, he said, was nowhere near as drastic as the one two seasons ago, when he was 6-7 with a 6.25 ERA after the break.

The 29-year-old right-hander has maintained that the strained abdominal muscle he suffered last July had no bearing on his second-half performance.

But Penny confirmed that the discomfort was severe enough to warrant in-season visits to doctors, who mentioned to him the possibility of off-season surgery. Among the doctors visited was William Meyers of Philadelphia, who operated on second baseman Tony Abreu for a problem in the same region.

“They couldn’t prove to me that they knew what was wrong,” he said. “It’s not something you can find on an MRI or anything. You’re going to believe them and you’re going to have surgery or you don’t.”

He never did. Trainer Stan Conte, he said, “was on the same page as me.”

Their conviction strengthened as he started to feel better toward the end of the season. Surgery was never discussed again, and at some point this winter, Penny said, the pain went away.

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That being said, doubts weren’t cleared completely until Penny started throwing in camp without any trouble.

“I feel fine,” he said.

The favorite to be the Dodgers’ opening-day starter, Penny threw again Tuesday. He opted to skip the team’s intrasquad game in favor of pitching live batting practice to minor leaguers, something Manager Joe Torre said he permitted because he figured that Penny knew best.

Jason Schmidt told Torre that his arm felt tired during his side session.

The right-hander, Torre said, isn’t feeling pain but “doesn’t have the life he had in his arm earlier.” The manager said the development is no cause for alarm, given that Schmidt resumed pitching only in November.

Juan Pierre played left field in the intrasquad game, the first step in preparing him for his move out of center field to make room for Andruw Jones. He caught a deep fly ball by Jason Repko in the first inning.

“It’s different angles,” Pierre said. “The ball comes out here a little different.”

Repko, Matt Kemp, Russell Martin and Andre Ethier hit home runs. Repko, who sat out all of last season because of a torn hamstring, said he came to camp ready to hit because of work he did with his father in the batting cages at the home of former San Francisco Giants outfielder Marvin Benard, who lives near them in Washington’s Tri-Cities area. . . . Jeff Kent was the only projected starter to sit out the game. He will play in the Dodgers’ exhibition opener against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday but will skip the two road games that follow. “He’ll play a couple of days in a row here when we get back,” Torre said. “I’m going to give him a little time to get his legs under him. . . . Third baseman Andy LaRoche signed a contract that will pay him $392,500 if he spends the entire season in the majors. . . . Former first-round pick Justin Orenduff pitched two scoreless innings, using an effective slider to strike out James Loney and Kemp. . . . Pitcher Cory Wade returned to camp from Utah, where his fiancee, Mikaela Walton, gave birth to the couple’s first child, daughter Amaya Isabelle, Saturday.

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com

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