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Furcal, Pierre lead things off

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Times Staff Writer

Grady Little spent the winter playing with his two grandsons and toying with the Dodgers lineup.

When the kids took turns hitting Little’s underhanded tosses, it didn’t matter who went first. The Dodgers manager feels the same way about Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre.

One will bat leadoff, the other second.

Little has abandoned an idea he floated during the winter meetings of Furcal batting third, with Pierre leading off and catcher Russell Martin batting second. The reason: He wants veteran outfielder Luis Gonzalez to bat in the No. 5 spot behind Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent.

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“When we signed Luis, it changed my thinking,” Little said during a lull in the Dodgers’ publicity caravan Tuesday at Pasadena City College.

Gonzalez primarily batted third for the Arizona Diamondbacks and last season hit 15 home runs and a career-high 52 doubles.

“I can’t see Furcal and Pierre doing anything but batting one-two,” Little said. “Which way we go, I can’t say right now.”

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Little, who signed a two-year deal with a team option for a third year before the 2006 season, is close to agreeing to a contract extension. He has had discussions with General Manager Ned Colletti, but plans for them to meet last weekend were dashed when Colletti was invited to the Super Bowl by his brother, a Chicago Bears statistician.

“I’m not worried about it in the least,” Little said. “We’ve had conversations and it will happen when the time is right.”

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The publicity caravan included Pasadena City College among four stops because Jackie Robinson attended the school 70 years ago and the baseball field is named after him. A large crowd gathered on the campus to greet a contingent that included Little, Gonzalez, Martin, outfielder Andre Ethier, pitcher Randy Wolf, and former Dodgers Steve Garvey, Lou Johnson and Willie Davis.

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Davis, the Dodgers center fielder from 1961 to 1973, choked up when he spoke about Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier. Martin told the crowd he was inspired to take up the game growing up in Montreal by his father’s stories of meeting Robinson.

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The Dodgers signed right-handed pitcher Joe Mays to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. Mays, 31, was 0-5 with an 8.70 earned-run average with two teams last season.... Little has relinquished the No. 9 jersey to Pierre and will wear No. 22.... The publicity caravan will continue today at Ocean View Elementary School in Whittier, St. John Bosco High in Bellflower, the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy in Compton and the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Garciaparra, Pierre, James Loney, Mike Lieberthal and Takashi Saito are scheduled to participate.

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steve.henson@latimes.com

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