DODGERS : It’s Only First Intrasquad Game, but Butler Is Ready

The day position players were allowed to report to spring training, Brett Butler woke up at 5 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. This winter he was ready for camp to start a month before it opened.

Butler had two singles, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt and drove in the winning run for his team in three plate appearances during the Dodgers’ first intrasquad game Sunday. He was one of a few players to play all six innings.

“Usually the winter goes just about right and I’m ready for spring training when it opens, but this year I was biting at the bit a month before,” Butler said. “There’s a number of factors for that. I think one is how poorly we played last season and wanting to get here to prove a point. And the other is just the love for the game. When you are home for a couple of months you get to be with your family and you enjoy that, but that boy inside the ballplayer just wants to play.”

The effort Eric Davis has been making to get the hitch out of his swing is paying off. Davis had two hits Sunday, a single and a triple in the gap between left field and center. “My swing is getting back to where it was in 1990,” Davis said. “The more I play, the more swings I get, the better it is. The hitch is going out, and along with my hand, wrist and shoulder being OK, things are all right.”

Darryl Strawberry played three innings and hit against live pitching for the first time since last season, fouling off about eight pitches from Ramon Martinez before grounding out with a full count.

“That’s all they wanted to give me was three innings--you don’t have to do it all in one day,” said Strawberry, who added that his back feels fine.

“From the middle of spring training to the end, you start pushing more and more. You don’t want to get too laid back, and on the other hand, you don’t want to overdo it if you don’t have to.

“I felt relaxed today and once I start getting into the games I will need to start relaxing even more. The games give you a better idea of the season and help you to start finding a rhythm.”