BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Things Are Different for Sharperson

You didn’t need to ask Mike Sharperson how he felt Friday morning as he took the long walk up the pathway toward the Dodgertown complex at Vero Beach, Fla.

Carrying a box of bats under one arm and a bag of equipment under the other, Sharperson said hello to Jose Offerman before passing the minor league clubhouse door and heading toward the major league clubhouse. Call it habit.

Sharperson was not offered a contract by the Dodgers after last season and did not get any offers in the free-agent market. He signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers this week.

“It was one of my first springs in a long time that I actually wasn’t going to spring training on time,” said Sharperson, 32, who has been with the Dodger organization since 1987 and on the major league roster the past four-plus seasons.

Sharperson, an infielder, appeared in 73 games last season, batting .256 with two home runs and 10 runs batted in. He has a chance to make the team as an extra infielder if the Dodgers carry 10 pitchers, but the Dodgers are primarily interested in him because of his ability to hit left-handers.

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A towering foul ball by Darryl Strawberry took Mike Piazza by surprise, hitting him on the shoulder as he was warming up a pitcher in the right-field bullpen. “The ball travelled about 400 feet,” coach Bill Russett said, “but Piazza is OK.” Strawberry hit three balls over the left-field fence in batting practice.