He’s Ready to Get the Green Light

Eager to “finally get into some games,” Dodger right fielder Shawn Green said Tuesday that his left shoulder has improved and he plans to play this weekend.

Green, sidelined in the club’s first six exhibitions because of tendinitis in his throwing shoulder, said he could be in the starting lineup as early as Friday against the Atlanta Braves at Dodgertown.

“I’m not going to throw out anybody right now, but I’ll be happy as long as I can hit the cutoff man and get some at-bats,” the Gold Glove outfielder said. Manager Jim Tracy has proceeded cautiously with the club’s top everyday player, monitoring Green’s throwing program. Green said he doesn’t need many at-bats to be ready for opening day but that he wants to start his regular routine as soon as possible. “I’m very antsy,” he said. “I want to win and I want to go to the postseason really, really bad. The longer you play without it, the more you yearn for it. I’m at the point where I feel like we’re on the threshold; it’s just a matter of us staying healthy.

“The organization has a good focus and that’s something that’s very encouraging. It has taken a couple of years to get the focus to where it needs to be. Finally, it’s on pitching and defense. In the past, everyone said it was on pitching and defense, but it wasn’t. It is now.”

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It’s only spring training, so left-hander Omar Daal is not concerned about his shaky performance in two starts.

After giving up nine hits and five runs in 11/3 innings during a 6-2 exhibition loss to the Houston Astros last Friday, Daal got pounded for six hits and two runs in three innings in Tuesday’s 4-4, 10-inning tie with the St. Louis Cardinals at Holman Stadium.

Daal, who gave up consecutive solo home runs to Placido Polanco and Eduardo Perez in an 18-pitch first inning, said he’s right on schedule.

“I felt real good today,” he said. “It was much better than my last time, when I was overthrowing and leaving the ball up too much [in the strike zone].”

Daal was 13-7 with a 4.46 earned-run average in 32 starts for the Philadelphia Phillies last season, but had a 6.02 earned-run average in 15 starts from June 15 through Sept. 9. The Dodgers hope to trade Daal, whom they acquired for two pitching prospects Nov. 9, because they have seven starting pitchers for five rotation spots.

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Second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, sidelined because of a right hamstring injury that has slowed him since last season, will undergo a second MRI exam today.

The Dodgers hope to determine whether Grudzielanek, who has not played in exhibition games, also has suffered a hip or back injury that might be slowing his recovery. “I suffered a little setback the other day, so I’m not really sure what’s going on,” Grudzielanek said. “There’s really no timetable on anything right now.”

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Longtime broadcaster Ross Porter, who sat out the rest of the season after undergoing sinus surgeries in late August, is back in top form.

“I rested for all of September and part of October, then I took a couple of trips after that,” said Porter, beginning his 26th season with the club. “In November, I started playing golf, and that was the key to me. It showed me that I had the endurance [needed to return to work].”