Green Not Into Swing of Things

A thumb injury limited Shawn Green to 24 spring training at-bats last season, and that didn’t hinder him; the Dodger right fielder had his best season, batting .297 with 49 home runs and 125 runs batted in.

Green is injury-free now and getting his normal allotment of Grapefruit League at-bats, but he has hardly found a groove. After going hitless in three at-bats in Thursday’s 12-6 exhibition loss to the New York Mets, Green is batting .094 with 12 strikeouts.

“The sluggers usually take longer to get going because they’re trying to do more with the baseball,” Dodger hitting coach Jack Clark said. “They’re not just trying to peck away at it. They’re trying to hit it where no one can catch it.”

Clark said Green is not experimenting with his swing. Green is trying to be patient, but he might be a little more encouraged if he were at least hitting the ball harder with more consistency.

“I’m trying to find my swing and hoping it’s there on April 2,” Green said. “Obviously, it gets frustrating when you don’t get hits. I’m waiting for it to show up, but it’s not a concern.”

Green’s playing time has been erratic, and he was slowed earlier this spring by some shoulder tendinitis, but after a day off today, Manager Jim Tracy said he would play Green regularly in an effort to get him tuned up for the season.

“He’s still feeling his way along,” Tracy said. “It’s nothing more than that.”

Dante Bichette decided to stick it out in Dodger camp, for better or worse. The reserve outfielder, who came close to asking for his release Wednesday, practiced Thursday and said he plans to fulfill the obligation of his contract.

“I feel I can help this club, maybe even more than Dan [Evans, Dodger general manager] and Jim [Tracy] believe I can,” Bichette, 38, said. “It’s my job to prove that over the last 10 days.”

Bichette signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in hopes he would get enough outfield action to get 300 to 400 at-bats, but the Dodgers prefer to use Bichette as a right-handed pinch-hitting complement to Dave Hansen.

Could Bichette, who has not had fewer than 349 at-bats in a season since 1990, handle a strict pinch-hitting role?

“No way,” he said. “I’ll do it, but it takes a special guy. For me to do that, I need some at-bats to go with it. But the fact I’m not comfortable with it doesn’t mean I won’t be successful at it.”

If Bichette is released, there’s a good chance he could sign with the Angels, the team that originally drafted him in 1984 and has been in search of a right-handed hitter since Shawn Wooten injured his wrist.

Tracy hasn’t named a starting center fielder yet, but the Dodgers appear to be leaning toward a platoon of left-handed-hitting Dave Roberts and right-handed-hitting Marquis Grissom.

Roberts, a former UCLA standout who hasn’t played a full season in the major leagues, is batting .407 with seven walks and four stolen bases, and the leadoff batter has a .529 on-base percentage.

Roberts, 29, has outplayed McKay Christensen and Tom Goodwin, but he is the only center fielder with a minor league option left, and that could work against him.

“I think I’ve shown what I bring to the table,” said Roberts, who is battling minor quadriceps, hamstring and lower-back injuries. “Knowing that, I can live with any decision that is made. I was told I would have an opportunity, and I’ve made the most of it. It’s out of my hands.”

Omar Daal was rocked for eight runs and eight hits, including two home runs by Edgardo Alfonzo, in five innings Thursday. The left-hander pitched three scoreless innings before giving up three runs in the fourth and five in the fifth. The Dodgers have been outscored, 36-9, in the last three games....

Left fielder Brian Jordan was scratched because of some tightness in his left hamstring, but he is expected to play tonight.... Japanese left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii threw in the bullpen for the third consecutive day and probably will make his next start Monday....

The Dodgers released minor league first baseman Glenn Davis, a 1997 first-round pick who received an $825,000 signing bonus. Davis, who hit .243 with 20 homers and 89 RBIs for double-A Jacksonville last season, is the brother of Seattle catcher Ben Davis.