Other 24 Giants Concern Little Too

There’s nothing like riveting reading material to pass time on a long trip.

The five-hour flight to Los Angeles on Thursday must have felt like five minutes to Manager Grady Little, who was engrossed in a tale involving a protagonist of near-mythical proportions.

Little studied the advance scouting report on the San Francisco Giants, the opponent the next three nights, and the plot revolved around Barry Bonds. How do the Dodgers plan to pitch to a slugger who needs six homers to tie Babe Ruth on the all-time list?

Little doesn’t sound inclined to simply walk him every time he’s up.

“He’s human,” Little said. “He has ups and downs. We do have a lot of respect for the man, but we don’t have a set way we are going to operate.”

Much will depend on how well Dodger scouts feel Bonds is swinging. He is three for 16 with seven walks and no homers this season.

Little spent most of his reading time absorbing information about the other 24 Giant players.

“We’ll concentrate our efforts on stopping the other guys,” he said. “It’s hard for a team to win with solo homers.”

Brad Penny will start for the Dodgers tonight. The respect for Bonds expressed by Little will extend to the mound.

“When people ask me who the best hitter I’ve ever faced is, they should be asking who is the second best,” Penny said. “That’s the only question. Bonds is obviously the best.”

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Jim Colborn never lacked for confidence as Dodger pitching coach. And in his new position with the Pirates, he isn’t backing down from criticism that he has unnecessarily messed with the mechanics of left-handed phenom Zach Duke.

“I always have conviction with what I do,” Colborn said. “I try to be prudent with my decisions. Cautious, actually. Over the years, I’ve gained confidence in what I do and seen numerous successes.”

Duke, who was 8-2 in 2005, was ineffective against the Dodgers on Monday and had a poor spring.

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Olmedo Saenz hit a two-run home run, two singles and drove in four runs Thursday. In other words, just another day against the Pirates.

He was eight for 14 with two homers and seven RBIs in the series. A year ago, he was six for 10 with two homers and nine RBIs.

Is PNC Park his favorite stadium?

“I’ve got to say yes,” Saenz said.