Maddux to Serve as Designated Mitt

Greg Maddux pitched well and provided veteran leadership in his first month with the Dodgers. But his job description will be expanded Tuesday when he helps out Derek Lowe during a bullpen session.

Picture an NFL quarterback warming up on the sideline with a courteous teammate standing alongside him, catching the return throws and flipping the ball to the quarterback.

Lowe would be the quarterback, Maddux the courteous teammate.

Lowe must throw in the bullpen to ready himself for his next start, which is scheduled for Friday at Dodger Stadium. But he can’t catch a return throw because the heel of his left hand is sore as a result of getting hit by a line drive in the fourth inning Saturday.

So Maddux volunteered to stand next to Lowe and take return throws from the catcher.

“I needed somebody and Maddux said he would, the Hall of Famer,” Lowe said.

Lowe expects to make his next start “unless it doesn’t get better at all.” He took 90 minutes of treatment Sunday.

“I’ll put a pad on my hand to ease catching the ball,” he said.

Batting will be problematic, and Lowe likely will either bunt or take pitches.

“If he has to take every pitch he sees, that’s OK with me,” Manager Grady Little said.

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Not that Ned Colletti could have possibly predicted it, but four of the players traded by the Dodgers general manager are on the disabled list and several others are performing poorly.

The players dealt to the Atlanta Braves for third baseman Wilson Betemit -- relief pitcher Danys Baez (appendectomy) and infielder Willy Aybar (broken finger) -- are among those sidelined.

Shortstop Cesar Izturis (strained hamstring) and pitcher Jae Seo (strained groin) are also on the disabled list. Izturis was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Maddux and Seo went to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays along with catcher Dioner Navarro for pitcher Mark Hendrickson and catcher Toby Hall. Navarro, the Devil Rays’ starting catcher, is batting .260 with two home runs in 38 games with the team.

Other players traded by Colletti aren’t faring as well.

Pitcher Odalis Perez, dealt to Kansas City for reliever Elmer Dessens, is 1-2 with a 5.73 earned-run average in six starts. Until winning last week, Perez’s previous 17 appearances for the Dodgers and Royals came in games his team lost.

Top prospect Joel Guzman, traded to Tampa Bay for infielder Julio Lugo, is batting .210 with three home runs, 20 strikeouts and three walks in 62 at-bats for triple-A Durham.

In addition, two players let go by the Dodgers are out of a job. Outfielder Ricky Ledee was picked up by the New York Mets and went one for 15 before being designated for assignment and outfielder Jose Cruz Jr. has not been signed.

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A close friend of Diamondbacks starter and Cy Young Award candidate Brandon Webb was among the 49 who lost their lives when Comair Flight 5191 crashed Sunday in Lexington, Ky. Jon Hooker was Webb’s teammate at Kentucky and both were drafted in 2000, although Hooker did not sign.

Hooker, who played in independent leagues from 2003-05, was married over the weekend and his wife also perished in the crash.