Winning, but Still Worrying

As Ned Colletti watched the Dodgers scratch out a textbook victory with pitching, bunts and a pickoff Saturday, his eyes couldn’t help but drift to the large green expanse beyond the infield.

One of these days, he feared, there might not be enough skilled players to cover the ground out there.

And as general manager, it is his job to ensure that never happens.

Right fielder J.D. Drew sat out the 3-1 victory over the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium because of shoulder soreness, leaving the Dodgers with three outfielders and Manager Grady Little holding his breath.

They got through it, center fielder Kenny Lofton’s tender hamstrings and all, and the cheery postgame buzz was about Derek Lowe’s rare pickoff of a runner at second base, Rafael Furcal’s three hits, Lofton’s bunt single and another late-inning, run-producing hit by Nomar Garciaparra.

Colletti enjoyed the moment too. Yet he must always look ahead, seeking solutions to frightening problems that so far are theoretical.

Such as not having enough outfielders to finish a game.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the outfield,” he said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t talk about it with my staff.”

The Dodgers would like to trade for an impact outfielder, but Colletti is reluctant to part with one of the top minor leaguers other teams want in return. He is willing to promote Matt Kemp from double A or Joel Guzman from triple A, but not everyone in the organization believes the power-hitting prospects are ready.

When the Dodgers travel to Atlanta after today’s game, Colletti will head for Montgomery, Ala., to watch Kemp and the rest of the Jacksonville Suns. The five-tool center fielder could be called up in time for the homestand that begins Thursday. Or he could be called up sooner if Drew’s shoulder worsens. Or he might not be called up at all.

There is no easy answer to a problem created when Ricky Ledee and Jason Repko went on the disabled list in early May. Ledee (pulled groin) could return in less than two weeks; Repko (sprained ankle) isn’t expected back for a month.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers make do with various combinations of the tender-armed Drew, the shambling Lofton, the reasonably productive Jose Cruz Jr. and surprising rookie Andre Ethier.

Lofton can turn it on when he must. His sacrifice fly in the third drove in the first Dodgers run and his bunt single in the eighth advanced Furcal to second and set up the RBI single by Garciaparra, who is 12 for his last 14 in the late innings.

“The big thing was the way we produced that run,” Garciaparra said. “Furcal getting on and Lofton doing his job. I was pleased with the way we grinded out the game and did the little things well.”

Lowe (3-3) posted his second win in a row, cruising along until the seventh when three hits in a row produced a run and put runners on first and second with none out. Not known for holding runners well, Lowe froze Ryan Zimmerman with a slick pickoff move that killed the rally.

Danys Baez and Takashi Saito each pitched a scoreless inning and the Dodgers bounced back from the loss Friday that ended their seven-game winning streak.

And Colletti continues to fret. “I’ve thought of the outfield every day since Nov. 16,” he said.

That was the day he was hired. He couldn’t land free agents Brian Giles or Reggie Sanders in the off-season and has spent the last two months laying the groundwork for a deal by the July 31 trading deadline.

Eventually the Dodgers might have attractive trade bait aside from their well-stocked farm system. Shortstop Cesar Izturis has begun a three-week minor league rehabilitation assignment and catcher Dioner Navarro is perhaps two weeks away from recovering from his wrist injury.

Today, though, brings another game with four outfielders. Drew said his right shoulder hurts when he swings and is fine when he throws. He might be available. Lofton continues to spring down the line and around the bases, then gingerly walk to the dugout and dip into a whirlpool after the game.

Little said he would use lifelong infielders Ramon Martinez or Willy Aybar in the outfield “in a real emergency.”

For a team enjoying its best stretch of the season, such a crisis could be only a play away.