Little gives edge to new rotation

Dodgers Manager Grady Little makes so many lists, he makes lists of his lists. And the two on his desk this week merely stated the obvious: The Dodgers’ starting rotation is superior to that of a year ago.

One column had the names of this year’s starters: Derek Lowe, Randy Wolf, Jason Schmidt, Brad Penny and Brett Tomko.

The other column had the names of last year’s early rotation, with the erratic Odalis Perez and ineffective Jae Seo instead of Wolf and Schmidt.

“That’s a vast improvement, I think,” Little said. “That might be our biggest strength.”

The starters all have had strong recent outings, the latest being Lowe’s four-inning stint in the Dodgers’ 3-3 tie with the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday at Joker Marchant Stadium. He gave up a three-run home run to Gary Sheffield but attributed that to hitters sitting on his fastball.

“I’ve been around the plate a lot with fairly decent stuff,” Lowe said. “I can’t wait for opening day. I just hope we get through the next three games without anything crazy happening with injuries, so we can begin the season with the 25 guys we want.”

Little will do his best to ensure that happens. He’ll restrict Wolf, Schmidt and Penny to about 60 pitches during their Freeway Series starts and give the regulars plenty of rest.

“Those Freeway Series games we’ll treat just like any other spring-training games,” Little said. “In fact, we’ll be even more dedicated to protecting the players’ health.”

Decision time

The clock begins Thursday for outfielder Larry Bigbie to find another team that would guarantee him a spot on its big league roster, enabling him to force the Dodgers into deciding whether to keep him.

Bigbie, who batted .352 with a team-high 14 runs batted in this spring, said his agent, Sam Levinson, already has talked to potential suitors. If another team informs Levinson that a spot is open for Bigbie, Levinson would contact Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti and request a guarantee that Bigbie will make the opening-day roster.

“I want to stay here,” Bigbie said. “If something else is out there, we’ll know, but I definitely want to play for the Dodgers.”

Twin bill

Nomar Garciaparra got a call during dinner Tuesday that his wife, Mia Hamm, was close to giving birth. A short time later, Garciaparra was at the side of his wife and their two newborn daughters in L.A. because he had a private jet on standby at Vero Beach.

Hamm gave birth to the couple’s first children, each weighing more than five pounds, Wednesday morning.

During the flight, Garciaparra was on the phone with Hamm when the babies were born.

Around the horn

One reason the Dodgers didn’t ask new outfielder Brady Clark to travel from Arizona to Florida is that his wife is expecting any day. Clark, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade for pitcher Elmer Dessens on Monday, is working out near the Brewers training complex in Phoenix.... Shortstop Rafael Furcal’s sprained ankle will keep him from playing in the Freeway Series, but he could be ready by opening day.... Utility infielder Ramon Martinez left the game because of a mild sprain of his right ankle.... The Dodgers said outfielder Jason Repko’s surgery to reattach two tendons to his left hamstring was successful.

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steve.henson@latimes.com