Todd Coffey’s journey to Dodgers had unexpected start (Web links)

There is no single route to the majors, but reliever Todd Coffey ignored most advice to begin his path.

Tony Jackson at ESPN/LA tells Coffey’s tale, a late-round draft pick by the Reds who took a low-ball offer they actually wanted him to ignore, and made it to the majors.

The Reds’ scouting director at the time was De Jon Watson, who explains.

Also on the Web:

-- Andre Ethier continuesas his best/worst friend, arriving to camp with something of an attitude. The Times’ Dylan Hernandez chronicles his arrival: “I’m not your buddy, you’re not my buddy. We’re not going to sit here and have a bar-type conversation.”

-- Even Steve Soboroff, briefly Frank McCourt’s former lackey, tells The Times’ T.J. Simers he thinks the parking lots should be included in the team’s sale: “People think it’s just going to be better around here because Frank is gone, but it can be 50 times worse.”

-- The Daily News’ Jill Painter thinks if McCourt really wants to make amends with fans for his past transgressions, he’ll start by including the lots.

-- Dodgers.com’s Ken Gurnick said the team used new statistical analysisin helping to determine whether to sign left-hander Chris Capuano.

-- DodgersThoughts’ Jon Weisman, a sabermetics proponent, is not so certain they correctly used all the calculations available in determining Capuano’s potential success as a Dodger.

-- Are you buying? Reliever Matt Guerrier also told Gurnick he thinks his somewhat disappointing season last year was partially due to “over-trying” in coming to a new club.

-- New Rockies third baseman Casey Blake tells the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders he’s confident he’ll rebound from his injury-riddled 2011 with the Dodgers.

-- Jackson also has a piece about pitching coach Rick Honeycutt working with fairly significant pitching mechanics with Chad Billingsley.

-- Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness makes a case for actually leading off the less-than-fleet A.J. Ellis and batting Dee Gordon ninth.

-- Don Mattingly, however, explains to True Blue LA’s Eric Stephen why he likes Gordon in the leadoff spot.

-- Single-game tickets for games at Dodger Stadium go on sale Saturday.

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