The Dodgers are already one step ahead of where they were at any point last season: Rafael Furcal is healthy. The strained left knee he suffered in a Grapefruit League game last spring, the one that hampered him all year, is finally healed.
“It was bad when I played last year like that,” the switch-hitting Furcal said. “Hitting right-handed, I felt better. But left-handed, I couldn’t stand on my ankle. But I didn’t say anything because I wanted to keep playing. After the season, I got a lot of treatment before I started playing (in the Dominican Winter League), and that made me feel so good.”
Furcal had a great showing in the Caribbean World Series, going 10 for 25.
“If this team is healthy, I think we will make (the playoffs),” Furcal said. “I played last year, but it wasn’t the way I was used to playing. I think if Jason (Schmidt) and I had been 100-percent healthy, we could have made it last year. And now, we have Andruw (Jones) to give us another bat.”