Shawn Estes decides to stay, might still make team

Nothing has changed as far as his present status. He is still reassigned to minor-league camp. But the intriguing part of the story is what he is going to do over there. He will be used as a reliever, pitching on back-to-back days and at times facing no more than one or two batters. The thought process, which was worked out in that meeting he had with Ned Colletti yesterday, is that he could be that situational left-handed reliever the Dodgers so desperately need and that they haven't been able to find among the guys they presently have in big-league camp. Ned said this morning that Estes was completely on board with the idea -- and there is precedent for guys making the team out of minor-league camp. In case you're wondering, Estes has made exactly two relief appearances in his 13-year, major-league career. One was for the Cubs in September 2003 in the second game of a doubleheader, typically an all-hands-on-deck situation. The other was his first appearance for the Padres last May 8, after he had missed all of 2007 with an injury. He immediately thereafter went into the starting rotation and stayed there the rest of the year.