Daily tidbits

Carl Loewenstine, a major-league scout for the Dodgers for the past 28 years, told me this morning he will retire after the upcoming season. Carl is one of my favorite people in the organization. He lives in the Cincinnati area and has been battling cancer for the past couple of years, and while the treatment has slowed him down somewhat, he still looks great and remains in great spirits. Said he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, children and grandchildren. ... Yhency Brazoban's recovery from shoulder surgery has progressed to the point that he now will throw every other day. He is expected to be ready by the start of the regular season. ... The Dodgers signed five of their ``zero-to-three'' guys: Pitchers Jonathan Broxton and Eric Stults, catcher Lucas May, infielder Chin-lung Hu and outfielder Matt Kemp. Just to clarify, these are players on the 40-man roster who are not yet eligible for arbitration. They generally are paid somewhere between the major-league minimum ($390,000) for first-year 40-man guys to the $500,000-$600,000 range for guys with at least two years, with little regard for performance. Clubs attempt to negotiate agreements with these players, and as far as I can remember, the Dodgers have been able to do that with every such player since I have been on the beat. But those players who don't agree to terms can simply be renewed at a salary of the club's choosing when the renewal period begins, usually on March 2. There are several more of these players still unsigned, but that doesn't signify contentious negotiations. Just means the club hasn't gotten around to signing them yet.