(Daily News columnist Dennis McCarthy reports from Vero Beach, Fla....)

I can see this is gonna be a lot tougher than I thought it would be.
Muscles I haven’t heard from in 30 years are already screaming, and we haven’t started playing real ball yet.
The rookies — that would be me — were sent to the batting cages while the veterans — the 87 out of 117 guys and one woman attending this last scheduled Dodgers Fantasy Camp in Vero Beach, Fla. — stood around and had a good laugh grading us so we could be put on their teams.
I tanked it big time. In 20 pitches, I whiffed 15 times and hit five meek foul balls.
“Nice going, rook,” said Bernie Silverman, a 71-year-old retired optometrist from Sherman Oaks.
Bernie is attending his third camp with his 45-year-old son, David, from Agoura Hills. More about the Silvermans in my column Tuesday.
The rookie workout lasted two hours, and we dragged our tired bodies back to our rooms before heading over to the lounge to have a couple drinks and watch the Super Bowl.
Monday morning, the real fun and games begin as we split up in teams and starts to play the games.
I got a feeling I’ll spend a lot of time in the trainer’s room this week. Stay tuned.