Feelin' groovy ...
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.''
About Inside the Dodgers
Tony Jackson has covered the Dodgers for
the Daily News since 2004 and has covered Major League Baseball on a
regular basis since 1995. He previously covered the Colorado Rockies
and Cincinnati Reds. He is a native of Springdale, Ark., and a graduate
of the University of Arkansas.
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