Dem Bums – A Dodgers Blog

The Dodgers are set to take on the Cubs in their first Spring Training game on Wednesday. At camp so far, Jason Schmidt has made progress and it looks as if he will have a good chance at being the fifth starter in the rotation to start the regular season, which would give him his first big league start since June of 2007. He tossed 11 pitches (nine strikes) in an intrasquad game to complete a scoreless inning on Monday.

For the first game on Wednesday, Claudio Vargas will make the start, with Randy Wolf starting on Thursday, Billingsley on Friday and Kershaw on Saturday. The Cubs will have Jeff Samardzija start, with Mitch Atkins following. Apparently, talks with Manny and his agent have intensified, but the Dodgers will still be without him as they kick off their Spring Training season. This will give Juan Pierre the starting left fielder job for the time being.