DODGERS: COLLETTI'S PLAN WAS VERY CREDIBLE SIGNING FURCAL STARTED TO FIX PERCEPTIONS.

Byline: TONY JACKSON Staff Writer

When newly hired Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti approached owner Frank McCourt the week after Thanksgiving last fall and told him he wanted to offer free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal a three-year, $39 million contract, Colletti chose full disclosure as his strategy.

Yes, he told McCourt, people all over baseball would think they were crazy for throwing an average annual salary of $13 million at a middle infielder, even if he had been a star-caliber player during his six seasons in Atlanta.

But no, he told McCourt, they shouldn't care what people all over baseball thought, because the Dodgers were a franchise in desperate need of credibility, and Colletti was convinced Furcal was just the player to give it to them.

``I talked to some free agents, and I didn't get the feeling they were dying to be Dodgers,'' Colletti said. ``Signing Rafael Furcal gave us a player who in baseball terms, regardless of the price, said we were going to be serious about trying to rebuild and that we were going to start with one of the most exciting players out there.''

McCourt never blinked at Colletti's proposal, and Colletti managed to salvage the signing at the last minute, after it appeared Furcal would accept a five-year, $55 million deal from the Chicago Cubs.

With Furcal officially in place on Dec. 7, a slew of other free-agent signings quickly followed. Sandy Alomar, Nomar Garciaparra, Kenny Lofton, Bill Mueller and Brett Tomko, in that order.

McCourt would sign off on committing $67.7 million in base salary alone to those six free agents. And while they would play varying roles in the Dodgers' 2006 success, all were established veterans who were or had been star players on some level.

More importantly, all were perfectly willing to join an organization that was viewed in some corners as crippled, directionless and utterly devoid of the first-class image that for so many decades had been its calling card. With that, the Colletti regime officially had its foundation, less than a month after it had been installed almost too late in the winter to matter.

And that tarnished Dodgers image had taken the first step toward restoring itself. Eight months later, four of those free agents -- Furcal, Garciaparra, Lofton and Tomko -- have played key roles in what potentially could be a magical season for the Dodgers. And Furcal, who had arthroscopic knee surgery a month before spring training and consequently got off to a slow start both at the plate and in the field, has emerged as the true leadoff hitter the Dodgers had lacked for so many years and paid so much money to get.

By doggedly working counts, slashing balls all over the field, drawing walks and occasionally bunting for hits, Furcal has fashioned a .356 on-base percentage. Remove that horrendous April from his record, and he is hitting .304 since May 1.

But his most important contribution is his relentless setting of the table for arguably the National League's most prolific offense. Furcal is among the N.L. leaders with 87 runs.

``I'm feeling a lot more comfortable here now,'' he said. ``When you feel 100-percent healthy, it makes a big difference. (April) was very tough for me. I wasn't healthy. I had problems with my finger, my back, my shoulder, my knee. But once I got past all that, everything came together. I feel like my old self now.''

Alomar, a six-time All-Star who admittedly was at the back end of his career, got little playing time after rookie sensation Russell Martin came and was traded to the Chicago White Sox for a prospect. Mueller underwent what was supposed to be a routine arthroscopic procedure on his right knee in early May, but degenerative complications have ended his season and probably his career. But Lofton and Garciaparra, who bat immediately behind Furcal in the lineup, have been godsends for the Dodgers.

Lofton, who at 39 is being used judiciously by manager Grady Little, has sizzled of late. He went 13 for 27 on the club's recent homestand and is batting .314 for the season. Garciaparra led the league in hitting earlier in the season and remains at .325, reviving a career many in baseball had written off as recently as last winter. And Tomko, who went willingly to the bullpen when he returned from the DL on July 28, has allowed two earned runs in 13 innings over 13 appearances.

The Dodgers figure to delve heavily into the free-agent market again this coming offseason. They probably will lose Garciaparra, whose resurgence will command far more than his current $6 million base salary (with bonuses that still could take it to $10 million).

Lofton, who is guaranteed $3.9 million, could still be affordable. But Furcal and Tomko are signed at least through next year.

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Rafael Furcal's bat has produced a .304 average since May and he's among the NL leaders in runs scored.

Harry How/Getty Images

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- Tony Jackson