DODGERS NOTEBOOK: ANOTHER ROOKIE IN ROTATION?

Byline: TONY JACKSON  Staff Writer

MILWAUKEE -- Dodgers manager Grady Little remains non-committal about who will start Sunday against the New York Mets.

It would normally be struggling left-hander Mark Hendrickson's turn to start, but all logical signs point instead to the assignment going to rookie lefty Eric Stults, a season-long starter at Triple-A Las Vegas who made his big-league debut with a three-inning relief stint behind Hendrickson on Tuesday night against Milwaukee.

With lefty Hong-Chih Kuo starting in place of injured Chad Billingsley on Friday night, giving the ball to Stults on Sunday would mean the Dodgers would have two rookie starters in the four-game series with the Mets. The Mets have baseball's best record, and their home ballpark can be especially hostile and intimidating to opposing pitchers.

``We're looking for somebody to give us innings, give us outs and give us a chance to a win a ballgame,'' Little said. ``We don't care who it is.''

Little hasn't officially said Hendrickson isn't starting. But it is fairly obvious that he won't after failing to record a single out past the fourth inning of either of his past two starts and going 1-7 with a 5.23 ERA since being traded to the Dodgers on June 27.

``That's one of the reasons our starter for Sunday is undecided,'' Little said.

Little did rule out Billingsley, whose mildly strained oblique still hasn't healed sufficiently to allow him to throw off a mound, and Elmer Dessens, a former starter who would have to build up his innings out of the bullpen before he could start a game.

Out again: Slumping first baseman Nomar Garciaparra was out of the Dodgers' lineup for the second time in the past four days after going 0 for 7 with two strikeouts in the two games in between. Garciaparra, who was hitting .358 at the All-Star break, is batting just .203 in the second half, with four homers and 22 RBIs.

Garciaparra was replaced in the lineup by Olmedo Saenz, who started for the first time in exactly a month. Saenz entered the game was 3 for 5 for his career, with a home run, against Milwaukee starter Chris Capuano.

Playoff roster: If the Dodgers make the playoffs, they can choose from a pool of 29 players for each round to fill out their 25-man roster. Because pitchers Yhency Brazoban and Eric Gagne and position players Bill Mueller and Jayson Werth are on the disabled list, the Dodgers can add any two pitchers and any two position players from within the organization to that 29-player pool, as long as those players were in the organization by Aug. 31.