DODGERS NOTEBOOK: FURCAL COULD RETURN AS SOON AS FRIDAY.

Byline: TONY JACKSON 

Staff Writer

As a large group of reporters waited outside the Dodgers' clubhouse following Monday's 6-3 loss to Colorado, Rafael Furcal, dressed in street clothes and carrying twolarge duffel bags, politely weaved his way through the crowd.

"Are you leaving?" someone asked.

"Yeah," Furcal said. "They sent me down."

The Dodgers' shortstop was joking. Sort of.

Furcal, whose absence with a left ankle sprain has created a drag on the entire Dodgers offense but especially on center fielder Juan Pierre, was headed to Rancho Cucamonga, where he will do a two-game rehabilitation assignment with the visiting Inland Empire 66ers, the Dodgers' high Single-A affiliate. Furcal will serve as designated hitter tonight and play shortstop Wednesday, after which he will be re-evaluated by team medical personnel.

But what all of this really means -- even if no one in the organization would say it -- is that Furcal probably will return to the Dodgers' lineup Friday night against San Diego.

"Last Friday in San Francisco, the day it rained and we didn't take batting practice on the field, he did a lot of running (sprints) in the (indoor) cage, with a lot of stops and starts and cuts," trainer Stan Conte said. "I was really surprised that he was able to do it without pain. The next day, he was able to run on the track, and he ran the bases (Sunday and Monday) with no limping or soreness afterward."

Assuming Furcal doesn't suffer a setback in his minor-league test, the Dodgers will be without him for just two more games. And his return won't come too soon for a team that scored 10 runs Sunday against the Giants but has scored just 18 runs in its sixother games.

Pierre, who will drop to the No. 2 slot in the order when Furcal takes over the leadoff spot, is hitting .167. Manager Grady Little has speculated recently that Pierre is feeling the pressure of having to carry a burden at the top of the order that he and Furcal were supposed to share.

Right field story: Little said before the game that Andre Ethier, who had been all but anointed the team's everyday right fielder before the season, and Matt Kemp are in an open competition for the job. After tonight, each player will have started fourgames there, although Kemp, who is hitting .429, now is day to day with a bruised right shoulder.

"They have never said one word to me," said Ethier, who is 2 for 11. "But you have competition on every team. I guess the writing is on the wall for me, at least. If I want this spot, I have to not only earn it, but keep it."

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Rafael Furcal starts a rehab assignment with the Inland Empire 66ers tonight.

Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Box:

DODGERS VS. COLORADO

- Tony Jackson