DODGERS NOTEBOOK: LITTLE NOT READY TO JUDGE KENT.

Byline: TONY JACKSON 

Staff Writer

PHOENIX -- Dodgers manager Grady Little declined Friday to directly address comments made by second baseman Jeff Kent the previous day in which Kent implied that several of the team's young players weren't making enough of an effort to learn from their veteran teammates.

Little said he wouldn't comment until he had a chance to hear what Kent had said directly from Kent instead of simply reading Kent's quotes in media reports. He did imply, however, that the veterans aren't entirely blameless when it comes to the widely reported clubhouse rift between the Dodgers' veterans and youngsters.

"In a lot of ways, I think it's a two-way street," Little said. "It's like a marriage. For those who have successful marriages, that's a two-way street, too."

Little's message was clear: Some of those veterans could stand to reach out to the younger players a little more.

The notoriously prickly Kent has been criticized at times for keeping to himself in the clubhouse. But in Kent's defense, there was a well- publicized incident during a game in Florida two years ago when Kent tried to pull outfielder Milton Bradley aside to offer constructive criticism after Bradley made a costly baserunning mistake, and that conversation eventually led to the volatile Bradley, who is African-American, implying several days later that Kent was a racist.

Bradley has since been traded to Oakland and now is with SanDiego, but the memory of that debacle might be making Kent somewhat reticent to offer advice.

Veteran third baseman Nomar Garciaparra also likes to go about his business quietly. And while veteran left fielder Luis Gonzalez has been a legendary clubhouse leader for most of his career, he has lost considerable playing time this season because of the emergence of younger outfielders Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, a fact that might be making Gonzalez less comfortable asserting a leadership role.

For now, Little is chalking Kent's comments up to simple frustration at a time when the Dodgers appear to be out of the running for a playoff spot at the end of a season that began with so much promise.

"I think he shares that frustration that all of us feel at this point in time," Little said of Kent. "There aren't many of us who don't feel it."

Minor awards: Infielder Chin-lung Hu, presently in the majors as a September callup, and right-hander James McDonald will be named today as the Dodgers' Organizational Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

Hu, 23, split the season between Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A Las Vegas before his Sept. 1 callup, batting a combined .325 with 40 doubles, 14 homers and 62 RBIs. McDonald, who will turn 23 next month, split the year between advanced Single-A Inland Empire and Jacksonville, going a combined 13-9 with a 3.07 ERA. He struck out 168 batters in 134 2/3 innings, allowing just 121 hits.

Also: Shortstop Rafael Furcal tried to swing a bat before Friday night's game, but his tight lower back wouldn't allow him to. He missed his fourth consecutive game. ... Infielder Ramon Martinez, who injured his right elbow during the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader at Colorado, left Chase Field about an hour before game time Friday night and went for an MRI.

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Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent had criticized some of the younger players on the team Thursday.

Jeff Gross/Getty Images