DODGERS NOTEBOOK: MORE POP FROM ROSS.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - David Ross provided more evidence Monday to support the argument the Dodgers lineup will be better if his bat is in it. But the case probably won't be made until and unless Paul Lo Duca provides enough evidence of his own, something he set about attempting to do back at the Dodgers complex in Vero Beach.

While Ross was swatting a three-run homer to straightaway center in the fourth inning of the Dodgers' 14-5 Grapefruit League loss to the Baltimore Orioles in front of 4,175 at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, Lo Duca was a hundred or so miles to the north, working out in left field for the first time this spring.

Before Ross can crack the lineup, Lo Duca will have to prove he can make the switch. And with more than three weeks left in camp, manager Jim Tracy isn't rushing to judgement.

``I'm not going to get involved in answering questions like that right now,'' Tracy said. ``It's way too early. Three weeks from now, I might have a better answer.''

Tracy still hasn't totally committed to any game action in left field for Lo Duca, although he now seems to be leaning toward trying it later in the spring.

``I won't shy away from it,'' he said. ``It's a possibility. But I want him to get a little bit of work out there. I won't just throw him out there. I would like to give him an opportunity to (play left field in a game), but I just don't know when that will be.''

Ross, a lock to make the club as at least a backup catcher, has hit 11 home runs in 134 major-league at-bats for the Dodgers over the past two seasons. That is almost one-fourth the career total of Lo Duca, who has roughly 12 times as many at-bats. If there is one thing the Dodgers need, it's more power. But Lo Duca is a .285 career hitter with 100 doubles over the past three seasons, so he's not going to take a seat.

--Dreifort ready: Right-hander Darren Dreifort, who hasn't pitched in a game since undergoing right-knee surgery last June, finally will take the mound today, against Montreal. The original plan was for Dreifort to pitch in a simulated game before seeing any Grapefruit League action, but that has been scrapped.

``A lot of it has to do with his comfort level,'' Tracy said. ``Darren is ready to go out there and try to do it competitively instead of from a standpoint of just throwing to some hitters in the cage. And there's nothing wrong with that.''

--Double duty: The Dodgers on Wednesday will play the first of three split-squad doubleheaders this spring. All three feature one game in the afternoon and another in the evening, breaking with the long tradition of teams scheduling two games simultaneously in two camps.

The three day-night splits are scheduled so Tracy can attend all six games.

``I think it's important that I be at all of them, because I don't want any of our players to wonder whether I'm interested in what they do and how they do it,'' he said. ``I would like to see them for myself.''

After a single game today against Montreal in Viera, the Dodgers host Detroit on Wednesday, then travel to Jupiter to face the world-champion Florida Marlins.

--Miscellany: Reigning National League Cy Young winner Eric Gagne will make his spring debut for the Dodgers today against the Expos. Gagne was allowed to report to camp late because of his arbitration hearing in Phoenix last month, where he was awarded a $5 million salary for this season rather than the $8 million he was seeking.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

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Cy Young Award-winner Eric Gagne is expected to make his spring-training debut for the Dodgers today.

Richard Drew/Associated Press

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