DODGERS NOTEBOOK: PEREZ PENCILED IN FOR 2ND GAME.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - With a week before the Dodgers break camp, several roster issues became a little clearer on Thursday. The only real question left is who will fill the final two spots in the bullpen.

Before the Dodgers' Grapefruit League game Thursday, an 8-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians in front of 5,320 at Chain of Lakes Park, manager Jim Tracy said he is leaning toward opening the season with a 12-man pitching staff. He also is leaning toward starting left-hander Odalis Perez in the second game of the season April 6 at San Francisco, although Perez has made just one spring appearance and has time to make only two more if he is to make that start.

Club officials could have squeezed a fourth exhibition appearance out of Perez, but that would have meant using him every fourth day instead of every fifth day and pushing him to the back of the rotation when the season begins.

``Rather than pushing him along to where there are fewer days of rest, we might keep him on a regular schedule,'' Tracy said. ``If he has a shorter time between (appearances), that could eliminate some side work, and that's not something we are really interested in doing.''

Perez's limited preparation probably will prevent him from pitching more than five innings in his first regular-season start, which is why a 12-man pitching staff seems inevitable.

``We're entertaining the thought of (that) to begin the season,'' Tracy said.

That decision also could have something to do with left-hander Wilson Alvarez, Tracy's clear preference for the second game if Perez can't go. Alvarez was scheduled to pitch today against St. Louis, but he has been pushed back indefinitely because of shoulder tendinitis that Tracy and trainer Stan Johnston insist isn't serious enough to jeopardize Alvarez's availability at the start of the season.

Assuming that is true, the Dodgers will open with a rotation of Derek Lowe, Perez, Jeff Weaver, Scott Erickson and probably Alvarez until Brad Penny is ready to come off the 15-day disabled list. Don't expect that to happen for a while. Tracy said when Penny is ready to pitch in a spring-training game - something expected within the next few days - it likely will be on the minor-league side.

Penny probably will begin the season on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment, something that can last as long as a month for pitchers.

``Obviously, we'll have to stretch him out,'' Tracy said. ``There is no question you have to get him into some game situations, just to get the adrenaline flowing.''

The Dodgers will need a fifth starter three times in April, and Alvarez is the only logical candidate. Edwin Jackson probably pitched himself back to Triple-A Las Vegas by giving up seven earned runs in five innings Thursday against the Indians. His ERA ballooned to 8.79, and that doesn't even include a disastrous two-inning appearance against Washington on March 14 (two innings, five runs) in a game that eventually was rained out.

With Alvarez in the rotation, there will be no left-hander in the bullpen, but there is a good chance one and possibly both of the remaining spots will go to a lefty. Buddy Carlyle, Ryan Rupe, D.J. Houlton, Mike Venafro and Kelly Wunsch are the candidates. Houlton, Venafro and Wunsch are lefties.

The 12-man pitching staff effectively eliminates any chance a non-roster infielder (Norihiro Nakamura, Oscar Robles) will make the club. Outfield prospect Jason Repko, who is hitting .400 after going 1 for 3 against the Indians, is a virtual lock to make the team, but he'll stay in the big leagues only until Jayson Werth (wrist) comes off the disabled list.

There only is the slightest chance Werth can be ready by opening day. He probably also will need a minor-league rehab assignment.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

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