DODGERS NOTEBOOK: WERTH FINALLY GOES ON DL.

Byline: Tony Jackson Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO - After essentially playing a man short in their previous five games, the Dodgers finally placed outfielder Jayson Werth on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. The move was retroactive to April 6, meaning Werth will be eligible for activation April 21, and there is little reason to think he won't be ready.

``It's a lot better,'' said Werth, who strained an oblique muscle eight days ago while taking batting practice. ``As far as putting me on the DL, it's not earth-shattering news. I figured that was probably what they would do, but I kind of figured they would wait until I got here and assess and see where we're at. That's realistic. But the decision has obviously been made.''

The Dodgers recalled outfielder Chin-Feng Chen from Triple-A Las Vegas to fill Werth's roster spot. Manager Jim Tracy said Chen will fill the same role Werth was supposed to fill, that of a right-handed bat off the bench.

``He'll be an early-innings guy,'' Tracy said. ``I think it would be a little unfair to take a young player and throw him out there in (critical) situations.''

Chen, 26, made very brief appearances in the major leagues each of the past two seasons, going hitless in six at-bats. He was in his third consecutive season at Las Vegas, where he was hitting .316 with four doubles, one home run and three RBI through the 51s' first five games.

Werth stopped taking batting practice immediately upon feeling a twinge in his oblique, and he hasn't swung a bat since. While he wasn't available to hit after opening day, he was available to pinch run and play defensively. But his primary role was to pinch hit.

Werth said he doesn't know when he will be ready to swing a bat again.

--Five spot: Tracy stopped just short of officially naming veteran right-hander Jose Lima his starting pitcher for Saturday's game at San Francisco, the first time this season the Dodgers will need a fifth starter, but he left little doubt that Lima is the guy.

``We're leaning in the direction of Jose Lima,'' Tracy said. ``I can tell you that because of the effect it would have on our bullpen (to use lefty Wilson Alvarez). I don't want to leave a guy like Tommy Martin out there by himself on the left-handed side. I don't think that would be a healthy situation for our bullpen.''

Tracy also ruled out Edwin Jackson, who was scheduled to pitch for Las Vegas on Tuesday night against Tacoma. Dodgers officials want Jackson to pitch every fifth day, and using him as a fifth starter at the big-league level would mean he would get only sporadic starts and otherwise work out of the bullpen.

``I promise you this, Edwin Jackson will not be a relief pitcher on this team,'' Tracy said.

--New yard: First-base coach John Shelby hit balls off different sections of the outfield wall at Petco Park during batting practice Tuesday, all while the Dodgers outfielders chased them in an attempt to familiarize themselves with the new stadium's quirks.

``You're looking for tricky nooks and crannies and problem spots, more toward the outfield,'' Tracy said. ``The players will be out there taking balls off the bat from their positions, seeing if there is anything quirky out there. But there have been (three previous) games here. If there were something really strange, hopefully we would have already heard about it.''

From foul pole to foul pole, the outfield wall changes directions nine times.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

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