L.A. FEELS RELIEF DODGERS SMILING AFTER MEETINGS.

Byline: TONY JACKSON  Staff Writer

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Dodgers left baseball's winter meetings Thursday having still not announced their signings of free-agent right-hander Jason Schmidt and free-agent left fielder Luis Gonzalez, and not planning to until both players pass physicals.

But at the conclusion of an event at which nothing stays a secret for long, there was a discernible sense of accomplishment on the faces of team officials as they sat around their meeting suite one final time before heading for the airport.

For the Dodgers, the trip had been a smashing success.

First, the club answered its need for a frontline starting pitcher, luring Schmidt away from rival San Francisco and at least a couple of other suitors with a three-year, $47 million contract.

For now, Schmidt gives the Dodgers one of the deepest rotations in baseball, joining Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Randy Wolf and whoever emerges from a spring training free-for-all that figures to include Chad Billingsley, Hong-Chih Kuo, Mark Hendrickson and Brett Tomko.

Second, the Dodgers made good on their quest to acquire a middle-of- the-order bat.

Well, sort of.

By signing Gonzalez to a one-year, $7.35 million deal, the Dodgers didn't get a power hitter per se. But they did get a savvy veteran who still has enough gap power to have hit 52 doubles for Arizona last season.

More importantly, the Dodgers relieved themselves of the desperation they felt as recently as a week ago, leaving them with considerably more leverage if they now attempt to trade Penny for another hitter with more pop.

Third, they answered their need for a backup catcher by signing the still-spry Mike Lieberthal. The Westlake High alum not only will spell Russell Martin on the one day every couple of weeks when Martin will sit, but he also will bring his former Gold Glove-winning expertise to help with Martin's continued development.

Finally, and most importantly, the Dodgers did all that without trading anyone from their promising stable of young major leaguers and top prospects.

``That was one of our priorities/goals,'' Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. ``If we solidified our pitching, as we believe we have, and still have a very strong nucleus of young players, pitching and good young players are two of the better components of the game. We didn't sacrifice one for the other. We gave ourselves the opportunity to have both.''

Colletti said the Dodgers are finished with this year's paper-thin free-agent market, but he did leave open the possibility of more movement via trade.

``We'll wait and see,'' he said. ``If these (Schmidt and Gonzalez) deals can be finalized, we'll see what it looks like and let it settle in for awhile. Then I will talk to (manager) Grady (Little) and see where we go.''

The fact the Dodgers were able to lure Schmidt, who will turn 34 in January, away from the world champion St. Louis Cardinals and his home-state Seattle Mariners, both of whom were believed to be offering more lucrative deals, had a lot to do with Schmidt's comfort level with Colletti.

Colletti was the Giants' assistant GM when the club acquired Schmidt from Pittsburgh at the 2001 trading deadline, and remained there until being named GM of the Dodgers 13 months ago.

``Jason had many choices,'' said Alan Hendricks, Schmidt's Houston- based agent. ``We had two or three situations where the aggregate money was better and the average annual value was greater.

``The money was a crucial element, but there were other considerations. I think two of those were the West Coast and his familiarity with the National League West and the National League in general. Those were big, as was his comfort level with Ned and (Dodgers trainer) Stan (Conte). He thought about it and talked to his wife and decided ... this was the way he wanted to go.''

The Dodgers hired Conte, the longtime San Francisco trainer, shortly after he resigned from the Giants in October.

Gonzalez, 39, has seen his home runs and RBIs drop precipitously since he hit a staggering 57 HRs in 2001, the same season his walkoff single off the New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera gave the Diamondbacks a World Series title.

But he had a high on-base percentage (.352) for a middle-of-the-order hitter last season. Gonzalez identified the Dodgers early on as the team he wanted to play for.

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