POSSESSING A LIKABLE QUALITY DODGERS HAVE THREE F'S GOING FOR THEM -- FRIENDLY, FUN AND A FAVORITE TO WIN.

Byline: TONY JACKSON 

Staff Writer

There is plenty to like about this latest edition of the Dodgers. There is a lot of solid pitching, both in the rotation and in the bullpen, and there appear to be enough gap hitters and little-ball offense to offset the fact that the club doesn't figure to hit many home runs.

But the most likable thing of all about these Dodgers might be, well, their likability.

This year, there is no Milton Bradley waiting to explode. There is no Kenny Lofton snarling at every reporter who walks within 10 feet of him. Brad Penny has said publicly that he is trying to curb his own legendary temper. And even Jeff Kent has been ... oh, never mind.

The point is, the clubhouse has become a very pleasant, very professional and very cohesive place. To a man, the players added by general manager Ned Colletti this winter, through either trade or free agency, all came with well-deserved reputations for being the sort of guys who put team ahead of themselves and putting winning above all else.

They brought some jewelry with them, as well. Luis Gonzalez has a World Series ring he got when he himself hit a bloop single off Mariano Rivera to give Arizona a walkoff Game 7 win in 2001. Juan Pierre, one of the game's fastest leadoff men until his signing with the Dodgers pushed him into the two hole, got a ring of his own with Florida in 2003.

Then there is Jason Schmidt, the veteran right-hander who helped San Francisco not only get to the Series in 2002 but come tantalizingly close to winning it before falling short. And even Randy Wolf, who is still waiting for his first career postseason action, fits well into the new fabric of a team that only a Giants fan could hate.

"It's a good group of guys," said Gonzalez, the respected, veteran left fielder who signed a one-year, $7.35 million contract after the Diamondbacks decided they didn't want him anymore.

"Everybody is pretty tight in here. I think we have come together in a lot of good ways during spring training, and I think we have all gotten to know each other pretty well. And I think that carries over onto the field."

Gonzalez, who with his 40thbirthday looming in September is the Dodgers' oldest player, also is the de facto social chairman. A five-time All-Star who has hit as many as 57 homers in one season and batted as high as .336 in another, Gonzalez commands a certain respect whenever he enters a room anyway. Throw in the fact he is outgoing, engaging and seemingly always smiling, and Gonzalez provides an antithesis to the introverted Kent, who at 39 himself is only a few months shy of matching Gonzalez for elder-statesman status.

But don't misunderstand. This isn't the kind of fraternity-house atmosphere that some teams have been known for in recent years. There isn't a lot of "cowboying up," and no one is referring to himself and others as "idiots." And thanks to rules laid down by manager Grady Little last spring, you never hear music being played at any volume.

What there is, good-natured though it may be, is a collective, discernible sense of purpose. And a bunch of guys who, fun-loving though they may be, are fiercely and unshakably committed to it.

"I like the makeup of this team," Little said. "I like the players we brought in this winter, and I like what they bring to the team. These guys aren't just good players, they're excellent people to have in the clubhouse."

In tweaking what already was a good club this offseason, Colletti didn't limit his player search to the nicest guys he could find. But he didn't completely discount that as a factor. Before coming to the Dodgers a year and a half ago, Colletti spent nine years as the assistant GM in San Francisco. Those Giants teams had a famously fractious clubhouse, with Barry Bonds playing the proverbial elephant in the living room: no matter how much they tried to ignore him, they knew he was there.

Now, whether incidentally or by design, Colletti has assembled a much more harmonious bunch than he ever had up north.

"We won't always be able to do that," he said. "But we will always do what we can to do that. I think it's a great compliment to the makeup of our club, the approach these players have and their willingness to get along with each other. I think it does translate onto the field, especially if things are going poorly or somebody is slumping. Anybody can celebrate when things are going well. But how do you go about your business when you have lost 13 out of 14 or you're 1 for 25 or you give up six runs in two innings?

"A common characteristic of every good team is how they handle themselves when they're going through tough times."

If you believe the various preseason prognostications -- atleast two national publications have the Dodgers in the World Series -- these nice guys won't finish anywhere close to last.

They boast a formidable starting rotation of Derek Lowe, the newly signed Wolf, the newly signed Schmidt, Penny and Brett Tomko, who had to beat out a host of competitors for a fifth spot that isn't even guaranteed to remain his for more than a couple of starts.

They also have a bullpen so deep that Elmer Dessens, a reliable if unspectacular veteran, became the odd man out when he was traded to Milwaukee earlier this week.

Takashi Saito will begin the season as closer, but fireballing setup man Jonathan Broxton, whose stuff is more prototypical of a closer, is ready to take over the role if needed.

Left-hander Mark Hendrickson and righty Chad Billingsley each can give Little multiple innings. Joe Beimel is the situational lefty. And Rudy Seanez, the 17-year veteran who made the club as a non-roster invitee, is still a reliable one-inning guy at age 38.

Russell Martin will catch the vast majority of games, but Mike Lieberthal will spell him more often than Toby Hall did last year. Assuming Rafael Furcal is ready for Opening Day -- and it now looks like his sprained left ankle will allow him to be -- the starting infield remains static with Nomar Garciaparra, Kent, Furcal and Wilson Betemit.

Gonzalez takes over in left, pushing Andre Ethier over to right, and Pierre will play center.

The bench will consist of Brady Clark, whom the club got from the Brewers for Dessens; holdovers Marlon Anderson, Ramon Martinez and Olmedo Saenz; and probably veteran Larry Bigbie, who came to camp as a non-roster invitee and had a spectacular spring.

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CAPTION(S):

16 photos, 7 boxes

Photo:

(1) Luis Gonzalez gives the Dodgers a player who can command respect in the clubhouse.

Bob Jordan/Associated Press

(2) LUIS GONZALEZ

(3) JUAN PIERRE

(4) ANDRE ETHIER

(5) WILSON BETEMIT

(6) RAFAEL FURCAL

(7) DEREK LOWE

(8) JEFF KENT

(9) NOMAR GARCIAPARRA

(10) TAKASHI SAITO

(11) RUSSELL MARTIN

(12) RANDY WOLF

(13) JASON SCHMIDT

(14) BRAD PENNY

(15) BRETT TOMKO

(16) no caption (Grady Little)

Box:

(1) PROJECTED LINEUP

(2) CLOSER

(3) BULLPEN

(4) BENCH

(5) ROTATION

(6) REGULAR SEASON OPENER: DODGERS at MILWAUKEE

(7) HOME OPENER: DODGERS vs. COLORADO