SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic -- For more than a week rain had pounded the fertile farmland surrounding the Dominican Republic's second-largest city, knocking down power lines, causing rivers to overflow and turning unpaved streets into rushing torrents of mud.
"Oh, it was terrible," Rafael Furcal says with a shake of his head.
But it's all better now, he adds. And just to prove it, he hustles a visitor onto the balcony of his penthouse apartment for a view of clear blue sky that seems to stretch forever.
"You should see it at night," the Dodgers shortstop says. "It's beautiful."
As for his baseball future, well, that too seems to be rosy again because, just hours earlier, Furcal's personal black cloud had also lifted. Playing for the first time since hobbling off the field in Colorado three months ago with back and ankle problems, Furcal had four hits, two runs and stole a base in a Dominican winter league game in nearby San Francisco de Macoris.
OK, so it's not the World Series. But it's not a bad start.
"It felt good," Furcal says. "I feel much better."
That's something he could rarely say during the summer. A sore shoulder kept him on the sidelines through much of spring training, then he started the season on the disabled list with a severely sprained left ankle that never fully healed. As a result, Furcal struggled through his worst season in six years, playing only 138 games and finishing with a career-low .270 average, 25 stolen bases and 87 runs.
After matching a career high with 15 home runs and helping the team reach the playoffs in his first season in Los Angeles, Furcal managed only six last summer, when the Dodgers finished fourth in the National League West. And with their leadoff hitter hobbled, the Dodgers outscored only one NL team that finished with a winning record and out-homered three of 30 big-league teams.
"I don't think any lineup would be productive without the leadoff hitter being able to get on," Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said. "Obviously he's a key player for our club. We saw the difference he made."
Five mornings a week Furcal steers his silver Mercedes through Santiago's pothole-riddled streets to a downtown gym where a trainer from his winter league team, Aguilas de Cibao, gives him a massage, applies ice and heat and puts Furcal through a series of strength and flexibility exercises.
