Brad Penny back on the disabled list
DODGERS FYI
Right-hander is still bothered by a stiff shoulder, and his future with the team could be in question.
Brad Penny's comeback didn't last long, as the Dodgers put their opening-day starter on the disabled list for the second time this season. Penny was only two starts removed from his first stint on the DL, which lasted two months.
The move, which came a day after a stiff-shouldered Penny was tagged for six runs in a season-low three innings, was one of several the Dodgers made today.
Right-hander Cory Wade, who hasn't pitched since Saturday because of discomfort in his shoulder, also went on the DL. Taking the places of Penny and Wade on the active roster are left-hander Eric Stults and right-hander Tanyon Sturtze, who were called up from triple-A Las Vegas.
Manager Joe Torre conceded that losing Penny was a serious blow, but noted, "We're used to playing this game without Brad Penny. It's been a fact of life for the last month or so."
Though Penny reached the mid-90s with his fastball Wednesday night, Torre said he lacked "the freedom . . . that he'd like to have."
Penny, who spent two months on the disabled list starting in mid-June because of shoulder tendinitis, received a cortisone injection Thursday and underwent tests.
The latest stint on the DL could put Penny's future in question. Penny's contract includes a team option for $9.25 million for 2009 that could be bought out for $2 million.
Torre said he didn't know who would replace Penny in the rotation.
Stults could be that replacement. He was 2-2 in six starts with a 3.18 earned-run average in his first call-up of the season and pitched a complete-game shutout against the Chicago White Sox on June 25.
Sturtze, a reliever who played under Torre in New York from 2004-2006, didn't make the major league roster out of spring training. He remained in the Dodgers' organization at Torre's insistence and posted a 1-1 record with a 4.70 earned-run average in 18 games in Las Vegas.
Making the cut
Manny Ramirez had his dreadlocks trimmed by an inch or so today, fulfilling Torre's wish that he clean up his look.
"If I come back next year, it'll be shorter," Ramirez said.
Torre said he was satisfied.
"I think he was within the rules of 'cleaning it up a little bit,' " Torre said.
dylan.hernandez@latimes.com
