Andre Ethier

The Dodgers will start their season Monday with a record payroll of $230 million. But when they take the field at Dodger Stadium to face the San Francisco Giants, they are expected to do so with a shortstop earning $494,000. For all the money the Dodgers have spent in the last year adding star attractions such as Adrian Gonzalez and Zack Greinke, they will be depending on unheralded players at some key positions - Justin Sellers at shortstop, Luis Cruz at third base, Mark Ellis at second base and A.J. Ellis at catcher.

Matt Kemp has heard the whispers: The Dodgers don't have chemistry. Kemp shook his head. “That's what I keep hearing people say,” he acknowledged. This view, or some variation of it, is the crux of every argument that a team other than the Dodgers will win the National League West. A record payroll of $230 million has afforded the Dodgers a lineup with five former All-Stars, including sidelined shortstop Hanley Ramirez, and a rotation topped by two former Cy Young Award winners.

Dodgers rookie starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu looks more than ready for the season to begin. The 26-year-old South Korean retired all 12 batters he faced Thursday night as the Dodgers defeated the Angels, 3-0, at Angel Stadium in the opener of their three-game exhibition Freeway Series. Deftly mixing fastballs and off-speed pitches, the left-handed Ryu dispensed with Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and the rest of the Angels with 47 pitches over four innings, 33 of them strikes. "Tonight was by far my best game of the spring," Ryu said through an interpreter.

  Join Times Dodgers writer Dylan Hernandez and Angels writer Mike DiGiovanna at 10:30 a.m. today for a live discussion of the Angels and Dodgers. Two big topics: The Angels are on the verge of trading Vernon Wells to the Yankees, while the Dodgers need to figure out what to do with Yasiel Puig. As Hernandez wrote this week about Puig: "Manager Don Mattingly has dropped hints in recent days that spring-training sensation Yasiel Puig could make the Dodgers ' opening-day roster as a reserve outfielder.

So now what becomes of Aaron Harang? It's the same question Chris Capuano pondered Monday after throwing seven scoreless innings against Cleveland Indians minor leaguers. The exhibition season is down to its final four days and the Dodgers still have those eight starting pitchers. Harang started Tuesday, and after initially looking like he wasn't interested in auditioning for any team, recovered to pitch well enough to keep his name in the conversation during the Dodgers' 7-6 loss to the Rockies in their final game this spring at Camelback Ranch.

PHOENIX - Yasiel Puig won't be on the Dodgers' opening-day roster. The 22-year-old Cuban defector, who leads the Cactus League with a .526 average, was optioned to double-A Chattanooga on Tuesday. The move was bound to happen at some point. The Dodgers want Puig to play every day, and that wasn't going to happen in the major leagues with Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford in their outfield. Perhaps more important, the move probably will de lay Puig's entry into the free-agent market by an entire year.

SURPRISE, Ariz. - Manager Don Mattingly has dropped hints in recent days that spring-training sensation Yasiel Puig could make the Dodgers' opening-day roster as a reserve outfielder. But if Puig is with the Dodgers on April 1, he will probably be sent to the minor leagues soon after. Puig is 22 and the Dodgers want him to play regularly to round out his rough edges, which won't happen in the major leagues with Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford in their outfield. There's something else the Dodgers have to consider when deciding what to do this season with the Cuban defector: his eventual free agency.

I'm worried about Andre Ethier. Aren't you? Shouldn't you be? I'm mortified he might be happy . Now normally this little piece of baseball nirvana is a desired destination, but we're talking about Andre Ethier, a man who believes he's built a career constantly facing down naysayers. It's a motivational tool used his entire career. He's admitted that chip on his shoulder provided focus and determination, fueled his ascent as a major leaguer. You know, to that career not a single soul on planet Earth believed he would ever achieve.

Oakland 7, Dodgers 4 AT THE PLATE: Andre Ethier hit his first home run of the spring, as did Carl Crawford. Crawford's home run was his first since Aug. 3. Perhaps more encouraging was that Crawford played left field for the second consecutive day and had three balls hit to him. "The good thing for us is he made three throws," Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said. Crawford, who is recovering from elbow surgery, is scheduled to play left field Monday. ON THE MOUND: Josh Beckett had given up only one run in 91/3 innings.