Rafael Furcal

As much as real estate is about location, location, location, selling it is about timing and pricing. Former Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal has been trying to sell his home on a golf course in La Canada Flintridge since late 2010. Listed then for $4,449,000, the house reappeared on the Multiple Listing Service priced at $3.8 million just as news of Magic Johnson and company's purchase of the Dodgers broke. Listing agent Susan Mohr of Sotheby's International Realty said she had been working to get the listing ready for about a month.

Be patient, Rafael Furcal said. The kid who replaced him as the Dodgers starting shortstop will be fine. Furcal played at Dodger Stadium on Friday, marking the first time he had done so since the Dodgers traded him last year to the St. Louis Cardinals. Furcal, who spent the previous 5 1/2 years with the Dodgers, went into the game hitting .367, second in the National League. Dee Gordon , who made Furcal expendable in the view of Dodgers management, had a batting average of .207 and an on-base percentage of .247.

Be patient, Rafael Furcal said. The kid who replaced him as the Dodgers starting shortstop will be fine. Furcal played at Dodger Stadium on Friday, marking the first time he had done so since the Dodgers traded him last year to the St. Louis Cardinals. Furcal, who spent the previous 5 1/2 years with the Dodgers, went into the game hitting .367, second in the National League. Dee Gordon , who made Furcal expendable in the view of Dodgers management, had a batting average of .207 and an on-base percentage of .247.

Ten more days until Matt Kemp is eligible to return from the disabled list. But as Kemp remains stuck on the railing of the Dodgers' dugout recovering from a strained hamstring, something strange is happening. The Dodgers continue winning. The Dodgers' 6-5 walk-off victory over the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing of their National League-leading 26 wins, but it was probably their most significant. Immediately after closer Kenley Jansen served up a tying solo home run to pinch-hitter Lance Berkman in the top of the ninth inning, the Dodgers loaded the bases for catcher A.J. Ellis, who drew a walk-off walk off Fernando Salas.

Ten more days until Matt Kemp is eligible to return from the disabled list. But as Kemp remains stuck on the railing of the Dodgers' dugout recovering from a strained hamstring, something strange is happening. The Dodgers continue winning. The Dodgers' 6-5 walk-off victory over the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing of their National League-leading 26 wins, but it was probably their most significant. Immediately after closer Kenley Jansen served up a tying solo home run to pinch-hitter Lance Berkman in the top of the ninth inning, the Dodgers loaded the bases for catcher A.J. Ellis, who drew a walk-off walk off Fernando Salas.

Six weeks into the season, Andre Ethier can report his surgically repaired right knee is holding up fine. "Everything feels good," he said. Ethier entered Saturday as the National League leader in runs batted in with 32. While teammate Matt Kemp's home run prowess has gained national attention, Ethier has quietly driving in runs on a consistent basis. "I know what my job is here hitting fourth - giving Matt protection," he said. "Not too many people want to pitch to him no matter what protection is behind him, but I'm just there to pick him up. " Opposing pitchers are becoming increasingly hesitant to pitch to Kemp, who went into Saturday as the National League co-leader in home runs with 12. Kemp walked once every 7.5 plate appearances last month.

What Rafael Furcal feels, Dodgers Manager Joe Torre sees, and what Torre sees, the numbers say: Furcal is slowly starting to find his rhythm at the plate. "The season is long," Furcal said. "I knew and the whole world knew that I wasn't going to stay like that the entire year. I didn't know when it would come, today or tomorrow, but I just kept at it." Furcal, who was one for three with a walk and a sacrifice in the Dodgers' 6-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday, has hit .

Reporting from Philadelphia — Rafael Furcal will make the move he resisted. He is heading to the 15-day disabled list. On his way out of the Dodgers' clubhouse Tuesday night, Furcal said his surgically repaired lower back stiffened in a pregame workout, which included fielding grounders at shortstop. Furcal hadn't fielded grounders since he strained his back on a throw across his body Aug. 2. "We decided it was probably the safest thing to do," Manager Joe Torre said.

Manager Joe Torre said he noticed a change in Rafael Furcal over the last several days. "There's a lot of life in his body right now," Torre said. Furcal was hitting .309 when he was placed on the disabled list May 4 because of a strained left hamstring. He hit .216 and scored only two runs in his first 10 games after his activation May 25. But in the last five games heading into the Dodgers' series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, Furcal hit .429 (nine for 21)

Rafael Furcal said that while his surgically repaired back hasn't caused him any physical problems this season, it has affected his thinking on the basepaths. Furcal had six steals in 133 games through Friday. He had eight steals in 36 games in his injury-shortened 2008 season. In his first two seasons with the Dodgers, he stole 62 bases, including 25 in a 2007 season that he spent hobbled by a sprained left ankle. "The back is to a person what a motor is to a car," Furcal said.

Six weeks into the season, Andre Ethier can report his surgically repaired right knee is holding up fine. "Everything feels good," he said. Ethier entered Saturday as the National League leader in runs batted in with 32. While teammate Matt Kemp's home run prowess has gained national attention, Ethier has quietly driving in runs on a consistent basis. "I know what my job is here hitting fourth - giving Matt protection," he said. "Not too many people want to pitch to him no matter what protection is behind him, but I'm just there to pick him up. " Opposing pitchers are becoming increasingly hesitant to pitch to Kemp, who went into Saturday as the National League co-leader in home runs with 12. Kemp walked once every 7.5 plate appearances last month.

As much as real estate is about location, location, location, selling it is about timing and pricing. Former Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal has been trying to sell his home on a golf course in La Canada Flintridge since late 2010. Listed then for $4,449,000, the house reappeared on the Multiple Listing Service priced at $3.8 million just as news of Magic Johnson and company's purchase of the Dodgers broke. Listing agent Susan Mohr of Sotheby's International Realty said she had been working to get the listing ready for about a month.

The Dodgers defeated the Indians, 5-4, on Saturday when they scored three times in the seventh inning -- two on a triple by Luis Cruz-- and yet my favorite part of the game easily came in the first. It included a leadoff bunt single, a steal of second base and an advance to third on the catcher's throwing error, and run-scoring groundout to short. Any guesses? Yep, Dee Gordon struck again. Dropped a little bunt down the third-base line and then created a run almost entirely by himself.

And then on the fifth day of March, they played baseball. Maybe it was only the Dodgers' spring training opener, but given the dearth of anything approaching genuine interest during the first two weeks of camp, it offered a welcome reprieve. It qualified as a nice spring opener too, the Dodgers rolling to a 6-4 victory Monday over their Camelback Ranch neighbors, the Chicago White Sox. The Dodgers mostly played fundamental baseball, received some good performances from several players and an absolutely monstrous home run from their reigning minor league player of the year, Scott Van Slyke.

Reporting from Arlington, Texas -- If Wall Street had a baseball team, it would be a lot like the one the St. Louis Cardinals started the season with. Conservative. Button-down. Quiet. All great traits for bankers. But none of them describe former Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal. There had to be some question about how Furcal's boundless — and noisy — enthusiasm would fit with Team Tepid when the Cardinals acquired him from the Dodgers hours before the July trade deadline.

Reporting from Atlanta -- Is Dee Gordon ready to be an everyday player? Is James Loney worth retaining at a price tag of $6 million or so? Is A.J. Ellis a major league catcher? If there's a benefit to being as far out of contention as the Dodgers find themselves, it's that they can use the final month of the season to evaluate their roster. Most prominent of the Dodgers' questions is at shortstop, where the 23-year-old Gordon started Friday at Turner Field. "This last month really determines if this is the guy who can play short next year," Manager Don Mattingly said.

Back from his self-imposed exile in Miami, Manny Ramirez worked out at Dodger Stadium on Monday for the first time since being suspended for violating baseball's drug policy, a Dodgers spokesman confirmed. Ramirez hit, ran, threw and did some strength training at the ballpark, from which he had kept his distance until Monday. When he and Dodgers owner Frank McCourt met this month, they did so at Ramirez's apartment in Pasadena.

The evidence of Rafael Furcal's frustration was inside the visitors' clubhouse at Land Shark Stadium on Sunday. There, atop an equipment trunk, were the remnants of a batting helmet, shattered in a pique of anger the night before. "He's getting frustrated. There's no question," Manager Joe Torre said of Furcal, who hit .167 on the Dodgers' six-game trip, dropping his season average to .233. "Right now I think it's just [being] overanxious. Physically, he seems fine."

Reporting from Pittsburgh — Casey Blake tried playing hurt. Juan Uribe tried resting. But the Dodgers' two injury-riddled infielders are expected to end their seasons the same way: on the operating table. Surgeries are planned for Blake and Uribe in the coming weeks, with Blake scheduled for a neck operation on Tuesday and Uribe receiving a second opinion before undergoing a procedure to repair a sports hernia. "It's really a microcosm of what's happened to us," Manager Don Mattingly said.

Reporting from Pittsburgh — If you are 23 years old and have never previously been injured, a few weeks on the disabled list can feel like a long time. "The longest time in the history of life," Dee Gordon said. In his return from his three-week exile, the rookie shortstop was two for five with a two-run double and a run scored in the Dodgers' 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. The Dodgers' ninth victory in 10 games was a makeup game for a contest that was rained out on May 12. The fleet-footed Gordon led off the game with a single.