Scott Elbert

PHOENIX -- Left-hander Scott Elbert threw for the first time in spring training Wednesday, beginning a comeback from two surgeries in the past six months. "He'll get back to tossing a few balls," Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said. Elbert, 27, was hoping to be ready to rejoin the team by April. He last pitched Aug. 26, retiring one batter against the Florida Marlins. Elbert then underwent arthroscopic surgery on his elbow in September. But team doctor Neal ElAttrache found a new area of cartilage damage during a second 40-minute arthroscopic procedure in January, necessitating more repair work.

Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly held outfielder Carl Crawford out of the lineup Wednesday and he plans to do the same with Andre Ethier on Friday, when the team opens a six-game trip in Atlanta. Only Matt Kemp has played in more games or had more at-bats than Crawford and Ethier, both of whom, the manager said, were in need of a break. "The [body] language tells you kind of where he's at. And then you see it on the field in his energy level," he said. "You can kind of feel it with guys.

It's the return of the Daily Dodger in Review after a brief lapse during the winter meetings … SCOTT ELBERT , 27, reliever Final 2012 stats: 1-1, 2.20 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 8.0 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per nine innings in 32 2/3 innings. Contract status: Under team control. The good: Had an ERA of 0.54 at home. Curiously, held right-handed hitters to a .170 batting average. For the first half of the season, was the Dodgers' only left-handed reliever. After a mediocre start, had an ERA of 0.83 in his last 26 appearances, allowing only two earned runs.

After watching Brandon League struggle through another tough outing in the series finale with the Miami Marlins, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly was asked Monday whether the right-hander was still his closer. His answer wasn't exactly a vote of confidence. "Yeah, for now he is," Mattingly said. "I hate to say it like that. But yeah, for now. " League has given up runs in six of his last seven appearances and has just two hitless innings in the last month.

Those expanded rosters that become available Sept. 1 can't come soon enough for the Dodgers. Their bullpen suffered a blow Wednesday when they announced left-hander Scott Elbert was returning to the 15-day disabled list with the sore elbow that had sent him there a month ago. “This is the same thing that's been going on,” Manager Don Mattingly said. Elbert had appeared in four games since returning from his first stint on the DL and had not allowed a run. In those 3 1/3 innings, he had allowed only two hits and had not walked a batter.

The Great Mystery of 2012, or at least the minor one of week, was solved when the Dodgers finally announced who would start in San Francisco on Friday. They placed left-hander Scott Elbert on the disabled list with a sore elbow and recalled right-hander Stephen Fife from triple-A Albuquerque to start in the opener against the Giants at AT&T Park. This will mark Fife's second career start. His first came against Roy Halladay and the Phillies on July 17.  This time he draws Matt Cain.

Now that Scott Elbert has stayed with the Dodgers for a while, the relief pitcher appears to have found his stride. Entering Tuesday's game, the left-hander had pitched scoreless relief in 16 of his previous 17 appearances dating to July 6, during which he posted an 0.56 earned-run average and held opposing hitters to a .193 batting average. Overall, Elbert is 0-1 with two saves and a 2.67 ERA this season. "It's been a breakthrough," Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said.

Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly held outfielder Carl Crawford out of the lineup Wednesday and he plans to do the same with Andre Ethier on Friday, when the team opens a six-game trip in Atlanta. Only Matt Kemp has played in more games or had more at-bats than Crawford and Ethier, both of whom, the manager said, were in need of a break. "The [body] language tells you kind of where he's at. And then you see it on the field in his energy level," he said. "You can kind of feel it with guys.

After watching Brandon League struggle through another tough outing in the series finale with the Miami Marlins, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly was asked Monday whether the right-hander was still his closer. His answer wasn't exactly a vote of confidence. "Yeah, for now he is," Mattingly said. "I hate to say it like that. But yeah, for now. " League has given up runs in six of his last seven appearances and has just two hitless innings in the last month.

All the roster intrigue may have been eliminated after the Dodgers completed their exhibition season Saturday night, but it finally became official Sunday afternoon. And there never was a spring trade of any of those extra starters, which doesn't mean it won't happen at some point. But as expected shortstop Hanley Ramirez, right-hander Chad Billingsley, left-hander Ted Lilly and left-hander Scott Elbert were all placed on the disabled list Sunday, cutting the active roster down to 25 and leaving a spot to bring back shortstop Justin Sellers.

All the roster intrigue may have been eliminated after the Dodgers completed their exhibition season Saturday night, but it finally became official Sunday afternoon. And there never was a spring trade of any of those extra starters, which doesn't mean it won't happen at some point. But as expected shortstop Hanley Ramirez, right-hander Chad Billingsley, left-hander Ted Lilly and left-hander Scott Elbert were all placed on the disabled list Sunday, cutting the active roster down to 25 and leaving a spot to bring back shortstop Justin Sellers.

PHOENIX -- The Dodgers have two games scheduled Friday and given the way their pitching is backing up, they'd like to play both. "This is a day where you want two games," Manager Don Mattingly said. He may not get his wish though. The chance of rain is 45% Friday afternoon, when the Dodgers are scheduled to play the Giants in Scottsdale, rising slightly to 50% for the night game at home with the Reds. It rained Friday morning. But much of the news Friday was coming from the trainer's room and the batting cages Friday anyway.

PHOENIX -- Right-hander Zack Greinke, scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday with what the Dodgers say was illness, will wait until his turn in the rotation comes up again Monday before making his third appearance of the spring. Greinke has pitched five innings this spring, allowing two runs and six hits. He missed his last bullpen session Sunday because of forearm tightness but worked out Thursday. Scott Elbert, who had surgery on his left elbow last season, threw for the first time Wednesday and reported no problems.

PHOENIX -- Left-hander Scott Elbert threw for the first time in spring training Wednesday, beginning a comeback from two surgeries in the past six months. "He'll get back to tossing a few balls," Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said. Elbert, 27, was hoping to be ready to rejoin the team by April. He last pitched Aug. 26, retiring one batter against the Florida Marlins. Elbert then underwent arthroscopic surgery on his elbow in September. But team doctor Neal ElAttrache found a new area of cartilage damage during a second 40-minute arthroscopic procedure in January, necessitating more repair work.

PHOENIX - Well, this much is already clear about Hyun-Jin Ryu: He won't be competing in the Los Angeles Marathon any time soon. Ryu was at the end of a line of Dodgers pitchers that ran around the team's complex Tuesday as part of the first workout of the spring. As Ryu shuffled past more than two dozen South Korean journalists who were there to chronicle his every step, he said to them between gasps, “So fast.” The reporters laughed. Ryu, who has demonstrated a good sense of humor over the first two days of camp, appeared completely unshaken by where he finished on the team's morning run. The 6-foot-2 left-hander, who appears heavier than his listed weight of 215 pounds, said he wasn't worried about his conditioning.

The most expensive team in baseball history will start to assemble Tuesday, when pitchers and catchers report to the Dodgers' Arizona spring-training complex. The Dodgers have a projected opening-day payroll of $230 million and a roster that includes a dozen former All-Stars. Several of these players were acquired in the middle of last season, which ended with a shocking collapse that left them eight games back of their division rival, the San Francisco Giants. General Manager Ned Colletti thinks that spending the spring together could allow these Dodgers to meet the incredibly high expectations of their ambitious and free-spending owners.

The Dodgers finalized a one-year contract with left-handed reliever J.P. Howell, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke under the condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been officially announced by the team. Howell, 29, figures to be one of two left-handers in the Dodgers bullpen. His pitching style is markedly different from that of the team's only other established left-hander, hard-throwing Scott Elbert. Listed at 6 feet and 190 pounds, Howell throws in the mid-80s.

DODGERS Class; City; W-L ; Comment AAA; Albuquerque; 16-11; Former starter Scott Elbert hasn't yielded a run in nine of 12 relief appearances. AA; Chattanooga; 15-14; Javy Guerra has given up one run, six hits in 14 2/3 innings. Righties hitting .097 against him. A; Rancho Cucamonga; 18-11; INF Tony Delmonico hit .476 during 10-game hitting streak, which ended Friday. A; Great Lakes; 17-12; Closer Shawn Tolleson has struck out 28 of the 35 batters he's retired and has yet to allow an earned run. R; Odgen; 0-0; Season begins June 20. DODGERS Class; City; W-L ; Comment AAA ; Albuquerque; 16-11; Former starter Scott Elbert hasn't allowed am earned run in nine of 12 relief appearances.

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o admitted to talk show host Katie Couric that he answered questions about his "dead," online girlfriend even after he received a call Dec. 6 from a woman posing as the fake person. Te'o also maintained he played no part in the hoax. Pressed by Couric to admit that he was in on the deception, the All-American said he was convinced the woman he knew as Lennay Kekua died in September. Te'o claims he never met Kekua in person but developed a serious relationship with her through phone calls and electronic messages.

Left-handed reliever Scott Elbert is unlikely to be ready for opening day after he underwent elbow surgery for the second time in four months on Wednesday. Elbert, 27, will start physical therapy in three days but won't resume throwing for six weeks, according to the Dodgers. The hard-throwing veteran underwent a season-ending operation in September. He started feeling discomfort a few weeks into his winter throwing program, at which point the Dodgers elected to treat the problem conservatively.