Following up on a few items from last night …

Dodgers at Cubs,
12:05 p.m.
Today’s Lineup
Xavier Paul, LF
Jamey Carroll, SS
Blake DeWitt, 2B
Reed Johnson, CF
Brian Giles, DH
Nick Green, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Russ Mitchell, 1B
Jason Repko, RF
(Clayton Kershaw, P)

Russell Martin says his MRI showed only a strain, according to Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Let’s hope he does not try to conceal anything more.

Martin told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com: “They said I have a little strain somewhere, either the lower abdomen or the groin area in the muscles that connect the hip, abdomen and groin.”

Update: This Gurnick paragraph doesn’t sound quite as good.

Martin’s discomfort is in the same general area that plagued former Dodgers infielder Tony Abreu, who first underwent a sports hernia operation, but ultimately needed arthroscopic surgery to repair torn hip labrum.

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Dodger Thoughts commenter Bumsrap pointed out overnight that on days the Dodgers start Rafael Furcal, Andre Ethier, James Loney and Blake DeWitt, it would be hard for opponents to stack righty relievers against the Dodgers, even if the team has no lefty pinch-hitters.

Still, the Dodgers are looking for ways to save room for a lefty. Weather permitting, Jamey Carroll is getting a start at shortstop today (while Nick Green plays third), so the Dodgers are at least entertaining the option of having Carroll be the backup shortstop in April.

Brian Giles gets his first start of the year, but won’t play in the field.

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  • Russ Mitchell, who made a fine catch in foul territory Saturday on behalf of Eric Gagne, gets the start at first.
  • Jason Repko is batting ninth on a day that features at most one regular Dodger starter.
  • Tony Jackson noticed Garret Anderson in a long conversation with Russ Ortiz and tweeted, “I wonder if the words ‘we couldn’t believe Dusty took you out’ have been spoken.”
  • Baseball players from four elementary schools in Taiwan will sing the national anthem before the Dodgers’ first two games there later this week, according to FocusTaiwan.

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It got busy over here overnight, so here are the in-case-you-missed-’ems: