Miffed Loney returns to 51s

James Loney led all of minor league baseball with a .380 batting average last season for the 51s and also hit .284 in 48 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 22-year-old continued his tear in spring training this year, leading the Dodgers with a .414 average (29-for-70). But it still wasn't good enough to earn him a spot on Los Angeles' 25-man Opening Day roster.

On the final day of spring training, Loney learned he was being sent back to Las Vegas to start the season with the 51s, who open their 25th Pacific Coast League campaign tonight at the Salt Lake Bees.

"It's a bit frustrating hearing about it on the last day of spring training camp, but there's nothing you can do about it," said Loney, rated the Dodgers' fourth-best prospect. "They're supposed to know what they're doing. If a World Series ring comes from it this year, that's fine with me.

"I just have to keep working as hard as I can, keep making consistent, hard contact and be ready. To a lot of other people it doesn't make a lot of sense, but those aren't the people making the final decisions."

Loney, a left-handed hitting first baseman, is stuck behind Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra, who signed a two-year contract with Los Angeles last November.

But Loney is expected to start the season in right field for the 51s in an effort to find a spot for him at the big league level.

"With Nomar locked up for two years, the (Dodgers) are looking for a way to get James Loney up to the big leagues," said new 51s manager Lorenzo Bundy, who replaces the popular Jerry Royster. "We need to improve his outfield play so he can be serviceable up there, along with that bat of his."

Loney still sounded a bit bitter about not making the Dodgers.

"They said they're working on a spot to try to get me up there," Loney said before a workout Tuesday at Cashman Field. "They said I was ready to play there, but they don't have a spot for me, so that's kind of frustrating, too. They just told me, 'We don't want you sitting on the bench here a lot. We want you to get more at-bats down there.'

"If they don't want me, there are 29 other teams always watching you, too."

Loney is slated to bat third for the 51s, who went 67-77 last season, and top prospect Andy LaRoche will hit cleanup.

LaRoche, fully recovered from shoulder surgery, hit a combined .315 with 19 home runs and 81 RBIs in 117 games for Double-A Jacksonville (62) and Las Vegas (55) last season. LaRoche, 23, will start the season at third base, but he's also expected to see time in the outfield.

"With our younger prospects who have shown bat potential, like Loney and LaRoche, going to the outfield, (the Dodgers are) looking for ways to get those bats up there," Bundy said. "(LaRoche) has tremendous power. With L.A. not having a bunch of power bats right now, he's very high on that totem pole. Andy's probably a 25-homer guy in the big leagues.

"The good thing is these guys are young. They're going to get their chance. They've just got to be ready and stay focused."

The 51s will feature several players with big league experience, including starting pitchers Joe Mays, D.J. Houlton and Eric Stults, shortstop Tomas Perez and outfielders Larry Bigbie and Choo Freeman.

"We've got a bunch of guys who can be in the big leagues right now, but there are only 25 spots," Loney said. "A bunch of the guys probably won't be here the whole season, but we should have fun while we're here and we should win a lot of games."

Along with developing players, Bundy has placed an emphasis on winning.

"My goal as manager, as far as player development, is to get as many of these guys ready as I can for (manager) Grady (Little) up there in L.A., along with our commitment to being very competitive on the field (here)," said Bundy, who served as hitting instructor for the defending PCL and Triple-A champion Tucson Sidewinders the past three seasons. "We're trying to develop winning ballplayers, and there's nothing wrong with winning a game at Triple A."

Stults, who led Las Vegas with 10 victories last year, will anchor the pitching staff. He'll be followed by Houlton, Mays, Greg Miller and Travis Smith. Chin-Hui Tsao will serve as closer.

Tony Abreu will lead off and play second base for the 51s. The Dodgers' fifth-best prospect, Abreu hit .287 in a full season at Double A last year and was named the Dodgers' top rookie in spring training, when he batted .340.

Delwyn Young also returns to Las Vegas after hitting .273 with 98 RBIs last season. Young, who played eight games for the Dodgers, will start in left field.

Las Vegas, which has won its last six season openers, will host Salt Lake in its home opener on April 13.

"We've got a lot of talent and it's exciting," Stults said. "The last couple of years, we've struggled as a team here. But we're looking forward to having a lot of success this season, and hopefully a lot of us can have some success in L.A."