Dodgers: Friday morning spring training notes

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PHOENIX -- Rafael Furcal said Manager Joe Torre told him on Thursday that he planned to rest him about once a week during the early months of the regular season. Furcal didn’t seem to have a problem with the idea.

‘He’s the manager,’ he said. ‘He’s the boss over here. He knows what he’s doing.’

Some highlights from Torre’s morning meeting with reporters:

• Torre said one of the main reasons he kept in touch with Manny Ramirez was to make sure that Ramirez wouldn’t be upset with the Dodgers if their negotiations turned ugly. ‘Just to show him the human side of it, the baseball side of it, as opposed to the business side of it,’ he said.
• Jason Schmidt will pitch an inning in the Dodgers’ intrasquad game on Monday. Also scheduled to pitch are Jonathan Broxton, Erick Threets, Greg Miller, Scott Elbert, Justin Orenduff, Jesus Castillo, Victor Garate and Jacobo Meque.
• Tony Abreu, the once highly rated prospect whose career has been stalled by injuries, did some early infield work and reported no physical problems. Abreu could be Furcal’s once-a-week fill-in, a job that could also be done by Mark Loretta and Juan Castro.
• Yhency Brazoban is experiencing shoulder trouble and has been shut down.

-- Dylan Hernandez