Torre focused on Furcal

Dodgers manager Joe Torre, an honoree at the annual banquet of the Arthritis Foundation Southern California chapter, sounded more focused on the return of shortstop Rafael Furcal and finding a replacement for starting ace Derek Lowe than whether Manny Ramirez returns.

Even though he missed five months with back surgery, Furcal is the lynchpin of the club's infield plans and apparently the Dogders are holding off on other moves until they know whether or not he'll return.

Torre again stressed the importance of acquiring a pitcher for the top of his rotation with the departure of Derek Lowe and Brad Penny. He praised CC Sabathia without indicating how hard the Dodgers would pursue him and was equally non-committal on interest in signing Randy Johnson.

He said Russell Martin will return at catcher, not third base. He said he spoke Wednesday with Andruw Jones, who will continue his career rehabilitation by playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic next month.

-- Ken Gurnick