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| PHOENIX -- Nomar Garciaparra's broken hand is worse than club officials believed a day earlier, and Dodgers manager Joe Torre said on Thursday his third baseman is "doubtful" for Opening Day. On Wednesday, the Dodgers announced that a new MRI exam revealed a microfracture of a bone at the base of Garciaparra's right hand, a previously undetected injury suffered when he was hit by a pitch on March 7. The optimistic prognosis issued by the club on Wednesday was that Garciaparra might be able to swing a bat as early as this weekend. But Garciaparra said that won't happen. Reluctant to place a time frame on his recovery, he did say he would not swing a bat during the club's Cactus League stint, which ends Tuesday, because that is the one motion that causes pain. "Everybody wants to predict. I'm not," said Garciaparra. "I have no control over it. I'm looking one day at a time. That's all I can do." Torre went further. "I don't anticipate him being ready for Opening Day," said Torre, listing rookie Tony Abreu, Blake DeWitt and Chin-lung Hu as the leading candidates to play third base, with Andy LaRoche's hand still in a cast after surgery for a torn ligament. Torre said Abreu was the logical frontrunner because he's played the position successfully in the Major Leagues last year, but he's also been unable to stay on the field as he heals slowly from October surgery to repair a sports hernia. "He's a very important piece for us," Torre said of Abreu. Torre downplayed the chances of obtaining a player from outside the organization, saying the club would not deal away "the future" for a short-term substitute, knowing that LaRoche and DeWitt are expected to handle the position well into the future. DeWitt has the current buzz, and he was slated to start at the hot corner on Thursday in the Dodgers' first "home" game in Arizona against the White Sox at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Adding DeWitt to the 40-man roster would get the clock started on his protection timetable sooner than necessary, which would be a consideration for his long-term development. Spring Training News and features: • Nomar now 'doubtful' for Opening Day • Recovery going slowly for Dodgers' Schmidt • Dodgers option Stults, Miller • Nomar could swing bat by weekend • Lasorda's stint as Dodgers manager ends • Sweeney's swing gives Dodgers win Multimedia: • March 19 photo gallery • March 16 photo gallery • March 15 photo gallery • Dodgers meet media in Beijing 400K • Pics from Lasorda's return • More shots from March 11 Spring Training info: • MLB.com coverage | Schedule | Ballpark | Tickets "I'm not saying he's the option, but coming from the Minor League side, he finds himself playing every day, which is interesting," Torre said of the 22-year-old DeWitt. "The youngster has caught people's attention in camp. How long will this be for? We'll have to wait until the beginning of next week to figure out how long we'll be without Nomar." Garciaparra conceded that by trying to hit without knowledge of the fracture, "I might have hurt the healing process. Whatever's done is done. I'd rather know something is wrong than to keep hearing, 'You're fine, you're fine,' and it keeps hurting. Now there is a reason why it's hurting." Garciaparra relayed doctors' theories on why he would be hit with a pitch on the outside of the hand and suffer a break several inches away. "It could be a chain reaction of all the bones getting squished together and the end of the train took the brunt of it," he said. "Also, the way the bat is situated when I tried to get out of the way. That could have caused stress there." |