A new piece of news concerning the Dodger Stadium renovations has come out, courtesy of Ken Gurnick at Dodgers.com: the installation of a scoreboard running along the base of the Loge Level, from foul pole to foul pole.

The project, which will include the movement of the dugouts and expansion of seating approximately 20 feet closer to the foul lines, and the re-installation of a dirt warning track in place of rubber, is expected to be completed with less than a month to spare before the home opener, according to Gurnick's report.

Gurnick, by the way, is running a weekly mailbag on Dodgers.com during the offseason. Here's one noteworthy response that readers of this site will know I agree with:

Are the Dodgers going to sign Eric Gagne to a long-term deal, and do you agree that he will play out his contract in 2006 to then become a free agent if they don't?
-- Ed T. Carmichael, Calif.

(Gurnick:) The Dodgers have very little incentive to sign Gagne to a long-term contract now other than to avoid the potentially bitter salary arbitration process, through which they control him for two more seasons. A club would enter into a multiyear contract for an arbitration-eligible player only if the deal is for below-market value, in essence a discount to the club in exchange for the guaranteed security of the player. Previous Dodger administrations have learned that multiyear contracts -- especially to free agent pitchers like Kevin Brown, Darren Dreifort, Andy Ashby, etc. -- rarely make business sense because of the high risk of injury and the difficulty in obtaining disability insurance. Gagne might well leave after the 2006 season, but there are more urgent issues to address this winter.