LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has paid his major league bills – for now.

Despite baseball officials who believed he didn’t have enough money to cover the team’s end-of-the-month payroll, the embattled McCourt was able to cover Dodgers-related expenses Tuesday, said a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

If McCourt wasn’t able to meet payroll — a question that lingers for the remainder of the season — Major League Baseball would have taken control and paid the team’s bills.

Based on an opening-day payroll of $103.8 million, the Dodgers’ payroll for its major-league roster in the second half of May was about $8.25 million. The figure includes 16 days’ salary, but not any signing bonus payments that happen to fall due.

ESPN first reported that McCourt was able to make the payroll.

The Los Angeles Times, citing anonymous sources, reported last week that McCourt needed roughly $9.8 million to meet Tuesday’s payroll. His financial woes will increase in June because the Dodgers owe Manny Ramirez more than $6 million in deferred compensation, the paper said.

McCourt took a $30 million loan from Fox, the Dodgers’ television partner, prior to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig’s decision to appoint a monitor, former Texas Rangers President Tom Schieffer, to oversee the team’s daily operations and to examine its records.

The ability to make payroll gives McCourt more time to reach a settlement with his ex-wife and former team CEO Jamie McCourt. The McCourts are embroiled in a nasty divorce where she recently asked Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon to order the sale of the team.

Gordon has ruled that a postnuptial marital agreement signed by the former couple, which gave Frank McCourt sole ownership of the Dodgers, was invalid and cleared the way for Jamie McCourt to seek half the team under California’s community property law.

Settlement talks are set to resume June 8.

McCourt has urged Selig to approve a 17-year contract with Fox that could be worth more than $3 billion, which would include a front-loaded payment of about $300 million.

Updated May 31, 2011 6:51 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (AP)

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has paid his major league bills — for now.

Despite baseball officials who believed he didn’t have enough money to cover the team’s end-of-the-month payroll, the embattled McCourt was able to cover Dodgers-related expenses Tuesday, said a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

If McCourt wasn’t able to meet payroll — a question that lingers for the remainder of the season — Major League Baseball would have taken control and paid the team’s bills.

Based on an opening-day payroll of $103.8 million, the Dodgers’ payroll for its major league roster in the second half of May was about $8.25 million. The figure includes 16 days’ salary, but not any signing bonus payments that happen to fall due.

The Los Angeles Times first reported that McCourt was able to make the payroll.

The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported last week that McCourt needed roughly $9.8 million to meet Tuesday’s payroll. His financial woes will increase in June because the Dodgers owe Manny Ramirez more than $6 million in deferred compensation, the paper said.

McCourt took a $30 million loan from Fox, the Dodgers’ television partner, prior to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig’s decision to appoint a monitor, former Texas Rangers President Tom Schieffer, to oversee the team’s daily operations and to examine its records.

The ability to make payroll gives McCourt more time to reach a settlement with his ex-wife and former team CEO Jamie McCourt. The McCourts are embroiled in a nasty divorce where she recently asked Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon to order the sale of the team.

Gordon has ruled that a postnuptial marital agreement signed by the former couple, which gave Frank McCourt sole ownership of the Dodgers, was invalid and cleared the way for Jamie McCourt to seek half the team under California’s community property law.

Settlement talks are set to resume June 8.

McCourt has urged Selig to approve a 17-year contract with Fox that could be worth more than $3 billion, which would include a front-loaded payment of about $300 million.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP)—Chris Ramirez stood in the hot desert sun, smiling as he surveyed the pitchers tossing in front of him.

The teenager asked for a tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers a year ago after he had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. The Make-a-Wish Foundation fulfilled his request, not knowing Ramirez would overcome his cancer and return to spring training.

“It feels great. Things have turned out the best,” Ramirez said Saturday at Camelback Ranch.

The 18-year-old from San Francisco underwent chemotherapy and radiation after being diagnosed with glioblastoma following a seizure. His tumor has been reduced to the size of a pinhead and he is in remission.

“I’m so grateful he’s really healthy,” said his mother, Sara Beltran.

Ramirez still dreams of a career in baseball. He is a redshirt on the Skyline Junior College team in the Bay Area.

“This summer I’ll be playing a lot of baseball and hoping more scouts will come and see me play,” he said.

A year ago, Ramirez worked out with the Dodgers, throwing a bullpen session, fielding grounders, going through defensive drills and taking batting practice. He wore a team uniform and was given a locker in the clubhouse.

On Saturday, he took in the Dodgers’ 2-0 win over Cincinnati with his mother and 12-year-old sister, Erika.

“I still can’t believe the cancer I had. I got real lucky with the type of cancer that I had because it’s rare and you’re supposed to get it when you’re 60 or 70,” Ramirez said. “I feel lucky and the Dodgers gave me something to look forward to. They said I can always come back.”

Last spring, Ramirez got to meet Manny Ramirez(notes), his favorite player at the time who is now with Tampa Bay.

“I forgot about him,” he said. “I hope everything works out for him and hopefully he finds it again.”

James Loney(notes), Matt Kemp(notes), Rafael Furcal(notes) and Juan Uribe(notes) made Chris Ramirez feel at home this time.

He remembers being more shocked than depressed when he was told he had cancer.

“I never felt sick at all,” he said. “Like I told the doctors, I feel like there’s nothing wrong with me. I thought they got the papers mixed up (at the hospital). When they told me I had cancer, I was like, `Are you sure it’s me?”’

Beltran said that while she was deeply upset by the news, her son remained upbeat.

“He said, `Mom, maybe this is a way to grow up and be a better person,”’ she said, “but I said he’s never been a bad kid.”

Ramirez wants to pursue his baseball dreams as far as he can go. If a playing career doesn’t work out, he said he wants to stay in the sport through coaching or working in sports medicine.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dodgers manager Don Mattingly’s early plan is to use a platoon of players to replace Manny Ramirez in left field.

Jay Gibbons and Marcus Thames have the early edge there, he said, with Tony Gwynn Jr. also in the mix. In reserve is Xavier Paul, who split time between the Dodgers and Triple-A Albuquerque.

The Thames-Gibbons combo has proven power; they’ve hit 239 big-league homers between them.

“I don’t think anybody is going to think about them for the Gold Glove to start the year,” Mattingly said. “We’re going to ask them to be as good as they can be and be solid. I don’t want them to try to play over their heads. Don’t try to make plays you shouldn’t try to make. Make the plays you’re supposed to make.”

If the plan works, he said the Dodgers have a chance to get 20 or 25 home runs from that pair.

“Is this the best defensive thing? I know that’s not necessarily the case. That being said, they have to be as good as they can be,” Mattingly said. “Then we have to assess what we do late in games.

“I like those two guys. I think they give us a chance to give us something we missed last year, a chance for guys who hit the ball in the seats a little bit.”

Thames has averaged a homer per 15.4 at bats, which would put him in the top 10 among active players if he had the requisite 3,000 plate appearances on his resume.

“I’m going to be a big power bat for them, a right-handed guy who can help out against lefties and certain righties,” said Thames, who has played for Detroit and the New York Yankees. “When I get in there, I’ll pop one or two.”

He hopes they’re in meaningful situations.

“You can hit a three-run homer and you’re down 11-3, and it does nothing,” Thames said. “You want to hit something when the game is on the line and when the team needs you. That’s kind of what I bring to the table.”

Gibbons, after playing well in Albuquerque last season, got a late-season call-up and hit .280 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 37 games for the Dodgers.

Gibbons is using spring training to tighten up his defense, which he acknowledges as his weakest spot.

Before landing with the Dodgers, Gibbons had an “interesting journey” for a couple of years after his name appeared in baseball’s Mitchell report on performance-enhancing drugs. “I’m actually glad it happened. It made me a stronger person. I learned a lot about myself, about not giving up,” he said.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — New manager Don Mattingly wants the Los Angeles Dodgers to play baseball the way he once did, with no excuses.

Mattingly is busy preparing for his first spring training in charge, having taken over from Joe Torre, who retired after last season.

“It’s going to be a no-excuse club,” he said Wednesday, leaning against the dugout railing under a hot winter sun at Dodger Stadium. “I want the kind of club that is mentally tough. We’re going to have some streaks where we don’t play well and I want us to be resilient.”

The former New York Yankees slugger inherits a team that was fourth in the NL West with an 80-82 record. The Dodgers finished 11 games behind division-winning San Francisco, which went on to win the World Series.

“We had a bad second half last year,” Mattingly said. “We didn’t swing the bats at all. A lot of things went wrong for a lot of guys. To pin it on one person, I don’t think is fair.”

Mattingly is overseeing the Dodgers’ winter development camp, which brings 16 of the club’s top minor league prospects to Los Angeles for work on fundamentals, strength training and conditioning.

Among those on the field Wednesday were Tony Gwynn Jr., Dee Gordon and Trayvon Robinson.

Matt Kemp came by the stadium a day earlier to talk with Mattingly. Kemp, along with Andre Ethier and James Loney, failed to match their 2009 statistics last year.

“These guys are going to be our bats,” Mattingly said. “I expect them to have big years. Our core group is going to have to play well.”

Although the cash-strapped Dodgers have been active in signing players this winter, they haven’t landed a big bat for the middle of the lineup.

And no, don’t look for still unemployed Manny Ramirez to return.

“I don’t think Manny is a viable option now,” Mattingly said, choosing his words carefully.

Loney, along with pitchers Chad Billingsley and Hong-Chih Kuo, is eligible for salary arbitration.

Other than taking a six-day break for his honeymoon in St. Lucia last month and some time over the holidays, Mattingly has been in baseball mode.

As a rookie manager, he’s surrounded himself with a veteran coaching staff, including new bench coach Trey Hillman, first base coach Davey Lopes and third base coach Tim Wallach.

“Don has never failed at anything he’s done,” Lopes said. “It’s a good fit for the Dodgers.”

Mattingly, who was promoted from hitting coach, suggested the coaching staff contributed to last season’s downfall, and he wants to avoid negativity.

“I’ve never been a yell and scream-type guy,” he said. “I’ve always had an easy way as far as talking to guys. I really want a positive environment where guys are relaxed when they come here but they’re ready to play.”

Unlike Torre, who entertained reporters and visitors during batting practice, Mattingly still plans to throw to the players.

As Mattingly embarks on his first managerial gig, Torre remains a presence for him through phone calls every couple of weeks.

“Joe is always looking out for you,” he said. “The Godfather knows all.”

LOS ANGELES — New manager Don Mattingly wants the Los Angeles Dodgers to play baseball the way he once did, with no excuses.

Mattingly is busy preparing for his first spring training in charge, having taken over from Joe Torre, who retired after last season.

“It’s going to be a no-excuse club,” he said Wednesday, leaning against the dugout railing under a hot winter sun at Dodger Stadium. “I want the kind of club that is mentally tough. We’re going to have some streaks where we don’t play well and I want us to be resilient.”

The former Yankees slugger inherits a team that was fourth in the NL West with an 80-82 record. The Dodgers finished 11 games behind division-winning San Francisco, which went on to win the World Series.

“We had a bad second half last year,” Mattingly said. “We didn’t swing the bats at all. A lot of things went wrong for a lot of guys. To pin it on one person, I don’t think is fair.”

Mattingly is overseeing the Dodgers’ winter development camp, which brings 16 of the club’s top minor league prospects to Los Angeles for work on fundamentals, strength training and conditioning.

Among those on the field Wednesday were Tony Gwynn Jr., Dee Gordon and Trayvon Robinson.

Matt Kemp came by the stadium a day earlier to talk with Mattingly. Kemp, along with Andre Ethier and James Loney, failed to match their 2009 statistics last year.

“These guys are going to be our bats,” Mattingly said. “I expect them to have big years. Our core group is going to have to play well.”

Although the cash-strapped Dodgers have been active in signing players this winter, they haven’t landed a big bat for the middle of the lineup.

And no, don’t look for still unemployed Manny Ramirez to return.

“I don’t think Manny is a viable option now,” Mattingly said, choosing his words carefully.

Loney, along with pitchers Chad Billingsley and Hong-Chih Kuo, is eligible for salary arbitration.

Other than taking a six-day break for his honeymoon in St. Lucia last month and some time over the holidays, Mattingly has been in baseball mode.

As a rookie manager, he’s surrounded himself with a veteran coaching staff, including new bench coach Trey Hillman, first base coach Davey Lopes and third base coach Tim Wallach.

“Don has never failed at anything he’s done,” Lopes said. “It’s a good fit for the Dodgers.”

Mattingly, who was promoted from hitting coach, suggested the coaching staff contributed to last season’s downfall, and he wants to avoid negativity.

“I’ve never been a yell and scream-type guy,” he said. “I’ve always had an easy way as far as talking to guys. I really want a positive environment where guys are relaxed when they come here but they’re ready to play.”

Unlike Torre, who entertained reporters and visitors during batting practice, Mattingly still plans to throw to the players.

As Mattingly embarks on his first managerial gig, Torre remains a presence for him through phone calls every couple of weeks.

“Joe is always looking out for you,” he said. “The Godfather knows all.”