GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Drafted in 2001 by the Cardinals, Dodgers utility man Skip Schumaker spent more than a decade in the St. Louis organization, building relationships with players, coaches and, most important to him, the community.

So when the club that was all he'd ever known traded him to Los Angeles in December, it left the 33-year-old a bit shaken.

It wasn't that the move caught him off-guard. Schumaker knew the time was coming when he'd have to change teams. Plus, the Dodgers were the team he grew up rooting for in Southern California. What troubled him about saying goodbye to St. Louis was what he and his family had to leave behind.

"It was bittersweet [because] I spent my whole career there," he said. "I made a lot friends, my wife made a lot friends, kids made a lot friends, and we had a nice little network. We were part of the community. A lot of great things happened there. We had a good relationship, and there are no hard feelings. But it was tough at first."

The thoughts that helped Schumaker feel better about the move all dealt with the situation he landed in with the Dodgers.

"I got pretty lucky, to say the least. They could've shipped me to a lot of different places who aren't looking to win right now," he said. "So I just moved from one organization who wanted to win now to another. And being in a veteran clubhouse with guys I've played against for a number of years, it's been pretty easy."

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