Penny doesn’t need Little’s protection

Grady Little remains composed even in the most stressful circumstances. So when he was ejected Saturday night, there was method to his meltdown.

Pitcher Brad Penny lost his cool several times last season, and although he seems to have acquired an impressive sense of calm since then, Little wasn’t taking any chances when plate umpire Joe West didn’t call a close pitch at the knees a strike in the third inning.

Little went to the mound, waited until West ventured out to join the conversation, then basically told him everything Penny wished he could have said. Little was ejected for only the second time in two seasons as Dodgers manager, Penny settled down, and the Dodgers eventually won in 10 innings on Russell Martin’s grand slam.

A day later, Penny was appreciative but uncomfortable with the perception that without Little’s intervention he might have blown up.

“I don’t want people to feel that Grady had to take a bullet for me,” Penny said. “I’m not going to get thrown out of another game.”

Penny has come a long way since he and Little were ejected from a game at San Diego last Aug. 23. He thought plate umpire Rick Reed was squeezing the strike zone, and Little made a mistake when he went to calm him, leaving the mound area and returning to it.

Padres Manager Bruce Bochy informed Reed that Little’s actions should constitute two trips to the mound, and Penny had to be replaced.

Neither Penny nor Little said they have a problem with West, who is known throughout baseball as “Cowboy Joe.”

“Players make mistakes, pitchers make mistakes and umpires can’t get every call right,” Penny said. “Joe has always been good to me.”

Like Little, West has spent much of his life in North Carolina and Texas. “I like Joe,” Little said. “He’s a good friend.”

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Several Dodgers tried to identify the singer belting out the obscure country tune over the clubhouse stereo before the game. Little would have recognized the voice had the lyrics included, “You’re out of here!”

It was West singing the title song of his album, “Blue Cowboy.”

The first Dodger to recognize it was outfielder Luis Gonzalez, who said he had the song played over the public-address system during an at-bat when he played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and West was the plate umpire.

“I hit a home run,” Gonzalez said.

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Jim Tracy’s 500th victory as a major league manager came at an opportune time -- a few days before his Pittsburgh Pirates played his former team.

Tracy knew that Dodgers clubhouse manager Mitch Poole paints baseballs to commemorate milestones.

After all, Poole painted balls for victories Nos. 100, 200, 300 and 400 when Tracy managed the Dodgers.

So Poole has a new project. The only difference with No. 500 will be that the colors will be Pirate black and gold rather than Dodger blue.

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Pitcher Jason Schmidt’s wife gave birth to the couple’s third child, an 8-pound, 14-ounce boy they named Madden.

steve.henson@latimes.com