Spring Training / Dodgers : Bream Seems to Be Steadily Working His Way Into Lasorda’s Plans

When spring training opened, Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said: “I don’t care what happens here, Greg Brock is my first baseman on opening day.”

So far this spring, Brock is hitting .182 (4 for 22) with no home runs. Wednesday, he sat out his third straight game.

His replacement, Sid Bream, had a single, raising his average to .316 (6 for 19) and made two splendid defensive plays, starting a 3-6-4 double play on a bunt and making a diving stop on a ball hit down the line.

“Brock might get cured quicker than Oral Roberts,” Lasorda said after the Dodgers’ seventh straight exhibition victory, a 4-2 decision over the Cincinnati Reds.

Asked if he has re-evaluated his thinking about first base, though, Lasorda was noncommittal.

“Sid’s done a hell of a job, a super job,” he said. “He’s proving something, and he’s doing one outstanding job.”

At Albuquerque, Bream hit 32 home runs in 1983 and 20 in ‘84, but he is not considered a power hitter by the Dodgers, and that is probably holding him back. But if nothing else, his market value has to be rising this spring.

Steve Yeager made his first exhibition appearance behind the plate Wednesday, catching three innings in the first real test of his left leg, which was broken last September and is pinned together with screws in two places.

“It feels all right but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning when I wake up and get out of bed to see whether I feel any pain or stiffness,” he said.

The Dodgers have said they’ll carry only two catchers this season, with Terry Whitfield available to catch in an emergency. Yeager, if healthy, would appear to be the backup to Mike Scioscia, although where that would leave Jack Fimple is unclear.

The Dodgers could return Fimple to Albuquerque, but they’d like to see if Gilberto Reyes is ready to catch on the triple-A level.

“I’m a player, not management,” Yeager said. “All I know is that Michael will do most of the catching and I’ll catch when he can’t. That’s it.”

Dodger Notes

Vice President Al Campanis said that the Dodgers are getting “more and more out of the picture” in their search for a new third baseman. If anything, the Dodgers may go after an outfielder, he said, and at least one team has offered a proven player. “But we may not do anything,” Campanis also said. “I like this team more and more. The pitching has been outstanding, and I even liked (Steve) Yeager.” . . . Dodger pitching, which has allowed opponents more than three runs only once in the last seven games, stifled the Reds on four hits Wednesday. Orel Hershiser allowed two hits in the first five innings and struck out six . . . Dennis Powell, a left-hander, threw two hitless innings and struck out two. Powell is unscored upon in seven innings during three appearances . . . Ken Howell pitched the ninth and struck out the side, and was clocked at 89 m.p.h.