It All Falls Together; Dodgers Lose : Brennan, Castillo, Diaz, Howe and Defense All Contribute

Maybe Bob Welch shouldn’t be the only Dodger going to Florida. After another blowout Monday, 9-1, to the Montreal Expos, a case could be made that the entire team would benefit by a trip to Vero Beach for some extended spring training.

Welch, of course, is in Vero Beach to test his ailing right elbow. He’s scheduled to pitch tonight for the Class-A Dodgers, and Vice President Al Campanis was on his way there Monday to watch him.

If you sense some urgency in Campanis’ trek south, there undoubtedly is. Campanis’ quest for another hitter may hinge on whether a healthy Welch could be included in a deal.

Bobby Castillo, making his first start in eight days, quickly became unhinged Monday, walking the first two batters he faced. The Dodger defense then kicked in, Steve Sax firing a relay into the Expo dugout for the first of three Los Angeles errors, running the season total to 48 in 38 games, and the Expos were off and running.

The Dodger offense remained out to lunch, with the exception of Pedro Guerrero, who had three hits including his first home run since May 4. And even Guerrero cost the Dodgers a second-inning run when he failed to head home from third on Greg Brock’s infield chopper over the mound.

Castillo, whose control must have been confiscated in customs, continued to issue free passes--five in all, including one to opposing pitcher Dan Schatzeder to open the third. Then it was the bullpen’s turn to join the chorus line of disaster.

The score was still 3-1 when Tom Brennan entered the game in the fifth. Two batters later, it was 6-1 as Hubie Brooks broke a 1-for-30 spell by bombing a bases-loaded double off the wall in left.

After Brennan was dismissed from his sixth straight shelling, Carlos Diaz arrived and served up a home run to Schatzeder, who is a good hitting pitcher but hadn’t taken anyone deep in six years. Finally, Steve Howe completed the team effort by muffing a tapper hit back to him, which resulted in the Expos’ final run.

After the game, Manager Tom Lasorda needed to be coaxed into coming back to the clubhouse by coach Joe Ferguson. Lasorda apparently preferred to keep his own company in an empty Dodger dugout than that company he’d find in the Dodger clubhouse.

When he finally did return, Lasorda chose to express compassion for Brennan, though he stopped short of offering a blindfold and cigarette to the all-but-condemned Flamingo.

“He hasn’t done the job, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do the job,” Lasorda said. “When he was starting for us, he kept us in some ballgames. He was doing the job. Now you’re out to demolish the guy.

“Do you think he’s the reason we lost that ballgame? Those runs weren’t all Brennan’s, were they?”

Lasorda, combative for a moment, later agreed that Brennan’s ineffectiveness has been chronic.

“But the easiest thing in the world to do is to jump on him when he’s down,” Lasorda said. “The game’s hard enough as it is without being heartless.”

Schatzeder, who was making his first start of 1985 and hadn’t won a game since beating the Dodgers last August, recalled a time before Brennan had metamorphosed into the Flamingo.

“In 1974 I played for a semipro team outside of Chicago, the Riverside Rockets, and we used to play Lewis University when Brennan was pitching,” Schatzeder said. “He was a legend back then. He used to throw over-the-top gas and blow everybody away.

“When I first saw his new delivery--I think it was in 1981 when he was with Cleveland--I thought he must have hurt his shoulder or something. You don’t take a power pitcher and change his delivery that much.”

Told of Brennan’s run of bad outings, Schatzeder said: “You hate to see that happen. When you’ve had a couple of bad ones, you’ve got to turn it around. That’s the key.”

The Dodgers, who began the day just a game out of fifth place, so far have been unable to turn in the right direction. Instead, they just spin aimlessly, wins and losses occurring in almost random fashion.

“This is a tough period and everybody knows it,” Bill Russell said. “Everything seems to be going against us.”

And there’s little reason to believe it will end soon.

Dodger Notes

Dodger vice president Al Campanis won’t be the only interested spectator when Bob Welch pitches in Florida tonight. The Oakland A’s plan to send scout Camilo Pascual, the former pitcher, to watch Welch. While the A’s have said that outfielder Dwayne Murphy is untouchable, it is believed that the Dodgers have an interest in outfielder Dave Collins, who stole 60 bases with the Toronto Blue Jays last season. Collins, 32, who plays left field in Oakland, is an excellent leadoff man and a strong clubhouse presence though his lack of power makes him less than ideal for the Dodgers . . . The A’s, whose team ERA is 5.26, are interested in Welch and reliever Tom Niedenfuer, but for now, trade talks are on hold. “There is nothing going on right now with the Dodgers.” A’s vice president Sandy Alderson told the Oakland Tribune Monday night. . . . Pedro Guerrero, who threw away Mike Fitzgerald’s ball in the sixth inning for his seventh error, matching Mariano Duncan’s team high, said his right shoulder is still hurting him. That is why he’s snapping his throws to first. “I have to throw it as soon as possible in case I throw it away,” Guerrero said. “When you have a bad arm, when you throw the ball you don’t know where it’s going to go.” Guerrero, who jammed the shoulder diving back into first base three weeks ago, said he intends to stay in the lineup. “As long as I can throw the ball forget it,” he said. . . . On why he didn’t score from third base on Greg Brock’s infield chopper, Guerrero said: “The infield was playing back, but when the pitcher threw the ball, they all came in. I froze. I didn’t know what to do.” Monday’s three hits raised his average to .284. . . . Duncan, who sat out Sunday’s game, returned to shortstop. With a left-hander pitching, Bill Russell played left field. . . . Russell on the battered Tom Brennan: “He’s a better pitcher than that. But it seems like every mistake he makes they’re killing it.” . . . Until Carlos Diaz gave up Schatzeder’s home run, he hadn’t given up a run in 9 innings covering eight appearances. . . . Montreal’s Hubie Brooks, an L.A. native, on coming out of his slump: “Seven days, 26 (hitless) at-bats. Tell me about it.” . . . Bobby Castillo on his control problems: “I was all over the place. I don’t know what was going on. I couldn’t get the breaking ball over. I battled as much as I could with what I had.” . . . Steve Sax, who went hitless in four trips and grounded into a double play his last time up, is 3 for his last 25. His average has dropped from .333 to .246 during that span. . . . Selective disability: Jay Johnstone, whose hip injury allegedly keeps him from swinging a bat, was riding a bicycle behind the center-field fence during Monday’s game.