Dodger Notebook : Landreaux Plays It Straight Arrow

For Ken Landreaux, hunting season is over, which is why he exchanged bow and arrow for bat and ball here Wednesday, the first day of workouts for the full Dodger squad.

“I’m just waiting for my heads to come back from the taxidermist,” said Landreaux, whose prized trophy at the moment is a ram’s head.

“That boy’s got a curl and a half,” he said. “Maybe I’ll get the outdoorsman-of-the-year award.”

The hunter, however, may be the hunted here this spring, since the Dodgers plan to give 21-year-old Jose Gonzalez every chance to take Landreaux’s center-field job away from him.

“Fine, that ain’t my problem,” Landreaux said. “I hear that every year.”

During the winter, the Dodgers let it be known that Landreaux was available in a trade, and that a strong showing by Gonzalez would make him all the more expendable.

“This isn’t my team to maneuver,” Landreaux said. “I’ve been available for 10 years. I’ll always be available as long as I’m healthy.

“I ain’t worried about that. Shoot, I’ve still got two years to go on my contract. Until that moment comes when they say I’m through, I’m not through. I don’t worry about that, man.”

Landreaux put up better numbers in ’85 than he had in ‘84, batting .288 after the All-Star break to finish at .268, 17 points higher than the previous season. He also hit a team-leading .389 in the playoffs.

But Dodger Vice President Al Campanis bemoans Landreaux’s inconsistency and defensive deficiencies, while extolling the raw skills of Gonzalez, who remains a longshot to make the team because of limited professional experience.

If Gonzalez needs another year in the minors, Reggie Williams will platoon with Landreaux in center.

Pedro Guerrero was the only no-show Wednesday, and it turns out that Guerrero technically doesn’t have to report until 33 days before the start of the season, which this year is next Tuesday.

Manager Tom Lasorda, as is his custom, delivered his state-of-the-Dodgers address, which ran 40 minutes before he mercifully sent his team onto the field. “It was his $5,000 speech,” Jerry Reuss said. It was also a first for Bill Madlock. “Are we going to have to sit through it again when Pete comes?” Madlock asked.

Mariano Duncan, asked if he’d seen Guerrero, laughed and said: “Don’t ask me about Pete.” But Duncan, who played for Licey in the Dominican League while Guerrero played for Escogido, said Guerrero “looks good, he has good weight, and he played great. His wrist’s OK, everything.”

Duncan and Franklin Stubbs are the only unsigned Dodgers, but Duncan said he was leaving matters in the hands of his agent, Tony Attanasio. “I’m not worried about it,” said Duncan, who is believed to be asking for a salary in the $150,000 range after making the major league minimum of $60,000 last season. “I’m just going to work hard, that’s it.”

Mota said that when Duncan made errors that cost Licey two games in the playoffs against Escogido, fans--and at least one radio station--accused Duncan of deliberately fouling up because he was playing against Mota and Guerrero. “They wanted to hang him,” Mota said. “Mariano was just trying too hard, he wanted to beat us so bad.”

Duncan also said he hit better left-handed than right-handed. “I feel more comfortable (left-handed),” said Duncan, who has been switch-hitting for only three years.

Catcher Gilberto Reyes missed a second day of workouts after taking a foul tip in the groin area on Monday. . . . Orel Hershiser was struck in the back by a line drive during a pitching drill but continued his workout.

Hershiser also was the subject of Russell Baker’s column on the Op-Ed page of the New York Times Wednesday. The column was headlined: “And Raise You $788,000.”

Sample paragraph: “The story of Mr. Hershiser’s raise, however, is a cheerful story. Obvious talent is rewarded, not by some chintzy sum like $10 a week, nor by some vulgarly inflated amount in seven figures, but by a gracefully appropriate amount: $788,000.”

Said Hershiser, who laughed when he read it: “He had some good lines.”

Someone suggested that Mike Marshall, because he is a big fan of the Chicago Bears, was emulating Jim McMahon when he worked out with a closely cropped haircut and headband. “That’s not my style,” Marshall said. “But I love (the Bears).” . . . Alejandro Pena threw batting practice for the third time and did extremely well, according to pitching coach Ron Perranoski.

The Dodger 40-man roster:

Pitchers (16): Bobby Castillo, Carlos Diaz, Balvino Galvez, Hector Heridia, Orel Hershiser, Rick Honeycutt, Ken Howell, Scott May, Tom Niedenfuer, Alejandro Pena, Dennis Powell, Jerry Reuss, Felix Tejeda, Fernando Valenzuela, Ed Vande Berg, Bob Welch.

Catchers (3): Gilberto Reyes, Mike Scioscia, Alex Trevino.

Infielders (11): Dave Anderson, Bob Bailor, Greg Brock, Enos Cabell, Mariano Duncan, Jeff Hamilton, Bill Madlock, Len Matuszek, Bill Russell, Steve Sax, Franklin Stubbs.

Outfielders (10): Ed Amelung, Ralph Bryant, Jose Gonzalez, Pedro Guerrero, Ken Landreaux, Mike Marshall, Stu Pederson, Mike Ramsey, Terry Whitfield, and Reggie Williams.