Dodger Notebook : Lasorda, the Bad News Bearer, Strikes Once Again

Tom Lasorda asked Terry Whitfield into his office Tuesday afternoon, then closed the door.

“Terry, you’ve been released,” said the Dodger manager, whose voice faltered, then broke.

Lasorda threw his cap against the wall.

“It always happens to the nice guys,” he said, the tears streaming down his face.

Whitfield hurried around Lasorda’s desk and embraced the manager. “Don’t cry, Tommy,” Whitfield said. “You’ve been great.”

There was nothing left to say, except to decide when Whitfield would leave.

“Mark, what’s the date?” Lasorda asked bullpen coach Mark Cresse.

“April first,” Cresse answered.

“Oh yeah,” Lasorda said. “April Fools’.”

Good old April Fools’ Day.

One year, Lasorda was telling a crushed Dusty Baker that he’d been traded for Boog Powell. Another year, it was Lasorda incurring Pedro Guerrero’s wrath by telling him he’d been sent back to Cleveland. This year, the victim was Whitfield.

It’s a Dodgertown tradition, but this spring there is a twist. Dodger officials huddled Tuesday night to decide--for real--which players would have to go to reduce the roster from 28 to 24 players.

Don’t expect to hear any laughter from the lockers of Bob Bailor and Franklin Stubbs.

After getting a hit in three trips Tuesday in a 4-4, 12-inning tie with the Mets--the game was called because the Mets ran out of pitchers--Bailor was hitting .333. But that’s not the number the Dodgers are looking at. His age, 35, and his contract, which calls for $375,000 this season, have stamped Bailor as the Dodger most likely to become a former Dodger.

Stubbs, too, is having a fine spring--a .303 average after a hit in five trips Tuesday. But Greg Brock led the Dodgers in home runs with 3 and RBIs with 14, so first base is out of the question.

There was speculation that the Dodgers would drop Whitfield and keep Stubbs as their left-handed pinch-hitter, but the consensus among team officials appears to lean toward sending Stubbs back to Albuquerque, where he can play every day, rather than letting him grow stale on the Dodger bench.

Bobby Castillo’s hold on the 10th spot on the pitching staff has been tenuous all spring. But Alejandro Pena’s shoulder isn’t ready and Dave Eichhorn, a sinker-throwing right-hander, doesn’t look ready yet, either. So Castillo seems safe, for now.

Dennis Powell had an excellent spring--the left-hander had given up just one earned run in his last five outings until the Mets scored four runs in four innings Tuesday. But barring a last-minute change of heart, the plan is for Powell to take a regular turn in triple-A, then get the first call should either Jerry Reuss or Rick Honeycutt falter.

Pena will either be put on the disabled list or sent out for rehabilitation. Len Matuszek, who had a slight rotator cuff tear in his right--throwing--shoulder, also will start the season on the disabled list.

Dodger Notes

Pedro Guerrero returned from the Dominican Republic Tuesday night, too late for the game against the Mets but not too late to bat for both sides in an evening minor league game here. At least that was the plan, according to Vice President Al Campanis. However, the major league clubhouse was locked, and Guererro was unable to procure a uniform. Manager Tom Lasorda said Guererro would play in two games today--a minor league game this morning and the Dodgers’ regularly scheduled exhibition against Montreal this afternoon. . . . The Dodgers brought in right fielder Mike Marshall as an extra infielder in an obvious bunting situation Tuesday, and wound up pulling off a rare 4-6-9 double play when Met pitcher Bobby Ojeda hit a one-hopper to second. Franklin Stubbs, who was playing first base, had been stationed about 30 feet from the batter, while Marshall held the runner on at first.