SPRING TRAINING ’87 : DODGERS : Team Needs More Offense and Defense--and Fewer Injuries Than in 1986

Observing baseball tradition has almost become a tradition in itself for the Dodgers, who have migrated to their spring training retreat in Florida again, just as they have each February for decades. Some spring traditions apparently have gone by the boards, though, which is why there will be several noticeable changes when the Dodgers gather Wednesday for their first full workout of 1987.

Pedro Guerrero, a chronic late arrival, amazingly is already working out, as are many other veterans, who arrived early to practice with the pitchers, catchers and minor leaguers. Greg Brock is not here, having been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, and neither is the usual post-Steve Garvey first-base problem. Franklin Stubbs is the first baseman, period. The Dodgers also have more than enough candidates at third base but no center fielder they consider satisfactory.

Mix in the fact that the Dodgers are coming off a fifth-place finish in the National League West and the club’s worst record since 1968--a 73-89--and it seems likely that this will not be six weeks of tranquility. Even so, Dodger confidence rarely changes, especially in the spring.

Al Campanis, Dodger vice president, has spent a busier-than-usual off-season sorting through the wreckage of 1986. He says he has concluded that the club was only as bad as the medical chart, not the record, showed.

“No. 1, we have improved our club because of health reasons,” Campanis said. “That’s assuming the guys who had bad years last season will be healthy. The players seem to have something they want to prove. They know they didn’t play well last year.

“We know we aren’t as bad as last year, but everyone else is saying we aren’t that good. They look to me like players with a purpose in mind.”

That purpose might be just to stay healthy this season. Guerrero didn’t even make it out of spring training a year ago, tearing up his left knee on the last day. All told, 14 Dodgers were put on the disabled list last season, the more severe injuries hitting Guerrero, Mike Marshall, Mariano Duncan, Tom Niedenfuer, Mike Scioscia, Bill Madlock, Ken Landreaux and Dave Anderson.

Only four Dodger regulars--Steve Sax, Scioscia, Stubbs and Reggie Williams--played in more than 115 games last season.

Aside from staying healthy, though, there is other work to be done here.

There is no defense for the Dodger defense, which led the league with 181 errors. Even the ever-optimistic Campanis admits concern. “This spring, we’ve got to concentrate more on our fielding,” he said.

The Dodgers had only a .251 team batting average, and Madlock, who missed 51 games, was the runs batted in leader with 60. A healthy Guerrero and Marshall should pick up the RBI production, but too many other Dodgers had bad seasons at the same time.

Said owner Peter O’Malley: “I think if the team had been healthy--just average healthy, because all teams have injuries--we would have been in contention and may have won last year. Or may not have won. But we certainly wouldn’t have been in fifth place.

“So, I don’t see us as a team coming back from a fifth-place finish. I think it’s a strong team.”

To some other observers, though, this is a team with at least one major weakness and several other question marks.

The biggest question this spring will be center field.

An obvious answer would be Tim Raines, the talented former Montreal outfielder who is a free agent and has said that he would very much like to play for the Dodgers.

The feeling, apparently, isn’t mutual. All winter and into the spring, O’Malley and Campanis have maintained that “it’s very, very doubtful” they will sign Raines, who rejected a three-year, $4.8-million offer from the Expos. If Raines is indeed not in the Dodgers’ plans, who is?

O’Malley has said that the enigmatic Landreaux, who hit .261 and had 29 RBIs in just 103 games, is his center fielder. But others inside--and outside--the organization bristle at that.

The alternatives in the Dodger system seem to be Reggie Williams and Jose Gonzalez.

Williams was the Dodgers’ most productive rookie in 1986, hitting .277 with 32 RBIs, but he probably would not have played much had Guerrero not been hurt.

Gonzalez was Campanis’ 1986 choice as phenom of the spring, but he didn’t even make the club and hit just .215 when he was brought up late in the season. This winter, in the Dominican Republic, Gonzalez hit .213.

Campanis is not ruling out a trade for an established center fielder. One outfielder the Dodgers are interested in is Philadelphia’s Gary Redus.

“I’m not saying we’re going to make a deal, but we’re going to work something out to see who the center fielder is going to be,” Campanis said. “It’s something that’s going to be done (in the spring). We did show some interest in (Redus) at the winter meetings, but it didn’t work out. Who knows?”

That’s also the answer to other spring subplots, such as:

--Who among Tim Leary, Jerry Reuss, Alejandro Pena and rookie Shawn Hillegas will be the Dodgers’ fifth starting pitcher?

--Will Matt Young provide the left-handed bullpen relief that the Dodgers have needed since Steve Howe’s departure, or will he cause grief, as did predecessors Carlos Diaz and Ed Vande Berg?

--Will Madlock field well enough to hold his starting spot at third base, and will Jeff Hamilton hit well enough to be anything more than a late-inning defensive replacement?

--Can Stubbs fare better than Brock as the Dodgers’ incumbent first baseman?

--And, can Guerrero make a successful comeback?

Those questions have no immediate answers, but if the Dodgers started their season tomorrow, this is how they would line up:

First base--Franklin Stubbs.

Second base--Steve Sax.

Shortstop--Mariano Duncan.

Third base--Bill Madlock.

Left field--Pedro Guerrero.

Center field--Ken Landreaux.

Right field--Mike Marshall.

Catcher--Mike Scioscia.

Starting pitchers--Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Bob Welch, Rick Honeycutt and Tim Leary.

Bullpen--Matt Young, Tom Niedenfuer, Ken Howell.

A closer look at the team:

Infield--With Brock gone, first base belongs to Stubbs. Campanis says that Marshall, a former first baseman, will not be tried in that spot, but Manager Tom Lasorda said he might consider it if Stubbs falters.

Sax, coming off a .332 season and off-season heel surgery, says he feels healthy. Duncan had off-season knee surgery but has been an active participant in voluntary winter workouts at Dodger Stadium. His rookie enthusiasm, dormant last season, appears to be back.

Campanis said that Madlock, in the final year of his contract, is the club’s third baseman. Hamilton still hasn’t proven he can hit major league pitching. After batting .224 in 71 games with the Dodgers, he hit just .201 in winter ball. Another third-base possibility is Tracy Woodson, who will try to make the jump from Double-A. Woodson hit .330 and had 41 RBIs in the Puerto Rico winter league.

Catcher--Scioscia was another oft-injured Dodger in 1986, but he still played in 122 games. His batting average, however, dropped to .251 after peaking at .296 in 1985. Alex Trevino will be the backup. The Dodgers also will give Gilberto Reyes another look, but it is likely he will end up playing in Triple-A at Albuquerque.

Outfield--When healthy, Guerrero and Marshall potentially can account for 60 home runs and 200 RBIs. Center field, of course, is the question mark. Landreaux is the incumbent, although Williams and Gonzalez will get shots, as will Ralph Bryant, Campanis’ designated phenom for 1987. Bryant hit .306 with 13 home runs in winter ball.

Starting rotation--The first four pitchers are set, but there will be an interesting fight for the fifth spot. Reuss is coming off elbow problems, and Pena still is recovering from shoulder surgery he had two years ago. Either can go to the bullpen as a long reliever. Along with Leary, the former Brewer whom Campanis says has the best chance as a starter, the Dodgers will give Hillegas and Brian Holton a look.

Relief pitching--If Niedenfuer’s psyche and hamstring are healed, and Howell is more effective now that he’s 17 pounds lighter, the Dodgers should be in good shape. Howell, however, is upset at the Dodgers for trying to cut his salary by $20,000 after a season in which he went 6-12 and had a 3.48 earned-run average. Young will have tremendous pressure to fill the left-handed reliever gap.

Bench--Anderson appears to be back strong from finger surgery. Len Matuszek will be a valuable left-handed pinch-hitter. Otherwise, the club has a young bench. Campanis says he is in the process of acquiring a free agent without compensation who will be a utility infielder and pinch-hitter.

“I can remember years when we had three or four question marks in spring training,” Campanis said. “This year, I feel we can get by as is, if we have to.”