Dodger Notebook : This Year, Guerrero Unscathed

The most important development Wednesday, the Dodgers’ final day of spring training here, was that there was nothing newsworthy to report about Pedro Guerrero.

Last spring, the Dodgers’ final spring game turned into a disaster when Guerrero tore up his knee in the first inning. But Wednesday, Guerrero was in the lineup for four innings, and he made it to the club’s charter flight back to Los Angeles unscathed.

“Why shouldn’t I play?” Guerrero asked. “No problem.”

Lasorda saw no problem in putting Guerrero in the lineup. No superstition, either.

“If he got injured every last day of spring training, I’d be concerned,” Lasorda said. “But he’s played, what, nine last spring training games without getting hurt.”

History repeating itself was a possibility. In the first inning, Guerrero reached first on an infield single, then faced a situation calling for a slide into second base--a double play ground ball. But Guerrero kept right on running over second and almost into the outfield before turning and going back to the dugout.

Actually, Guerrero won’t celebrate the one-year anniversary of his injury until Friday, when the Dodgers open the Freeway Series against the Angels at Anaheim Stadium. But the Dodgers no doubt feel better that Guerrero at least made it out of Vero Beach this time.

Except for sleeping late and missing a game March 12 in Kissimmee, Guerrero had a model camp. He hit .356 and seems to be running without a limp. But he has yet to slide.

It took a couple of weeks, but Lasorda finally came up with a reason for Guerrero’s missing that one game, which prompted a press conference and later a meeting to apologize to teammates.

Said Lasorda: “Pete looked at it this way: He figured he came down two days early, so we owe him two days.”

Using Lasorda’s calculations, Guerrero still has a day coming to him.

Mike Ramsey, the non-roster center fielder who figured to be only a Triple-A prospect when spring training began, will make the team and has a chance to replace Ken Landreaux as the opening day starter.

Wednesday, Ramsey was voted as the Dodgers’ top rookie of camp by Los Angeles reporters.

Lasorda isn’t saying so, but he and Al Campanis, the Dodgers’ vice president, are convinced that Ramsey’s outstanding defensive skills can offset his limited offense. Ramsey hit .364 in camp but does not have Landreaux’s offensive capabilities.

Lasorda remained noncommittal about the center-field starter--”I’m not going to give you the opening day lineup”--but he is seriously considering Ramsey.

“We knew what he could do,” Lasorda said. “We knew he could go out and get balls (in center field). He’s not a surprise.”

The addition of Ramsey means that the Dodgers took 27 players to Los Angeles for the Freeway Series. They will keep only 24.

Utility infielder Brad Wellman, who made a bid for a roster spot, will report to Albuquerque. Wellman became expendable because Dave Anderson reported that his back is neither painful nor stiff after two days of work.

Outfielder Jose Gonzalez accompanied the team to Los Angeles, but probably will be sent to Albuquerque from there.

That leaves two roster decisions for the club to make over the weekend.:

--Tracy Woodson and Jeff Hamilton are battling for a utility infield spot, which is important, given third baseman Bill Madlock’s injury history. Woodson has the edge because he can play both first and third base and is a better hitter than Hamilton, who is an excellent defensive third baseman.

--The other involves pitching. The Dodgers took 11 pitchers with them Wednesday but will keep only 10. Alejandro Pena is the leading candidate for the fifth spot in the starting rotation, and Tim Leary seemingly has an edge over Jerry Reuss for the 10th spot.

Reuss is guaranteed $1.3 million over the next two seasons, but he still may be the odd man out. Brian Holton seemingly is assured a roster spot as a middle and long reliever.

“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” Lasorda said. “I’ll probably do it after the weekend. A lot of things are going to constitute what I do. (The fifth starter) will depend on who we play and and what the situation is.”

Overall, Lasorda said the club accomplished what it set out to do in spring training.

“We worked on the things we wanted to and I’m satisfied,” Lasorda said. “That’s defense and fundamentals. I think we shored up the two things that gave us problems last year.”

As is his April Fool’s Day custom, Lasorda performed his we’re-sending-you-to-the-minors-kid routine on a new Dodger.

This spring, the victim was Leary, who probably wasn’t in the best mood for it after his poor outing against Atlanta Tuesday and the fact that he really is fighting for a spot on the pitching staff.

That didn’t deter Lasorda, who called Leary into his office, along with pitching coach Ron Perranoski and Bill DeLury, the club’s traveling secretary. Then, Lasorda proceeded with his spiel, telling Leary what a difficult decision it was and how Leary could work his way back into the rotation.

Lasorda said Leary fell for the gag and was alternately “shocked” and “heartbroken.”

Lasorda said that Leary then started stating his case, such as the fact that he won 12 games for Milwaukee last season.

“What does that mean to the Dodgers?” Lasorda asked.

Eventually, Leary was let in on the gag.

Dodger Notes The Dodgers lost to the Cincinnati Reds Wednesday, 2-1, and left for Los Angeles about an hour afterward. . . . There was an interesting confrontation Wednesday between Dodger center fielder Mike Ramsey and Cincinnati pitcher Ted Power. In 1982, the Dodgers acquired Ramsey from the Reds for Power, who pitched parts of two seasons for the Dodgers. At the time, Ramsey was a pitcher in the Reds’ organization, but the Dodgers converted him to an outfielder. Ramsey struck out his first time at bat against Power, but singled to left field in the fifth inning. He finished the day with two hits and a stolen base. . . . Orel Hershiser pitched seven shutout innings, giving up six hits.