Claire Moves Into Dodger Hot Seat : He Takes Campanis’ Job but Doesn’t Know for How Long

A former editor, columnist and sportswriter, Fred Claire has scaled the Dodgers’ organizational ladder to a point where he is in position to help plot the course of the club’s future--on the field as well as off.

Already the Dodgers’ executive vice president, whose assignment was primarily dealing with business, administrative and public relations obligations, Claire, 51, was asked by club President Peter O’Malley Wednesday to assume the duties of the fired Al Campanis. As the director of player personnel, Campanis served as a general manager.

Is Claire’s appointment interim or permanent?

Will Manager Tom Lasorda, as often speculated, eventually become the general manager? Will Bobby Valentine or Bill Russell or Joe Amalfitano or Kevin Kennedy, the highly regarded manager of the Bakersfield Dodgers, replace Lasorda in the Dodgers’ clubhouse and dugout?

The duration of Claire’s appointment has not been specified.

O’Malley could not or would not do it Wednesday when he announced the change in Houston.

And Claire could not or would not do it during a press conference at Dodger Stadium Thursday.

No surprise.

When Claire says, as he did Thursday, that he has never been attracted to the high-profile job of general manager because he is not a high-profile person, he seemed to be stating the truth.

Ambitious, yes, but cautious and circumspect.

“Peter has said that he hasn’t made that decision,” Claire said of the duration of his appointment. “He has said it’s for the present. He has said it’s for now, and I accept it on that basis.

“I don’t know if it’s for one day, two days or three days. All I know is that I’ll do the best I can for however long it is. Ultimately, it will be Peter’s decision.”

A journalism graduate of San Jose State, Claire spent 12 years with the Whittier News, Pomona Progress Bulletin and Long Beach Press Telegram before joining the Dodgers as publicity director in 1969. He was appointed vice president of public relations in 1975 and executive vice president, one step below O’Malley, in 1982.

Claire said he will “spin off” some of his previous obligations to other members of the organization so that he can devote total energy to his new responsibilities.

Is Claire apprehensive about making roster decisions, negotiating trades and learning the technicalities of baseball law?

“Not really,” he said. “Next year will represent my 20th year with the Dodgers. I love the game. That’s not to say I have all the answers, but I think I have a good feel for what needs to be done.

“As I said yesterday, I’ll call on everyone in the Dodgers organization and do a tremendous amount of listening.

“Tommy (Lasorda), the coaches, the scouts will all have a lot of input. I’ll rely heavily on (farm director) Bill Schweppe and (scouting director) Ben Wade.

“I’ve been involved in trade talks. I’ve sat in on major and minor league meetings. If I have any ability at all, it’s to draw thoughts from others, take that input and make a decision.”

Claire said, however, that he will not operate by committee. He said that he told O’Malley that he would not take the assignment on those terms, that he wanted the responsibility to be his alone.

“If your name is stamped on something, you want it to be yours,” he said.

There are some who might say Claire is taking on an unenviable task.

Consider:

--The Dodgers are 0-4 in 1987 and heard boos from a Dodger Stadium crowd of 46,289 during Thursday’s 8-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants in the home opener.

--The club’s depth has become a major problem again with injuries to Pedro Guerrero and Bill Madlock. Madlock will have arthroscopic shoulder surgery today and will be out for at least two weeks. Fernando Valenzuela was forced to pinch-hit for Ken Howell in the ninth inning Thursday.

--The bullpen is in flames.

--The 11-man pitching staff is still one too many.

Claire, in other words, is on a hot seat, faced with immediate decisions.

“It’s clear to me we’re not going to go on with 11 pitchers,” he said, refusing to predict when a decision would be made.

“We’ve had a tough start, but I still think we have a good club overall. I think we have strength in our pitching and I’m pleased with the make-up of the club.

“We have a lot to do, but there’s never a time in the game when you don’t have a lot to do.

“There’s also a lot of good work behind us, which will serve us well.”

Claire spoke to the team before Thursday’s game but would not share his message.

Asked later about Claire’s appointment, player representative Dave Anderson said: “I think we all feel that Fred can step in and handle the job, but I don’t know if anyone can handle both jobs, the one he was doing, which was dealing with the business end, and this one, which is dealing with the players. It’ll be interesting to see which way the club goes.”

Claire said that the firing of Campanis represented one of the sad events in Dodger history. He said that he does not feel it left any racial unrest in the clubhouse but that he will be quick to address that if he discovers otherwise.

“I think we should look on opening day as a time to put it all behind us and move on,” he said.

Lasorda reiterated Thursday that he would like to become a general manager at some point but that his overriding desires are to remain with the Dodgers and do whatever O’Malley wants him to do.

Valentine, the Lasorda favorite who has long been rumored as a possible successor, has a contract with the Texas Rangers through 1989.

Valentine was reached in Baltimore Thursday and said that Campanis’ firing, which has fueled the new speculation, was a “non-issue.”

“I don’t think it has anything to do with me,” he said. “It’s conjecture on other people’s part. I want to be considered part of the Texas Rangers organization and nothing more. I don’t see any reason why I should be considered otherwise.”