A MIDSEASON REPORT : DODGERS : Lasorda Manipulates the Facts, Hopes to Live Out a Fantasy

With nothing else constructive to do during the 8 1/2 hours of rain delays that the Dodgers endured on the road last week, many players huddled around the clubhouse television and watched Lt. Col. Oliver L. North’s testimony in the Iran- contra hearings.

“That guy can sure talk himself out of a lot of heavy stuff,” Dodger reliever Ken Howell said one day in St. Louis.

Another shrewd orator in a uniform, Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, might have been unduly influenced by the hearings, because his testimony on the state of the Dodgers at the All-Star break is a passionate defense detailing the good more than the bad and the ugly.

“I’m not trying to convince you that we’ve played great baseball,” Lasorda said during a workout Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. “But I am saying that we’re going to play better baseball. You gotta believe that.”

Public polls, however, show that the Dodgers’ attendance has decreased by 49,147 from last season, and the standings show that the club is in fifth place in the National League West, eight games behind first-place Cincinnati.

Since the Dodgers’ 39-49 record going into tonight’s game against Pittsburgh at Dodger Stadium certainly needs explaining, Lasorda has seemingly picked up on the rationale currently in vogue on daytime TV:

INVOKE PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY

This, for example, allows Lasorda to look at his club’s 9-16 record in one-run games, second worst in the NL, and turn it into a positive statistic.

“You look at the games we’ve lost recently and look at how many we should’ve won and could’ve won,” Lasorda said. “I know we lost, but we were close to winning them. That means we are capable of winning them.

“If we were getting blown out, 11-0, I’d be concerned.”

Apparently, Lasorda does not believe that a sign of a good team is the ability to win close games. St. Louis, the NL East leader, is 19-15 in one-run games, and West leader Cincinnati is 14-11.

“If (Steve) Lake (of St. Louis) doesn’t hit that home run in the ninth inning, we win that one game,” Lasorda said. “And if we don’t make three errors in one inning, we would’ve won that other game, too. So, we’re that close to beating the St. Louis Cardinals, a great team.

“The good news is, we’re getting guys on third base, but the bad news is, we’re not get getting them home. But we’re in a position to get them home.”

USE SELECTIVE MEMORY

Despite being 10 games below .500, the Dodgers trail first-place Cincinnati by only eight games, a surmountable margin for most teams talented enough to contend. But the Dodgers’ first-half performance gives no indication that a serious run can be anticipated.

Still, that hasn’t stopped Lasorda from drawing upon images of past Dodger feats in hopes that a comeback can happen once more.

“I remember back in 1983,” Lasorda said. “People counted us out. They thought we were dead. But you know what we did? We made up 10 games in 11 days on the (Atlanta) Braves. It was incredible.

“I repeat that because it has happened. It can happen again. I believe that. I’ve got to believe that. I’ve got to believe in this team.”

An impressive comeback, to be sure. But it happened in 1982, not 1983. The Dodgers caught the Braves that season, only to eventually finish a close second in the West. It was the next season, 1983, when the Dodgers won the West title.

But that is just quibbling to Lasorda, as is the fact that only six current Dodgers were on that ’82 club.

Lasorda also harked back to 1978, when the Dodgers struggled early and then made a comeback starting in late July.

“We’ve been in this position before,” Lasorda said. “Look at 1978. We made up five or six games on the (San Francisco) Giants. We brought up Bobby Welch and we did it. If you believe it, you can achieve it.” SHRED THE BOX SCORES

Figuratively, that is what Lasorda is suggesting about the Dodgers’ first 88 games. To Lasorda, the All-Star break is the ideal time for a renewal of hopes and spirits.

When a reporter suggested that the Dodgers might consider building for the future by using younger, unproven players over the final 74 games, he scoffed and insisted that a division title was still within reach.

“Something good is going to happen in the second half,” Lasorda said. “I told the players that. All we have to do is pick up a game a week and we’re back in it.

“We’re going to come out after the All-Star game and put together a winning streak. I believe that. We’ve got a (13-game) home stand coming up. That’s going to be a devastating home stand.”

Devastating to whom?

Certainly, continued incompetence by the Dodgers during the home stand would bury them too deeply to recover. But a strong showing could, indeed, put them in contention should other West teams continue their mediocrity.

“With the hard times we’ve had, it’s tough to be positive,” infielder Mickey Hatcher said. “But if we can turn it around on this home stand, there’s no telling what we can do. Having the pitching we do makes me believe we can do it.

“Right now, it seems everybody here believes. That’s a good sign.”

The facts, however, indicate that the Dodgers will have to do an about-face in the second half to confirm Lasorda’s unharnessed optimism.

The Dodgers are last in the league in batting average at .253, last in runs scored with 340, have the third-highest number of errors, 77, are second in one-run losses with 16, and have been shut out 10 times.

Although the Dodgers lead the league in pitching with a 3.71 earned-run average and 16 complete games, they have the fewest saves, 12.

“My biggest disappointment has been our run production,” Lasorda said. “I think we’re going to improve on that. We’re going to start going after those runs, we’re going to get those runs in from third base with two outs.”

Improvement will be needed in all offensive and defensive categories if the Dodgers entertain comeback thoughts. The Dodgers’ starting pitching, slumping recently, will need continued success and the bullpen must be more consistent.

Consistency has been noticeably lacking in the Dodgers’ first 88 games. The Dodgers’ longest winning streak has been four games, in April, and they have not won consecutive games since the end of June.

“Forget about all that stuff in the past,” Lasorda said. “Something good is going to happen.”

For all his optimism, though, Lasorda is not unaware of the Dodgers’ problems. That is why Lasorda and Fred Claire, the club’s vice president, have spent much of the season plugging holes and trying to find the right combination.

Only 13 players remain from the 25 on the 1985 Western division championship team. Among the regulars, Pedro Guerrero has been the most productive. Guerrero, erasing all doubts about his condition in the wake of last season’s knee surgery, is the league’s fifth-leading hitter with a .320 average. Guerrero’s 54 runs batted in are by far the club high, and are only six fewer than Bill Madlock had in 1986, when he was the club’s RBI leader.

Guerrero’s numbers didn’t help him much in Tuesday night’s All-Star game, when he appeared only as a pinch-hitter in the 10th inning.

“Dave Winfield gets more at-bats tonight (five) than I’ve gotten in four (All-Star) games (three),” Guerrero said. “You think that’s fair? The next time they want me, they can kiss my butt.

“I represent the Dodgers, that’s probably why. Everybody hates the Dodgers. We’re a good organization and we always win in the past. Now, we’re struggling a little bit, but I’m proud of being a Dodger and if it’s because of that, they can all go to hell.”

National League Manager Davey Johnson said he had been told by the trainers that Guerrero has knee and back problems and thought he was doing him a favor by letting him pinch-hit rather than play several innings.

Guerrero’s presence and production have not been enough to lift the Dodgers out of fifth place, where the club finished last season without their top hitter. That’s because Mike Marshall, hitting .288 with 36 RBIs, has missed 28 games with an assortment of injuries. In 1985, Marshall and Guerrero combined for 62 home runs and 182 RBIs.

Franklin Stubbs, hitting .265 with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs, has given the Dodgers about what they expected, but Steve Sax at .259 and 26 RBIs, and Mike Scioscia at .259 and 19 RBIs have not.

The Dodger shortstop situation remains nebulous. Injuries and poor hitting have plagued Mariano Duncan, who is at .214, and although Dave Anderson has shown flashes of excellence, he has not hit consistently well, as his .247 average shows.

Lasorda has even considered playing Duncan at second, Anderson at shortstop and Sax at third, as he did in the late innings last Sunday in Chicago. But, as Sax said, “That was just a freak thing, because they need power from their third baseman.”

Fernando Valenzuela, 7-7 with a 4.15 earned-run average, has had more bad outings than good for the first time in his career. Although Valenzuela has shown glimpses of his former dominating self, there is little to suggest that he will make a startling turn-around in the second half. Orel Hershiser (10-8) and Bob Welch (9-5) have been the most consistent Dodger starters, and Rick Honeycutt often has pitched better than his 2-9 record.

The bullpen has been partially stabilized by Matt Young. Young, the club’s top left-handed short reliever since Steve Howe, has 7 of the Dodgers’ 12 saves.

But the demise of Ken Howell has left the Dodgers without a much-needed right-handed short reliever. Howell, handed the right-handed responsibility when Tom Niedenfuer was traded in late May, has not recorded a save since last September.

“We’ve got to be more effective in the latter part of the game,” Lasorda said. “Our starting pitching gives us the lead in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. We’ve got to keep it. I think you’ll see a change there, too.”

The need to win and avoid consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the late 1960s has prevented the Dodgers from showing patience with many of their prospects.

Tracy Woodson and Jeff Hamilton were given brief chances at third base after Madlock was released, but both are now playing in Albuquerque. Veterans Phil Garner and Hatcher, neither of whom is a defensive wizard, split time at third. Garner is hitting .203, Hatcher .321.

Some other retreads, such as John Shelby and Brad Havens, have helped. Others, such as Garner, Danny Heep and Tito Landrum, have not shown a lot yet. Most aren’t expected to be Dodgers beyond another year or two.

Claire’s explanation for the trend of going with established players: “We have veteran players who can fill roles, which gives our young players a chance to develop in the minor leagues and not force them to play when they aren’t ready.”

But if Dodger prospects are not given an extended opportunity to play against major league competition, how will the club know if they can make it in the majors?

Yet, one thing that hasn’t changed is Lasorda’s optimism.

“I’d like to see the faces of some of the writers here who are counting us out,” Lasorda said. “Just remember, don’t spit up in the air, because it might come down on you.”

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST STANDINGS

Team W L Pct. GB Cincinnati 47 41 .534 -- Houston 44 43 .506 2 1/2 San Francisco 44 44 .500 3 Atlanta 41 46 .471 5 1/2 Dodgers 39 49 .443 8 San Diego 30 58 .341 17