Dodgers Faced With Choices on Eve of Spring Training

The Dodgers used to approach spring training as little more than a renewal of acquaintances among veterans, a chance to compare off-season tans and a vehicle for Manager Tom Lasorda to wax rhapsodic about the wonders of baseball.

The lineup would have mostly taken shape, even if the regulars themselves hadn’t. Controversial free agents were not even allowed near the premises, and competition was something reserved for the golf course. A good time, it seemed, was had by all.

But these are days of upheaval in Dodgertown, the result of consecutive 73-89 seasons and a winter of personnel moves that will greatly rearrange the order of things during the club’s annual six-week migration to this sleepy oceanside town.

Dodger pitchers and catchers and those on injury rehabilitation duty are scheduled to arrive today, followed next week by the other roster players. If players are expecting quiet and uneventful days in the sunshine, maybe they should check out the lawn bowling and shuffleboard facilities across town.

The Dodger goal this spring will be to make some sense of a jumbled mess in which only catcher Mike Scioscia, shortstop Alfredo Griffin, newly acquired left fielder Kirk Gibson and perhaps free agent right fielder Mike Davis are assured of starting spots.

Competition for the remaining starting positions, as well as at least two gaping holes in the starting pitching rotation, will be the source of much intrigue and potential acrimony. And, the specter of a major trade involving one or more of the Dodger marquee names still hovers.

Even the spacious Dodger clubhouse might not be large enough to accommodate all the egos and bulging wallets that executive vice president Fred Claire assembled during his winter shopping excursion.

Already, one Dodger, Franklin Stubbs, is upset enough to meet with Claire and suggest (“I didn’t demand anything,” Stubbs said last weekend) a trade.

Both Pedro Guerrero and Mike Marshall, clubhouse foes several times last season, are back, despite the trade talk involving each. They will be joined by the no-nonsense Gibson, who didn’t exactly endear himself to his new teammates at his introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium

“Contrary to many beliefs, I’m easy to get along with,” Gibson said. “As long as a everyone on the team is giving 100%, then there won’t be any problems. If not, then there are going to be some problems.”

Clubhouse strife no doubt concerns Claire, but he relishes the idea of intense competition for positions, even among stars.

“I like competition,” Claire said. “I think it’s healthy for a team.”

Trying to analyze the Dodger situation at this early stage is as futile, if not as comical, as the Abbott and Costello “Who’s on first?” gag.

So, who’s on first?

Well, Guerrero has squatter’s rights to first base simply because he finished last season there. But Marshall’s off-season order of first basemen gloves arrived a few weeks ago and he has dutifully been fielding throws and ground balls at Dodger Stadium workouts. Hovering somewhere in limbo is Stubbs, last season’s incumbent, whose name curiously is seldom mentioned these days by Dodger management.

Guerrero likes first base. He is not as much of a defensive liability there as in left field. He doesn’t need much mobility, which obviously isn’t a Guerrero attribute. It also might lessen the possibility of injury. And besides, it’s a shorter trot from the dugout to the position, although the glove is bulkier.

News of the first base log jam, resulting from the signing of Gibson and Davis, apparently has reached the reclusive Guerrero in the Dominican Republic.

Claire and Lasorda have been unable to reach Guerrero since the acquisition of Gibson, but scout Mel Didier talked with him on a recent Latin American trip. Guerrero is expected to report sometime between Feb. 23 and March 1, the last day players can report without being fined.

In December, Guerrero was incensed when he heard that the Dodgers considered trading him for Gibson without telling him. He said the Dodgers treated him “like a piece of meat.”

It can only be speculated as to Guerrero’s reaction to having Gibson as a teammate is speculative, at best, as well as his reaction to the persistent rumors that he might be traded before April.

If the Dodgers keep Guerrero, it would appear first base is the only spot for him. Where does that leave Marshall? Well, he either will be battling Guerrero at first or Davis in right field. Or, perhaps, Marshall will find himself with a new address.

There doesn’t seem to be any room for Stubbs in the Dodgers’ plans. The power-hitting left-handed hitter can play either first base or the outfield, but those spots have been filled by players with higher salaries, batting averages and reputations.

Stubbs, who hit 16 home runs but had only a .233 average last season, expressed his frustration over his plight last weekend at a Dodger Stadium workout.

“They mention three or four guys for these (positions), but my name is not mentioned,” Stubbs said. “What’s that tell you? It tells me they don’t have me in their plans.

“I spoke my mind with Fred. I’m not going to say I made a statement or demand, but I’m going to see what happens at spring training. I’ll play first or the outfield. Anywhere.”

This much is certain about the Dodger infield--don’t look for either Guerrero or Marshall at third base.

So, as Bud Abbott said, “I Don’t Know” is at third.

The search for a third baseman would be comical if it wasn’t so crucial to the club’s success. There was talk for a while--fortunately, only talk--that Guerrero would move back to third. Then, there was the Marshall plan at third, but that ended shortly after it began.

Third base now will be contested between Steve Sax, Jeff Hamilton and dark-horses Mickey Hatcher, Dave Anderson, Mike Sharperson and Tracy Woodson. If the Dodgers don’t like those options, they could always attempt a trade of either Guerrero or Marshall for an established third baseman.

As of now, Sax is the front-runner at third. He dutifully has been fielding ground balls and making throws in the vicinity of first base for a month. Dodger Coach Joe Amalfitano has been monitoring Sax’s progress and gave him a positive preliminary report.

“He’s improved a lot since Jan. 13, when he first started,” Amalfitano said. “The biggest thing is that he now wants to do it. . . . He’s got very good arm strength. I feel Steve Sax has to be aggressive to be a good fielder, and we’ve talked about that. He can’t worry about how much time he has to throw the ball.

“But we really won’t know until we get into spring training games. I do know he’s got quick hands and feet. All he needs is playing time. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on him, but I’ve seen him handle worse pressure, like in ’83 (when Sax had problems throwing the ball from second base to first). If he can survive that criticism, I don’t see a problem this time.”

Sax initially balked at the idea of playing third base. Between the middle of December and the middle of February, however, he has had a change of attitude. Sax now says he merely wants to play somewhere in the Dodger lineup, a familiar refrain among players these days.

“I could play third,” Sax said. “I could play second. I could be working the snack bar.”

But Sax won’t be competing at third base against Marshall, his closest friend on the club.

Marshall announced after a workout last week: “I will play wherever they want me to, but I really don’t want to play third. I’d prefer to play either first or right. I don’t mind competing with guys.”

Hamilton also doesn’t mind competing at third, as long as the Dodgers give him what he feels is a fair chance to beat out Sax and all comers.

The Dodgers always have considered Hamilton as the third baseman of the future.

But when will the future arrive?

Perhaps when Hamilton proves he can hit major league pitching. Hamilton, a solid fielder, hit .360 in the Pacific Coast League last season but only .217 in 35 games for the Dodgers.

Hamilton’s progress has been stunted because of injuries and lack of sustained playing time at third.

Late last season, the Dodgers handed the third base job to Hamilton and told him he would play every day. But he sprained his left ankle on Aug. 10 and was finished for the season.

Hamilton, voted one of the top 10 Pacific Coast League prospects last season, figures to join Stubbs as Dodgers who might make trade requests if not given ample playing time this season.

“Hamilton will get his chance to show us what he’s got,” Lasorda said. “He would have last season, but he got hurt.”

The second base situation is less convoluted.

The Dodgers want Mariano Duncan to return to his original position and team with shortstop Griffin to form a Dominican double play duo. Duncan was a disaster at shortstop last season, commiting 21 errors in 76 games. He also hit only .215.

“I think I can help Mariano,” Griffin said. “Mariano has a lot of talent, but maybe there’s some little things I can teach him. Sometimes, the communication is better among Spanish-speaking players.”

If the Duncan experiment fails, Sax probably will return to second base.

No matter which alignment, the Dodger infield still figures to have problems. It may not be as porous as last season’s infield (the Dodgers again led the National League in errors with 155), but it still is less than solid.

If Griffin has fully overcome a hand injury that hampered him last season with Oakland, shortstop should not be a problem. Third base, whether it is occupied by Sax or someone else, is questionable. Guerrero is a defensive liability at first base.

The outfield situation also is in flux, though not to the infield’s extent.

Gibson will be in left field every day, unless (or until) he gets hurt. Davis, the other free-agent signee, is said to be the right fielder, and Claire seems intent on keeping John Shelby in center field.

Since neither Gibson nor Davis are good fielders, Shelby’s range and speed is needed to anchor the middle. But Shelby’s offensive output still is questionable. He had the best season of his career in 1987, hitting .277 with 21 home runs and 69 runs batted in.

The question is whether Shelby can come close to repeating those statistics. If not, the Dodgers might consider moving Davis to center field and putting either Marshall or Stubbs in right. But that move would weaken an already weak defensive outfield.

Since Gibson, Guerrero and Marshall are susceptible to injury, Claire just might keep all three. The thinking is that the three would all rarely be healthy at the same time. But that would leave Lasorda the difficult task placating three sensitive egos.

Seemingly a more plausible alternative is a trade. Claire, though, insists that he is not shopping either Guerrero or Marshall and will enter full workouts with both players.

Even Lasorda, who last month expressed the wondrous possibilities of having five sluggers in the same lineup, now admits it doesn’t appear feasible.

“I thought maybe we could get them all in (the lineup) at one time, but now I just want to get as many of them in as I can,” Lasorda said. “Pedro is at first base. Marshall is an outfielder by trade, but also a first baseman. I don’t know what we will do.

“The (trading) door hasn’t been closed. We’ll always listen to offers.”

The December trade that brought the Dodgers Griffin and relief pitchers Jesse Orosco and Jay Howell left the Dodgers’ starting rotation vulnerable with the loss of Bob Welch.

The Dodgers have only two quality starters, Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser, who is expected to arrive today, despite having an emergency appendectomy Friday. Don Sutton, 43, was signed as a free agent, and the Dodgers tentatively have him slated as the third starter. But Sutton’s effectiveness at his advanced age is questionable.

The final two openings in the starting rotation will be contested by Tim Leary (9-0 in winter ball, but 3-11 with a 4.76 earned-run average last season), Tim Belcher (4-2, 2.38 last season), Shawn Hillegas (4-3, 3.06), Alejandro Pena (2-7, 3.50) and Ken Howell (3-4, 4.91).

The losers in the competition for a starting spot will join a bullpen that includes left-handers Orosco and Brad Havens and right-handers Jay Howell, Brian Holton and Tim Crews.

The Dodgers will keep a 10-man pitching staff, leaving 14 spots open for position players. That means that many of the promising, young Dodgers, such as Ralph Bryant, Mike Devereaux, and Chris Gwynn will have difficulty even securing a reserve role on the roster.

“I don’t see this as a problem because I’m not concerned with (having) too much talent,” Claire said. “Look at how many players we had on the disabled list--13 last year and 17 in 1986. I think it’s accurate to think we’ll use all these players during the season.

“There’s still two months before the season. The way it is now, Pete is at first, Mariano at second, Griffin at shortstop and at third, time will tell. Anything is possible.”

Indeed, intrigue will abound, even in sleepy Vero Beach.