Dodgers : Unsettled Rotation a Changeup for This Team

Figuring out the Dodgers’ starting pitching alignment, even in the early spring, used to be easy.

But now that Bob Welch and Rick Honeycutt have moved their spring-training headquarters to Arizona with the Oakland Athletics, the Dodgers have three openings in the rotation instead of one, after Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser. A traditional Dodger strength has become a question mark, if not a weakness.

Competition among pitchers this spring has been intense. After a little more than a week of games, no clear leaders have emerged.

Manager Tom Lasorda has hinted that Don Sutton, perhaps out of seniority, will win one starting spot. But at 42, Sutton’s shelf life might be close to expiring, so Dodger management is approaching the situation as if there are three spots open, to be filled from among Sutton, Alejandro Pena, Tim Leary, Tim Belcher, Shawn Hillegas and Ken Howell.

The early returns show that Sutton and Leary, with two appearances each, have been the most effective pitchers. Belcher, a rookie, and Pena, a veteran, had one strong and one weak showing apiece. And Howell is still struggling to recover from off-season shoulder surgery.

Saturday morning, in a “B” game between the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves, Hillegas made his second start. Although the opposition was considerably less than major league caliber, Hillegas pitched four scoreless innings. He gave up two singles, walked two and struck out four.

What Saturday’s performance means to Hillegas in the whole scheme of things is unclear. All he knows is that he cannot have more than maybe one bad start.

In three appearances spanning 10 innings, Hillegas has allowed one earned run and seven hits. The run was a home run by the Minnesota Twins’ Kirby Puckett on March 4.

The only problem at this point for Hillegas, who reported to camp weighing 224 pounds but who wants to pitch at 215, is his control. He has walked 4 in 10 innings and often has fallen behind in the count. He blames it on poor mechanics and the usual spring adjustment period.

The only pitcher about whom the Dodgers have any preconceived notions is Sutton. Lasorda has said that the club didn’t sign Sutton to a $350,000 contract, plus numerous incentives, not to start him. But Sutton, who will be 43 by opening day, said he has to pitch well to keep a spot.

So far, he has done that. Sutton worked three solid innings Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles in Miami, giving up one run and four hits with three strikeouts. In his previous outing against the New York Mets, he pitched three scoreless innings.

Among the other candidates for starting spots, Leary has allowed one earned run in six innings, Pena four earned runs in seven innings, Belcher four earned runs in six innings and Howell one earned run in four innings.

Dodger Notes

Even with all the Dodger regulars back in Vero Beach--or, in Pedro Guerrero’s case, the Dominican Republic--the Dodgers still beat the Atlanta Braves, 2-0, Saturday. Several Dodger reserves, who have been quietly complaining about lack of playing time, contributed. Danny Heep extended his hitting streak to seven games. Heep is 8 for 11. Franklin Stubbs, starting in right field instead of at first base, had two hits. Stubbs had only four at-bats before Saturday. And Jeff Hamilton, starting at third base in the absence of Steve Sax and Guerrero, also had two hits. . . . Orel Hershiser had another strong outing, allowing three hits and no walks in four innings. Hershiser hasn’t given up an earned run in 11 innings. . . . Nineteen-year-old Ramon Martinez retired the side in order in both innings he pitched. Mike Hartley pitched one inning, and Jesse Orosco, who pitched two innings, earned the save. . . . Reliever Jay Howell, originally scheduled to pitch Saturday, will pitch an inning today. . . . . . . Rick Dempsey, a non-roster player making a strong bid to unseat Alex Trevino as the Dodgers’ backup catcher, said he has signed a contract with the club. “It’s effective March 30, if they keep me,” Dempsey said. “And I don’t expect them to make a decision much before then. I’m taking it one day at a time. I don’t have any plans.” Dempsey is 2 for 7 with a home run and four runs batted in.