Dodgers : Belcher and Leary Have the Edge for Remaining Spots in Rotation

Dodger officials have dutifully maintained silence on the five-way battle to fill the two remaining spots in the pitching rotation. But they are much closer to resolving perhaps the club’s most difficult personnel decision.

“I’m going to wait before I announce anything,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “But, yes, I’ve got a pretty good idea what I want.”

Judging by performance and the manner in which the pitchers have been used, it appears that Tim Belcher has beaten out Shawn Hillegas for one spot in the rotation, and that Tim Leary has a significant advantage over Alejandro Pena for the other. Ken Howell, struggling while coming off shoulder surgery, is a distant fifth.

If form holds over the final 11 days of spring training, Pena will probably return to the bullpen and occasionally fill in as a starter, and Hillegas will probably return to Triple-A Albuquerque. Howell could wind up on the disabled list or in Albuquerque.

Leary improved his status with his strongest showing yet in the Dodgers’ 12-0 win over the Minnesota Twins Friday. He pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven.

“He’s throwing great,” pitching coach Ron Perranoski said. “We haven’t made up our mind yet, but he’s been very impressive. I’d rather have it this way than having a guy pitch himself out of it.”

If anyone falls into that category, it’s Hillegas.

Hillegas said the Dodgers have already eliminated him from the competition, basing his reasoning on Belcher’s time as a starter during the spring and his own as a reliever.

“That tells me that I’m not shooting for a starting spot,” Hillegas said. “It’s confusing. I’m the kind of person who hesitates (before) talking to management, but if it concerns my career, I’ll consider it.”

Hillegas, who had a 4-3 record with a 3.57 earned-run average in 12 appearances last season, is not having a strong spring. In 6 innings, he has given up 6 earned run and 10 hits. His only start was against Atlanta in a B-team game, in which he pitched four scoreless innings.

Hillegas said he does not feel comfortable in a relief role, even if it is only the spring.

“It’s difficult to get the right frame of mind,” Hillegas said. “I’m so used to starting.”

Pena, who will miss his next scheduled start with a strained groin, is the only pitcher in contention for a starting spot who would not mind being sent to the bullpen. In fact, at the start of the spring, Pena said his preference was a relief role. Now, he says that he would like a consistent role and not having to shuttle from starting to relieving.

Much of the Dodgers’ apparent indecision revolves around Pena, still trying to regain form after major shoulder surgery in 1985.

“We’ve got to wait and see on Pena,” said Perranoski, who is also watching Jay Howell to see if he is ready after coming off elbow surgery and having back problems in the spring.

“We’ve got to figure out whether Pena has got the endurance to go six or seven innings. He pitched five the other night and got tired. But that’s not unusual during the spring for a lot of guys. If Howell can’t be ready for the start of the season, then maybe Pena goes back to the bullpen.”

That may happen, anyway, because of Leary’s strong pitching effort. Leary’s five scoreless innings Friday improved his spring ERA to 0.56.

“It’s obvious, after last year, that you can pitch your way in and out of the rotation,” Leary said. “My goal is to be strong every time out in the spring. Compared to last spring, I’m throwing harder and feel stronger and I have a better split-fingered fastball. Everything’s better. Today was the best I felt. You could tell by my control on the outside of the plate. That’s why I had all the strikeouts.”

Howell, meanwhile, retired the Twins in order in the sixth inning. It was his second straight good showing since he strained his back last Sunday.

“My arm feels good, and my back’s all right,” Howell said. “I’m not worried about being ready for the season. I just got to do what I have to do.”

Dodger Notes

After hitting a three-run homer in the first inning and getting a run-scoring single in the fourth, Dodger utility player Len Matuszek felt a sharp pain in his left ankle running the bases and was forced to leave the game. Matuszek missed most of last season with an ankle injury caused by a bone pressing against a nerve on the inside of his foot. He had surgery to correct the problem.

Dodger trainers said Friday that Matuszek felt pain two inches above the scar on his left ankle. X-rays will be taken today in Vero Beach. Matuszek said he has felt pain in the ankle in the last few days, when he has been playing regularly. He said it hurts him most while running the bases. “It’s frustrating,” Matuszek said. “You start swinging the bat good, and then this happens. I’ve played for a while on it, and I tried to double the (anti-inflammatory) medication. I’ve taken every kind of treatment you can take. I just wanted to go as long as I can go and hope nothing bad happens. I hate being asked about this so much. You could make a movie about all that’s happened the last year.”

A prolonged injury to Matuszek may relieve the Dodgers’ roster problems. It appears that Danny Heep has won Matuszek’s left-handed pinch-hitting role, but Matuszek could be put on the disabled list and retained. . . . The Dodgers said that Alejandro Pena’s strained groin is not serious and that he should not miss more than one start. The Dodgers said Pena suffered the injury Tuesday night in Puerto Rico during his five-inning stint against the Montreal Expos.

The adjusted Dodger pitching rotation: Don Sutton will pitch in a B game in West Palm Beach today, while Fernando Valenzuela pitches the regular game against the Expos. Orel Hershiser will pitch Sunday against the New York Mets at Vero Beach. . . . Friday’s game was called after 6 1/2 innings because of rain. The Dodgers scored eight runs, three earned, against Twin starter Les Straker in the second inning.

Heep continued his hot hitting with three hits, and Steve Sax extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a third-inning single. John Shelby, one of the few Dodger regulars who made the trip, had a three-run triple in the second inning. Jeff Hamilton and Franklin Stubbs also had two hits each. . . . The Dodgers’ spring record is 14-3.

Gary Gaetti, the Minnesota Twins third baseman whom the Dodgers had courted on the free-agent market this winter, said before Friday’s game that he does not regret re-signing with the Twins even though the Dodgers offered him a more lucrative contract. “It was a difficult (decision),” Gaetti said. “But it was a relatively short period of uncertainty.” At a press conference in January in Minnesota to announce his signing, Gaetti said he had always “hated” the Dodgers. He qualfied that remark Friday. “Not really,” he said, laughing. “Well, that comment was said sort of in fun. But being from the St. Louis area, you could say that I learned to think that way (about the Dodgers).”