Are Dodgers Main Event or Trailer?

ST. LOUIS — Assessing the worth of a team this early in the season is sort of like reviewing a movie from the previews. You see a few good scenes but get little sense of the true value.

Because 12 of the Dodgers’ first 16 wins have been over teams with losing records--6 against the Atlanta Braves, the National League’s equivalent of cinema’s “Howard the Duck”--perhaps optimism over the club’s fast start should be checked for a while.

Still, the Dodgers will open a seven-game trip tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals in first place in the National League West, a position they held at no point last season.

The mere mention of last season, however, causes Manager Tom Lasorda to erupt.

“Last year, last year, last year!” Lasorda screamed. “That’s all you (reporters) ever talk about. Last year’s gone. We don’t have half the guys we had last year. This isn’t the same team. We’re going to show you guys that.”

Indeed, these aren’t the same Dodgers who finished 16 games under .500 last season.

Even so, they may want to wait a bit before making hotel reservations for October. They have yet to be tested by a serious injury to a starter, other than center fielder John Shelby’s strained abdominal muscle, and they have yet to meet a serious challenge on the road.

But there is reason to believe in the Dodgers. There are five reasons, to be precise:

DEFENSE, ALFREDO

No, this is not Lasorda’s favorite entree. It is the cornerstone of the revamped Dodger defense, which revolves around Alfredo Griffin, the durable shortstop who came from the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Bob Welch.

With Pedro Guerrero playing an uneasy third base and Steve Sax a sometimes shaky second, Griffin is Mr. Consistent. He has made only two errors this season and, more important, has the range to help either of his infield mates.

“In the past, we really haven’t had anybody take charge in the infield,” Dodger coach Joe Amalfitano said. “This guy takes charge. You need somebody steady in the middle of the infield. The way he goes about his work, if anybody’s paying attention, it rubs off on them. He has total awareness of what’s going on. He’s a stabilizing force.”

Even the rest of the infield has not been as porous as was feared. Only once have infield errors--four against Chicago--cost the Dodgers a game. On three other occasions, the Dodger infield commited three, but the offense and pitching overcame them.

Still, the defense is far from solid. The Dodgers have committed 20 errors in 24 games, only one fewer than last year’s team in 24 games. Guerrero, as expected, leads the infield with six, but he has made his share of good plays to help offset the bad.

“We just want him to make the routine plays, to be honest,” Amalfitano said. “It’s a bonus if he makes the good plays. But I’ll say this for him. It looks like he’s enjoying himself there more than in ’83.”

Mike Marshall seems to have taken to first base. He has an error and a few non-plays that were scored as hits, but Marshall also has saved teammates from a few errors with good plays.

“I still think I’ll improve more over there as the season progresses,” Marshall said. “It’s more instinctive stuff than anything. I have to know my limitations and what the other guys can do.”

THE BULLPEN

Improvement in this area has been dramatic, but then almost any improvement would have been.

So far, the trades for short relievers Jesse Orosco and Jay Howell have given the Dodgers long-sought stability. Both have histories of arm problems but if they can remain sound, the Dodgers should easily surpass their 1987 save total of 16.

Orosco has three saves in three opportunities and has not allowed an inherited runner to score. In 8 innings, Orosco has given up just 1 earned run. Howell, who pitched sparingly in the spring, has responded when called upon. He has 2 saves and, before giving up 3 runs Wednesday night, had allowed only 1 hit and no runs in 5 innings.

Perhaps the key to the bullpen’s continued effectiveness will be Alejandro Pena, if his right shoulder holds up. Since his 1985 shoulder operation, the Dodgers have been hesitant to use Pena on consecutive days.

So far this season, though, he has been surprisingly durable. He has two saves and has been an effective setup man for Howell and Orosco. Dating back to the final month of 1987, when the Dodgers put Pena in the bullpen out of necessity, the hard-throwing right-hander has allowed only 1 run in his last 34 innings.

OREL HERSHISER

Orelmania probably will never become the town’s latest fad, maybe because it sounds more like the theme for a dental hygienists’ convention than a form of fan adulation.

But Hershiser, who seemingly has replaced Fernando Valenzuela as the Dodgers’ pitching ace in every area except public recognition, continues to impress. Despite a shaky outing--for him--Wednesday night, Hershiser has a 6-0 record with a 1.75 earned-run average. Valenzuela is 2-3 with a 3.11 ERA.

The Dodgers are second in the league in pitching, behind Houston. Although Valenzuela, Tim Leary, Don Sutton and Tim Belcher have pitched competently, if a bit inconsistently, Hershiser has been a constant.

“What makes Orel a great pitcher is that he can win--or at least keep us in the game--even when he doesn’t have his best stuff,” catcher Mike Scioscia said.

Said Hershiser: “My first four starts, I thought I pitched very well. My last two starts have been pretty average. My best game was my opener (a shutout against San Francisco April 5). That game, I lived up to my potential. The others, I don’t think I have. But I guess potential for me is higher now.”

THE OFFENSE

All spring, Lasorda rhapsodized about the awesome fivesome in the middle of his batting order. Well, except for Pedro Guerrero, who is hitting .381 after going 4 for 5 Wednesday night, the Dodger offense has essentially been a feeble foursome.

The offense showed signs of emerging from the early-season torpor in the just-concluded Pittsburgh series, compiling 28 runs and 32 hits in the 3 games. Still, the Dodgers have won most of their games without a productive attack.

Kirk Gibson, a career .280-average, 90-RBI hitter, is batting .262 after a recent hot streak and has struck out 24 times in 24 games--a high number even for him.

Mike Davis, who had 22 home runs and 72 RBIs for Oakland last season, is batting .200 with no home runs and 4 RBIs. Davis, however, has 4 hits in 3 games since being moved from seventh to second in the order.

Marshall, despite his two home runs Tuesday night, is hitting .269 and has struck out 16 times. Griffin is at .179, and Sax was at .214 four days ago before hitting a recent hot streak.

“We’re not hitting, but we’re still winning,” Gibson said. “Wait until we start hitting. We haven’t played exceptional, but we haven’t played exceptionally bad, either.”

HARMONY

It was about an hour before game time one recent night, and Lasorda was relaxing in his office, watching the Atlanta Braves rack up another loss on his big-screen television.

Marshall and Guerrero entered, talking softly to one another. They lay on the carpet, stretched in unison and watched the Braves lose again.

Even Lasorda was taken aback by this display of friendship by players who feuded last season.

Shaking his head, Lasorda said it once again: “This is not last year.”