Analysis : Claire Proves Himself With Bold Moves

Another headline for the former sportswriter.

Another bold trade by a man once portrayed as timid and gun-shy by some peers.

Another major step in the continuing reclamation of the Dodgers by an executive vice president trained in public relations and initially thought to be more familiar with helmet weekends than sinking fastballs.

It’s still August, too early for the revived Dodgers to have claimed a division title, but this much is certain:

Executive Vice President Fred Claire has already won a considerable and seemingly deserved degree of respect en route, perhaps, to his own reward of executive of the year. Has anyone brought a team further in a shorter span of time?

The acquisition Tuesday of left-handed pitcher John Tudor in exchange for Pedro Guerrero was merely the latest in a series of pivotal steps by Claire.

Would the Dodgers, who were 16 games under .500 in both 1986 and ‘87, be leading the National League West without John Shelby or Kirk Gibson or Jay Howell or Jesse Orosco or Tim Belcher or Alfredo Griffin or a rebuilt and productive bench?

“Fred has certainly shown he’s not afraid to make a deal,” Joe McIlvaine, the New York Mets’ vice president in charge of baseball operations, said Tuesday from San Francisco.

This is the same McIlvaine who said in December that Claire was holding the winter meetings hostage with his indecision and seemed afraid to pull the trigger.

McIlvaine, at the time, was frustrated by the Dodgers’ refusal to close a deal that would have sent Bob Welch to the Mets for Rafael Santana, Mookie Wilson and Orosco. The Mets eventually received three prospects in a three-way deal that was consummated on the final night of the meetings and brought Griffin, Howell and Orosco to the Dodgers, who sent Welch and Matt Young to the Oakland Athletics.

“I think Fred has shed that tag,” McIlvaine said of the gun-shy label.

“I think the problem at the meetings was that he came into the room with three or four advisers, and there was some confusion as to whether you were talking to one of them or all of them.

“I think Fred was ultimately making the decision, but it was a slow process. There may have been some indecision because it was Fred’s first meeting and he was getting to know his own people, as well as those on the other clubs.

“Like I said, no one’s calling him gun-shy now.”

Now there are those calling him a miracle-maker, as an enthusiastic Rick Dempsey, a veteran of other stretch drives in other cities, did Tuesday.

“I’m very surprised Fred could make this big a deal this late in the season,” Dempsey, a reserve catcher, said. “It’s a miracle. It’s fantastic. It gives everyone a lift. No one has to wonder anymore if we have enough (to win the division). We know now we do. We know we’ll have a 20-game winner out there every four or five days. Tudor has to come out here and do the job, but his credentials say he will. It takes a lot of the pressure off. It helps everyone relax.”

Tudor is expected to make his first Dodger start against the Philadelphia Phillies tonight. His next will be against the New York Mets Monday night. The Dodgers have six games left with the Mets, and Tudor will start two of them. They also have a possible date with the Mets in the National League playoffs, and Tudor represents a response to the left-handed hitting Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry and Lenny Dykstra.

“He takes the power away from some teams. He forces lineup changes,” said Dempsey.

Said McIlvaine: “I think what the Dodgers are saying (by acquiring Tudor) is admitting Fernando (Valenzuela) is out for the year and they felt the need to balance their rotation.

“I don’t know if they perceived the need of a left-handed pitcher against certain teams, but I do know Tudor is a quality pitcher.

“I also think their immediate goal is winning the division. I don’t think they’re looking at us or anyone else in the playoffs. I’m sure they look at it like we do . . . if you win anything beyond the division, it’s gravy.”

It would have taken plenty of gravy for the Dodgers to satisfy Guerrero at the end of the season, when he was eligible for free agency. The St. Louis Cardinals have guaranteed him $6.2 million for three years, a sizable gamble.

Guerrero, 32, is hobbled by new and chronic injuries. Some members of the Dodger organization believe he had become a disruptive influence in the clubhouse and had spent a chunk of those recent 52 days on the disabled list merely to protect his free agency. Claire made what can only be called a potential steal for the Dodgers--no matter how long the proven Tudor pitches. The uncertainty involving Valenzuela only makes the timing that much more propitious.

Claire has now:

--Solidified the Dodger rotation entering the final seven weeks of the season.

--Eliminated two potential distractions by signing Manager Tom Lasorda for two more years and trading Guerrero, whose contract was soon to expire.

--Provided a clue to his future plans. With Guerrero’s bat gone, two offensive catalysts, Steve Sax and Mike Marshall, both of whom are eligible for free agency, now seem certain to be re-signed.

Then, of course, there were all those moves before this one, all apparently made in cooperation with Lasorda, who may have harbored some initial resentment when he failed to receive the executive vice president’s job, a disappointment that Claire has obviously helped soothe.

“I wouldn’t spend time, energy and effort (on a prospective trade) if Tommy was opposed to it,” Claire said. “We have to work as a team.”

Executive of the year?

“We have made a turnaround, we have battled back,” Claire said. “I feel good about that, but my greatest satisfaction is seeing the enjoyment people in the organization are experiencing. . . . Tommy and his staff, the scouts, people in player development.”

Claire reflected and said he had no reservations about his own ability to assume the executive vice president’s role, no lack of confidence since he was aware of the time and energy he had devoted to the business.

“The game isn’t a mystery to me,” he said. “It’s a love and fascination, but not a mystery.”

Having pulled the trigger one more time, Claire said it is unlikely he will do so again in 1988--at least on a major scale.

“I think we’ve made the move that will be the key for us,” he said of the Tudor deal. “Anything we do from this point will be fine tuning. I think we have a club that can win and will win.”

Largely because of his own efforts.