THE WORLD SERIES : OAKLAND ATHLETICS vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS : A’s Hope Welch Can Overcome Jitters, Dodgers

Don Rickles was on one line, yammering in Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda’s ear. The other line was continually ringing with well-wishers. Coaches, relatives and sportswriters would wander in and out, staying only long enough to catch snippets of conversation.

Suddenly materializing in the doorway, about 4 hours before the World Series opener Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, was Oakland Athletics pitcher Bob Welch, carrying a long-stemmed red rose. Welch came to visit his former manager, who said he cried on the day last winter when the Dodgers traded Welch to the A’s in a six-player deal.

A smiling Welch thrust the rose in front of him and said, “(It’s not) for you.”

All sentimentality, however, ceases tonight at the Oakland Coliseum when Welch takes the mound against the Dodgers’ John Tudor in Game 3 of the World Series, which the Dodgers lead, 2 games to none, after beating the A’s twice in Los Angeles.

This may be the most important start of Welch’s career. Even the A’s admit that a loss tonight would make it virtually impossible for them to win the Series. They have hung their hopes on Welch, who was bombed for 5 runs and 6 hits in 1 innings in Game 3 of the American League championship series.

Welch, who did not show up for a press conference Monday, has been portrayed as a nervous type whose adrenaline rush hurts his pitching. His 17 wins this season have been minimized and his postseason totals with the Dodgers and A’s have been the focus: 15 earned runs in 17 innings.

But the Dodgers, who figure to be without Kirk Gibson as a starter for the third straight game, remember Welch much more fondly as the hard-throwing right-hander who had 115 wins in 10 seasons as a Dodger.

“He didn’t pitch too badly when we brought him in to face Reggie Jackson (in a memorable 1978 World Series matchup) and he struck him out,” Lasorda said. “Bobby Welch always was a tough competitor who did his best in the big games.”

The Dodgers hope that Welch’s postseason problems continue. But Dodger players who played behind Welch all those seasons aren’t counting on it.

“I used to shake my head from second base to see how he’d hit the corners, and he could do it all day long,” Sax said. “You learn a few things, but it’s different facing him than watching him. We know for a fact he’s got that great curve and that riding fastball.

“We can’t think about who it is out there. He’s the enemy now.”

Trouble was, Welch also hurt the A’s in his most recent start, Game 3 of the playoffs at the Coliseum. He allowed 4 straight Boston Red Sox hits, got an out, then walked the next 2 batters. He didn’t make it out of the second inning.

“Sure, his numbers have been bad,” Dave Duncan, A’s pitching coach, said. “But how are you going to change that, not pitch him?”

A’s Manager Tony La Russa admitted that Welch’s excitable-boy routine contributed to his downfall, but he discounted the belief that Welch cannot pitch in big games.

“If you pitch in the World Series, you can’t help but get up for it,” La Russa said. “I’ve seen Bob Welch get all pumped for a spring-training game. I can tell you 10 or 15 games this season where we were coming off a loss, and he got us a win.”

But, considering Welch’s previous start, is La Russa worried?

“The safest thing for a manager is to worry about everything,” La Russa said. “So, yeah, I’m worried. But, if you look at that game, he had the good fastball. He just hung a couple curves, and they pounded them. I’ll take the same stuff from Bob this time, and we’ll be all right. Maybe he learned something. Experience is the great equalizer.”

The Dodgers, somewhat surprisingly, have had little trouble hitting A’s pitching, so they didn’t seem too concerned about facing Welch.

And, except for Jose Canseco’s grand slam off Tim Belcher in the second inning of the Series opener, Oakland’s touted offense has been shut down by Dodger pitching.

The A’s hope the familiar surroundings and the use of a designated hitter will help their offensive might return. After Canseco’s grand slam, the A’s have produced just 6 singles and a double in the last 16 innings.

As much as the A’s are wondering about Welch, they are equally curious about Tudor, whose assortment of off-speed pitches is not suited to their power-hitting team.

So, La Russa proposed a change in strategy.

“I would say the main thing we need against Tudor is patience,” La Russa said. “So, I want them to try to get something good to hit.

“When we’ve been power conscious, we get in trouble. But if we try to hit the ball up the middle, we’ll be OK. I’d settle for 15 singles.”

Tudor, always the pessimist, said he would not be surprised if that happened. He is not happy about having 9 days between starts, but it was unavoidable because Lasorda wanted to pitch Orel Hershiser as much as possible and not throw rookie Belcher off his schedule. “I thought Tudor, being a veteran pitcher, would be better at adapting to that than Belcher,” Lasorda said.

Tudor says he will find out tonight just how well he has adapted. After a 9-day break between his last start of the regular season and his start in Game 4 of the National League playoffs against the New York Mets, Tudor was out of sync. He allowed 4 runs--2 home runs--in less than 6 innings in a game the Dodgers eventually won.

Does the long layoff plant a seed of doubt in Tudor’s mind?

“I can’t speak for the Dodgers, but it does in mine,” Tudor said. “I’m not used to this. It was (9) days last time and 9 this time. They just draw up the lineup and I go out and try to pitch. I really don’t know what’s going to happen.

“I don’t think it’s disturbing to be in the background. I think I would try to pitch Orel Hershiser every day if I could. He’s got the greatest run going. But it’s a little disheartening to pitch (sporadically). I’m not in a rhythm. Hopefully, I’ll get one quickly out there.”

The A’s, like the Dodgers and most teams, have had problems hitting left-handers. They finished the season 22-25 in games started by lefties, and their home run production dropped sharply.

That is why La Russa is considering makes changes in his lineup, inserting players who hit left-handers well.

He is thinking of putting Tony Phillips in left field and Terry Steinbach at catcher. Ron Hassey usually catches when Welch pitches, but Steinbach is a better hitter against left-handers. If Hassey catches, Don Baylor will be the DH and either Dave Parker or Phillips will play left field.

La Russa said it does not matter which lineup he uses if his team is mentally down after losing the first 2 games at Dodger Stadium. But dejection, La Russa said, is one thing he never has to guard against.

“Our club is very strong mentally,” La Russa said. “People are saying the A’s haven’t played with their backs to the wall yet this season. I don’t agree. We led the (AL West) division (nearly) the whole way and played (under) the pressure of staying there the whole season.

“That’s the most irritating thing. We have been under pressure. All the magazines picked us to win in the spring. So, I know we’ll play well, and the Dodgers will have to play their rears off to beat us.”

And they will have to do it against an old friend.