Postponed Game Won’t Hurt Dodgers, Who Can Use Some Time to Heal

Waiting patiently for his turn on the rubbing table Tuesday night, Mickey Hatcher shook his head and said: “All I know is that you’ve got to take a number to get into the trainer’s room.”

Rain and cold postponed the opener of the Dodgers’ four-city, 11-game trip Tuesday night, providing balm for some of the club’s walking wounded, including Hatcher, who suffered a slight pull of his left groin muscle in Sunday’s game with the Chicago Cubs.

Hatcher’s injury did not generate the biggest news, however, as the Dodgers paced the clubhouse, waiting for Tuesday night’s game to be called.

A re-examination of shortstop Alfredo Griffin’s sprained right thumb by Dr. James Bradley showed a lack of improvement, and Griffin was put on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 8.

Griffin will be replaced in the lineup by Dave Anderson, and on the roster by Mike Sharperson, who was hitting .321 in 31 games at Albuquerque. Last year, Anderson started 27 consecutive games and 60 of 61, batting .289 in May and .306 in June, after Griffin broke his hand.

Said Anderson: “I need to play. It’s unfortunate that it takes an injury, but maybe I can go in and do some hitting, provide a spark at the bottom of the lineup. I don’t expect to hit .300, but we haven’t been hitting or scoring. We haven’t been playing that well all year. Maybe some new faces in the lineup will help.”

Griffin had three hits in his last 23 at-bats and was hitting .188 when he fell while leaving the batter’s box and suffered the injury May 1.

Dr. Norman Zemel recommended that the thumb be wrapped and told Griffin he could continue to work out until he was ready to play. Bradley put a removable splint on the thumb and advised Griffin to rest it for several days.

“I’ve been hitting and fielding and I just didn’t see any progress,” Griffin said. “It hurt to throw and I could only hit from the left side. It would have been better for me if I had rested it right away, but like (Zemel) said, it didn’t look that bad.”

Griffin, 32, sighed and said: “I’m not used to this bull. It makes me think about quitting the game. I get to L.A. and I’m hurt twice. Maybe it’s the air. It’s frustrating, but I’ve got to hang with it. Last year we won a championship. If we do it again, I’ll stay here 10 years and break my hand every year.”

In other wings of the trainer’s room:

--Mike Marshall, who has lower back stiffness, and Chris Gwynn, who has a strained right shoulder, both said they were ready to play Tuesday night and hope to play tonight.

--Kirk Gibson, eligible for removal from the disabled list Thursday, said he is progressing in his rehabilitation from hamstring tendinitis but doesn’t know if he will be ready Thursday.

He spent Sunday and Monday at his Michigan home after receiving permission from the club to miss two days of rehabilitation.

--Hatcher, who suffered the groin injury in his final at-bat Sunday, said he will be available to pinch-hit.

“I’ll go easy for a couple days and see what happens,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Pirates took first baseman Sid Bream off the disabled list and expect to activate center fielder Andy Van Slyke by the end of the week. Relief ace Jim Gott is having elbow surgery Friday, but he could be back before the Dodgers and Pirates make up Tuesday’s rainout as part of a doubleheader July 21.

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said he would move each of his starting pitchers back a day, with Tim Leary working here tonight and Fernando Valenzuela facing the Philadelphia Phillies Friday night.

Lasorda thought about the cold and rain that the Dodgers have encountered almost everywhere on the road this year and said, “There was a time we brought sunshine everywhere we went.”

He can only hope the new development is not an omen.