Belcher: Opening Day Won’t Be the Same

Although negotiators are guessing that baseball’s lockout must end early this week to ensure a normal opening day, the Dodgers’ 1989 opening-day pitcher said that in some ways, it is already too late.

“They could end the lockout immediately, and the regularly scheduled first two weeks of the season are already changed,” said Tim Belcher, Dodger player representative. “If we start on April 2, our opening-day pitcher is going to be able to go five innings. At the most. This is just not enough time for a starting pitcher to get ready. And it’s going to be that way for a while.”

Belcher said from his Ohio home that there were other things early-game ticket-holders will notice. He said they will essentially be watching expensive spring training games.

“For the first couple of weeks, everything will be much less than 100%,” Belcher said. “The risk of injury is going to be very high, and that will affect the way everyone plays. Because no pitcher is going to be ready, you will see a lot of pitchers. Heck, if this lockout goes on much longer, you would see an opening day with everybody thrown out there. Just like spring training.”

Dodger fans would be particularly affected, since there are games scheduled at Dodger Stadium for the first seven days of the season. Those who bought opening-day tickets for the April 2 game against the San Diego Padres, hoping to see Orel Hershiser and Bruce Hurst, may well have to settle for John Wetteland against Greg Harris.

Wetteland and Harris led their respective staffs in winter baseball innings and that kind of work could be the deciding factor.

“You can figure that guys like John Wetteland figure to be further along because of winter ball,” said Fred Claire, Dodger vice president.

Belcher said that these opening-day scenarios are assuming that the lockout even ends in time for opening day. Using a formula based on other spring work stoppages, he has calculated March 11 as the last possible day for players to begin spring training for an April 2 opener to be possible.

Because the players would likely ask for three to five days after the end of the lockout to transport themselves and equipment to camp, Belcher said an agreement must be in place by Thursday.

“The opening of the regular season already is not going to be what it usually is, the effects of the lockout are already going to show,” Belcher said. “But at least right now, we still have an opening day. We get locked out past next week, and that’s gone.”