Martinez, Howell Are No-Shows : Dodgers: Both pitchers decide not to report to camp because of contract disputes. Morgan misses workout because of hip injury.

Turmoil arrived in Dodgertown Friday, just in time for the first day of spring training, as pitchers Ramon Martinez and Jay Howell did not report to opening workouts because of contract disagreements.

While Martinez’s agent said his client was remaining calm, Howell was openly angry.

“I am not coming in now, and I don’t know when I’m coming in,” Howell said sharply from his Atlanta home. “I will not go into specifics until I get there, but it’s kind of obvious what is going on.”

Another pitcher, Mike Morgan, was absent after injuring his right hip two weeks ago while carrying a television set for his mother.

“That should teach everybody to be nice to their mother,” said Joe Garagiola Jr., Morgan’s agent.

Other than that, it was basically a normal first day for the Dodgers.

“If you are around long enough, you learn to expect the unexpected,” said Fred Claire, Dodger vice president.

Martinez and Howell have said they will report to camp eventually. Martinez should be here by March 2, when the club can unilaterally renew his contract as it did last year, and Howell should be here by the mandatory reporting date of March 6.

Their absences are merely serving as statements of dissatisfaction over not receiving a piece of the huge chunk of money handed out by the Dodgers this winter. They are the team’s first holdouts since pitcher Fernando Valenzuela missed the early portion of the 1982 camp in a salary dispute.

“I don’t know where they are, but I know where they should be--here,” said Claire, who can’t fine either one until after March 6.

Martinez, the projected opening-day starter who finished second in the National League’s Cy Young Award voting last season, and the Dodgers are at least $100,000 apart in negotiations. He has been offered $400,000, a substantial increase from last season’s $150,000 salary. But he is hoping for at least $500,000.

In fact, several weeks ago, a Dominican newspaper quoted him as saying he “wanted to be a million-dollar pitcher.”

“I didn’t really mean it like that,” Martinez said at the time. “All I mean is, I had a good season and I would like to be paid for a good season.”

The Dodgers claim that their offer would be the highest salary ever paid to a player with fewer than two years’ experience.

But Martinez, who has one year and 133 days of experience, is arguing that the salary is still far below baseball’s probable $700,000-plus average salary this season.

Because Martinez will have no bargaining power until next winter, when he will probably be eligible for arbitration, a holdout is his only option.

“We recognize this is not a typical way to approach things, but Ramon wants to get his contract resolved before he goes into camp,” said Jim Bronner, Martinez’s agent. “He is not trying to make a statement. He is just a sincere kid, as everybody knows, who feels very strongly about this issue.

“As soon as we are in agreement with a deal, we will be there.”

Claire supports the Dodgers’ case by pointing to salaries of $350,000 given Valenzuela after his second full season, and the $275,000 base salary earned by pitcher Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets after he had completed one-plus seasons.

“Our offer is a high-water mark for a pitcher in that classification,” Claire said. “At this point, we are bidding against ourselves and the record book.”

However, both Valenzuela’s and Gooden’s salaries were above or close to the league average at that time.

“We aren’t asking for every last dollar that’s out there,” Bronner said. “We only want what we see that’s fair.”

Pitcher Tim Belcher, who has had three consecutive years of similar contract problems with the Dodgers, said he had considered holding out, but rejected the idea.

“I figured it would not do me any good,” Belcher said. “I felt it would hurt me more than the club. I am not saying whether Ramon is wrong or right; I’m just saying why I chose not to go that route.”

Another Dodger veteran was not as tactful in his observations, saying: “Ramon should be in here; he should realize he has no negotiating power and just accept it like all of us have accepted it. His time will come, but it is not now. It is only bad that he is gone.”

Howell also says he is in an unfair situation.

He is in the final year of a three-year contract that will pay him $1.05 million this season. That not only makes him the lowest-paid veteran bullpen ace in the National League, but the 11th-highest-paid player among the Dodgers.

Howell is even making nearly $700,000 less than Jim Gott, his setup man. Howell reportedly requested a contract extension this winter but was denied.

Claire’s quick rejection of the request apparently bothered Howell because the reliever rushed back from knee surgery last May, then pitched in pain the rest of the summer. After recording a club-record 28 saves in 1989, Howell had 16 saves last season while finishing second-worst in the league with eight blown saves.

“We have several players in the same situation as Jay, and we have not spoken to any of them about new contracts,” Claire said. “We do not have an interest in doing that at this time. . . . The evaluation of this season is certainly important to that.”

While Morgan is making no contract statement, he was also absent Friday because he wanted to remain at his Las Vegas home to be seen by his personal physical therapist, Keith Kleven.

Despite the club’s desire that he fly to Vero Beach to be treated, Morgan’s agent said he would remain there until the middle of next week.

“My impression is that the injury is not that big of a deal,” Garagiola said. “I think he is working out and throwing, I don’t think it is impeding anything. Mike just wants to stay with a therapist who has known him since high school.”

Claire traditionally allows players to be treated by their personal physicians and trainers during the off-season. And until March 6, it is still officially the off-season.

Said Claire: “Until the mandatory reporting date, we can only encourage Mike to be here. We certainly want him here now, because we believe we have some of the country’s best doctors and trainers.

“And there is a lot of competition this spring, and we hope he is ready to pitch in it.”

Dodger Notes

Alfredo Griffin’s appearance on the opening-day roster may be in doubt because he is still reporting back pain after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on Jan. 8. Although he can hit and run, Griffin still cannot bend over to field a ground ball without great pain. “I wasn’t in this much pain before the surgery,” said Griffin, who received permission to report early because of his injury. “I don’t understand what it is. I guess we’ll just take it slow and see what happens. I still think I can be ready, but we’ll just have to wait.” Trainers referred questions about Griffin to Dr. Robert Watkins, didn’t return calls.

Orel Hershiser said he threw curveballs Friday for the first time since shoulder surgery. He hopes to pitch batting practice here for the first time Sunday.