BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Carter Surprised by Decision

Gary Carter was unhappily caught by surprise Friday when he discovered he was not in the starting lineup even though left-hander Steve Avery was pitching for the Atlanta Braves.

“At least they could have given me the respect of telling me a day in advance,” Carter said. “I’ve been in this game 17 years and I don’t need this. I don’t deserve this.”

The move was not unexpected because Mike Scioscia is the Dodgers’ No. 1 catcher despite brief platoon periods earlier this season. But Carter, who is batting .270 in 50 starts, figured he had earned a chance in this big series.

He was so sure he would be starting, he flew his family in from Florida for this weekend’s series.

“I thought I had proved myself here, but I’m getting the feeling that everything has been predetermined,” said Carter, who emphasized that he respects Scioscia. “The bottom line is, I signed with this team to play, and help them, and it’s a big disappointment when I have to watch.”

Although he said he did not want to discuss it, Kevin Gross briefly explained his ballyhooed confrontation with the fans. The incident occurred Thursday when he threw up his hands in disgust after they booed him for not running out a ground ball.

“It made me mad because I did not think I deserved it,” Gross said. “A lot of stuff here (this year) I haven’t deserved.”

Gross still remembers the early season boos and criticism, which came when he gave up 14 runs in his first 10 1/3 innings. But he has since become one of the Dodgers’ most valuable pitchers with a team-leading six victories in the second half.

“Whatever the fans want to do is fine,” he said. “But whatever I want to do is fine, too. They didn’t like what I did, but I didn’t like what they did.”

Draped across every player’s chair in the Dodger clubhouse Friday was a T-shirt that read, “Tomahawk This!” The shirt, which featured a drawing of Atlanta’s Ron Gant, was produced by clubhouse attendant Mitch Poole. . . . Roger McDowell stopped outside the stadium and purchased eight towels that read “Tomahawk Busters.” Brett Butler wore one around his head during early batting practice. . . . Butler said he was told that 50,000 red-foam rubber tomahawks were being sent to San Francisco to be used by Giants’ fans during the Dodgers’ three-game, season-ending series there.

Ramon Martinez said the knot in his arm felt good enough to forgo a throwing session Friday. He played catch in the outfield and said he will make his scheduled start Sunday. . . . The Dodgers held a pregame meeting Friday, but it had nothing to do with Atlanta. They were discussing travel arrangements in San Diego for their two games there next week. “The Braves were never even mentioned,” one Dodger said.

Jeff Treadway could miss the entire weekend series after receiving a cortisone shot in his sore right hand Friday. Treadway, batting .321, was replaced Friday by Mark Lemke, who was batting .236. . . . Jay Howell, who is determined to return to the mound before the end of the season, said he hopes to begin testing his injured elbow by throwing this weekend. . . . Lenny Harris is suffering from flu.

Magic Johnson was a pregame visitor to the office of Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, who told Johnson that Darryl Strawberry could beat him in a one-on-one contest. “After the World Series,” Johnson said.