BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Ramon Martinez, Lasorda Meet

Ramon Martinez will not immediately have a magnetic resonance imaging test on his right shoulder.

He persuaded the Dodgers that his shoulder was fine during a closed-door meeting with Manager Tom Lasorda Tuesday in Vero Beach, Fla., and remains on the schedule as the opening-day starter April 6 at Dodger Stadium against the San Francisco Giants.

“I asked him if his arm was fine. He said his arm was fine, and that was good enough for me,” Lasorda said. “I just want to make sure everything was OK. That’s why I called him in. All we can go by is what he says.”

Martinez also met with Ralph Avila, Dodger vice president for Latin American affairs. “We talked about some problems he is having,” Avila said. “I think he will do better after our talk.”

Martinez is 0-2 with a 4.96 earned-run-average in five spring starts, with four strikeouts and 12 walks.

The Dodgers have put Jeff Hamilton on outright waivers. When Hamilton clears waivers in three days, he can either accept a demotion to triple-A Albuquerque and guarantee his salary of $497,500 or become a free agent and forfeit that salary. He also can refuse the waivers, forcing the Dodgers to release him before March 31 with 45 days’ pay.

Darryl Strawberry decided to play against the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie Tuesday night. He was scheduled to have the night off. “I decided I have to play,” he said. “This is getting to be the regular-season time, my time. The Mets’ fans can say what they want, I don’t even listen to them anymore. It’s time to start thinking about the season.” . . . Lasorda said he will not use Kal Daniels as a replacement outfielder, at least at the start of the season. “He is a first baseman now, and it wouldn’t be fair to juggle him around,” Lasorda said. . . . The Dodgers lost for the sixth time in their last seven spring games Tuesday night, a 3-1 defeat to the New York Mets in a game plagued by rain. . . . Tom Candiotti showed that wet nights are tough nights for a knuckleball pitcher. He threw mostly curvebvalls and fastballs, walking three and hitting a batter in five innings. . . . A grounder skipped through Lenny Harris’ legs at second base, and Jose Offerman made a high throw from shortstop, his third error in four games.