DODGER PREVIEW : 30-Something Things Needed for Them to Win

When the Dodger Stadium gates open today for the 30th year, an anniversary party will begin. It will feature the typically orchestrated fare of memories, standing ovations and laughter.

But making an unscheduled appearance will be suspense.

It could be difficult for many to cherish the last 30 years not knowing what the home team is going to do beyond the next 30 minutes.

The Dodgers will open their 102nd season against San Francisco, but nothing else about them is certain.

Says Darryl Strawberry: “If we produce from the middle of the order, we will win.”

Says Eric Davis: “Championship teams start from the mound. If our pitchers pitch, we’re going to win.”

Says Mitch Webster: “We have to catch the ball better. If we do, we’ll win.”

That about covers it.

The Dodgers finished one game behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League West last season after leading Atlanta by 9 1/2 games at the All-Star break.

They have spent the last six months trying to figure out how to pick up that one game.

They added Davis, a right-handed power hitter. They added Tom Candiotti, a right-handed knuckleball pitcher.

They asked Kal Daniels to play first base for the first time since rookie league and asked Jose Offerman to be the starting shortstop on opening day for the first time in his life.

They placed Manager Tom Lasorda on firm ground by adding one year to his contract and placed the bullpen on firm ground by leaving it intact.

“We have done everything possible to make this a competitive team,” President Peter O’Malley said.

Yet the question remains. Competitive with whom?

It is agreed they can overcome the Braves, the clear-cut division favorites, if they play at their personal bests.

“We have the team. We have the talent,” Lasorda said. “But we’re going to have to have guys with great years, career years. Like some of the guys in Atlanta had last year.”

It also is agreed that the Dodgers can afford no mental or injury letdowns like last year.

“This won’t be a coasting type year,” Webster said. “Sometimes you can just keep your head above water and still hang around, but not this year, not with Atlanta and Cincinnati so improved.

“We can have our highs and lows, but our lows had better be short.”

In keeping with the anniversary theme, here is what the Dodgers need most this season, in 30s.

Number 30 to catch ground balls .

That would be Offerman, who must forget about trying to be Ozzie Smith and concentrate on catching the grounders at his feet.

“The key is the shortstop,” Lasorda said. “He has got to play well.”

Under the tutelage of coach Joe Amalfitano, Offerman has appeared much more relaxed and confident this spring, as well as aggressive.

But on questionable Florida infields, he also committed seven errors in a recent 11-game stretch.

Kal Daniels to catch throws from No. 30 .

Daniels has looked decent in his switch to first base, even spectacular at times. Grounders down the line and in the hole that may have gone untouched in past years are being caught.

But he has not had to field many wild throws from the left side of his infield. And he has not played under regular-season conditions.

“We came to spring training worried if Daniels could play first base, and he has shown he can do it adequately,” Lasorda said. “He should even get better.”

The Dodgers also hope that Daniels’ worries over his fielding do not hurt his hitting, which dipped to .178 after 16 spring games.

Mike Scioscia and Carlos Hernandez to throw out close to 30% of the runners trying to steal .

An important part of their defense will involve pitchers working with catchers on slowing down everyone who feels he can run wild, especially on Candiotti and his slow knuckleball.

Scioscia reported to camp 15 pounds lighter and is throwing better than ever as he begins the final season of his contract.

Hernandez, who will be spending his first full year with the Dodgers, possesses major league skills and will be a complete player when he learns how to work with Dodger pitchers.

Last season Scioscia threw out 21% of the runners, but has thrown out 31% over the last three years.

Strawberry to hit 30 home runs .

This may not be too much to ask. Strawberry is acting this spring as if he could hit 40 homers and become a most-valuable-player candidate.

“He’s one of the most amazing players I’ve worked with,” first baseman Eric Karros said. “He can have all these distractions before the game, then walk out there and hit the longest balls I’ve ever seen.”

Strawberry will make no predictions, perhaps because his smile is prediction enough.

“This year I don’t have to deal with the fact that I’m playing in L.A. I don’t have to deal with injuries like last spring,” he said. “I can just do what I do best.”

The Dodgers saw that after the All-Star break last season, when he had 20 home runs and 69 runs batted in in 81 games.

Davis to play in at least 130 games .

The last time Davis played in that many, in 1989 with the Cincinnati Reds, he had 34 home runs and 101 RBIs.

The Dodgers need him to play, not simply because Strawberry needs a good right-handed batter behind him, but because the team could use another leader in the clubhouse.

Davis has shown signs of being that leader this spring by being generous with tips and encouragement to younger players. But his hustling play also contributed to a sore shoulder that caused him to miss half a dozen early games.

If he doesn’t play, he can’t lead.

“I feel great about myself and this team,” said Davis, who is in the final year of his contract. “This team reminds me of our 1990 team in Cincinnati. There were questions, but we all came through.”

Brett Butler to steal 30 bases without being thrown out 30 times .

He was the Dodgers’ most valuable player last season, and he might have won that award for the entire league if the Dodgers had won the division championship.

But Butler ended the year tired and unhappy. He didn’t like his .229 average in September and October or his league-leading 28 times caught stealing, even though he still stole 38 bases.

He has admitted that, at age 34, he needs more rest. He sat out only one game last season.

Combined with better communication on hit-and-run plays with new No. 2 hitter Lenny Harris and Mike Sharperson, Butler’s speed should be more effective.

Juan Samuel to strike out 30 fewer times .

With 133 strikeouts last year, Samuel became the first player in major league history to strike out more than 120 times for eight consecutive seasons.

This season he is being moved from the second spot in the batting order to No. 6, behind Davis. This gives the Dodgers consecutive right-handed hitters to foil the parade of left-handed relievers that stymied the offense last year.

But Samuel needs to make contact to have impact.

Orel Hershiser and Ramon Martinez to combine for at least 30 victories.

They are the cornerstones of the starting pitching staff, yet both will start the season searching for answers.

Hershiser has made what many consider a miraculous comeback from reconstructive surgery, but he still does not know how his rebuilt arm will handle the rigors of an entire season. His pitches have shown good movement and velocity this spring, despite a 5.79 ERA.

Martinez is recovering from an awful finish in 1991, when he was 3-8 with a 5.51 ERA after August. This includes being the losing pitcher to San Francisco on the night the Braves took the lead for good.

Martinez then suffered through a poor spring and is wondering when his pitching mechanics will return. He continually claims his arm feels fine, which the Dodgers can only hope is true.

“Orel is not just a rehabilitating pitcher this year. He is one of the leaders of our rotation,” Claire said. “And when the season starts, Ramon needs to be there.”

Kevin Gross, age 30, to pitch the way he has pitched since last year’s All-Star break .

“I’m looking for Kevin to have a good year,” Lasorda said, and why not?

After becoming the team’s victory leader after last year’s All-Star break with a 6-6 record and 3.03 ERA, Gross went 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA in six Florida starts this spring.

Few Dodgers worked as hard this winter as Gross, who averaged a personal-best 7.39 strikeouts per nine innings last year and struck out 18 in 28 2/3 innings in Florida.

Jay Howell and Roger McDowell to combine for at least 30 saves .

“I think a lot of us agree about the bullpen,” Webster said. “It is better than people says it is, with or without Jay.”

Although they do not have a Lee Smith, the Dodgers led major league bullpens with a 3.09 ERA.

Howell, who was put on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Saturday because of bursitis in his right shoulder, no longer can pitch for more than a handful of consecutive games. McDowell must fill the void.

Last year they combined for 23 saves, and McDowell, who had seven, was with the Dodgers only two months.

Dave Hansen, Eric Karros or Pedro Martinez to have made a contribution by Sept. 30.

Of these three top prospects, only Martinez will not start the season in the major leagues.

But the Dodgers surely will need all three if they are going to survive the inevitable hard times brought on by injuries. Karros, who batted .375 in Florida, and Martinez, who had a 1.29 ERA in three appearances, seem ready to contribute.

“What separates this ballclub from last year’s is our depth of talent,” Claire said. “There are people who will not start the season with the team who will be helpful later. As every championship team has proven, you need those people.”