BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Strawberry Considers Sitting Out Season

Darryl Strawberry is so frustrated by his sore back, he said, that he will meet with back specialist Robert Watkins next week to decide whether he should forgo the rest of the season, either for rehabilitation or surgery.

Strawberry was a late scratch from Tuesday’s starting lineup against the New York Mets because of back stiffness. He said he is planning to play today but is uncertain about his future.

“I want to see first about the possibility of sitting out the rest of the year, whether that would make it better,” Strawberry said. “There is no way I want a surgery; I don’t want a knife in my back. But I know Dr. Watkins has said that if it gets worse, I have to have surgery.”

Strawberry, who missed 48 games because of a herniated disk in his lower back, is batting .205 in 39 at-bats since leaving the disabled list July 6. He has no home runs and three runs batted in.

“My back is so stiff all the time, I can’t get any drive into the ball,” he said. “I’ve hit several balls that would have been home runs--a grand slam in Philadelphia--but I just didn’t have any strength. Then when running the outfield in Philly, it felt like my back was going to pop out any minute.”

Strawberry said he hopes to decide on a course of action before the team returns to Los Angeles at the end of next week.

“I told (therapist Pat Screnar), I’ve got to make a decision about this, because what I’m doing now is no good,” Strawberry said. “I’ve got three years left here, and I want to be healthy for them.

Dave Anderson was finally returned to the roster from the disabled list Tuesday, three days after being eligible. Tom Goodwin, as expected, was returned to triple-A Albuquerque. The move was made when Eric Karros’ calf injury proved to be less serious than expected. . . . Mitch Webster learned what it was like to be a villain in New York shortly after hitting the tiebreaking triple Monday in a 9-2 victory. “We get back to the hotel, and I start getting weird phone calls,” Webster said. “One guy tell me he’s Gene Michael and says I’ve just been traded to the Yankees, and could I please go over there and stink up their park. Another guy just tells me I stink, period. I asked him where he played, and he hung up.”