BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Strawberry Says He Could Miss Months

Darryl Strawberry said after Sunday’s game that if his back doesn’t get better soon, he could be out of the lineup for a long while.

“I’m trying to get better with the rehabilitation program, but if it continues to bother me, that’s what it is going to take,” Strawberry said. “If it doesn’t get better, it may take months.”

Strawberry, who had back surgery in September, had a flare-up of back stiffness during the team’s recent trip East. Robert Watkins, the doctor who examined Strawberry on Saturday, has put him on an intense rehabilitation program and prescribed rest.

“Resting, resting, resting--that’s what I have to do, rest,” Strawberry said. “I really don’t want to have to start back in and then go in and out of the lineup. I would rather be in there on a consistent basis, not in and out. It’s impossible to find a rhythm.”

Strawberry is hitting .152, and his extra work in the batting cages, along with playing on artificial turf and in cold weather and long plane flights, contributed to his woes. At first, Strawberry said he was determined to play through it, but Sunday he seemed resigned to the fact that it may take time.

“It’s a back injury,” he said. “Nobody knows, nobody understands, and I am not going to try and make anybody understand anymore.”

Watkins said that Strawberry’s flare-up is not unexpected and could happen again. “Is is possible? Yes,” Watkins said. “But the expectations were for Darryl to return to full play effectively and those are still the expectations.”

Philadelphia Manager Jim Fregosi on John Kruk: “Let’s face it. He’s never going to win a beauty contest. He’s not a perfect specimen in a baseball uniform, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a hell of an athlete.”