BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Worrell Wasn’t There for Lasorda

After the Dodger bullpen had combined to pitch 17 2/3 innings in three games Wednesday and Thursday, Todd Worrell was on Manager Tom Lasorda’s mind.

In each of the Dodgers’ two extra-inning losses, Rod Nichols was on the mound because Lasorda had nobody else left to bring in.

“I can think of two games right now and many games in the past where if Worrell would have been able to pitch, it would have changed the complexion of the game,” Lasorda said.

It appears that Worrell, who has been on the disabled list for most of the season, is close to returning. Worrell, sidelined most recently with an inflamed right elbow, has appeared in five games with the Albuquerque Dukes and has a 1-0 record with a 1.35 ERA in 5 2/3 innings.

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Cory Snyder was the only player to play all 39 innings in the three games Wednesday and Thursday. Snyder played right field, third base and shortstop, replacing Jose Offerman in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader against the Mets.

It was the first time Snyder has played shortstop this season and his first appearance at the position since Aug. 7, 1992, when he played for San Francisco. This season, Snyder has played left field, right field, third base, first base and shortstop.

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The Dodgers are scheduled to play an exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 2 as part of the Hall of Fame ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y. Lasorda said he might pitch in the game. “I just started thinking about it, but I haven’t made up my mind yet,” he said. . . . Lasorda, who managed four National League All-Star teams, said it is a tough job trying to decide whom to select because there is always somebody deserving who is not picked. “One year I wrote seven letters to ballplayers to tell them how badly I felt that I couldn’t select them,” Lasorda said. Lasorda also recounted the year that he didn’t get pitcher Joe Niekro in the game. “That’s why every time we play in Houston, I get booed,” he said.