BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Strawberry Must Make a Choice

Darryl Strawberry, sidelined since June 18 to strengthen his surgically repaired back, said he needs to decide in the next three weeks whether to play with the Dodgers in September or wait until November and play winter ball in Phoenix. Rosters can be expanded to 40 players on Sept. 1. “I’ve got to test my back sometime this year, but as good as it’s feeling, I don’t know if I want to rush it,” Strawberry said.

When the team is home, Strawberry does his rehabilitation therapy at Dodger Stadium and usually leaves when the game starts. “It’s frustrating sitting on the bench knowing you could be out there playing but you can’t,” Strawberry said. “If you are (sidelined) for a short time, that’s one thing, but when you are out like I am, it’s tough to sit there.”

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For the past six years, Orel and Jamie Hershiser have helped raise more than $1 million to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis through an annual fashion show that began in their back yard.

“It’s been exciting to be involved with the charity because during the last five years they have discovered the gene and they have started gene therapy with human beings already and they have pretty much conquered the disease in the test tube,” Hershiser said.

This year’s event is Saturday at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, and 20 Dodgers are scheduled to attend. Cost is $65. For information, call (818) 964-3603.