BASEBALL ’94 / SEASON PREVIEWS FOR ANGELS, DODGERS : It’s Time to Play Ball as Dodgers Focus on ’94

On the day the Dodgers prepared to celebrate the beginning of a new era, remnants of the old one resurfaced, blurring not only today’s 1994 opener but a season that appeared full of promise.

When the team arrived for Monday’s workout, the future of Darryl Strawberry hung like a dark cloud over Dodger Stadium, causing Manager Tom Lasorda to address the issue in an intense clubhouse team meeting while club officials took secret exits to avoid a crush of reporters.

Then, later in the day, Strawberry, who failed to show up for the final exhibition game Sunday against the Angels, told club officials he has an alcohol and drug addiction and will enter a treatment program today. He was placed on the disabled list, and his future remains unclear.

The situation is likely to shadow the team in the coming weeks.

“It has to stay with us because that is the fair thing for Darryl, and everything has it’s due process,” Orel Hershiser said. “But it’s a shame from a team standpoint because there are so many positive things going on in this locker room.

“Darryl can control so much of the media attention with his presence, either positive or negative, that he can overshadow almost anything that can happen in this clubhouse--barring a perfect game or a guy hitting for the cycle.

“As for everything that can happen on and off the field, Darryl dictates what’s probably going to be written on the top of the newspapers or the headline stories.

“So it is a shame, because there are so many positive things, with Chan Ho (Park) and Darren (Dreifort) and the resurgence of the offense and the defense, and Delino (DeShields). “Hopefully, it will turn around quickly. But have we ever let something like this die quickly?”

The Dodgers open the season today against the Florida Marlins with a lineup full of young, fresh talent and a good blend of veterans. They have two new coaches, former players Bill Russell and Reggie Smith, whom the players say helped instill a new intensity.

After a calm spring, the Dodgers returned to Los Angeles from Florida with a lineup that showed power, speed and depth everywhere except starting pitching. But in a crowning moment for an organization once known for its pitching depth, rookies Park and Dreifort made the team, becoming the first Dodgers since Sandy Koufax to skip the minors.

Now, Strawberry’s absence will be felt. Although he wasn’t fully back, he was hitting the ball hard. Moreover, even if Strawberry isn’t productive, his presence is still important as the team’s only left-handed power hitter. As the cleanup hitter, Strawberry was slated to bat between Mike Piazza and Eric Karros, helping them get better pitches to hit. The batting order is now in a state of flux.

“We will not let this deny us,” Lasorda said. “We have worked hard all spring and no one man is going to stop us. We will have nine guys out there (today) and they are not going to let anything distract them.”

If this team is able to survive the distractions, they still can contend in the National League West, though a productive Strawberry would help in the effort to edge the favored San Francisco Giants. For the first time in three seasons, the Dodgers are hinging all their hope on Strawberry, instead spreading the power among Piazza, Karros, rookie right-fielder Raul Mondesi and a revived Tim Wallach.

Behind Piazza, the Dodgers hit 42 home runs in 30 spring games. Strawberry hit four. If there is a question about whether Piazza, the 1993 NL rookie of the year, is for real, consider this statistic: He hit nine home runs in 30 games, while averaging about six innings a game.

“It’s the deepest team since 1988 maybe, when we had Mickey Hatcher and Tracy Woodson and those guys,” said Hershiser, the only player remaining from the Dodgers’ last World Series championship team.

For the first time in a while, the Dodgers have a set lineup to field, with five of the regulars no older than 26. Four of those players were developed in the Dodger system--Piazza, Karros, Mondesi and Jose Offerman. Playing left field in place of Strawberry will be Henry Rodriguez, 26, a left-handed hitter whose promise of power has yet to materialize. Mitch Webster will probably also play some in left, as well as Cory Snyder when he returns from the disabled list. Billy Ashley, who was recalled from Albuquerque on Monday, will also be available.

“When I look back it feels good to be the first (farm product) after some down years,” Karros said. “The team had a five-year plan they put in effect in 1988, the year I was drafted, to try and restore the minor leagues. And it is neat to see it come to fruition. The plan was to keep us playing together in the system until we got here.

”. . . It’s the first time in the three seasons that I have been with the team that I really think we can win, it’s not just talk. This is the most optimistic I have been. We do have a good team, and the biggest difference is offensively, we are much better.”

The team’s new second baseman, DeShields, dazzled Dodger fans Friday night during the Freeway Series with his defensive skills, but he is equally effective on the basepaths. As the leadoff hitter batting ahead of Brett Butler, DeShields’ speed can help produce runs. During the spring, Butler and DeShields worked on a first-to-third play--whereby DeShields takes off from first base on the pitch, Butler bunts to third and DeShields winds up there.

DeShields has also helped shortstop Offerman, who fielded smoothly during the spring. Offerman returned from winter ball about 25 pounds heavier and a lot happier. A two-year, $2.115 million contract seemed to relax him even more.

“This is the year that is going to tell with Offy,” said Russell, the Dodgers’ former shortstop and new bench coach. “It’s his third year out and there is some maturity that comes along with it. If we are going to win, he has to pick his game up a notch and this is the year. I see a guy who is not taking the game for granted. It’s a happy Offy this spring.”

Mondesi, 23, was favored for the right field job when he entered spring training, and he did not disappoint. Even if Snyder hadn’t been sidelined with injuries, it would be difficult for the Dodgers to keep Mondesi’s power, speed and defensive skills on the bench. He has the best arm on the team and challenged runners all spring, recording seven outfield assists, a remarkable feat.

It was Lasorda’s persistence that helped Mondesi at the plate. Whether a road game or not, Mondesi was required to hit 200 curveballs, thrown by Lasorda and whoever Lasorda could corral to help, every day of the spring. At one point, Mondesi was so sore from the extra hitting that Lasorda gave him three days off, but only one game off.

It is the Dodgers’ pitching that has the most question marks. The team doesn’t have an ace starter and really wouldn’t need one if the offense and defense continues to be strong, assuming they have five average starters.

Pedro Astacio has the potential to shine, but he was slowed this spring by cardiac tests. Ramon Martinez’s velocity has returned, but he has been inconsistent over the spring and the last two seasons. Kevin Gross battled tendinitis throughout the winter and spring, but continued to throw every other day. Only Orel Hershiser and Tom Candiotti were able to show some consistency this spring. Chan Ho Park, who is a starter, will begin in the bullpen, but could work into the rotation quickly if the starters falter.

In the bullpen, the Dodgers are again counting on closer Todd Worrell, who appears to be healthy and has been throwing hard. Jim Gott, who so ably filled Worrell’s role last season when he was sidelined, has been ineffective in the spring, but pitching coach Ron Perranoski says it’s a matter of Gott finding his timing. If he does, he is presently slated for the setup role, along with Roger McDowell, who also had a solid season last year and has looked good in the spring.

The Dodgers added left-handed reliever Gary Wayne, who was released by the Colorado Rockies after last season. Wayne had a dismal record in the thin air of Mile High Stadium, but a solid road record, and he won the job outright over five others.

Dreifort, a hard-throwing reliever, is targeted as the closer of the future, but first he and Park need some seasoning at the major league level. It will be more difficult for Park then Dreifort, who has pitched in front of thousands in the College World Series while playing for Wichita State. But the language barrier for Park, who speaks little English, and the minor differences in baseball rules between here and South Korea will take adjustment.

Joe Amalfitano returns as the third base coach, Perranoski as pitching coach and Mark Cresse as the bullpen coach. Russell will be the bench coach and Smith, besides the hitting coach, will coach first base.

The addition of Russell and Smith seemed to make an impact on the players, who say they helped instill a competitive attitude. But with the distractions of Strawberry’s situation, Lasorda will have his hands full trying to shuffle a lineup that was intact the entire spring. His 45-minute team meeting Monday seemed to go a long way in keeping his player’s focused.

“You have to turn your focus away from Darryl as a person and say for the betterment of our team we have to block this out,” Hershiser said. “We have to go on and make the best of what we can do. That is very insensitive on the personal level, but it is necessary on the professional level.”