Claire Had Questioned Strawberry

The Dodgers said they saw signs of Darryl Strawberry’s drug and alcohol abuse and questioned him about it, but their hands were tied until Strawberry admitted Monday that he had a problem.

Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, said he questioned Strawberry several times last season, but Strawberry’s answer was always denial.

“From the standpoint of do you have a problem, did I ask him that? Yes,” Claire said. “Not saying that you do, or that I know you do, but is there a problem here, Why are you late? That line of inquiry. . . .

“‘You have your doctors, your coaches, your team therapist, but how do you break through? If you are going to acuse somebody, you better have evidence.”

Manager Tom Lasorda said he also saw signs of substance abuse. “When people are late for meetings and you don’t show up for games, what kind of signs do you get from that?” Lasorda said. “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that something else is controlling the mind.”

Strawberry was in New York Tuesday to be evaluated by two doctors--one representing the players association and the other from the owner’s side--before entering a drug-treatment center.

Claire, who still would not disclose the reason Strawberry initially gave for missing Sunday’s game, said the reason in itself was not a violation of Strawberry’s good-behavior clause. The Dodgers still owe Strawberry $8 million for two years, but if he has violated the standard clause or another clause believed to be written in an addendum, the Dodgers might be able to void the contract.