BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : DeShields Won’t Forget Strawberry

With Darryl Strawberry gone, Delino DeShields is the only African-American on the team, and DeShields says it is not a situation he is used to.

“It’s not a problem for me, I’m more mature now, but it is unusual,” DeShields said. “In Montreal, Marquis Grissom was my best friend and, well, sometimes it’s good to have somebody that you can hang with. That doesn’t mean that I can’t hang with someone who isn’t black, but most of the time, that’s just the way it is.”

DeShields, 25, said he and Strawberry got close during spring training, although he knew him a little before then. Their lockers were next to each other, both in Vero Beach, Fla., and in Los Angeles.

“I haven’t talked with Darryl, but I called and left a message for him at his house to let him know I’m here for him,” DeShields said. “If he’s listening to what everybody is saying on the news, he’s going to think he’s been abandoned. I just want him to know they are not speaking for me. He will be my friend regardless of what happens.”

DeShields, wife Tisha and son Delino have rented a place in the South Bay. He says he hopes to be active in the Los Angeles community, as he was in Montreal.

“It takes time to establish relationships and your things to do in the community, and now it’s kind of all down the drain, but then, it isn’t,” he said. “I was a kid when I first got to Montreal (when he was 21) and it took me some time to get comfortable with myself and in doing the things I wanted to do with kids because I felt like a kid myself--I had no responsibilities. But now I have responsibilities, and there should be some things to do here in L.A.”

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Little by little, a cone of silence is falling over Dodger officials, who are finding it of little use to keep talking about Strawberry. Manager Tom Lasorda said Wednesday that he was finished talking, and Thursday, Executive Vice President Fred Claire basically said he’s not going to talk unless there is a reason to.

“(Stawberry) doesn’t need to be reading a new chapter every day, and I’m not going to contribute to a new chapter,” Claire said.

Claire said he has not mapped out a timetable for a decision on Strawberry’s future with the team.

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Left fielder Henry Rodriguez, who hit two home runs and drove in all three runs in the Dodgers’ 3-2 victory Wednesday night, said he watched highlights on television until 2:30 a.m., then watched repeats on ESPN in the morning.

“It was exciting watching myself on TV,” he said.