BASEBALL / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Lonnie Smith on Strawberry: Every Day Is a Battle

Lonnie Smith picked up his newspaper Friday morning, glanced at the box scores and smiled.

There it was: three hits--one a grand slam--two runs, five runs batted in.

San Francisco outfielder Darryl Strawberry, who was in a drug rehabilitative center a month ago, could be on his way to resurrecting a career.

“I know how much that game must have meant to him,” said Smith, Baltimore Oriole outfielder and recovering drug addict. “It makes you feel like you’re headed in the right direction, and if nothing else, it quiets some whispers.

“But this is going to be the hardest part. Everyone’s going to be looking at him. He’s going to get letters. Fans are going to taunt him on the road. He’s going to feel lonely.

“When it’s not happening for you, that’s the time you’ve got to make sure you don’t go down that trail to ease the pain.

“Every day is a battle. You think about it all the time, especially when there’s a lot of pressure, and you’re all alone. That’s when you really think you need some.

“That’s what got me the first time.”

Smith, a graduate of Centennial High in Compton, was spending as much as $1,500 a week on drug use before turning to a rehabilitation clinic in 1983. He still must submit to drug tests.

“You’re never cured,” Smith said, “and never will be. You may not be using, but you’re not cured. There is no miracle cure for a drug addict or alcoholic.”

BRACE YOURSELVES

It’s a locker better suited for a war zone. There are hand grenades, knives, daggers, ammunition boxes and Soldier of Fortune magazines.

And it soon could be moving.

The Chicago Cubs’ Randy Myers, the original nasty boy himself, will probably be in be different uniform soon.

The New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves have expressed interest in Myers. The Cubs wanted minor league outfielders Billy Ashley and Todd Hollandsworth from the Dodgers for Myers, but Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, didn’t want to part with either of them. Myers, who saved a National League-record 53 games last season, is to earn $3.5 million next season in the final year of his contract.

COULD YOU IMAGINE?

It has been eight years since the Angels were in the playoffs, and it might be eight more before they are there again, but Seattle Mariner star Ken Griffey Jr. wouldn’t mind playing center field for them.

Griffey, who won’t be a free agent until the 1996 season, says there are only five teams he would consider playing for when his contract expires, and the Angels are the only American League team.

“I’d like to see things work out in Seattle,” Griffey said. “But if they don’t, I have to consider my options.

“The only five places I’d play are Cincinnati, Atlanta, Miami, Anaheim and Pittsburgh.”

Unfortunately for the Angels, those are his preferences in order.

GREAT, NOW EVERYONE KNOWS

Texas catcher Ivan Rodriguez’s play during the All-Star game let the baseball world know what the Rangers have become painfully aware of the last two years:

He is one of the most overrated players in the American League.

Rodriguez failed to block the plate in the third inning against Gregg Jefferies, and again in the 10th when Tony Gwynn slid in between his legs with the winning run.

What if Mike Scioscia had been behind the plate?

“If that had been Mike Scioscia, I would have been dead meat,” Gwynn said.

Texas Manager Kevin Kennedy, who has been disgusted with Rodriguez’s defensive lapses, said, “We can’t use youth as an excuse anymore. He has three years in the big leagues. It’s time for him to be a leader. I want to see him more under control emotionally.”

NOW WHAT HAVE WE DONE?

They went out and spent $189.4 million in Texas to build the Ballpark in Arlington for the Rangers, but in all of their grandiose plans, someone forgot one detail.

What would it do to outfielder Juan Gonzalez, their $45-million investment?

“It’s unbelievable,” one American League manager said. “They spent all that money, and all they’ve done is completely psych out their best player. Gonzalez is completely psyched out by that place. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The Rangers’ left-field porch is 390 feet away, 12 feet farther than old Arlington Stadium, but with the changing of wind currents, it makes it even more difficult to reach.

Gonzalez, who hit 89 home runs the last two seasons, began the weekend batting .259 with only 13 homers and 67 runs batted in. He has hit only four homers at Arlington all season.

AROUND THE BASES

While Kansas City General Manager Herk Robinson concedes that Manager Hal McRae ‘s job is in jeopardy, apparently, so is his own. Rumors have Whitey Herzog replacing Robinson by the end of the year. . . . Things could be interesting at the end of the 1995 season. Future Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles and Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins each have contract clauses permitting them to become free agents. If they did, though, Ripken would be walking away from a guaranteed $12.2 million, and Puckett $11 million.

If the Seattle Mariners don’t win the AL West title, scouting director Roger Jongewaard is expected to replace Woody Woodward as general manager. . . . Here’s what Jay Robertson, Cleveland scouting director, had to say about the Indians’ No. 1 draft pick, Jaret Wright of Katella High in Anaheim: “I compare Jaret physically, and with the stuff he has, to a cross between (Roger) Clemens and (Pete) Harnisch. In 12 years of scouting, I’ve never seen a high school pitcher who could do the things Jaret does.”

The Cincinnati Reds say that Ron Gant should be ready by Sept. 1, but General Manager Jim Bowden says that Gant will be used primarily as a role player this season. “I won’t put him in left field as long as Kevin Mitchell is healthy,” Bowden said. “But how great will it be during a tie game with a runner on third and nobody out to have Ron Gant available to pinch-hit?” . . . Oriole closer Lee Smith is eligible for free agency again after this season. Don’t expect him to be joining the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his last 10 appearances at Three Rivers, he has a 9.90 ERA with five homers in 10 innings, including, of course, Fred McGriff’s two-run shot in the All-Star game.

Brewer pitcher Jaime Navarro came down with the chickenpox and 12 teammates had to be immunized. . . . When Cardinal shortstop Ozzie Smith did his flip before the All-Star game, it was the first time he had performed the routine on the road. . . . Since last year’s All-Star break, the Atlanta Braves are 106-52 and the Montreal Expos are 100-61. . . . Ridiculing the Angels for leaving closer Bryan Harvey unprotected has subsided, now that he is sidelined for the season after having undergone groin surgery. Harvey, who has only six saves this season, is scheduled to earn $3 million this year and $4.5 million in 1995.

The Astros, disappointed with outfielder James Mouton, are trying to acquire Milt Thompson or Jim Eisenreich from the Phillies. . . . The Boston Red Sox were 26-13 and a half-game out in the AL East on May 20 when they were thrashed by the Minnesota Twins, 21-2. They since had gone 17-31 through Friday. . . . The Phillies have had eight regular position players or starting pitchers on the disabled list this season. . . . Manager Don Baylor of the Colorado Rockies made 251 pitching changes in the first half, the most in baseball.