BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : No Hugs, Kisses When Butler, Lasorda Renew Acquaintances

New York Met center fielder Brett Butler cautiously walked toward Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda before their game Tuesday night at Port St. Lucie, Fla. He stuck out his right hand, shook hands and quickly retreated.

He had been forewarned by teammate Bobby Bonilla that there would be a $500 fine awaiting him if he hugged Lasorda, so Butler backed away.

“He told me, ‘Tommy, you know I love you,’ ” Lasorda said, “ ‘but I can’t hug you. You understand, don’t you?’ ”

Lasorda nodded but decided there would have to be retribution. So he found Bonilla, feigned a handshake and immediately threw his arms around him before he could react. That kangaroo court fine now belongs to Bonilla.

“I got him,” Lasorda said, “I got him good.”

It was the first time Butler had seen his former teammates since Aug. 11, when the strike ended their season. But instead of rejoining them, he was told he no longer was wanted when the strike ended and signed a $2 million contract with the Mets.

Yet, Butler disclosed Tuesday, if no team had been willing to pay him $2 million for this season, he would have retired.

“Ultimately, either I was going to get $2 million,” Butler said before the Mets’ 9-7 victory, “or I was going to retire. It was that simple. I would have tipped my hat, and gone home.

“I’m a man of integrity. I could see the writing on the wall, and my role in the union was part of it. I didn’t need the money. So the bottom line was, either this is it, or I’m going home and raise my kids.”

The Baltimore Orioles offered $1.2 million, and the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox also expressed interest, but the Mets were the only team to come up with the $2 million.

“It still feels a little strange,” Butler said, looking across the field at his former teammates. “There’s a little added incentive now. You want to prove their choice is wrong. You want to prove they made a mistake.

“But I can’t dwell on that, I’ve got to go forward. Whatever happened, happened.”

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The Dodgers telephoned the San Francisco Giants to express displeasure with an advertising campaign that ridicules the Dodgers.

Their latest advertisement features pictures of Barry Bonds and Matt Williams swinging bats, with the caption: Two Reasons to Hate the Dodgers.

“There’s no reason for that,” Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, said. “Any campaign to put another team down is a poor campaign. I just don’t think that shows good judgment.

“You don’t need to be encouraging people to be doing something other than cheering for your own team.”

The Dodgers, who vented their concern about five years ago when the Giants ran an advertising campaign encouraging fans to boo Lasorda, say one of their biggest concerns is the campaign’s effect. There have been frequent fights in the stands and unruly crowd behavior at Candlestick Park when the two teams play.

“We don’t need any further problems,” Claire said. “I mean, we’ve always done as much as we can to promote the other team. We’ve honored Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Henry Aaron at Dodger Stadium.

“I guess, to each his own.”

Giant officials had no comment.

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Henry Rodriguez, who started for the sixth consecutive game, has won a starting outfield job, Lasorda said. He’ll start in right with Raul Mondesi in center and Billy Ashley in left. Rodriguez said, “I just want the opportunity to show I can be a starting outfielder, and it looks like I’m getting it.” . . . Dodger left-handed pitcher Omar Daal probably was eliminated from consideration for the starting rotation in the first inning Tuesday night, when he yielded three hits, two walks, hit a batter and allowed three runs. He is expected to return to the bullpen, leaving the Dodgers without a left-handed starter for the third consecutive year. The tentative rotation is Ramon Martinez, Tom Candiotti, Pedro Astacio, Ismael Valdes and Hideo Nomo. However, the Dodgers say there’s still a possibility that Valdes could be moved into the bullpen, making room for Chan Ho Park. If Park does not make the rotation, he’s expected to be sent to triple-A Albuquerque. . . . First baseman Eric Karros, who never has hit a grand slam in a regular-season game, hit one in the fifth inning off Met reliever Robert Person. Karros was hitless in eight at-bats with the bases loaded last season. . . . Ashley, who has been plagued by lower back problems, was in the lineup Tuesday. “He’s going to have his good days and bad days,” Lasorda said. “He’s OK today, but we’re going to have to watch him.” . . . Third baseman Tim Wallach, plagued by bulging disks in his lower back, played his first game of the spring in extended camp. He led off each inning, batting eight times, but did not have a hit. “I’m feeling good again,” he said. “I should be ready to play in a real game (today).” . . . Candiotti pitched in the extended spring game, yielding only three hits and three unearned runs in six innings.