Two ‘Replacements’ Who Suit the Dodgers Just Fine

Making people forget Brett Butler is a hard, hard job to give a guy.

It is difficult enough for Delino DeShields, who takes over for Butler permanently as the Dodger leadoff man. Yet in many ways, Delino’s an old pro. Think of young Billy Ashley, who moves into the occupancy in the Dodger outfield to replace an extremely popular player.

Well, in the home opener Friday night, Ashley doubled to the fence--one of those real rainmakers he tends to hit. And then he hit a sky-high sacrifice fly to deepest center that fell just short of going out. And then he smacked one about eight miles high that did go out.

Ashley easily could have had three home runs.

Even without Mike Piazza, the new kid in town and the Dodgers did just fine, winning again, 9-1, and in the process winning back a few more of the 51,181 fans, they hope.

Moving up a spot in the batting order with Piazza taking the night off, Ashley warmed up in the batter’s box after warming a few hearts before the game, signing autographs by the dozen.

“We’re glad you’re here!” one fan obviously not disgusted with either baseball or the Butler move called down to Ashley in the dugout.

“So am I,” Ashley called up.

He knows that many Dodger fans were sorry to see Butler go, that the club was taking a gamble by moving Raul Mondesi to center field and sticking Ashley in left.

Favoring a man named Ashley over one named Butler, the Dodgers must have felt like Scarlett O’Hara.

But the Dodgers also had taken gambles on three other young guys--Eric Karros, Piazza and Mondesi--all of whom took part in a pregame ceremony Friday that recognized the Dodgers’ having three consecutive Rookies of the Year.

Remember, fans were sorry to see Eddie Murray and Mike Scioscia go too, when they went.

Hitless in Miami, Ashley was looking for his first hit of the season, and he got it. His fourth-inning clout chased Marquis Grissom to the warning track in deepest right-center, where he couldn’t quite flag it down. It scored a run and all but got rid of Avery, who had been nothing but nasty to the Dodgers in this stadium before.

Ashley’s deep and high sacrifice fly in the fifth scored another run. And then came his three-run homer in the next inning, which left the park in such a hurry that the Atlanta outfielders barely moved a muscle.

It was as good as a home opener could get for Ashley--and not too shabby for DeShields, either.

Batting leadoff, DeShields got on base and made things happen, same way Butler did. He also played excellent defense, making a stab at second base that robbed Chipper Jones of a hit on a bang-bang play that tested the eyesight of a replacement umpire.

Dodger fans probably don’t have to worry about DeShields.

He was expected to bat leadoff all of last season, but that was before he turned into the unluckiest player in baseball. On March 2, he broke his cheek. On April 23, he collided with Mondesi in the outfield. On May 25, he collided with Cub catcher Rick Wilkins and jammed the joints on three fingers.

The Dodgers wanted him to join their blue crew, and he did. Blue Cross.

But if DeShields can keep himself in one piece, the Dodgers won’t miss Butler’s leadoff skills the way they otherwise might. Nobody else on their current roster fills this bill the way DeShields does.

It is Ashley whose contribution will be the big question mark this season. Everyone knows he hits ‘em high and hits ‘em far.

They just hope he hits ‘em often.

Starting pitcher Pedro Astacio was the happiest man in the park, seeing nine runs on the scoreboard against Atlanta. That doesn’t happen very often.

When he left the game after walking in Atlanta’s only run, Astacio was so upset with himself that he nearly ate his glove. He chewed on it in the dugout like a dog with a slipper.

But that was before Ashley hit one into the fans in the left-field stands.

He keeps hitting them there, they’ll keep sitting there.