BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Wallach Is the Cutoff Man on This Play

Third baseman Tim Wallach marched into Manager Tom Lasorda’s office Friday afternoon and demanded a ruling on his stubble face.

“A couple of your coaches have been getting on me,” Wallach said in mock anger. “Do I have to shave or not?”

Lasorda pondered the decision momentarily, then loudly pronounced, “No, don’t shave until we lose.”

Lasorda, well aware that the club’s policy allows no facial hair other than mustaches, said a precedent was set a couple of years ago with Wallach.

“I asked [President] Peter [O’Malley] if it was OK if Timmy didn’t shave,” Lasorda said. “Peter said, ‘Let his beard grow down to his knees, as long as we win.’ ”

Wallach, who is batting .391 since coming off the disabled list with a herniated disk in his lower back, has everyone acting superstitious these days. His running ability may be impaired, prompting a few teammates to call him Sea Biscuit, but no one is laughing about his bat.

“The way he’s been hitting, I’m going to get my back to hurt too,” outfielder Chris Gwynn said. “I’m going to hit it with a hammer, and see if I start hitting like Tim. He’s the ultimate gamer.”

He’s also now clean-shaven. “Tommy gave me the news,” Wallach said. “It’s too bad. I was getting to like it.”

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Catcher Mike Piazza says his left thumb still is aching, and he is about 10 days away from returning. But he did make a promise to Dodger fans.

“I guarantee I’ll steal a base this season,” he said. “You can count on it. If it’s the last week of the season, and I don’t have one, I’m taking off.

“When I steal it, I’ll say, ‘Today, I am the greatest of all time.’ ”

Piazza, stealing a line of Rickey Henderson’s speech, said that his legs actually do feel the best they have in his career.

“I just wish my thumb would feel as good,” he said. “It’s going to take time. It’s not going to be easy.”

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In an odd twist, Expo left fielder Moises Alou benched himself Friday, saying he needed a mental rest from his three-for-26 slump. “I saved my dad [Manager Felipe Alou] the trouble,” he said. . . . Triple-A Albuquerque infielders Ron Coomer and Brian Traxel have been given permission by the Dodgers to negotiate contracts with the Japanese League. . . . Ismael Valdes has been bothered by a sore right ankle but says he’ll have no trouble making his scheduled start today.