BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : DeShields Pleads His Case on the Field

Dodger second baseman Delino DeShields, who has been waiting patiently for the chance to prove himself again, might have played his way into the starting lineup.

DeShields, starting for the first time since July 25, went three for four with a home run Sunday in the Dodgers’ 5-3 loss to the New York Mets, leaving Manager Tom Lasorda to reconsider DeShields’ fate.

DeShields, who spent a week out of the lineup because of pain in his right leg, was told he’d regain his starting job when he felt healthy again. DeShields informed Lasorda on Aug. 1 that he was ready to return, only for Lasorda and the coaching staff to stick with rookie Chad Fonville.

Sunday morning, DeShields was tapped on the shoulder by bench coach Bill Russell and told he would be starting. The Dodgers put Fonville in left field for the first time in his professional career.

“[DeShields] had a hell of a day,” said Lasorda, who will determine today whether DeShields will be back in the lineup. “He played a great game.”

Said DeShields, who produced his first three-hit game since June 19: “It was a good game for me, but it didn’t matter. We lost. It doesn’t matter if you don’t win.”

Yet, when asked if he expects to return to the lineup, DeShields said he has no idea.

“You’ll have to ask Tommy that,” DeShields said. “It’s his call. All I can do is stay prepared. And I’ve been prepared for quite a while now.”

Said Fonville: “I’m happy for him. It’s great for Delino. I hope he has the chance to do the same thing [today].”

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Fonville, who has started the last 32 games, certainly was surprised to find himself starting in left field. Who knows, Lasorda said, Fonville may find himself playing more frequently in left field if DeShields returns to the lineup.

“[Bullpen coach Mark] Cresse asked me, ‘Do you have an outfielder’s glove?’ ” Fonville said. “I said, ‘You serious?’ Oh, yeah, I was surprised.”

Fonville, who wound up borrowing Roberto Kelly’s glove, did not have a fly ball hit to him. The only ball he fielded was a double by pitcher Jason Isringhausen.

“They can stick me wherever they want, and I’ll be fine,” Fonville said. “OK, maybe not as a pitcher. I don’t think I’d last two innings.”

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Reggie Smith, Dodger hitting instructor, thinks his hitters might be too relaxed.

“I think a lot of what’s happened is the effect of our tremendous homestand and coming back to win all those ballgames,” Smith said. “I think we kind of relaxed. We just didn’t maintain that intensity.”