BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Is the N.L. West Race Matter of Character?

Isn’t is swell? Isn’t it grand?

In September of a season in which the replacement controversy should not have been an issue after the replacement concept no longer was a potential reality, the Dodgers have swept aside their own pettiness to accept Mike Busch and focus on the National League West race.

Now, we assume, because they are the best team--which they claim to be--they will have no excuses if they are unable to shake a team with real problems.

Perhaps character is involved here.

At any rate, the third-year Colorado Rockies are hanging on tenaciously despite a rotation so shattered that 23-year-old rookie Bryan Rekar, who started the year in double A, has emerged as the ace, primarily because he’s healthy.

The Rockies have one complete game, a staff earned-run average over five and a manager so frustrated with the fragility of his starters, primarily the sidelined Bill Swift, that he has begun to question their heart.

Swift, who received a three-year, $13.1 million contract as a free agent despite a history of shoulder problems, hasn’t pitched since July 26.

The Rockies are hopeful of nursing him back by mid-September, but it’s week-to-week. He went down with a 6-2 record and 5.83 ERA. He will have surgery when the season is complete, but there’s still a race to be won. He said he is free of pain except when he throws his best pitch, the sinker.

“It’s just not right,” he said. “There’s a real bad ache after I throw. I don’t want to go out there and embarrass myself and hurt the team.”

Manager Don Baylor suggested that Swift could help the team if he went out and tried to get by on his other pitches.

“He might have to scrap it,” Baylor said of the sinker. “Guys have done it before. I saw Phil Niekro win his 300th game without throwing his knuckleball.

“The everyday players go out there with hamstring and wrist injuries. How many times are they 100% and at their best? What’s your definition of a player at his best? If he has an injury, maybe it’s whatever he can get by with.”

Swift’s absence has been compounded by Bret Saberhagen’s recurring shoulder problems. He is 1-1 with a 5.83 ERA in five starts since his acquisition from the New York Mets.

Colorado fans were mile high, thinking he was the savior. Some in the organization now fear that the Rockies may have traded for damaged goods at a high price. In addition to taking on a long-term contract commitment, the Rockies gave up highly regarded Juan Acevedo, who may break into the Mets’ rotation next year.

Saberhagen missed a start for the second time Friday night in St. Louis and is day-to-day. So is the rest of the rotation aside from Rekar. Armando Reynoso and Ken Ritz are struggling to regain rhythm and arm strength after reconstructive elbow surgery. Marvin Freeman, a surprising 10-2 last year, and former Angel Joe Grahe, effective in spot starts during the first half, are on the disabled list, as is closer Bruce Ruffin--for the second time this year.

Maybe it’s an epidemic of altitude sickness, a reaction to the launching pad that is Coors Field. Opponents are batting .286 against the Rockies. The young Rekar is trying not to succumb. He is 3-2 with a 4.19 ERA and came within three outs of pitching the second shutout in Rockies history Wednesday night, beating the Pirates, 6-0, in Pittsburgh. He had thrown 122 pitches when Baylor took him out after the eighth inning.

“I have to take care of him,” Baylor said. “He’s the only healthy starter I have.”

The Rockies still have that thunderous attack (and a clubhouse devoid of backbiting), but they face a tough schedule that includes six more games with the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves.

BATTING RACE

There’s Mike Piazza, now with enough at bats, showing up at the top of the National League batting race, bumping Tony Gwynn to second.

There’s Gwynn saying he’s happy about it because there’s fewer questions and less pressure.

“Let him deal with trying to win the division and trying to become the first catcher to win the batting title since God knows what,” the San Diego Padre star said. “I couldn’t care less.

“If Piazza could have that and I could have the division title, I’d take it in a minute. People want to turn it into a rivalry, but that’s not the way I am.”

Since breaking a toe, taping it inside the shoe to stop movement and wrapping the shoe in protective covering, Gwynn had hit .342 entering the weekend. He hit a career high .394 last year, the highest average since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941, and is pursuing his sixth batting title.

Piazza? Let him make his run.

“I’ve got five silver bats already---up on the wall, my name on them,” Gwynn said. “That ain’t going to change.”

GIANT OUTLOOK

They are still on the fringe of the NL West race and have Matt Williams back. Terry Mulholland has pitched better since briefly bolting to contemplate retirement with a 2-10 record that is now 4-10. It comes down to that revolving-door pitching staff giving the San Francisco Giant offense a chance in September.

It’s definitely a long-shot. The staff ERA of 4.76 is the highest in franchise history, and closer Rod Beck has a league- high 10 blown saves.

“I look at the ones that got away, but on the other hand we’re still sneaking by,” Beck said. “You can’t look back. You have to take advantage of the opportunities ahead. We’re still alive. As long as the other teams are going to keep waiting on us, you never know.”

Said Manager Dusty Baker: “I told you when the year started that no one would run away. It makes you wonder where we would be if Matt had not lost 68 games [with a broken foot], even with some of our other guys having years not up to standard. Look at Houston without [Jeff] Bagwell. Watch Philadelphia now without [Darren] Daulton. It’s tough to lose one of your horses.”

HOSPITAL REPORT

The Pittsburgh franchise remains in intensive care. Still devoid of new ownership, the Pirates failed to draw more than 8,242 for three games with the Rockies this week and are averaging 13,478 through 57 dates.

Now the Bucs are laughing at themselves in an advertising campaign. One newspaper ad read: “Our marketing department’s exhaustive research has concluded that our low attendance figures may be due in large part to uncomfortable seating. Please remember to fold the seat down. Thank you.”

Said marketing veep Steve Greenberg: “Baseball in Pittsburgh is not dead, but it is very sick. It’s on the critical list. This season is a wash. We will poke fun at ourselves, even if people don’t come to the games.”

SNIPER FIRE

Jose Canseco, now with the Boston Red Sox, passed through Oakland and took his usual shots at the A’s and Manager Tony LaRussa, saying he is having a lot more fun now and gets more respect than he ever did from LaRussa and the A’s.

“Jose has a selective memory,” LaRussa said. “We respected him--at first, at least. As for the Red Sox, wait until he doesn’t show up when they need him. As soon as he doesn’t care when they need him to care, they’ll stop respecting him too.”

LaRussa paused, then added: “As soon as he wants to leave Oakland alone, I’ll be hoping I never have to mention his name again.”

NAMES AND NUMBERS

--Tim Wakefield has faltered in his dream comeback with the Boston Red Sox. He faces the Angels today having gone 0-2 with a 9.56 earned-run average in his last three starts, including a 6-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

Asked if batters were becoming more patient with his knuckleball, he said, “They can do whatever they want. They can stand on their hands if they want.”

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--Dave Burba is merely 5-0 as the throw-in in the deal in which the Cincinnati Reds also acquired Mark Portugal and Darrin Lewis from the San Francisco Giants for Deion Sanders. Burba has a 1.75 ERA and has not allowed a run in 36 2/3 innings at Riverfront Stadium, where he faces the Pittsburgh Pirates today, but his success has not generated much recognition. Fans still mistake him for teammate Hal Morris.

“Recognized around here?” Burba said. “No. Every time I sign autographs a whole bunch of people say, ‘Thanks, Hal,’ ”

--Donovan Osborne, on his way to becoming the St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching ace two years ago, is 0-6 in 13 starts this year and winless in the majors since Aug. 18, 1993. Osborne was sidelined by elbow surgery last year.

“I’m so far out of it that I’ve just got to try and keep myself sane,” he said.

--The Atlanta Braves reacquired 36-year-old Alejandro Pena from the Florida Marlins on Thursday to bolster their middle relief. Why would the Braves, who seem to have everything, need to strengthen middle relief?

Two reasons: Steve Avery and Kent Mercker. The Nos. 4 and 5 starters went into the weekend with a combined record of 13-18 and had gone past the sixth inning only once in their last six starts. The Braves were 23-22 in Avery-Mercker starts and 50-19 when others started.