Baylor: ‘I Guess We’re All Playing for Second Place’

They have been perspiring from the heat in the Valley of the Sun--not from any fear of what lies ahead.

Let the Dodgers talk about stepping up and dominating the National League West, about intimidating and beating up on teams.

The San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies have simply tended to yawn.

“I guess we’re all playing for second place,” Colorado Manager Don Baylor said. “I hope none of their guys get hurt.”

Said Padre outfielder Tony Gwynn, “I don’t take any of their remarks as a personal shot, but it doesn’t do any good to pop off like they have. . . . You’ve still got to do it between the lines.”

Said Bob Quinn, the Giants’ general manager, “The Dodgers have an impressive pitching staff and formidable lineup. They should be favored to win the division, but as far as I know we’re still scheduled to play 162 games.”

The Padres, Giants and Rockies obviously expect to compete rather than cower.

Or as Padre General Manager Kevin Towers said, “If the Dodgers play to their potential, they certainly have the arsenal to do what they say they are going to do, but I like the idea of being the fox in the woods.

“I also know our guys can’t wait until July 1.”

That will be the first meeting of the Padres and Dodgers this season. The Giants and Rockies will play the Dodgers before then. A capsule look at the teams the Dodgers hope to dominate:

PADRES

They aren’t exactly a fox in the woods. The Padres were 2 1/2 games out of first place as late as the Labor Day weekend last year, went 12-15 after that, but still finished as the league’s most improved team, going from 47-70 to 70-74.

In a busy winter, the Padres failed to sign free agents Ron Gant and Craig Biggio, but did sign left fielder Rickey Henderson and pitcher Bob Tewksbury, and traded for first baseman Wally Joyner.

They will start six players 31 or older, five who hit .297 or more in 1995 and four who have won at least one Gold Glove: Henderson, Gwynn, Steve Finley and Ken Caminiti. And Joyner led American League first baseman in fielding percentage last year.

“I think we were in much the same position as the Padres were before acquiring Steve Garvey, Goose Gossage and Graig Nettles in 1984 [and winning a division title],” Towers said.

“It was time to go from a team that had been rebuilding to a team with a legitimate chance to win. We were in the hunt for five months last year. We’re better now.”

The goal was to improve defense, on-base percentage and power.

“We didn’t get the power, but with Henderson as a catalyst and Joyner as a run producer, we’ve shored up the offense in other ways,” Towers said.

The Padres are also the challenger with pitching depth comparable to the Dodgers. They have seven legitimate starters in Tewksbury, Joey Hamilton, Andy Ashby, Fernando Valenzuela, Tim Worrell, Sean Bergman and Scott Sanders, whose elbow injury in mid-July was a significant loss last year. They have a proven closer in Trevor Hoffman and another on the way in Dustin Hermanson.

“We’ve gone from [a] young and inexperienced team to a team with an excellent experience-youth ratio,” Gwynn said.

“The Dodgers are confident and should be, but I think we can compete. We have a team capable of winning the division now, and this is the first time in a long time I’ve said it and meant it.”

ROCKIES

The third-year Rockies finished only one game behind the Dodgers as the NL’s wild-card team, fueled by a high-altitude offense that led the league in batting and home runs, with four players hitting 30 or more, only the second time that has happened.

That powerful lineup returns, with the exception of catcher Joe Girardi, a clubhouse leader who went to the New York Yankees as a free agent.

Also returning is a pitching staff that set a major league record by producing only one complete game. Baylor used his bullpen an average of 3 1/2 innings a game and went to each of four relievers 64 or more times.

“I juggled enough last year,” Baylor said. “I don’t want to go through that again. I’ve run that marathon back and forth to the mound.”

Unfortunately for Baylor, it may be more of the same. Bill Swift and Bret Saberhagen, veterans who could provide leadership, remain question marks. Swift, coming back from shoulder surgery, is expected to be part of the opening rotation, but he worked sparingly in the spring. Saberhagen has not pitched since October. He is trying to strength his shoulder and avoid surgery.

“If our pitching develops, we’re going to have to be dealt with,” said Dante Bichette, the most productive of the bombers. “It all comes down to the pitching.”

The Rockies may have some on the way in home-grown Jamey Wright, John Burke and Doug Million, but it is doubtful any of the three will arrive before mid-season. Kevin Ritz (11-11) will pitch the opener for a team whose earned run average of 4.97 was highest in the league.

Asked if he was surprised that a team rolling in revenue hadn’t popped for a dependable arm, Baylor said, “I don’t have the checkbook. I mean, pitching is what everyone is looking for, and sometimes you overpay.”

Said Bichette, “I was surprised about that, but I think they’ve been waiting to see what happens with Swift and Saberhagen, and I don’t think it’s out of the question that they’ll still go after a pitcher. They did it last year, getting Saberhagen, and that was a boost for the players, knowing they’d do what’s needed.”

Bichette, who moves from left to right field as Gold Glove right fielder Larry Walker goes to center and Ellis Burks to left, said the players also know something else.

“The big thing we have going for us is the experience of last year,” he said.

“We came within a game of beating the Dodgers and a break or two of beating Atlanta in the playoffs. We know we can do it.”

GIANTS

The Giants finished last in the division in 1995, 11 games behind the Dodgers. Matt Williams and Robby Thompson missed almost half of the season because of injuries as the offense fell to 12th in the league, and the pitching ranked 13th. Mark Leiter (10-12) was the only pitcher who won more than seven games, and an overtaxed bullpen gave up a league-high 64 homers, with Rod Beck blowing a league-high 10 saves.

A front office that has tried to follow an economical course in the last three years shelled out $7 million to retain Leiter, Beck, first baseman Mark Carreon and outfielder Glenallen Hill. There was no attempt to retain Deion Sanders, but the Giants signed Stan Javier and Shawon Dunston as free agents after trading shortstop Royce Clayton to St. Louis for three much-needed pitchers: starter Allen Watson and relievers Rich DeLucia and Doug Creek.

“Our offense and defense match up favorably with any team in the division,” said Quinn, referring to a potentially potent lineup of Javier, Thompson, Barry Bonds, Williams, Carreon, Hill, Dunston and Kirt Manwaring.

It’s the pitching that remains suspect.

“I’m not pushing the panic button by any means, but there’s a heightened level of concern because of the inconsistency [in spring training],” Quinn said.

“Hopefully they’ll pull it together.”

Who? The first three are Leiter, William VanLandingham (6-3) and Watson (7-9). The Giants hope the No. 4 will be former Cuban star Osvaldo Fernandez, who received a widely criticized three-year, $3.2-million contract at 29 and has personified the inconsistency of the spring. The promising Jamie Brewington could ease some of the starting concern, but the bullpen is a comparable problem.

“Everyone is looking for pitching, but there isn’t much quality around,” Manager Dusty Baker said. “The way the scores are this spring, it kind of tells you that you’re going to have to out-slug people, and I think we can do that if need be.

“I know we can compete, but it’s a matter of not sustaining any front-line injuries. I don’t want to make excuses, but nobody had more injuries than we did last year and we were still in the race in September. Losing Matt Williams is like the Dodgers losing Mike Piazza.”

The Dodgers? Baker smiled. He wonders if Tom Candiotti is still talking about beating up on people with his knuckleball.