Piazza Works with Scioscia on Delivery

It has been a problem that has gone somewhat unnoticed this season, but if the Dodgers are going to challenge the Braves for the National League pennant, they realize it must be addressed.

Simply, teams have run themselves silly against the Dodgers this season. They have yielded a whopping 104 stolen bases, throwing out only 15 baserunners. All-Star catcher Mike Piazza has thrown out 12 of 101 base runners and backup Tom Prince has not thrown out a baserunner in 15 attempts.

The pitching staff, which has the second-lowest earned-run average in baseball, largely takes the blame for failing to hold runners close to the bag. Yet Piazza and the Dodgers also realize that he must improve his throwing consistency.

This is why Piazza has been studying tapes of the way he threw in 1993 and why Mike Scioscia, Dodger roving catching instructor, has worked with Piazza and Prince the last few days.

“Mike just got out of synch,” Scioscia said. “Instead of one fluid motion, he became a little disjointed. We made some simple adjustments, and I think we’ll control the running game much better the second half.”

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First baseman Paul Konerko, considered the best power-hitting prospect in the organization, is putting on a show that scouts say defies belief.

He already has hit 23 home runs and driven in 62 runs in only 88 games at double-A San Antonio.

There have been only three players in the last 10 years who have hit more than 23 homers in a season at San Antonio--Henry Rodriguez (28), Mike Devereaux (26) and Billy Ashley (24).

Konerko, the Dodgers’ first-round pick in the 1994 draft as a catcher, is accelerating so quickly that the Dodgers now are contemplating moving him to third base in the instructional league.

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The Dodgers, who spent $1 million excavating their field this winter, will renovate the infield drainage system during the 11-game road trip. It has left the infield brutally hard the last couple of months.

The Dodger grounds crew has tried to compensate by heavily watering the infield and raking it twice during games, but it still has drawn the complaints of infielders.

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Reliever Antonio Osuna returned to the team after being with his ill mother near Los Mochis, Mexico, who was suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes. Osuna said that she’s feeling much better, but plans to call twice a day to make sure.