Dodgers, Boston Are Only Teams Gagne Desires

The Dodgers are ready to re-sign shortstop Greg Gagne but Gagne is not sure he wants to return.

Gagne, a free agent when the season ends, said it was nothing against the Dodgers but that he would love to play for the Boston Red Sox.

“It’s home,” Gagne said. “It would be easy to play in Boston. That’s where my family is. I wouldn’t have to worry about taking my kids out of school.

“It’s something my wife and I will decide this winter, but either I’ll come back or I’ll be in Boston. That’s it.”

The Dodgers will tell you they don’t know what they would have done without Gagne this year. He batted .255 with 10 homers and 55 RBIs, and solidified the infield.

Gagne already has two World Series rings from his days with the 1987 and 1991 champion Minnesota Twins.

“The last team I saw in the playoffs were the Braves [in 1991],” he said. “And the last team I saw in the ’87 playoffs were the [St. Louis] Cardinals. So I figure if we can beat the Braves now, then beat the Cardinals in the second round, and then knock off the Yankees in the World Series--the team that signed me--I’ll have come full circle.”

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Second baseman Delino DeShields realizes that when he steps onto the field Thursday, it may be the final time he plays for the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

“It doesn’t take a freaking brain surgeon to figure out that I had a bad year,” said DeShields, who batted .224 this season with a .288 on-base percentage. “This has been the toughest part of my career. I haven’t done nearly as well as I liked.

“But what tees me off is the boos. I’m not immune to it. I hear them, and believe me, that’s something I’ll never forget.

“They don’t see me busting my . . . just to get on the field. You hear guys getting credit for playing hurt, and banged up, but what about me? Nobody says anything when I got to work so damn hard to play because of the pain in my [left] hip and leg.

“This could be it for me, I know that. I think Fred [Claire, executive vice president] will do what’s best for the Dodgers and I’m going to do what’s best for Delino DeShields.”

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Knuckleballer Tom Candiotti will be ready to pitch Game 4 of the playoffs, if needed. He will be available for relief work but if the Dodgers don’t want to pitch Ramon Martinez on three days’ rest in Game 4, Candiotti may be summoned.

“They know I’ve pitched well against the Braves,” said Candiotti, who is 3-4 with a 2.74 earned-run average against the Braves in his career.

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The Braves have decided to go with Jeff Blauser at shortstop, keep Chipper Jones at third base, and put Terry Pendleton on the bench. Yet, Manager Bobby Cox said that it’s possible Pendleton could be moved to third in Game 2, with Jones playing shortstop.

The Braves took struggling outfielder Dwight Smith off the playoff roster. “It hurts man, to go this far and not play at this time of year,” Smith said.

The Braves are undecided what to do with left-handed starter Steve Avery, who has yielded 12 runs in two-thirds of an inning in his last two appearances. They are leaning toward taking him off the postseason roster, sending him to an instructional league, then perhaps bringing him back for the second round if they get past the Dodgers.