Butler Gives a Solid Account of Himself

Center fielder Brett Butler, perspiration dripping from his forehead, dirt and grass stains on his uniform, never looked any better Sunday afternoon.

Butler, in his first test of the spring in his comeback from cancer, looked like the Butler of old. He dove for balls, bunted, hit a ball into the gap for a single. He tried to score from first base but was thrown out during the Dodgers’ 9-5 loss to the New York Mets.

“He looked like the same Buggsy to me,” Manager Bill Russell said. “Today, he came here and looked like nothing ever happened to him.

“The most important thing to us was that he ran good routes in the outfield and looked great defensively.”

Butler, who had played only five games since doctors determined last May he had cancer of the tonsils, received rousing ovations each time he came to the plate. He went one for three and was serenaded off the field with cheers after the fifth inning.

“It was a little embarrassing,” Butler said. “I looked over and [Mike] Piazza is saying, ‘Get off the field.’ . . .

“I’m a little more tired than I thought I would be, but I don’t feel as bad as I did the last five games [of the 1996 season]. The key to me is recovery time, and my recovery time has been good. So I’m not that far off where I should be.”

The litmus test, Butler said, will be the final week of the spring when he’ll attempt to play at least seven innings of every game.

Butler, whose saliva glands still are not functioning, played for the first time without bottled water in his back pocket. The test failed. He’ll resume carrying water with him.

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Outfielder Todd Hollandsworth, the National League’s 1996 rookie of the year, signed a one-year contract for $550,000.

The Dodgers offered a three-year deal worth about $4.2 million and a two-year contract, but Hollandsworth rejected both offers to protect his arbitration rights in 1998.

The Dodgers, who also signed outfielder Billy Ashley to a one-year contract, worth about $275,000, watched their payroll climb to $44.7 million for their anticipated 25-man roster, the highest in franchise history.

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Starter Ramon Martinez was pounded for five hits and five runs in four innings, including a 460-foot homer by Howard Johnson. “In spring training, there hasn’t been any hit longer off me than that one,” Martinez said. “That’s OK. It’s just spring training. I’ll take that. But I feel great. I need one or two more outings, and I’ll be ready for the season.” . . . Third baseman Todd Zeile [strained back] and Hollandsworth [pulled groin] were held out of the game again and are expected to be out several days. Zeile said he injured his back lifting weights, and aggravated the injury by staying up all night Thursday with his 3-year-old son, Garrett, who was rushed to the emergency room because of food poisoning. “My back was totally in spasms,” Zeile said. “I couldn’t even move. I was just immobilized. . . . The Dodgers continue to have interest in outfielder William Ortega, 21, who defected from Cuba, but still are not close to signing him, according to Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president. Ortega is expected to command a signing bonus of between $300,000 and $500,000. . . . Left-handed reliever Scott Radinsky returned to camp Sunday after being with his wife, Darlenys, who delivered a baby girl, Shylene. . . . Outfielder Karim Garcia will appear on the cover of Vanity Fair with other rookie-of-the-year candidates. “It was fun for a while,” Garcia said of the photo session, “but it lasted seven hours. I think they forgot we weren’t models. We’re just ballplayers. We didn’t know how to do all that stuff.”