Dodger Frustrations Reach Boiling Point

The Dodgers, who hoped to stop the bickering and finger-pointing Saturday night in an intense closed-door meeting after their latest defeat, instead wound up screaming at one another in frustration.

The Dodgers, who lost for the fifth time in the last six games with a sloppy 8-3 defeat against the Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium, convened for 35 minutes afterward to clear the air.

It was a meeting that veteran center fielder Brett Butler decided was needed before the Dodgers (11-9) went out and played their worst game of the season, falling four games behind the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants. Once the game ended, it was time to talk.

The Dodger players, who called the meeting, told one another it is no time for back-stabbing and blaming each other for their troubles. The offense obviously is struggling, but they cautioned against putting the blame on the hitters, third baseman Todd Zeile, or any other part of the team.

Yet, moments after several of the veterans believed that all was well, several of them were rushing back to the shower room where shouts and obscenities could be heard. Veteran pitcher Todd Worrell immediately stepped in and stopped the potential fight.

“We’re not going to do this,” Worrell yelled out.

Hitting coach Reggie Smith, catcher Mike Piazza, first baseman Eric Karros and left fielder Todd Hollandsworth each emerged from the shower room, which is off-limits to reporters. They were angry and upset, particularly Hollandsworth, but it was unclear who needed to be separated.

“There’s frustration, no doubt about it,” Butler said. “Not only that, there should be embarrassment.

“Sometimes, things like this have to happen to get you going.”

The Dodgers, who have never been considered close-knit, certainly have allowed their frustrations and anger to flare this past week.

This is a team that has World Series expectations, but after playing their worst game of the season, the Dodgers realize that if they’re not careful, they could be buried in the standings.

“There’s a sense of urgency,” said reliever Mark Guthrie, who yielded four runs in the seventh, ending his streak of 11 2/3 innings without an earned run. “If you don’t have a sense of urgency of how we’re playing now, you won’t be around here too long. Everybody knows we stink right now.

“But we have to make sure we don’t start pointing fingers. I played seven years in Minnesota and they were always pointing fingers at the pitching staff. When you point fingers at one side of the team, it’s negative.”

The players stressed the need for unity and aggressiveness, telling one another this team is too talented to squander another season. The only reason Butler returned this season was to have one final chance for a World Series ring. Shortstop Greg Gagne also said this could be his final season.

Yet, while the Dodger pitching has kept them in every game until Saturday--giving up their most runs since Aug. 9--the offense has been miserable. The Dodgers had nine hits, but their frustration reached a crescendo when they stepped to the plate 15 times with runners in scoring position and failed to get a hit.

The only time the Dodgers even hit the ball out of the infield with a runner in scoring position was on Gagne’s fly ball to right field that ended the game.

“This has been going on all year,” Dodger Manager Bill Russell said, “and it hasn’t changed. When you have a runner on third base, and they’re even willing to give you a run by playing back, and you can’t even hit a ground ball. . . .

“It’s frustrating for me, but they know they’re not doing their job.”

The Dodgers had their leadoff hitter reach second or third base with no outs in three innings, but failed to score. They grounded into three double plays, struck out four times with runners in scoring position and even were robbed by the umpiring crew when they ruled what appeared to be Karros’ second home run of the game in the sixth inning was a double. Replays showed that the potential game-tying homer bounced off the auxiliary football seats, but third-base umpire Terry Tata erroneously ruled that it hit off the 22-foot scoreboard.

The homer would have tied the score, 4-4, but instead, the Dodgers trailed, 4-3, and never recovered.

“When it rains it pours,” Smith said. “You hit a homer, and it’s not a homer. I know we’ll come out of it. I just can’t tell you when.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

ANOTHER LOSS

Pitching falters for Dodgers this time. C3

NO OFFENSE

The Angels had only two hits in a 2-0 loss. C7