Dodgers Try New Approach

The Dodgers, with their pride bruised, their ego shattered and their confidence shot, knew Monday night they hit rock bottom.

They could retreat to their hotel rooms, feel sorry for themselves, and concede that perhaps they weren’t cut out to be champions.

Or they could go out on the town, live it up like Times Square on New Year’s Eve, and party so hard that they would make a fraternity outing look like a church social.

The Dodgers opted for the party, and 24 hours after suffering their most embarrassing defeat in 32 years, came out Tuesday night and defeated the Atlanta Braves, 6-2, at Turner Field.

“We already hit rock bottom,” said Dodger reliever Mark Guthrie, remembering their 14-0 defeat Monday, “so we didn’t have anything to lose. So about half the team got together, cleared our heads a little bit, and we came in here more relaxed than we’ve been in a long time.”

Said first baseman Eric Karros: “We cleared our heads all right, and you saw the result. It worked. But I really don’t know if we could do that every night.

“That kind of stuff wipes you out.”

The Dodgers showed up tired, bleary-eyed, and ready to play with absolute reckless abandon against the Braves (18-6), who need one more victory to set baseball’s all-time record for victories in April. The Dodgers stole four bases and produced six hits--including a home run--in the first four innings. It hardly seemed possible this was the same team that had stolen only six bases all season, going more than two weeks and 11 games without scoring six runs, and having lost seven of their last eight games.

They aggressively ran the bases. They executed the hit-and-run. They moved runners over. They kept opposing runners from getting huge leads.

Manager Bill Russell had to splash water on his face afterward to make sure this was no dream. The Dodgers wound up with 13 hits--their second-highest total of the season--five extra-base hits, a victory by starter Chan Ho Park (1-1) and four strong innings of relief, led by Guthrie’s two shutout innings.

“We’re not popping any champagne corks yet,” said catcher Mike Piazza, who drove in two runs with a double and a homer, “but hopefully we got all of the bugs out. I think we found out that you can’t have the weight of the world on your shoulders and play this game right.”

Certainly, no one can attest to that theory more than third baseman Todd Zeile.

Zeile, benched for the first time in five years Monday, walked onto the field wondering how it could be possibly get any worse, batting .137 while in a two-for-33 slump.

Zeile blew the game open in the sixth inning with a bases-loaded, two-run single off reliever Paul Byrd. It was the first time in 80 innings that the Dodgers produced a two-run hit with a runner in scoring position, and with one swing, he had twice as many RBIs as he produced the previous 13 games.

“I was thinking that I’ve been around a long time,” Zeile said, “and I’m too old to go through this and not have any fun. We’ve been playing so tight, certainly not the way a team with this kind of talent should be playing.

“I think there’s [been] a lack of some confidence here. There’s a feeling in here of almost panic, that the whole season is going to die. That has been indicative of the way we’ve been playing.”

“But deep down, everybody knows the talent in this room. We can turn it around. No one is running around and saying the San Francisco Giants now are the leading contender to be in the World Series.

“It didn’t make any sense for everybody to be stressed in here, and maybe now that will stop.

“We find out for ourselves just what you can do if you’re relaxed.”