Dodgers Sustain Painful Losses

Dodger center fielder Brett Butler, told by doctors Tuesday that he has torn cartilage in his left shoulder, said he will retire from baseball if surgery is required.

The news of Butler’s injury is potentially devastating to the Dodgers’ hopes of a National League pennant, and certainly it left them uninspired Tuesday during their 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Cincinnati Reds before 38,241 at Dodger Stadium.

Butler, who will be sidelined a minimum of four weeks, will be placed on the 15-day disabled list today. He will rest his shoulder perhaps as long as a month in hopes it will heal. If not, and surgery is necessary, Butler will end a brilliant 16-year career as one of baseball’s finest leadoff hitters.

“If I need surgery, I’m done,” said Butler, who is batting .356. “You’re looking at three or four months, and then it’s too late.

“What can I say, I guess it’s just another sign [from God]. Things happen for a reason we don’t understand. This is just a part of that.”

The Reds, who gave up a tying home run to Raul Mondesi in the ninth inning, won the game on Eduardo Perez’s one-out, pinch-hit homer off Mark Guthrie. The Dodgers (17-13) nearly came back in the 11th when they loaded the bases off Mike Morgan, only to have reliever Mike Remlinger retire pinch-hitters Nelson Liriano and Eddie Williams. They can only hope this is not an indication of what life will be like without Butler.

“It’s tough to replace a guy like that,” Dodger Manager Bill Russell said, “but you’ve got to go on. You’re not going to brood about it. You do the best you can.”

Butler told several teammates before the game he likely will retire, and, realizing this could be his final game, pinch-hit in the seventh inning. He received a rousing ovation from the fans. Butler then battled reliever Stan Belinda for 11 pitches, fouling off eight, before shortstop Pokey Reese made a diving catch in shallow left field.

Butler, whose courageous and inspirational comeback from throat cancer won the hearts of baseball fans all over, simply is battling old age. Butler, who will turn 40 next month, sustained the injury April 26 when he threw out Bobby Bonilla at the plate against the Florida Marlins.

His shoulder ached for a few days and the pain became intolerable. He sat out the last six days, and the MRI test Tuesday revealed a superior labrum tear of the shoulder.

“It’s a fairly large tear,” Dr. Frank Jobe said. “This is not entirely 100% new. It could have been there a long time, but the throw tore it.”

How likely is the tear to heal without surgery?

“Not real good,” Jobe said.

The Dodgers will replace Butler in the lineup with Billy Ashley, who will play left field while Todd Hollandsworth moves to center. Wilton Guerrero and Todd Hollandsworth are expected to share leadoff duties.

“Brett’s disappointed, real disappointed,” said Butler’s wife, Eveline, who is in Atlanta with their four children. “You have your sights set on playing the rest of the year, going to the playoffs, winning the World Series and retiring. But how many times in life does everything work out the way you want?”

Butler was planning to retire at the end of last season but changed his mind when he suffered a broken left hand Sept. 10 when he was hit by a pitch. He announced his return in January and was playing like the Butler of old until his shoulder injury.

“I told him, ‘Hey, you can’t go out any better than hitting .360,’ ” Eveline said.

The Dodgers aren’t sure they can survive without Butler.

Their offense looked anemic against the Reds, who entered the game with a league-worst 5.65 earned-run average. The Dodgers now have scored three or fewer runs in 17 of their 30 games and dropped four games behind the division-leading Colorado Rockies.

The Dodgers scored in the first inning when Hollandsworth led off with a double and Greg Gagne followed with a run-scoring single.

Deion Sanders nearly single-handedly provided the Reds the victory in regulation. He hit a two-out home run in the fifth inning off Pedro Astacio, and robbed Dodger third baseman Todd Zeile of at least a double, and perhaps a homer, when he leaped high and snared his fly ball off the top of the center-field fence.