Blow to the Heart of a Shaky Team

Each day, it seems, something else is lost.

Each day, something else vanishes into the blurred blue that has become the Dodger summer.

One day, fundamentals. The next day, composure.

On Monday, Ramon Martinez.

The National League’s second-best pitching staff lost its best pitcher--not to mention much of its scarce heart--when Martinez was knocked off the mound by the three worst words in baseball.

Words so heinous, the Dodgers couldn’t even bring themselves to write them, calling it a “shoulder injury” on the press release.

Words so potentially damaging, Martinez couldn’t fathom them, leaving the explanation to Dr. Frank Jobe.

Who still needed a couple of a minutes to spit them out.

Torn rotator cuff.

Martinez will be sidelined two more weeks if the shoulder pain can disappear with rest.

He will be out two months if arthroscopic surgery is required to fix the tear.

He will miss the rest of the season if the arthroscope reveals damage that must be fixed with full surgery.

Jobe said he would bet on the first scenario.

“I think there is better than 50-50 chance that he can come back in three weeks,” Jobe said after a news conference. “The tear has stayed in place. I really think it can get better with rest.”

Which sounds good except, the three worst words in baseball are always accompanied by a one-sentence reminder.

It never gets better with rest.

Has it? When? With whom?

History has shown that pitchers suffering their first rotator-cuff injury are never the same until that injury is fixed.

One Dodger official shook his head and took a deep breath.

“You lose your top starter like that, it’s a devastating blow,” said Manager Bill Russell, standing in a sterile office that looks and sounds less like Tom Lasorda every day. “Baseball seasons are always streaky . . . you need a lot of luck . . . you need to avoid injuries.”

Few Dodger seasons have been streaky like this, with so much promise (an 11-0 win in San Francisco) often followed by so much disappointment (4-2 giveaway loss the next night).

The biggest reason may have something to do with something that happened at Brett Butler’s house last week.

His wife threw him a surprise 40th birthday party.

Five Dodger players showed up.

If some of the players don’t like Butler, that’s fine. But one would think they would come because they like each other.

The demotion of Todd Hollandsworth was a bold and wise decision by Fred Claire, but he still has one move left.

There must be a veteran winner there who can unite this clubhouse, a left-handed batter who knock a few heads together and issue an invitation that everyone will answer.

Claire has never been a big believer in team chemistry--he once traded Willie Randolph in the middle of a pennant race, remember--but it is exactly that intangible that is visibly hurting his team.

Such a trade would cost plenty, but Claire has also proven he is willing to spend plenty--John Wetteland, Pedro Martinez--to fill a hole.

In the meantime, the Dodgers must figure out what to do during the absence of a player with exactly the right chemistry.

Martinez was only tied for the team lead with six wins, and his 3.42 earned-run average was not the lowest among starters, but he had pitched more big games with more toughness than anyone.

Four of his six wins came after losses. Two of those wins came after losing streaks, including a win over the Atlanta Braves after a season-long six-game slide in May.

Jobe said that he will be able to make a decision on Martinez in a week, during which knuckleballer Tom Candiotti will take the ace’s place against at least the San Diego Padres.

Expect either a shutout or a 15-10 loss, but either way, appreciate the effort of another player who has somehow managed to put this disjointed team first.

You remember Candiotti. Demoted to the bullpen after spring training, in a strange and new place after 13 seasons, angry and hoping to be traded.

Or maybe you don’t remember him, because he rarely said a word about it.

Didn’t complain, took the ball, became the team’s most consistent reliever despite his mop-up role.

He was finally returned to the rotation Saturday in San Francisco in place of Martinez. Shut out the Giants on four hits over seven innings.

The Dodgers may not deserve Martinez’ injury, but Candiotti certainly deserves the chance it has given him.

“I was getting paid by the Dodgers and, as much as I didn’t like it, it was my job and I would do it,” he said Monday. “If I moan, the only thing it does is detract from the team.”

So he said he would go home and complain to his dog, a Maltese named Casper.

“Go interview the dog, he knows a lot,” Candiotti said.

The heck with the interview. Does he have any bite? Get him in here.