Eric the Blue

Eric Karros sat at lunch, trying to digest not being protected by the Dodgers in the first round of the recent expansion draft and the continuing trade rumors.

“I think I’d have to be an idiot to sit here and say the Dodgers weren’t trying to trade me, or weren’t entertaining offers,” Karros said.

“I don’t have any hard facts, but I know I wasn’t protected, so from that standpoint I have to think they’re trying to get rid of me.”

Karros shrugged, smiled.

“I don’t have a problem with it because I don’t think it’s personal,” he said. “I’d be very surprised if it was personal. I understand it’s a business and out of my control.

“I signed a four-year contract and gave up my free agency because I enjoy Los Angeles, but the way the game is now, it’s very rare for a guy to spend his entire career with one club. I mean, you have to be lucky to spend even the length of a contract with one club. The way it looks now, if I even get another year here I’ll be fortunate.”

A business, for sure, but a strange business.

Karros has played in 267 consecutive games and become Mr. Automatic, the Dodgers’ most productive first baseman since Gil Hodges.

The first, anyway, to hit 30 or more home runs and drive in 100 or more runs in three consecutive seasons since Hodges did it in five consecutive in the early ‘50s.

Speculation, however, is that the Dodgers are trying to make room for Paul Konerko, their latest phenom, by trading Karros, unloading the $14 million he is guaranteed over the next three years and providing budget flexibility for negotiations with Mike Piazza and Raul Mondesi.

Dodger Vice President Fred Claire said he has not initiated any trade talks involving Karros but would not comment on talks other clubs might have begun.

The decision to expose Karros, Todd Zeile and Eric Young in the first round of the draft, however, tipped Claire’s hand and might have been initiation enough.

The three veterans were added to the protected list after the first round, in which the Dodgers lost outfielder Karim Garcia and pitchers Rick Gorecki and Jesus Martinez. But Karros said it is obvious that he was, and still is, available.

“The only thing I didn’t understand about the draft is that if they were going to risk losing me, why not trade me for a bag of balls or whatever?” he said. “It’s hard to figure. I’ve racked my brains. I mean, you can go a hundred different ways with it. The bottom line is that I’m still a Dodger and I hope to remain a Dodger.”

No doubt about it, Claire said.

Karros will be the first baseman in ‘98, he said, adding that the Dodgers are fortunate to have proven players, Karros and Zeile, at first and third, and two outstanding prospects, Konerko and Adrian Beltre, knocking on the door because, “You never know what can happen.”

That’s the point, of course. Karros has seen and heard enough, to the point that he isn’t sure what will happen and hasn’t talked to Claire about it, believing nothing would be learned.

And for the time being, Claire seems to have other issues:

* The vacancy at shortstop.

* The reconstruction of the bench.

* Whether to go with Todd Hollandsworth in left field and Roger Cedeno in center.

* The status of Antonio Osuna as the new closer, considering that he hasn’t done it regularly at the big league level and had knee surgery Tuesday.

Enough issues, in other words, for Karros to shake his head and say he isn’t sure how or why he’s joined that list. Then again . . .

“The bottom line is that we haven’t won in the playoffs or reached the World Series, and whether I’m going 30-100 [homers and RBIs] or Mondy is doing 30-30 [homers and stolen bases] or Mike is winning the MVP is irrelevant because we haven’t done anything as a team,” he said.

“So from that standpoint, sure, everybody wants to say, ‘Hey, what’s wrong with the Dodgers and what do they need to do to fix it?’ Now, do I think that making a change in my situation is going to help or make the team better? I’m obviously biased, but I don’t think I’m the issue here. Of course, I’m not the one making the decision.”

Neither is Claire, entirely. He is operating under tight payroll restraints. Whether they were imposed by Peter O’Malley or Rupert Murdoch isn’t clear.

Karros said Claire “would have an all-star at every position” if it were Claire’s budget.

That the Dodgers, with their resources and renown, are unwilling or unable to push to the payroll heights of the New York Yankees or Baltimore Orioles is “simply the reality,” Karros said.

“I mean, as much as I want to win, as much as my goal is to play in a World Series, I don’t control the budget. It’s a business. Every business wants to make money.”

The Dodgers say they have lost $35 million over the last four years.

Unloading $14 million would ease that alleged deficit and open the door for Konerko.

But Karros’ salary limits the number of clubs interested in him. And baseball’s wide array of quality first baseman--never wider and never more impressive, said Karros--further limits the number of teams needing one.

Does he sense that the Dodgers are determined to play Konerko in ‘98? Karros said he can’t be sure.

The reality, he added, is that there’s a whole “domino effect” at work “since it’s not just about me possibly being out of here, but how long is Mike going to catch?”

Meaning, if Piazza is moved to another position to preserve his physical well-being, first base is probably it, and, “You know that Mike is going to be a lifetime Dodger.”

Karros also suggested that the Dodgers have been down this hyperbolic route before. Wasn’t Garcia being labeled “the natural,” he asked. Wasn’t Billy Ashley a minor league player of the year, like Konerko?

“I’m sure he’s going to be a fine player, but I don’t know if I’d like to be in his situation,” Karros said of Konerko.

“He’s already pegged to hit 30 home runs, and I’ve seen only one guy step in and do that and he’s the best offensive catcher in the history of the game.

“As much as [the Konerko projection] sounds good in theory, I’m sure there’s no Piazza lurking around the minor leagues.

“Of course, I don’t know how much more [Konerko can gain] by going back down. I guess the ray of hope I have is that [former first baseman] Mike Marshall won the triple crown at Albuquerque in the early ‘80s.

“Where was he the next year? Albuquerque.”

Ray of hope? Karros may be embellishing. It would be a surprise now if he’s moved.

Only Andres Galarraga, among regular National League first baseman, has hit more home runs over the last three years. And only Galarraga and Jeff Bagwell have driven in more runs.

On the Dodgers, however, everyone operates in Piazza’s offensive shadow.

Said Karros, “People see what Mike’s doing and say, ‘Why isn’t Karros doing that?’ Well, sorry. You’re talking about the greatest offensive catcher in baseball history. A Mike Piazza comes along once in a lifetime. If you talk about run production and consistency, I’ve done what nobody in L.A. Dodger history has done over the last three years and they’ve run some pretty good players through here. Talk about consistency, I doubt there’s 10 players in baseball who have done what I’ve done in that time.”

Nevertheless, Karros said the last two years have been struggles. Injuries restricted his 1996 preparations and he paid a price early before rallying for career highs of 34 homers and 111 RBI. In ‘97, as he put it, “I was worthless the first two months for whatever reason.” He also hit only .255 with three homers and 13 RBIs in a critical September, finishing with 31 homers and 104 RBIs.

“I’ve put up respectable numbers without putting a full year together and so I have to feel my best years are still ahead of me,” he said, adding that he’s capable of 40 homers, 125 RBIs and a .290 to .310 average.

“I will do it,” he said. “I just hope it’s with the Dodgers.”

Karros also hopes the Dodgers can redeem the blown opportunity of ’97 when “[in September] everybody contributed to us not winning.”

He scoffs at those who think the Dodgers need the clubhouse fire of a Kirk Gibson or the carefree personality of a Mickey Hatcher.

The core group, he said, is “good enough to compete and win” with some pivotal additions, particularly on the bench.

“Over a 162-game schedule, you win with your extra players,” he said.

In other words, he’s still thinking blue in an off-season that might have left him feeling blue.

And still might?