A REAL OFF-SEASON

And what, exactly, are you Dodger fans so steamed about?

It’s not every baseball team that sets an off-season goal, works hard, and reaches it.

The Dodgers said they had to stay within their budget and, by gosh, they have.

They passed on a collection of splendid outfielders and powerful pitchers. They were not intimidated when division rivals signed those players instead.

Let other teams succumb to silly competitive urges and try to get better.

Not the Dodgers, who said they had to stay within their budget, and have.

You should be thrilled.

When the San Francisco Giants come to town, Dodger fans can wave a banner reading, “Our team is richer than your team!”

When the San Diego Padres come up, they can chant, “We aren’t losing money like you, nah-nah-nah.”

This is about the decay of something far more serious than a lineup, although the Dodgers have three sizable holes that apparently will not be filled.

This is about the decay of an attitude.

For years, everything the Dodgers did was seemingly about the fans.

From the parking attendant’s telling you to have fun, to the organist’s playing your favorite Broadway tune, to the moment the winning run was scored by a player acquired for his speed.

The Dodgers are a big operation but they never forgot that the reason for their being was you.

Even late last season, when Fred Claire pushed his team down the stretch with the acquisitions of Otis Nixon and Eric Young, it felt as if it was about you.

But suddenly, the Dodgers are asking you to care only about them. The poor Dodgers. Their problems, their budget, their constraints.

Suddenly, instead of being promised success, Dodger fans are being asked to settle.

This is the same team, same big business, with basically the same financial situation, no matter how the figures are figured.

Yet now, they will not improve a team payroll of $43 million even though that ranked only 11th in the league before this winter?

Yet now, they cannot acquire a top outfielder or relief pitcher because it would cost too much?

Yet now, the acquisition of a decent shortstop, Jose Vizcaino, to replace a decent shortstop, Greg Gagne, is the sum total of off-season moves for a team with three consecutive September failures?

If Angel newcomer Cecil Fielder is known as “Big Daddy,” then Vizcaino is “Little Buddy.”

These may still look like the Dodgers, but they don’t sound like the Dodgers.

They sound like some struggling franchise from a small market, pleading with their fans about being victims of a crazy economy, and asking those fans to share in their despair.

Overnight, it is as if the Dodgers have become the San Diego Padres, the Houston Astros, the Montreal Expos.

Take that back.

The Padres recently traded for Kevin Brown, and the Astros have traded for Moises Alou.

Cut through the confusing talk of salaries and subsidies and Fox, and the reality for the average fan is this:

The Dodgers’ opening-day lineup could have Roger Cedeno in center field, Todd Hollandsworth in left, and Antonio Osuna as the closer.

This is not progress.

Cedeno has had a couple of good months.

Hollandsworth played well his rookie-of-the-year season, but last season looked every bit like a fourth outfielder.

Osuna has been an outstanding setup man, but does he have the mental experience and toughness to close? Do the Dodgers want to test him in April?

A competitive team can go into the season with questions about one of those positions. Maybe two. But all three?

Compounding the problems is perhaps the biggest problem of all, the departure of pitching coach Dave Wallace for a front-office job with the New York Mets.

You have to wonder about the state of baseball’s best pitching environment when its leader walks away for a desk job. But who knows? Maybe he was taken with an organization that is visibly trying to improve.

There are still trades left to be made.

There is still Eric Karros available to be traded, although now, any deal would probably be made late in spring training, when teams become more desperate for first basemen.

There is still an available free agent named Rod Beck, a closer who will show up at the park at 2 p.m., stick around until midnight, save games and instill a winning attitude.

Which brings us back to Fred Claire.

No general manager in this town is more passionate about his sport than Claire. He works the phones, challenges his scouts, sweats the details.

He fielded 30 phone calls about a variety of issues Friday, which is no big deal, except he was on vacation in Hawaii.

“I think we have enough of a payroll to field a competitive team,” Claire said. “I believe we will be a better team in 1998 than in 1997. I will say that now. I will take responsibility for it.”

He shouldn’t. It’s not about him. It’s about something bigger, about $310 million bigger, the rumored sale price to Fox.

The Dodgers are apparently fixing up their house before it closes escrow.

And they are doing so with the understanding that the new owners don’t appreciate expensive fixtures, no matter how well they work or how long they last.

Or maybe we are misreading this recent quote from Peter Chernin, president of Fox’s parent company, NewsCorp, about the Dodgers:

“If anybody thinks we’re going to sit there and all of a sudden pay wildly to bring players in and lose a lot of money, they’re mistaken. Part of running a good business is controlling costs.”

Memo to Chernin: The people who follow the Dodgers are not necessarily the people who watch five hours of your TV network every day.

For many, the Dodgers are not just a form of entertainment, they are a passion. The Dodgers aren’t just an evening out, they are childhood memories, family traditions, a part of their lives.

And these people, they know their passion. They know a good outfielder from a bad one. They know a major improvement from a cheap fix.

They know the Dodgers have not improved this winter. They know that before, the Dodgers would have done something about it.

Meanwhile, others have different agendas.

The Colorado Rockies are much improved with pitcher Darryl Kile and second baseman Mike Lansing. The Giants added reliever Robb Nen and--gasp--pitcher Orel Hershiser.

The Atlanta Braves needed a first baseman. They got one, Andres Galarraga. The Boston Red Sox needed to rectify the Roger Clemens mistake. They did, signing Pedro Martinez.

None of this would matter if the Dodgers had won a playoff game in the last 10 years, if they had not crushed their loyal fans in the last three Septembers.

None of this would be noticeable if the Dodgers had fulfilled their enormous potential even once since that wondrous October of 1988.

As of now, you could go to Dodger Stadium next April and be looking at something far different from the Dodgers as we knew them.

Looking at another team that stayed within its budget. Operating in a business that happens to involve baseball. Nothing special.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

RESHAPING THE NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

* 1997 finish: 88-74, second place

* Key additions: Jose Vizcaino, shortstop

* Key losses: Greg Gagne, shortstop; Todd Worrell, reliever; Tom Candiotti, pitcher; Brett Butler, center field

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

* 1997 record: 90-72, first place

* Key additions: Rob Nenn, reliever; Orel Hershiser, pitcher; Charlie Hayes, third base; Brent Mayne, catcher

* Key losses: Jose Vizcaino, shortstop; Mark Lewis, third base; Rod Beck, Roberto Hernandez, relievers.

COLORADO ROCKIES

* 1997 record: 83-79, third place

* Key additions: Darryl Kile, pitcher; Mike Lansing, second base

* Key losses: Andres Galarraga, first base; Walt Weiss, shortstop; Quinton McCracken, center field.

SAN DIEGO PADRES

* 1997 record: 76-86, fourth place

* Key additions: Kevin Brown, Brian Boehringer and Donnie Wall, pitchers; Ed Vosberg, reliever; Greg Myers, catcher.

* Key losses: Derek Lee, first base; John Flaherty, catcher; Tim Worrell, pitcher.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

* 1997 finish: None

* Key additions: Matt Williams, third base; Willie Blair, Brian Anderson, Jeff Suppan, pitchers; Devon White, center field; Karim Garcia, Yamil Benitez, left field; Jorge Fabregas, catcher.