Murdoch Bought a Big Money Problem in Dodgers

As the Dodgers played their home opener last Tuesday, Baseball Past and Baseball Future sat side by side.

New Dodger owner Rupert Murdoch watched his new team with former owner Peter O’Malley. Murdoch kept a low profile, slipping in and out of Dodger Stadium without speaking to the media.

Murdoch did not talk about his new $310-million toy. He did not comment on a 9-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks or the most unsettling problem facing the Dodgers--the gulf between the franchise and its best player.

Did Murdoch understand the ramifications of 52,424 booing Mike Piazza each time he stepped to the plate? Dodger president Bob Graziano said Murdoch is a quick study and grasped the dynamics.

Good thing, because Murdoch has bought his way into an ugly situation. Piazza, one of the best offensive players in the game, is seeking a $100-million contract. His agent, Dan Lozano, rejected a six-year contract that may have been worth as much as $81 million, and Piazza is moping.

Should a 29-year-old catcher with bad knees be the highest-paid player in the game? The notion that Piazza may earn $100 million may best explain why Murdoch and his Fox empire own the Dodgers and the O’Malley family does not.

The Dodgers are willing to make Piazza the top-paid player, but Lozano is attempting to set a new standard. Piazza is an elite offensive player, but he is a below-average defensive catcher and isn’t far from being a first baseman/DH.

So if Piazza earns $15 million a season, how much is Ken Griffey Jr. or Barry Bonds worth?

That’s why the future of the game is Murdoch, whose company brings cross-promotion and marketing possibilities. If salaries continue to soar--and there is no reason to think they won’t--the game needs all the revenue sources it can get. Companies such as Fox and Walt Disney Co. will provide both.

But deep pockets also will be a requirement. If and when Murdoch reaches an agreement with Piazza, we’ll see why this is no longer a game for mom and pop owners.

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When things are bad, there is no nastier group of fans than in Philadelphia. So when the Phillies allowed consecutive fifth-inning homers to the Florida Marlins on opening day, the giveaway of the day--plastic schedules--was hurled by the 41,158 at Veterans Stadium. The game was delayed as the outfield was cleaned. But the schedules were the least-harmful objects chucked. “That was a war zone,” Marlin outfielder Mark Kotsay said. “I almost got hit by a couple of dimes and I was almost hit by a half-filled bottle of Pepsi and Mountain Dew. At one point, there was a shoe out there.”

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Imagine how the Philadelphia crowd will react when unsigned 1997 draftee J.D. Drew plays his first game at the Vet, especially if he’s not wearing a Phillies uniform? And it appears more and more likely Drew will never play for the Phillies.

After rejecting a package that could be worth $6 million--including a $2-million signing bonus--Drew and his agent, Scott Boras, came back with a counterproposal: an $11 million package that starts with a $5-million signing bonus. The Phillies hold his rights until May 26, but it appears he will not sign. Phillies players, including closer Rick Bottalico, have been critical of Drew.

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Maybe all Aaron Sele needed was a change of scenery. In his first two starts with the Texas Rangers, Sele has a 1.29 earned-run average. He pitched the first shutout of his career with an 11-0 victory over the White Sox. The most astonishing part of the victory? Sele pitching nine innings. With the Red Sox, he was conditioned to pitch six. But before Boston fans lament the loss of the former first-round draft choice, remember that both his starts were against the White Sox and the Rangers supported him with 31 runs.

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Jose Mercedes had the Milwaukee Brewers worried when he was two hours late for a game last Thursday. Mercedes was scheduled to start the 6:05 p.m. game against the Montreal Expos, but he thought the starting time was 7:05 p.m. It is common for starting pitchers to arrive late, but Mercedes arrived just before 6 and was scratched. “I had an FBI guy calling the police to find out where he was,” Brewer Manager Phil Garner said. Maybe he should have simply taken the night off, because it got worse. After relieving in the fifth, Mercedes forgot his helmet while standing on deck. He was hit by a pitch and advanced to second before he was doubled off to end the inning. Mercedes thought there were two out, so he rounded the bases on a routine flyout . . . . When the Brewers played their first home game as a National League team, there was a reunion of players who played in Milwaukee for both the Braves and Brewers. Hank Aaron threw out the first pitch and Felipe Alou was managing the visiting Expos. The third player with both teams was catcher Gene Roof. . . . After 90 years of misery, Cubs fans can relax. Met outfielder Brian McRae, a former Cub, has discovered the reason for the franchise’s futility: a negative aura surrounding the team. “As a Cub, you feel it,” McRae said. . . . Giant pitcher Orel Hershiser, a former Candlestick nemesis from his days with the Dodgers, was pleasantly surprised by the standing ovation he received in San Francisco. “Every human being hopes to be cheered,” he said. “Unless you’re a bad guy in WCW wrestling.”