Lasorda Scoffs at Report

What was interim General Manager Tom Lasorda’s reaction to the Newsday report that suggested he wanted to hire Met Manager Bobby Valentine as the Dodgers’ next general manager (and then move him to manager after the 2000 season) in order to circumvent Valentine’s current contract?

“I broke out laughing when I read that,” Lasorda said during Wednesday’s game. “Who . . . thinks of these things? It’s unbelievable. Ever since I started in this job, people have come out with all these incredible things, and they’re all crazy.”

Is such a scenario even remotely possible?

“It’s never entered my mind,” Lasorda said. “[Valentine’s] got a good job. And there’s no way I’m going to tamper with him.”

Since he was named to the interim position, Lasorda said that, in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety, he has spoken to Valentine once, and that was only in passing during the Dodgers’ two-game series in New York earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Lasorda confirmed that Florida General Manager Dave Dombrowski interviewed at Dodger Stadium with team officials “all day” on Wednesday.

But Lasorda said it wouldn’t be accurate to list Dombrowski as the front-runner for the job.

“He’s one just like everybody else,” Lasorda said. “They’re all great guys, all very qualified. You could put all their pictures on the wall, throw a dart and whoever it lands on wouldn’t be a mistake.”

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

DARREN DREIFORT

(6-12, 3.76 ERA)

vs.

EXPOS’

JEREMY POWELL

(1-4, 6.95 ERA)

Dodger Stadium 7 p.m.

TV--Channel 5. Radio--AM 1150, KWKW 1330 (Spanish).

* Update--This is Dreifort’s first start since he had to leave Saturday’s game in the second inning after Atlanta’s Andres Galarraga charged him and left him with scrapes on his right elbow. The incident was triggered when Dreifort hit Galarraga with a pitch for the second time in a week. Dreifort lost the weekend game without giving up a hit.