Dodgers Give E.Y. a Second Chance

Eric Young has agreed to sign a Dodger contract, a four-year one, no matter who signs his checks--Peter O’Malley, Rupert Murdoch or anyone else who ends up owning the team, Murdoch still waiting (and waiting and waiting) to take command.

“So, E.Y., how are you?” the second baseman was asked by the Dodger executive vice president, Fred Claire, after coming to terms Thursday.

“Outstanding,” Young said.

“That’s good.”

“I’m a happy man, Fred.”

He should be. A couple of months ago, Claire and the Dodgers essentially put Young on the auction block, leaving him vulnerable to baseball’s expansion draft.

Tampa Bay could have taken him. Arizona could have claimed him, then traded Young to someone else.

That would have left L.A. with nothing to show for a deal that sent pitcher Pedro Astacio to the Colorado Rockies last summer, just as it would have left nothing to show for sending pitcher Pedro Martinez to the Montreal Expos in 1993.

Even a pitching-rich team such as the Dodgers can’t give up something for nothing. Particularly with enemy teams getting new arms shipments--Colorado (Darryl Kile), San Diego (Kevin Brown) and San Francisco (of all people, Orel Hershiser).

Young had already left the Dodgers once. He didn’t want to leave a second time.

“Fred and the Dodgers took a calculated risk,” Young said on the telephone Thursday, his return to Los Angeles finally secure. (E.Y., phone home.)

“I knew that there was a good possibility I’d be taken in the draft. Once it was over, I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew that I’d be playing for the Dodgers in 1998.”

This is a team unsure who’s on first--the known (Eric Karros) or the unknown (Paul Konerko)--but now, at least, knows who’s on second. It was vital to plug this hole. Jose Vizcaino will play shortstop. Had the Dodgers lost Young, they probably would have had to go with Wilton Guerrero again at second, then cross their fingers.

Guerrero is still on standby.

“No one can predict the future,” Claire said, meaning someone could slump, or get hurt. “Certainly, Wilton will be given every chance to make the team. I’m never concerned about having too much talent.”

What counts is that when spring camp opens next month, Vizcaino and Young can get reacquainted.

Young said, “I’ll be hanging around him every day. I’ll be going to the bathroom with him.”

They broke in together with the Dodger organization, then went their separate ways. Young said he has requested a locker right beside Vizcaino’s, so they can truly be inseparable.

Is this worth mentioning?

Yes, because if one element was blamed--fairly or not--for the Dodgers’ missing the playoffs, it was this “chemistry” imbalance, this question of whether a close team makes for a more successful team.

Young got there late. He was a Dodger for fewer than 40 games. He and outfielder Otis Nixon had no time to search the dugout for team unity. They were too busy batting 1-2 and trying to do something about the damn Giants.

“I was thrown right into the fire of a pennant race,” Young explained.

“This is a team, I know we’re going to put it together. Why it didn’t happen last year, I don’t know. Maybe Jose and I can help. Being with the team for the whole season could definitely be a factor. If the guys see this person’s part of the family for the whole year, it’ll be easier for me to learn more about the others. I’ll be able to tell more if there’s something missing.”

On the field, the Dodgers don’t know for a fact who, on opening day, will be in left field, or center field, or warming up in the bullpen during the ninth inning.

In a separate deal Thursday, they did sign relief pitcher Darren Hall, who, as Claire pointed out, once saved 17 games for Toronto. He could be the closer, or Scott Radinsky, or Antonio Osuna, or even Darren Dreifort. This team will go to Vero Beach with a number of questions, including, if their business rivals keep taking forever to vote, “Who owns us?”

Luckily, second base is set.

“I want to give something back to the Dodgers because they gave me my start,” Young said.

OK, E.Y., maybe you can bring L.A. some togetherness to the dugout and the clubhouse.

Without, you know, following Jose to the john.