A Red, Wild and Blue Deal

Dodger Manager Glenn Hoffman escorted Paul Konerko from the visiting dugout to the clubhouse Saturday afternoon in the first inning of a 9-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Hoffman wanted to be present when interim General Manager Tom Lasorda informed Konerko, a rookie infielder/outfielder, that he and rookie pitcher Dennis Reyes had been traded to Cincinnati for all-star closer Jeff Shaw.

And it seemed fitting that Hoffman and Konerko disappeared into a tunnel, because many players said that two important pieces of the Dodgers’ future disappeared as well with that move.

Raul Mondesi continued his torrid pace since moving to the third spot in the batting order, and the Dodgers moved back to .500 at 43-43 with the victory before 41,012 at 3Com Park.

Mondesi went four for five with three RBIs and three runs, and is batting .480 (12 for 25) with three home runs, eight RBIs and seven extra-base hits in six games batting third. Had Mondesi hit a home run, he would have become the first Dodger to hit for the cycle since Wes Parker in 1970.

And the Dodgers ended a three-game losing streak over two seasons to the Giants while moving within seven games of San Francisco in the National League wild-card race.

But again in this tumultuous season, off-field news overshadowed the Dodgers’ performance.

The consensus among players was that Lasorda gave up too much to acquire Shaw, and few tempered their critical comments about the deal.

“If you look at it like a fan, you give up a left-hander [Reyes] that you haven’t had in the organization for a long time, and a guy [Konerko] who’s going to play somewhere for 10 years,” said reliever Scott Radinsky, who was replaced in June by Antonio Osuna in the closer role. “We gave up a lot.”

Many questioned the need to acquire Shaw, since Osuna, who has six saves, has performed well since earning the full-time job early last month.

Osuna finished Saturday’s game by pitching a scoreless ninth and has a team-low 1.59 earned-run average. He had two saves in a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers last week, and has pitched 14 2/3 scoreless innings.

“What’s the matter with these guys?” starter Darren Dreifort asked in reference to Osuna and Radinsky. “The guys we’ve got, I think they’re doing a great job. And we gave up two pretty damn good ballplayers.”

Osuna and Radinsky are expected to revert to their roles as the right-handed and left-handed setup men, respectively, in the Dodgers’ bullpen. Osuna was understandably disappointed.

“I waited for this opportunity for three years, then they gave me the opportunity, and I think I was doing a good job,” Osuna said. “I don’t know what happened. . . . I want to stay as a closer and I want to do my job.”

Lasorda made the deal because, despite the players’ reaction, the closer situation has been unsettled this season in the wake of the retirement of Todd Worrell in the off-season.

The Dodgers have eight blown saves. Trevor Hoffman of the NL West-leading San Diego Padres hasn’t blown a save opportunity, and Robb Nen of the second-place Giants has one blown save.

“You look at how many games we have lost in the seventh, eighth and ninth inning, and then you know why I wanted to get this guy who saved [42] games last year,” Lasorda said of Shaw. “When you’re leading a game in the ninth inning and lose, it’s demoralizing. It’s like leading in a championship fight--and getting knocked out in the [12th] round.”

But even the manager admittedly has concerns.

“I was very leery of it from the start, but that’s the chance you have to take,” Hoffman said. “I didn’t agree with it initially, but I was behind Tommy 100% at the end when the trade was made.”

Cincinnati General Manager Jim Bowden also was pleased, because he believes Konerko could become a franchise-caliber player.

“If you want a cleanup hitter, you have to pay $10 million a year,” Bowden said. “Our scouts, and scouts throughout baseball, think he can potentially be that guy.”