Team Gets the Shock Treatment

Chavez Ravine was the hottest spot in baseball for news during the first half of the season.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers and their fans, the reports were traumatic.

There were stunning trades of formerly untouchable players, sweeping management changes and an atmosphere of fear and confusion created by the Fox Group in its first season directing a franchise that was formerly a family. Other than that, it was business as usual.

The Dodgers’ first half was shocking even by standards of historically less-stable franchises. Just ask their American League neighbors in Anaheim.

Considering the Dodgers were once the major league model of stability, recent events have been especially unsettling to anyone who believed in Dodger Blue. But Rome also eventually fell.

“Well, I don’t think anyone can honestly say they expected this,” first baseman Eric Karros said. “But at this point, I don’t think anyone would be shocked by anything else that happens. How could you be?”

Talk about your loaded questions. Although the Dodger decision-makers already have made several seasons’ worth of major moves, there’s always tomorrow.

Not surprisingly, the off-field machinations affected the Dodgers’ on-field performance from the start.

They opened the season with four losses, and nothing has worked as expected since. The Dodgers’ only consistent trait has been their inconsistency, which has helped to bury them in the improved National League West.

The Dodgers are a game under .500 at 43-44 beginning the second half, and trail the first-place San Diego Padres by 13 1/2 games. The Padres today will begin a four-game series at Dodger Stadium in which they could finally crush the Dodgers’ faint hopes of winning the division.

The NL wild-card race? The Dodgers are eight games behind the second-place San Francisco Giants, whom they will play host to in a three-game series beginning Monday. If this seven-game home stand goes badly for the Dodgers, they might not have meaningful games remaining after Wednesday.

“The first week is big, so we have to come out ready to go,” second baseman Eric Young said. “We’ve just got to put everything that’s happened so far behind us.

“We have to stop worrying about whatever the front office is doing, and just go out and do our jobs. We just have to go out and play baseball.”

To this point, that’s about the only thing that hasn’t happened.

Biggest First-Half Surprise

A) Former franchise player Mike Piazza being traded to the Florida Marlins on May 15 in a blockbuster, seven-player deal.

B) Former pitching sensation Hideo Nomo--who inspired “Nomomania”--being designated for assignment and traded June 4 to the New York Mets.

C) Former executive vice president Fred Claire and manager Bill Russell being fired June 21 and replaced by Tom Lasorda and Glenn Hoffman, respectively.

D) Former untouchable prospects Paul Konerko and Dennis Reyes being traded Saturday to Cincinnati for closer Jeff Shaw.

Answer: D.

The Piazza deal was shocking because TV executives usually don’t trade franchise baseball players, but Piazza spurred the situation by repeatedly rejecting the team’s multiyear contract extension offers.

Nomomania was a thing of the past, and his agent was annoying Claire with his incessant phone calls.

Claire and Russell didn’t get the job done this season, and they understood the consequences if the team didn’t meet expectations.

But Lasorda crushed many within the organization by trading Konerko and Reyes for Shaw, 32. Their departure could haunt this prospect-thin organization far into the next millennium.

Biggest First-Half Disappointment

A) Pitcher Chan Ho Park.

B) Pitcher Ismael Valdes.

C) Outfielder Roger Cedeno.

D) All of the above.

Answer: D.

Park struggled with his confidence in and up-and-down first half.

He has pitched well more often than poorly recently, and he’s only in his second full season as a starter. But big things are expected of the South Korean native--so mediocrity isn’t acceptable.

Valdes is the Dodgers’ most infuriating player, alternating between brilliance and failure. He was dominant during a five-start stretch in June, going 2-1 with a 1.67 earned-run average in 37 2/3 innings.

If only Valdes always maximized his potential.

The good-natured Cedeno is popular among teammates, a tireless worker and skilled athletically. But he continually makes fundamental mistakes that hurt the team, and he’s running out of opportunities here.

Defining Moment

Throughout the chaos, the Dodgers knew they could rely on Ramon Martinez.

Martinez was a calming presence on the pitching staff and a team leader, and many believe the Dodgers’ playoff chances ended when he experienced stiffness in his damaged throwing shoulder June 14.

Martinez has undergone season-ending shoulder surgery. Without him, the Dodgers are probably done as well.

At This Pace

Center fielder Raul Mondesi will finish with career highs in home runs and runs batted in.

Last week’s NL player of the week begins the second half batting .289 with 19 homers and 52 RBIs. Mondesi established his career high with 30 homers last season, and he had 88 RBIs in 1995 and ’96.

Mondesi also has been spectacular since switching from right field to center. Right now, the guy is practically a bargain at $9 million annually.

Reasons to Be Excited

Mondesi and right fielder Gary Sheffield provide a solid foundation, and rookie third baseman Adrian Beltre is impressive. Beltre is the Dodgers’ hope for the future--unless they trade him too.

Reasons for Concern

They don’t have a true No. 1 starter, and they’re still searching for a fifth starter. Their minor league system isn’t producing enough prospects who can help now at any position.

Moves to Ponder

Antonio Osuna won’t be content as Shaw’s setup man because he believes he proved he can close. Lasorda might want to package the hard-throwing Osuna and second baseman Wilton Guerrero for a No. 1 starter.

See You in September

Lasorda is trying to convince the Dodgers they can fly. They will at the end of the regular season--to their vacation destinations.