Watered-Down Deal? Claire Says He Was Flooded

There was speculation that Fred Claire had depreciated Hideo Nomo’s trade value by designating the pitcher for assignment, creating a deadline by which he had to be traded, but the Dodgers’ executive vice president probably did as well as he could, considering Nomo had depreciated his own value with a 2-7 record and was coming off elbow surgery.

Fed up with agent Don Nomura’s frequent trade demands and concerned about Nomo’s ongoing unhappiness festering in the clubhouse, Claire went the designated route, believing the widespread pitching shortage would create a market and that the attempt to trade Nomo would have become public even if he hadn’t instituted a deadline. After all, it was the intention of Nomo and Nomura to hold a news conference to announce their desire to be traded.

“We created an incredible market,” Claire said. “I heard from 20 clubs. I felt like a player agent at times, trying to make the right deal.”

Claire obviously felt he did, although how much Dave Mlicki and Greg McMichael contribute remains to be seen. Mlicki, 29, is considered an underachiever who was being shopped widely by the New York Mets. McMichael is a journeyman reliever who had his best years with the Atlanta Braves before Manager Bobby Cox stopped trusting him in clutch situations.

The real concern is that Dave Wallace, the former Dodger pitching coach who is now assistant general manager of the Mets, and former Dodger catcher Mike Piazza, a pal of Nomo’s, can help turn Nomo around, enhancing the Mets’ wild-card aspirations at the expense of the Dodgers, who currently are seventh among NL division and wild-card leaders. Nomo also is being reunited with Masato Yoshii, a former teammate with the Kintetsu Buffaloes.

“Mike is very excited about having Hideo with the Mets,” Piazza’s agent, Dan Lozano, said. “He believes that he and Dave Wallace can help get Hideo straightened out.”

Nomo wanted the Mets, but Claire said his objective wasn’t to accommodate Nomo in that regard.

Nor was he hesitant about putting Nomo with Wallace and Piazza.

“Whether it’s the Mets, Angels, Kansas City or anyone else, we’re in competition with 29 teams,” Claire said.

“If I make the right deal for the Dodgers, who cares where he is?”

RANDY REFLECTIONS

It’s obvious that Seattle Mariner ownership, concerned about fan response, stepped in at the 11th hour and derailed General Manager Woody Woodward’s attempt to deal Randy Johnson to the Dodgers for Ismael Valdes and Wilton Guerrero.

Before initiating a media blackout in midweek, Johnson said the Mariner front office “is so confused they don’t know what they’re doing. One time they want to trade me, the next they don’t.”

Claire was exasperated by the absence of consistent communication from Seattle but diligently tried to consummate a deal short of trading Darren Dreifort. At some point he needed to invoke a deadline--and did.

“Through no fault of his own, Randy was the center of a three-ring circus for more than 10 days,” agent Barry Meister said.

“He and I were both frustrated by all the speculation and irresponsible reporting [one Internet service twice reported that Johnson had been traded to the Dodgers]. I mean, the way this matter was handled, by the media and by a number of other parties, was a travesty.” Among those other parties, of course, was the Mariners.

“Nothing has changed,” Meister said. “We still want to be somewhere else.”

BORDER BALLOTS

San Diego Padre executives, anticipating a November election in which a complex measure regarding public funding of a downtown ballpark will be on the ballot, were heartened by Tuesday’s results in which voters approved publicly funded expansion of the San Diego Convention Center and two of the strongest opponents of public funding for corporate ventures were defeated.

The Padres viewed approval of convention center expansion as acceptance by voters of the need for and impact of major city projects, and the defeat of Bruce Henderson, a candidate for city council, and Richard Rider, a candidate for county treasurer/tax collector, as repudiation of their opposition to that type of public funding.

However, Henderson and Rider said they will be at the forefront of the ballpark opposition, and both said they were confident the measure will fall short of a majority, let alone the required two-thirds approval.

COLLINS’ ROLE

It was clear, in the aftermath of the recent New York Yankee-Baltimore Oriole brawl, that the hammer was going to fall on the next combatants--and it did.

The eight-game suspensions of Angel Manager Terry Collins and Kansas City Manager Tony Muser for what Gene Budig, the American League president, said was a “breakdown in leadership” during Tuesday’s melee in Kansas City were heavy, indeed. It is difficult to understand how a manager can be expected to control 25 players once one of these incident ignites, but an AL official said, “the issue is players coming off the bench and out of the bullpen. The manager can issue rules about that. He doesn’t have to wait for the league to do it.”

The real issue in the AL is the designated hitter. The pitcher doesn’t have to go to the plate and face retaliation. He can hit batters at will and let his teammates pay the price.

In the meantime, what rankles Angel management most is the negative hit on Collins’ leadership ability.

“We have every faith in Terry’s leadership,” General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “We have a team that’s been hit hard by injuries but continues to improve and is in the thick of the division race. Terry has given us terrific leadership over the last two years.”

No reason to appeal that judgment.