Hollandsworth Unsure of His Role

His passion for the game hasn’t diminished, although his playing time in the Dodger outfield has.

He still arrives early to the ballpark, and his work ethic remains strong. Todd Hollandsworth is focused on baseball.

But that hasn’t helped him get off the bench recently. After opening the season as the starting left fielder, Hollandsworth is now sharing the position with two others, and the list soon may grow.

The 1996 rookie of the year is struggling to accept his new status in the crowded outfield, and he’s confused about the reasoning behind his demotion. Hollandsworth thought his struggles were behind him, but there appear to be more obstacles in his path.

“When you’re dealing with things like this, it’s very hard to prepare yourself mentally each day,” he said. “It’s difficult to try to maintain your focus when you’re not sure what your role is.

“You just try your best to plow through it, because you know you have a job to do. But it’s definitely not easy.”

Hollandsworth started in left Thursday night in the Dodgers’ 4-0 loss to the Phillies, but he has played infrequently in May. He went one for three and is batting .236 with three home runs and 12 RBIs.

He has struck out 33 times in 110 at-bats, and he concedes he also hasn’t performed well in other areas. But there are many games remaining.

“I know I’ve had some strikeouts, but this is a game that’s surrounded by failure,” he said. “Even the best hitters fail more than they succeed, but it’s hard to battle through it when you’re in and out of the lineup.

“It’s hard when every game, every at-bat, seems to weigh so heavily on everything. That’s just a fact.”

During the off-season, Dodger officials proclaimed that Hollandsworth would be their left fielder in 1998. Some were surprised by that decision because Hollandsworth struggled during his injury-plagued sophomore season, in which he was demoted to triple-A Albuquerque in June.

Then their commitment to him seemed to wane in spring training with each hit by rookie Paul Konerko. Eager to find a place for Konerko, whose best position is first base, the Dodgers tutored him in playing left field.

Konerko opened the season at first while Eric Karros recovered from left knee surgery, and was demoted to triple-A Albuquerque on April 24 after batting .197 in 20 games.

Hollandsworth is currently sharing left field with Matt Luke and Trenidad Hubbard. And the Dodgers are trying to acquire outfielder/infielder Jim Eisenreich from the Florida Marlins.

Guess where he would play?

“I can’t control what the organization does, I can only try to be consistent in my approach, and be prepared to play,” Hollandsworth said. “This whole thing is one of those pills that’s tough to swallow, but I’ve never been one to question authority.

“I’m still confident in what I can do, and I’m still confident that I can help this team. I don’t know if [team officials] have lost some confidence in me, but I know I haven’t. I’ve been through this war before, and this is only going to make me stronger.”

*

Left-hander Dennis Reyes is expected to be recalled from Albuquerque today. Right-hander Frank Lankford probably will be sent to Albuquerque to make room for Reyes on the 25-man roster. . . . Manager Bill Russell gave leadoff hitter Eric Young the day off. . . . Shortstop Jose Vizcaino played for the first time in three games.

ON DECK

* Opponent--Montreal Expos, three games.

* Site--Dodger Stadium.

* Tonight--7.

* TV--Fox Sports West 2 tonight, FX Saturday.

* Radio--AM 1150, KWKW (1330).

* Records--Dodgers 19-21, Expos 14-25.

* 1997 record vs. Expos--7-4.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’ ISMAEL VALDES (3-4, 4.81 ERA)

vs.

EXPOS’ MIGUEL BATISTA (0-1, 4.09 ERA)

* Update--Valdes is 2-0 with a 3.95 ERA in two starts at Dodger Stadium. In his most impressive performance of the season, he pitched eight strong innings Sunday in the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory over Florida.

* Saturday, 7 p.m.--Darren Dreifort (0-4, 4.61) vs. Javier Vazquez (1-4, 6.19).

* Sunday, 1 p.m.--Ramon Martinez (4-2, 3.19) vs. undecided.