Wait Till Next Year

Seeking to set the record straight, General Manager Kevin Malone said Monday that he expects the Dodgers to contend in 2000.

Malone said that comments he has made about the organization’s massive rebuilding project do not pertain to the major league level.

Not only have his comments been misconstrued, Malone said, but he remains confident the Dodgers soon will become a championship club despite what has occurred this season. Although Malone admits work needs to be done, he said the Dodgers are a lot closer to achieving their lofty goals than their critics might believe.

Malone did not accompany the team on a trip that continued with a 8-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers Monday night.

“No, we are not rebuilding on the major league level,” Malone said in a phone interview from his Dodger Stadium office. “We are not going to take the team apart [in the off-season] and start all over. That’s just not the direction we’re looking at for this organization.”

In speaking about the disappointing Dodgers recently, Malone said the problems that he inherited from the former regime have made his job more difficult--too many players with lucrative, multiyear contracts that have prevented him from making certain moves.

Moreover, Malone also has said that the roster obviously must undergo change next season because the Dodgers have not met the expectations that accompany an $80-million payroll. Despite the $105-million acquisition of pitcher Kevin Brown and other major signings during the previous off-season, the Dodgers are 57-68 and 16 games out of first place in the National League West.

However, Malone said too much has been interpreted from his comments.

“Yes, we did inherit some situations that we’re still trying to fix, and we do feel that some changes have to be made, but I never meant that we felt we had to do that [overhaul the team],” Malone said. “We feel that the nucleus, the base, is already here for a championship-level club.

“We feel we have quite a bit of talent here, and we’re looking to add more talent. The last thing we want to do is make moves that don’t make us better. That’s not going to help us give Dodger fans the championship-caliber team we’re committed to building here.”

But what about all those problems that will take time to fix?

“We know there are some things we have to do, but it’s more about retooling than rebuilding,” Malone said. “We have some modifications that need to be made, some adjustments that need to be made, but that’s not the same thing as a rebuilding project. That’s not the same thing at all.

“The only rebuilding going on in the organization is from the bottom up; scouting and development, and the farm system. That’s where we’re rebuilding. You rebuild from the foundation up. You don’t start rebuilding in the penthouse. That’s not the way you do it.”

Of course, the penthouse has been in better shape too.

Although Malone won’t comment on his plans, industry sources say that the Dodgers are spreading the word that disgruntled right fielder Raul Mondesi is available. Malone has tried to move second baseman Eric Young, and longtime first baseman Eric Karros--on the verge of becoming the Los Angeles franchise leader in home runs--can be acquired for the right price.

And other players would be moved if Malone could find general managers willing to take their big contracts. If players such as Mondesi, Karros and Young are traded, would Malone consider that rebuilding?

“I’ve said before that I’m not going to discuss potential trades, but I will say that I like our core group,” he said. “We have people who we feel we can build around for the future, and those people are going to be here. Again, whatever moves we decide to make, we’re not rebuilding.”

Well, at least the record is straight.