Mondesi Wants a Chance to Clean Up

Raul Mondesi had hoped to bat third this season, vowing to be more selective at the plate.

But his poor on-base percentage, and Gary Sheffield’s desire to bat third, scrapped the annual spring-training experiment. Now, Manager Davey Johnson is considering leaving Mondesi fifth in the order, where he has been for most of his career.

And that would not please Mondesi.

“All I want to do is have a chance to drive in runs,” Mondesi said. “If I bat cleanup, I’ll have a lot of runners in scoring position. E.Y. [Eric Young], Devo [Devon White] and Sheff, that’s a lot of speed at the top. Sheff gets a lot of walks, he knows how to get on base, so that will give me a good chance to drive in a lot of runs. That will be good.

“I batted fifth last year. I came up with no one on base [often]. I hit 30 home runs last season and only [drove in] 90 runs. I bat fifth [in 1997] and hit 30 home runs, and only drive in 87 runs. Always [around] 90 runs, but never 100 runs. I need runners on base to drive in 100 runs.”

It might also help if Mondesi performed better when he bats with runners in scoring position.

He batted only .224 with runners in scoring position last season, hitting seven homers with 44 runs batted in. With less than two outs, Mondesi batted .190 with four homers and 25 RBIs.

Johnson hasn’t set his lineup or batting order yet because of the Todd Hundley situation. If the switch-hitting catcher’s surgically repaired throwing elbow holds up, he may be the cleanup batter. First baseman Eric Karros also is a cleanup option.

Hundley is expected to work behind the plate for the first time Friday against the Baltimore Orioles at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla.

“Nothing is set in stone yet,” Johnson said. “We just have to see how everything works out.”

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Sheffield went hitless in two at-bats Wednesday in Cleveland’s 10-2 victory at Dodgertown.

The left fielder is batting .111 without an extra-base hit or RBI, but he wants Dodger fans to know there is nothing to worry about.

“I’m at the point where I’m just trying to make contact and get my timing down,” Sheffield said. “I’m swinging at pitches I wouldn’t normally swing at during the season. I’m going to put up my usual numbers.”

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Left-hander Carlos Perez (0-1) was hit hard again Wednesday, giving up seven hits--including two homers--and six earned runs in five innings. He struck out three without a walk, and his earned-run average increased to 6.86.