No More North-of-the-Border Blues?

The irony of the Dodgers opening the season against the Montreal Expos isn’t lost on Carlos Perez.

Former Dodger outfielder Raul Mondesi blasted team officials at Olympic Stadium last season, and Perez suffered a mysterious knee injury here that briefly forced him from the starting rotation.

The Dodgers are determined to put last season’s nightmare behind them, and Perez wants to be part of the solution. He said Monday’s season-opening 10-4 victory is a positive step.

“A lot of stuff happened last year, but this is a new year,” said Perez, scheduled to start Thursday in the final game of the four-game series. “It’s not going to be like last year for me or the team. We’re going to show everybody that we’re going to do our jobs different this year.”

Perez can help set the tone.

Many Dodger officials have questioned Perez’s shaky stories about how his injury occurred, and the animated left-hander hasn’t exactly refuted speculation that he banged his knee on a curb while returning to the team hotel about 4 a.m. after a night on the town with several Expo players.

And Perez has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after falling asleep behind the wheel of his car at an intersection near Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla. Perez said he has had enough of the night life for awhile.

“I don’t want people to keep thinking about that stuff, I don’t want them to think I’m hanging out all the time and not doing my job,” said Perez, who pitched for the Expos for four-plus seasons.

“Yeah, I like to hang out and have a good time, but I’m going to get my rest before my start. I’ve got a lot of friends here, but they know I’ve got to get my rest. They just have to call me on the phone.”

*

The thought of beginning the season with his contract status unresolved worried third baseman Adrian Beltre.

Beltre feared that his pursuit of free agency, stemming from the Dodgers violating major league rules in signing him before his 16th birthday, would be a distraction for him and his teammates.

New Chairman Bob Daly gave Perez a three-year, $5.05-million contract to resolve the issue.

“It would have been [a big problem],” said Beltre, who singled twice in five at-bats Monday. “I didn’t want to think about it, but how could you not think about it?

“Now, I don’t have to worry about it, I can just start the season, play ball and try to help my team win. That’s all you want to think about.”

*

The Toronto Blue Jays have rewarded left-hander Pedro Borbon, included in the Shawn Green-Mondesi trade, with a two-year, $3.2-million contract.

Borbon limited left-handed batters to a .156 average in 1999--second lowest in the National League. Last season marked his first in the majors after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery near the end of the 1996 season.

“I had to prove to the Dodgers that I should be on the team last year, I had to prove I should get the ball and I had to prove to the Blue Jays that my arm is sound after everything I went through,” Borbon said in a phone interview. “I had to keep proving myself, and that’s what I did.”

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

CHAN HO PARK

(13-11, 5.23 ERA in 1999)

vs.

EXPOS’

HIDEKI IRABU

(11-7, 4.84 ERA in 1999)

Olympic Stadium, 4 p.m. PDT

TV--Fox Sports Net 2 Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330)

* Update--The Dodgers expected Park to be one of the National League’s top starters in ‘99, but the hard-throwing right-hander struggled with his confidence and command. Park walked 100 and gave up 113 earned runs, ranking among the league leaders. The Dodgers altered Park’s delivery in spring training, reducing his rocking motion before releasing the ball. He went 0-3 with a 7.43 earned-run average in Grapefruit League play and experienced arm stiffness. Team physicians believe the mechanical changes are forcing Park to use different muscles, causing mild discomfort that should subside once he becomes accustomed to the change. The Dodgers are concerned about the emotional pitcher and are monitoring him closely. Irabu joined the Expos in an off-season trade after a moderately successful, and often stormy, run with the New York Yankees. That move is among many new owners have made to improve the formerly payroll-slashing club.