Dodgers Try to Recover From Brown Out

The Dodgers aren’t downplaying the Kevin Brown situation, acknowledging that losing their staff ace makes things difficult.

The all-star right-hander is expected to go on the 15-day disabled list Thursday after he a broke the pinky finger on his pitching hand during Saturday’s victory over the New York Mets.

Brown anchored the rotation with his performance and personality, leaving a hole to fill. The Dodgers turn to others for more now, and how they fare will help determine the club’s standing when Brown returns.

The first test occurs today against the San Francisco Giants in the inaugural regular-season game at Pac Bell Park.

“There’s no doubt about it, we’re going to miss Brownie,” said right-hander Orel Hershiser, scheduled to start the Dodger Stadium opener Friday afternoon.

“The reason he’s such a big part of the team is because you have a really high-percentage chance to win the game when he pitches. Guys become top pitchers and aces because they do it all year, guys become secondary pitchers because they’re less consistent, and Brownie is in that first category.

“But [losing Brown] just means that everyone else will have to pick up the slack. The reality is that it’s not like we’ll go out there with eight [position players] and no pitcher on the days Brownie was scheduled to pitch. Someone is still going to get a chance to pitch and pick us up.”

Chan Ho Park and Darren Dreifort must provide a boost.

The Dodgers believe the young pitchers will make strides this season--and they hope the process accelerates with Brown down.

“Even with Brownie, Chan Ho and Dreif needed to step up,” pitching coach Claude Osteen said. “I mean, that’s just the way it is.

“We’re going to need everyone on the team, not just the five starters, to do more with Brownie out. But they [Park and Dreifort] can’t look at it like they have to carry the team. They have to forget about that, be themselves and just pitch. They can’t take too much on their shoulders.”

Park, in effect, moves into Brown’s spot as the No. 1 starter because he had been No. 2, and that’s how this works.

However, the Dodgers won’t trumpet Park’s new role because the emotional right-hander doesn’t need added pressure.

He knows too.

“I can’t put pressure on myself because pressure is bad,” said Park, scheduled to face the Giants today.

“I sometimes think about things too much and [Manager] Davey [Johnson] tells me, ‘KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid.’ I can’t [pitch] any different because Brownie is hurt.”

The Dodgers plan to recall rookie right-hander Eric Gagne, 24, from triple-A Albuquerque to take Brown’s place on the 25-man roster. He will probably start Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

Gagne impressed in September and was expected to make the opening-day roster, but went 0-2 with a 15.63 earned-run average in exhibition games.

Osteen believes Gagne is ready.

“The longer you’re in baseball, the more you’ll see young pitchers go through what he went through in the spring,” Osteen said. “We talked about it, and he understands what he did wrong.

“He got down to Dodgertown, probably a month early, wanting to get off to a good start. Then he goes out and tries to throw the ball through a brick wall.

“He knows he was just too hopped up, and he learned from it.

“I feel good about him and a lot of the other people we have here. We have some options.”

But they’re operating without their safety net.