Taking Positive Approach: Dodger Loss Really a Win

Accused of writing too negatively too early about the Dodgers, I will now give them credit for a win Monday even though their game against the New York Mets will count as a loss in the standings. . . .

Having proved during a three-game series at Cincinnati that they could win when averaging 12 runs, they had yet to prove this season that they could win against good pitching. . . .

Or at least pitching that didn’t resemble that of “The Bare Foot Bears,” as Manager Jack McKeon called his Reds after a bad-news weekend against the Dodgers. . . .

The Dodgers didn’t actually win at New York, but they pitched, fielded and thought--three areas of concern in the first month of the season--well enough that they must have been almost encouraged by the 1-0 loss. . . .

Considering that the Dodgers and Mets had combined for 66 runs in their previous three games, who could have guessed that they would have to wait until the bottom of the ninth to score even one against each other? . . .

If Houston’s Craig Biggio compared the San Diego Padres to the 1927 Yankees--the Bronx Bombers--after they scored 26 runs in a three-game sweep of the Astros, what would he have called the Dodgers, who scored 36 against the Reds, and the Mets, who scored 30 in three wins over the Chicago Cubs? . . .

Welcome to Major League Bashball 2000. . . .

Then Darren Dreifort and Pat Mahomes tried to win the old-fashioned way. . . .

Dodger pitching was particularly effective against Mike Piazza. . . .

He stepped out of the batter’s box in the second inning because a 757 was entering its approach to LaGuardia Airport. . . .

Piazza was probably afraid he would hit it. . . .

Before the game, he was hitting .403 with five home runs and 16 runs batted in. . . .

But he was hitless in four at-bats against the Dodgers, three of them with runners in scoring position. . . .

The Dodgers did almost everything right except win. . . .

Now they have to do it again in a three-game series against Atlanta. While the Dodgers were scoring 36 runs against the Reds, the Braves were yielding only seven in a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh. . . .

This series could prove an early-season indicator of whether the Dodgers can consistently do enough things besides hit. . . .

The ’27 Yankees, by the way, led the major leagues in earned-run average.

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Those towels handed out to fans Sunday at Staples Center were inscribed with “Bling, Bling” which is Shaquille O’Neal description of the sparkle on a championship ring. . . .

They could serve as crying towels for the Sacramento Kings. . . .

First one who whines about the officiating in a playoff series loses. . . .

It’s an NBA rule. . . .

Rick Adelman has a novel take on the whistles against his players when O’Neal has the ball. . . .

“They say hold your ground,” the King coach says, referring to another NBA rule. “Well, find me somebody who can hold his ground against him.” . . .

Does that mean players shouldn’t be called for fouling O’Neal because he’s big? . . .

That’s like saying defenders shouldn’t have been called for fouling Michael Jordan because he could jump high. . . .

Key stat: Sacramento point guard Jason Williams had three assists in 34 minutes. The Lakers’ backup point guard, Brian Shaw, had five in 15 minutes. . . .

Key stat No. 2: Robert Horry, who played well off the bench Sunday, has a financial incentive. According to Bloomberg News, he will receive an extra $300,000 for each of the four remaining years on his contract if the Lakers win the championship. . . .

Phil Jackson was the subject of a profile in the New York Times’ most recent Sunday magazine. He agreed to answer questions only via e-mail. . . .

Author David Shields reports that Jackson called a timeout at an odd time in the middle of the first quarter of that critical February game at Portland. . . .

“Did we do something?” Shaw asked. . . .

“No,” Jackson said. “I’m just messing around.” . . .

Whatever he did worked. The Lakers won not only that game but 21 of their next 25. The Trail Blazers went 14-11. . . .

Marcus Camby appeared in the New York Knick promotion, “Who Will Represent the Eastern Conference in the 2000 NBA Finals?” . . .

Proving he is more coachable than Butch Carter gives him credit for, Camby picked (d) the Knicks. He didn’t even need a life line. . . .

Interesting that the Knicks didn’t ask, “Who Will Win the NBA Championship?” . . .

Jackson could have e-mailed them the answer.

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Randy Harvey can be reached at his e-mail address: randy.harvey@latimes.com.