No Apologies From Marlins

In taking the day off Tuesday to protest the way the U.S. government reunited young Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez with his father, members of the Florida Marlins were both lauded and laughed at.

Five days after their symbolic gesture, the Marlins weren’t making any apologies.

“We just felt like we were backing our community up,” said Florida third baseman Mike Lowell, who grew up in Miami after his family left Cuba. “Sometimes it doesn’t go over well with a lot of people but you’ve got to make decisions in life.

“Some things are bigger than baseball.”

Lowell was joined in protest by outfielder Danny Bautista, pitchers Alex Fernandez, Antonio Alfonseca and Jesus Sanchez, third-base coach Fredi Gonzalez, infield coach Tony Taylor, bullpen catcher Louie Perez, special assistant to the general manager Tony Perez and assistant equipment manager Javier Castro.

“The protest was in the way they got the kid out of the house,” said Perez, a native of Cuba who will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame this summer. “We’re not against him being with his father, we’re not protesting that. He’s with his father and he’s happy. But the way they got him, at gunpoint and all that, is tough.”

Lowell, the only everyday Marlin to sit out, agreed.

“I don’t think most people have a problem with him being with his father,” said Lowell, who was leading the Marlins with four home runs and 20 runs batted in before Friday night’s game. “But I think they have a problem with him being with his father, who has no rights in a country.

“It’s a sensitive issue. When emotions get in the way, people react in a lot of different ways.”

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Though Orel Hershiser has been banished to the bullpen, after an especially brutal outing against the Houston Astros on April 19 in which he hit four batters in 1 1/3 innings, he doesn’t see the move as a demotion.

“Pitching is pitching,” Hershiser said. “I just get ready to go pitch every day now instead of every fifth day.”

It was with that mentality Hershiser entered spring training, figuring he’d be coming out of the bullpen early in his second tour of duty with the Dodgers. But with rookie Eric Gagne struggling in Grapefruit League play, Hershiser, 41, found himself in the starting rotation.

He won the Dodgers’ home opener with a nostalgic performance, 8-1 over the Cincinnati Reds on April 14, but struggled mightily five days later against the Astros, matching the modern-day National League record for hit batters in the 10-3 loss.

“He wants to pitch, he wants to start,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “To have Orel Hershiser on this club, I’m really happy about that. I mean, I know I’ve got some quality work coming from him [as a spot starter or as a reliever].”

Before Friday night’s game, Hershiser was 1-1 with an 8.73 ERA in four appearances.

“You just don’t know what’s going to come up and you don’t know when you’re going to be used at times, so you just prepare,” Hershiser said. “And if you’re healthy and you feel good and you want to contribute, then you’re looking forward to it.

“I’m very content.”

TODAY

DODGERS’

DARREN DREIFORT

(1-1, 2.45 ERA)

vs.

MARLINS’

JESUS SANCHEZ

(3-0, 4.81 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 5

TV--Fox Sports Net 2.

Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

* Update--Dreifort, coming off a no-decision in the Dodgers’ tough-luck 1-0 loss at the New York Mets on Monday, has not had much success in his career against Florida, going just 1-3 with a 3.90 ERA in 11 lifetime appearances against the Marlins. In 1999 against Florida, Dreifort went 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA. The left-handed Sanchez, meanwhile, has never lost to the Dodgers, going 3-0 with a 4.43 ERA in six appearances, including three starts.

* Tickets--(323) 224-1HIT.