Dodgers Still Miss Young at Heart

Leadoff batter Eric Young sparks the Chicago Cubs’ offense because the Dodgers thought they could do better at second base.

Manager Davey Johnson believed Mark Grudzielanek would be better defensively, and that outfielders Devon White and Todd Hollandsworth would be adequate platooning atop the order.

He was half right.

Grudzielanek has adjusted well to the move from shortstop to second base and the Dodgers are confident he will continue to grow in the role.

They are less optimistic about the guys who have batted first.

Eager to fill the void left when Young was traded to the Cubs, the Dodgers reacquired center fielder and leadoff batter Tom Goodwin from the Colorado Rockies for Hollandsworth and two minor leaguers, including their top left-handed pitcher, before the non-waiver trading deadline.

Young’s rocky relationship with Johnson spurred the controversial trade, but he is happy now.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, are still trying to improve their leadoff situation, searching for answers while trying to remain in the National League West race.

Young said the answer was in front of them last season--and now wears No. 7 for the Cubs.

“They wanted to go in another direction because they didn’t like my defense, and there were a lot of things said about me,” Young said. “But just look at the numbers that I had [batting leadoff], and that was with being hurt and not having my legs most of last year.

“I guess that wasn’t good enough, so I went out this year to get rid of all the negativity and prove that I’m still the same type of player I always was. I know with the season I’m having, and looking at the season Grudzielanek is having, they wouldn’t be where they are now with us both batting in front of those big guys.”

Young has become a crowd favorite at Wrigley Field after arriving in December with pitcher Ismael Valdes, whom the Dodgers recently reacquired, for reliever Terry Adams and two minor league pitchers. Young has tormented the Dodgers while having one of the best seasons of his career.

“I think he’s proved to himself that he could get back to where he was,” Cub Manager Don Baylor said.

“He was not there last year. He needs to be challenged, and if you challenge him, you can see the type of year he’ll have.”

Beginning play Tuesday, the eight-year veteran was batting .303 with six home runs and 36 runs batted in. He was among NL leaders with 76 runs, 32 doubles, 37 stolen bases and a .380 leadoff on-base percentage.

In his first three games against the Dodgers, Young batted .429 with four runs, three RBIs and a stolen base.

Of course, that’s not surprising.

Despite his injuries last season, Young batted .281, was third in the majors with 51 stolen bases and fifth among NL leadoff batters with a .382 on-base percentage.

“There’s no question E.Y. is one of the better leadoff hitters in the league, and I would have loved him to stay because we would have been a great 1-2 punch,” Grudzielanek said. “But I don’t think the trade had anything to do with E.Y. as a leadoff guy. Management felt that we needed to make an adjustment defensively, and they thought we had enough guys here who could do [the leadoff] job.”

Hollandsworth, White and reserve F.P. Santangelo disappointed in long auditions, failing to get on base consistently.

Dodger leadoff batters are last in the league with a .242 batting average and .318 on-base percentage. The league averages are .274 and .381.

Without other options, the Dodgers looked into their past for help.

The Dodgers released Goodwin after the 1993 season because of doubts about his leadoff ability. The Rockies were eager to move Goodwin, whom they signed in the off-season, because of similar concerns.

He struck out 85 times in 342 at-bats with the Rockies, and General Manager Dan O’Dowd figured he made a mistake giving Goodwin a three-year, $10.72-million contract.

Goodwin has $7 million remaining under his contract, and the Dodgers supposedly traded Young, in part, to trim the payroll.

Young is making $4.5 million this season and $4.5 million next in the final year of his deal. That’s only $2 million more than Goodwin will receive, and Young has been more productive.

“The money we saved trading E.Y. allowed us to do some things in the off-season,” Malone said. “It gave us some financial flexibility, and we put it to good use with a lot of the moves we made.”

“As far as [the Goodwin trade], we believe he can do the things we need in the leadoff spot. That was one area where we really wanted to improve, and we feel we did that with this acquisition.”

But at what price?

Malone traded triple-A outfielder Kevin Gibbs and double-A left-hander Randey Dorame to the Rockies for Goodwin and $300,000.

Gibbs, 26, has been injured much of the last three seasons and wasn’t in Dodger plans. But scouts from other organizations consider Dorame the club’s top left-hander, and many said the move could haunt the Dodgers in the future.

Dorame, 23, was 14-3 with a 2.51 earned-run average last season at Class A San Bernardino and was the California League pitcher of the year. He was 3-4 with a 3.86 ERA for San Antonio this season after starting at Class A Vero Beach and going 7-1 with a 2.21 ERA.

The Dodgers acknowledge they have few well-regarded pitching prospects, so trading Dorame was risky.

“He had a very good year last year and I know people like him, but you can’t improve unless you’re willing to give up something,” Malone said. “I had many discussions with our minor league staff leading up to the trade, and the feeling was that we could do this deal without feeling like we were giving up too much or hurting ourselves down the road.

“The Rockies wanted other prospects we weren’t willing to move. If we were going to do this, we had to be willing to include players in the deal, that’s just how it works.

“And again, we feel Goodwin can do things to help us.”

In his first seven games after the trade, Goodwin batted .280 with nine strikeouts in 25 at-bats. He was caught stealing twice in three attempts.

“I’m just here to do my part,” said Goodwin, who batted only .208 away from Coors Field. “When things aren’t going good with the bat, you try to do something defensively. You just keep trying to contribute any way you can.”

The Dodgers are counting on Goodwin for a big contribution.

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Trouble at the Top

Comparing Eric Young’s numbers to Dodger leadoff batters this season:

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DODGERS YOUNG Avg. .242 .303 OB%: .318 .380 SLG%: .366 .423 Runs: 72 76 Homers: 13 6 RBIs: 41 36 SB: 14 37

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