Slumping Green Takes a Break

Shawn Green has been a force for the Dodgers, but even franchise players need a break.

The right fielder was held out of the starting lineup for the first time this season Sunday night in a 6-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Pac Bell Park. Green struck out pinch-hitting in the seventh inning.

He started in the Dodgers’ first 79 games, playing all but eight innings. Green was reluctant, but knew it was time to rest.

“Everybody needs to take a day every now and then,” Green said. “I guess this was a pretty good time for me.”

Green has only two hits in his last 26 at-bats, dropping his average to .304. The left-handed batter is fourth on the team with 12 home runs and third with 57 runs batted in, but his production decreased significantly in June.

After batting .367 with five homers and 24 RBIs in May, Green batted .250 with two homers and 18 RBIs in June. Manager Davey Johnson noticed.

He told Green to relax Sunday, and Green didn’t argue.

“I’m the last one to say that I need a day off,” Green said, “but I think Davey just got sick of seeing my act out there.”

Johnson enjoys watching Green work, but Green hasn’t been at his best recently.

“You could see for a while that Greenie needed to take a little time,” Johnson said. “He plays so hard and he cares so much, he wants to be in there all the time.

“But there comes a point when it does more good to just take a day. It’s more of a psychological break than anything.”

Green is one of the Dodgers’ hardest workers. He often takes extra batting practice, arriving early before games,

That has taken a toll too.

“Greenie needed a day off and he deserved it,” left fielder Gary Sheffield said. “I’ve been on Greenie all year to slow down. Greenie is such a hard worker, he wants to win so much, and he’s always pushing himself.

“That’s fine . . . you have to work hard. But this game takes a lot out of you. You have to learn to conserve your energy whenever you can. With all of the extra stuff Greenie does every day, if he would just cut down on some of it, it would add up.”

Green said the work is necessary because he’s still trying to adjust to the National League after five-plus seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“This year, I haven’t found a groove at all,” said Green, in the first season of a six-year, $84-million contract. “I feel I’ve done all right, but I haven’t done what I’m close to capable of doing.

“A lot of that comes from going to a new team and trying to hit home runs. It becomes a vicious cycle because you get away from what got you there in the first place. It works against you because you start to do things you don’t normally do.”

Green has done many things well.

Despite slumping in June, Green has been a key to the Dodgers’ improvement offensively from last season. He has helped provide balance in the club’s right-handed dominated lineup.

Sheffield, having an MVP-type season, credits Green with much of his success.

“Greenie brought everything that this team needed,” he said. “I’d say Greenie is a six-tool player, not a five-tool player, because of his attitude.

“Everyone here knows he’s worth every penny [of his multiyear deal]. It’s not like he has to go out and force the issue.”

But Green won’t stop now.

“From the last couple of years to this year, I just know my swing is not where I want it to be yet,” said Green, second among starters with a .418 on-base percentage. “Hopefully, that will happen in the second half.”

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The Dodgers plan to make a roster move Tuesday.

They are expected to recall middle infielder Mike Metcalfe from triple-A Albuquerque, and move outfielder Shawn Gilbert off the 25-man roster to make room for Metcalfe.

Metcalfe is batting .320 with 19 RBIs in 28 games for the Dukes. The right-handed batter was hitless in four games with the Dodgers in ’98.

Gilbert started in right field Sunday and was one for three. He is batting .150 with a homer and three RBIs in 15 games with the Dodgers.

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Right-handed reliever Gregg Olson pitched a scoreless inning for Class-A San Bernardino in his second rehabilitation outing.

Olson, who struck out two and walked one, is on the disabled list because of a strained right forearm.