Tracy, Kreuter Clarify Park Remarks

Manager Jim Tracy and catcher Chad Kreuter on Tuesday clarified their critical comments about starter Chan Ho Park, who has struggled in two of his last three outings.

Tracy and Kreuter expressed disappointment about the perception that they unfairly blasted the consistent pitcher after Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium.

They said comments about Park lacking focus and intensity in a five-inning performance were not intended to stir questions about his competitiveness, or suggest that the right-hander was responsible for the club’s recent slide.

“That’s inaccurate. Totally, totally inaccurate,” Tracy said, alluding to the quote-created perception that Park is gutless. “Those words were never used. Those words will never be used.”

Kreuter, Park’s personal catcher, said he did not intend to cast a shadow over his friend.

“I was no more critical of Chan Ho than [after] any other start that he’s had when the result was unfavorable,” he said. “You can look back at any of the times I said Chan Ho didn’t pitch like Chan Ho could pitch. You could trace that back to quotes I said last year.

“He set a bar that is very high. We’ve all seen that bar keep getting higher and higher. When he doesn’t reach that bar, it may sound that it’s critical, but it’s not.”

Tracy’s comments seemed especially harsh because the first-year manager has not singled out players after losses, prompting some to wonder why he would start with Park, among the majors’ leaders with 22 quality starts in 27.

“There has been not one time since I took over this club that I would ever say anything to [reporters] that I had not addressed with the player first,” Tracy said. “The misconception about the whole thing is no one had asked me, but the fact remains that when the ballgame was over, [pitching coach Jim Colborn] and I spent 10-12 minutes with Chan Ho before the press came in. We talked to him [about] a lot of what we had seen with his performance.

“This guy has the potential of becoming one of the elite pitchers in the game. But with becoming one of the elite pitchers in the game, there’s a responsibility that you take on. The responsibility is not that I have to win every time I pitch, but the aura that I create for myself in going out there has to be understood. That’s part of the development of a premier pitcher.”

Park is the club’s only active proven starter in a playoff race, and he can become a free agent after the season.

“My experience, as a big-league player, with all the players that I’ve played with, yes, that could be a factor,” Kreuter said of Park’s contract status. “You look at the game . . . we’re all human here.”

Kevin Brown (torn muscle in pitching elbow) was pain free after a 50-pitch bullpen session and might be available to relieve Sunday against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field, Colborn said.

“Maybe so,” Colborn said about the possibility of Brown being activated from the disabled list this week. “The decision involves a few people.”

Colborn declined to indicate when Brown might start, but he is expected to rejoin the rotation on the next homestand if his progress continues.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

TERRY ADAMS

(9-5, 4.64 ERA)

vs.

MARLINS’

A.J. BURNETT

(8-9, 4.07 ERA)

Pro Player Stadium, 4 PDT

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

Update--Adams is 2-2 with a 4.24 earned-run average in August. The right-hander has limited opponents to a .275 batting average in a career-high 120 1/3 innings. Burnett is 1-1 with a 2.41 ERA in three starts against the Dodgers.