Beltre Hungry to Get Back Into Uniform

Adrian Beltre slowly ate the small, bland chicken sandwich while sitting in a hospital bed.

Such a meal might not seem particularly appetizing to some, but the sidelined Dodger third baseman said it was one of his most satisfying.

“The sandwich I had [Monday] was my first solid food in [more than] two months, and when you don’t eat for that long, you just want to eat anything,” he said by telephone Tuesday from his hospital room in Inglewood. It was his first interview since undergoing abdominal surgery for the second time in two months.

“It had been a long time, you know? They gave me the sandwich and I just sat there and looked at it like, ‘OK, now I can eat.’ ”

So the sandwich made his day?

“Well, it was good because I could eat, but it wasn’t great,” he said. “I got a [chicken] sandwich from Jack In The Box [on Tuesday], and that one tasted better. But the first one meant I’m getting better, and that’s why it was good.”

Beltre, who turns 22 on April 7, said he is recovering well after having undergone surgery March 12 at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood to have a wound on his large intestine closed.

The procedure was necessary, team medical personnel said, because an opening formed as the result of an infection after Beltre had an emergency appendectomy Jan. 12 in the Dominican Republic.

The Dodgers hope Beltre can return to the lineup by the end of April, but baseball sources familiar with the situation said mid-May is more probable.

Beltre wants to play now.

“I’m feeling better and I’m getting stronger every day,” he said. “I feel good right now. I wish I was out [of] the hospital and back doing my job for the team like last year, but I know I can’t because it’s going to take time for that.

“Nobody knows how long it’s going to take, but I know I can’t do it right now. When you have surgery like this, your body takes time to get back like it used to be. I know I’m not close to that.”

Beltre said he expects to be discharged from the hospital “in the next couple of days,” and then the hard work begins.

“I’ve got to get back in shape,” said Beltre, who before the recent surgery had regained 14 of 24 pounds he lost after the first.

“I’m getting better but I still don’t feel great, and I don’t know when I will. After I get out of here I still have a lot of work to do. I’ve been walking around, but that’s all.

“I need to exercise and do a lot of work. I’m going to do some stuff on my own but not a lot. Maybe a week after I’m home, when they [team trainers] see how I’m feeling, we’ll start a workout [program].”

Beltre said he realized he would not be ready for opening day even before his agent, Scott Boras, strongly encouraged him to have the second surgery. But Beltre hoped for a miracle.

“I kept waiting for the [hole] to close, it closed a little and then it opened up again, and I knew that wasn’t good,” he said. “I didn’t want to wait for it to keep closing by itself, but I didn’t want to have the surgery because I knew I couldn’t play then.

“I knew this was the right thing to do to start getting better. I kind of knew this had to happen, and I’m happy it’s done, but I just wish this didn’t happen. You think I want to have this happen and be sitting here in a hospital? No way.”

Beltre has been deluged with phone calls from well-wishers, including Chairman Bob Daly and many of his teammates.

“The boss, Mr. Daly, called me, so did E.K. [first baseman Eric Karros], and a lot of the other guys,” he said. “Some of the guys have been making fun of me a little, telling me to stop resting and get back to work.

“It’s good to talk to everybody because they let you know what’s going on when you’re just sitting in the hospital. I know what’s happening with everybody. It gives me something to do.”

Manager Jim Tracy is expected to employ a platoon at third base until Beltre returns, but the Dodgers do not expect the fill-in players to match his production.

He batted .290 last season--.331 after the All-Star break--with 20 home runs, 30 doubles and 85 runs batted in while making major strides offensively from his first full season.

He believes others will perform well in his absence.

“We’ve got a good team and a lot of guys who can play third,” Beltre said. “We’re going to be OK there, and I’m going to be back.”

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While the Dodgers are taking a wait-and-see approach with Carlos Perez, who underwent season-ending surgery Sept. 14 to remove a bone spur in his left shoulder, the enigmatic left-hander hopes to claim the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

“We have a lot of talent in this league in left-handed batters,” he said Tuesday. “I think they need a lefty in the rotation and if my arm is OK, let me keep playing. I want to win my spot back. I understand I [haven’t pitched] so many innings, but I can pitch probably three more games [in spring training].”

He won for the second time this spring Tuesday with 1 2/3 innings of late relief in a 12-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Holman Stadium. He faced eight batters and gave up one unearned run on one hit while walking one and striking out one.

It was his first appearance since March 5, when he gave up two earned runs in an inning to the St. Louis Cardinals. He recently returned to his native Dominican Republic for personal reasons and became ill upon his return, costing him time.

The 30-year-old Perez, who’s due $7.5 million this season in the final year of a three-year deal, is scheduled to pitch again Friday night against the New York Mets.

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A day after the Dodgers and Gary Sheffield reconciled, the left fielder crushed a 2-and-1 fastball from Oriole starter Sidney Ponson over the 400-foot sign in dead center. “It’s just spring training and I’m just getting ready for the season, actually,” Sheffield said. “I’m feeling very, very confident and looking forward to a big year.” . . . Shawn Green, who has been sidelined since March 2 because of a sprained right thumb, will join the Dodger minor leaguers today in Port St. Lucie for games against the Mets and will bat leadoff in “a couple of games and get eight or nine at-bats,” Tracy said.

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Staff writer Paul Gutierrez contributed to this story.