Controversies Aside, Malone Performs to Daly’s Liking

Despite being a lightning rod for controversy, embattled Dodger General Manager Kevin Malone was given a vote of confidence Tuesday by Chairman Bob Daly.

Daly, a successful movie-studio executive who had a rude introduction to the business of running a baseball team last year, said he is happy with the job Malone has done, even with an escalating payroll, eye-popping contracts, failed expectations and his penchant for making industry-angering comments in his two-plus years as Dodger GM and executive vice president.

Daly said Malone is “a good baseball man.”

“I am very happy with the organization he’s put together, our manager, our coaching staff, the additions we have and all the people that work for Kevin,” Daly said in a telephone interview from his Dodger Stadium office. “So, therefore, since Kevin is responsible for that . . . he has to get the credit when things go right.

“He certainly gets the rap when things go wrong. That’s part of the job, and he certainly got his share of raps. Some are justified and some are not.”

The Dodgers will open the season with a payroll of between $108 and $111 million, the highest opening-day total in National League history. Depending on the New York Yankee and Boston Red Sox rosters, it could be the highest in major league history.

Among Malone’s utterances: proclaiming himself the new sheriff in town upon his hiring, comparing Kevin Brown to Jackie Robinson and Gary Sheffield to Bill Clinton.

“Kevin does say things sometimes that can get people [upset], but the truth of the matter, as far as a baseball manner is concerned, and as far as the way the people work for him, and the way he utilizes the people that work for him, I think he does a good job.”

“There are . . . times when he sometimes puts his foot in [his mouth] when he’s talking to the media,” Daly added. “I understand that and I take everything into account. But as a baseball man. . . . I spent a lot of time with both [first-year Manager] Jim Tracy and him this year when we went through the Gary Sheffield thing, and I like . . . the way they get along. I like the way they communicate together.”

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In spring training, numbers don’t tell the whole story.

That’s why Ramon Martinez, even after giving up six earned runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings to the Houston Astros Tuesday, figures he has done enough this spring to win the No. 5 spot in the Dodger rotation.

“It didn’t go the way I wanted it to go,” Martinez said after the Dodgers’ 7-5 loss to the Astros at Holman Stadium. “But I think if a decision is made, I don’t think one game should [decide it]. They should evaluate it overall.”

Manager Jim Tracy agreed.

“It wasn’t the kind of outing [Ramon] was looking for but, in my mind, it wasn’t as bad as it appeared,” he said. “There’s more to [making the rotation] than one outing.”

Eric Gagne, 25, who is also vying for the spot, is taking Kevin Brown’s turn in the rotation today against the New York Mets in the Dodgers’ final Grapefruit League game. The Dodgers then hit Las Vegas for a Thursday night exhibition against the Arizona Diamondbacks and play the Colorado Rockies Friday and Saturday at Dodger Stadium before opening the season Monday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

With days off, the No. 5 spot in the rotation does not come up until April 6.

Martinez, 33, finished spring training with a record of 0-3 and had a 5.83 earned-run average in six appearances.

“I know that I’m fine,” he said. “During the season, it’s a different game.

“I’m in the rotation, that’s what’s in my mind. But I haven’t heard anything.”

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Brown, whose opening-day start is in doubt, will test his strained right Achilles’ tendon today, working from a mound for the first time since pulling up lame in an exhibition against the New York Mets last Friday.

“I don’t anticipate any problems with Brownie,” Tracy said. “It’s never been a situation or a problem with his ability to pitch.”

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As expected, the Dodgers put Dave Hansen and Carlos Perez on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 23.

Hansen, who would have been the opening-day third baseman with Adrian Beltre recovering from abdominal surgery, has been out since breaking his left middle finger diving back to first base in the first exhibition game March 2.

Perez, who pitched only 5 2/3 innings in Grapefruit League play after undergoing left shoulder surgery in September, lashed out at the Dodgers Monday after being told he would begin the season at triple-A Las Vegas on a rehab assignment.

Notes

Jesse Orosco, 43, trying to make the club as a situational left-handed reliever, faced one batter Tuesday and got switch-hitting Lance Berkman to pop out. He will throw again today and said the Dodgers wanted to see a more aggressive approach. “Basically, I’m just going to ride this to the end,” he said. “I feel I’ve done what I wanted to do . . . get through this thing healthy and build my arm strength. . . . I don’t know where I stand. I’ve worked hard. It’s going to be a great team and it would be a lot of fun to be a part of it.”