Tough to Put Finger on Sheffield’s Status

Gary Sheffield revealed Saturday he could be sidelined a month because of his sprained left index finger, and team physician Frank Jobe clarified the severity of Sheffield’s injury.

The all-star left fielder told reporters that the MRI exam he underwent Thursday showed a “complete tear” of his ligament, adding that “it’s going to take at least two to four weeks to say that it even has a chance to [heal], but it’s probably going to take four weeks for it to totally heal.”

Sheffield’s view conflicts with the Dodgers’ announcement that his finger might improve within a week, enabling the club’s top run producer to avoid the disabled list.

However, Jobe explained that although Sheffield’s “grade-three” sprain is the most severe type, the situation is not as grave as it seems.

“The MRI shows that a portion of it is torn,” Jobe said. “But it is still stable, so that doesn’t mean he needs an operation. He just needs more time.”

Sheffield sat out his second consecutive game Saturday while undergoing therapy in an attempt to remain on the active roster.

He was sidelined four games (April 26-29) because of what was initially diagnosed as a strained finger, which occurred April 25 while he fielded ground balls during a pregame workout.

After two X-rays were negative, Sheffield requested an MRI because the swelling around his joint increased.

“In testing it [when the injury occurred], it seemed quite stable, so we didn’t attach as much significance to it at that point,” Jobe said. “But then he hasn’t gotten well, so we did do an MRI.”

Sheffield is frustrated.

“Everybody said, ‘Sprain, sprain, sprain.’ A complete tear is not a sprain,” said Sheffield, three for 31 with two runs batted in on a nine-game trip that ended Wednesday.

“I’m on the same page as everyone else, but we’re going to call it what it is. Even 15 days [on the disabled list] . . . it still isn’t going to be [healed] because of the fact that there’s a tear in there.”

So what now?

“We want to give it a week to see how it responds,” Sheffield said. “It’s an option we chose. After five [more] days we’ve got to evaluate it again. The problem is there’s a lot of fluid. We have to see if the fluid goes down.

“I just need to get flexibility in there. If I can get flexibility, I can do a lot of different things. If it’s swollen, I can’t really bend it, I can’t really use it.”

It appears Adrian Beltre is headed to arbitration.

Under the terms of his three-year, $5.05-million contract, the third baseman can void the final season (2002) and go to arbitration if he has 400 plate appearances this season or 800 in 2000-01.

Beltre had 575 in 2000, and 51this season after not playing for the Dodgers the first six weeks while recovering from two operations.

An arbitrator might not award Beltre a higher salary than the $2.3 million he is scheduled to receive, so agent Scott Boras might use the loophole as leverage for another multiyear package.

Plans to renovate the sprawling Dodgertown complex at Vero Beach, Fla., have been delayed because a developer has encountered business problems.

Work on the facility will not begin before spring training, said Craig Callan, vice president of Dodgertown and minor league facilities.

“It’s very disappointing,” Callan said of the stalled $19-million project. “It’s a bump in the road, but we’ll get around it.”

Dodger starter Luke Prokopec accidentally killed a bird with his final warmup pitch before the third inning.

TODAY

DODGERS’ DARREN DREIFORT

(3-3, 4.58 ERA)

vs.

ASTROS’ SCOTT ELARTON

(4-4, 6.32 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 1 p.m.

TV--Fox Sports Net 2.

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

Update--Dreifort was 2-1 with a 4.82 ERA against the Astros last season and is 3-3 with a 4.17 ERA in 11 career appearances. Elarton is 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA in four games against the Dodgers.