If This Keeps Up, Grissom Might Leave

Outfielder Marquis Grissom has not thought much about next season--”There’s too much at stake this year to worry about it,” he said--but it seems the more productive he is in 2002, the less are the chances of his returning to the Dodgers in 2003.

Grissom, in the last year of a five-year, $25-million contract, is batting .289 with 13 home runs and 45 runs batted in while platooning with Dave Roberts in center and filling in occasionally for Brian Jordan in left.

He has five fewer RBIs in 211 at-bats than Jordan--who has 13 homers and 50 RBIs--has in 369 at-bats. Despite limited playing time, Grissom has more homers than Paul Lo Duca (seven) and more RBIs than Mark Grudzielanek (43). Grissom’s .529 slugging percentage is the second-highest on the team behind Shawn Green (.577).

But Grissom, who homered in his first at-bat Sunday night, wants to be an everyday player, and if Jordan returns next season--as a player traded in the middle of a multiyear contract, Jordan can demand a trade this winter--it’s doubtful Grissom’s role with the Dodgers would change in 2003.

It’s also doubtful the Dodgers, who have $89.5 million committed in guaranteed contracts to 12 players in 2003, would want Grissom back at his current price tag, $5 million a year. And the more Grissom hits, the more likely he’ll find a regular job elsewhere.

“I’m looking for at-bats; I want to play every day for somebody,” Grissom, 35, said. “I rate myself as a player every year, and I think my arm and my speed are still above average, and my hitting is still there.”

Grissom, a 13-year veteran who has played in three World Series, filled in for the injured Jordan and homered twice in Friday night’s 7-6 victory over Philadelphia and had the game-winning hit Saturday night, a two-run single in the seventh that gave the Dodgers a 10-8 victory. His first-inning homer Sunday night gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

“He’s been a better player for us this year than he was last year, by far,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “He has discipline in the strike zone, he’s back to using the whole field, his average is up [67] points over last year, he’s creeping up on 50 RBIs ... he’s doing OK for himself.”

Grissom grumbled about platooning with Tom Goodwin in 2001, but his acceptance of his role this season has been a key factor in his success.

“I’m around a bunch of good guys, and this has been fun for me,” Grissom said. “I’m focused. It’s just me and baseball. I’m not taking anything personally, I have no animosity toward anyone. And after 13 years, nothing tricks me, nothing surprises me. I’m feeling good. I’m relaxed, yet aggressive at the same time. That’s a fine line.”

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After returning home to Georgia today as his kids begin school, pitcher Kevin Brown, who made his second rehabilitation start Friday night for triple-A Las Vegas, will join the Dodgers Tuesday in Montreal.

Brown, who threw in the bullpen Sunday, will throw another bullpen session Tuesday, after which the Dodgers will decide on his return. Brown, who had surgery June 11 for a herniated disk in his lower back, most likely will pitch Friday night in New York. Brown said he’s having “no problems health-wise” and that his stamina “won’t be an issue.”

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Andy Ashby will start the opener of a three-game series in Montreal, but Tracy hasn’t announced a starter for Wednesday or Thursday because he may use today’s off day to skip Kazuhisa Ishii or Omar Daal in the rotation. One of the two left-handers would pitch Wednesday and be followed by Hideo Nomo Thursday.

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Jordan, who sat out his third consecutive game Sunday, will undergo a precautionary MRI test on his lower back today. Doctors believe he has a muscle strain but want to rule out the possibility of a bulging disk, an injury that sidelined Jordan for two-thirds of the 1997 season.... Left-hander Jesse Orosco was unavailable Sunday because of stiffness in his lower back, but the reliever should be ready by Tuesday’s game in Montreal.