Relief Isn’t Spelled S-H-U-E-Y Yet for Dodgers

Dodger reliever Paul Shuey, trying to keep some perspective on his tumultuous tenure in Los Angeles since his trade from Cleveland on July 28, shook his head, rolled his eyes and emitted a half-hearted chuckle when he sized up his struggles.

“It’s been extremely frustrating, and it’s been tough to sleep,” Shuey said Monday about a string of recent difficult outings. “I’ve had to retrain my thoughts and adjust my pitching style. It’s been a really interesting two weeks. It seems like it’s been a year.”

Unless Shuey and his fellow relievers, who have combined for a 5.77 earned-run average since July 21, snap out of their slump, it will seem as if it’s about 2006.

The Dodgers, who open a three-game series against the Montreal Expos today, traded one of their top pitching prospects, Ricardo Rodriguez, to get Shuey, whom Dodger right fielder Shawn Green deemed “one of the top five nastiest guys I’ve ever faced.”

With a 95-mph fastball, sharp split-fingered fastball and solid curve, Shuey was supposed to provide the extra footing the Dodgers needed to complete the bridge from their starting pitchers to closer Eric Gagne. But that bridge has only gotten wobblier.

Shuey, whose ERA in his last nine appearances with the Indians was 0.90, has a 10.80 ERA, two losses and two blown saves in nine games with the Dodgers. In 6 2/3 innings, he has given up owed 12 hits, 11 walks and eight earned runs, and he has yet to work a 1-2-3 inning.

The right-hander gave up three runs in the eighth inning of a 6-3 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday night. He was rocked for a grand slam by Phillie outfielder Pat Burrell on Friday night. He was charged with three runs in the eighth inning of a 7-5 loss to Philadelphia on Aug. 5.

Giovanni Carrara, another right-hander, claims his arm feels “better than ever,” but he has been torched in his last four outings. He gave up a two-run homer to Philadelphia’s Mike Lieberthal on Saturday night, and he hit two batters with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, forcing in the go-ahead runs in a 7-5 loss to the Phillies on Aug. 5.

Carrara gave up a game-tying, two-run double to Cincinnati’s Jason LaRue in the ninth inning of a 6-4, 13-inning loss to the Reds on Aug. 1 and a home run to Cincinnati’s Adam Dunn on July 30.

Left-hander Jesse Orosco has been solid, giving up one earned run in his last nine innings, but his status is questionable because of back stiffness.

Gagne has been one of baseball’s dominant closers, with a 2.01 ERA and 39 saves in 41 opportunities, and set-up man Paul Quantrill has been every bit the workhorse the Dodgers had envisioned, going 3-4 with a 3.05 ERA and 25 holds in a major league-high 65 games.

But overall, a bullpen that was one of baseball’s best in the first half of the season has blown six save opportunities and given up 13 homers in the last 20 games.

“Pitchers are no different than hitters--they have peaks and valleys,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “When one is in a valley, you just hope you have enough around him to ride it out.”

The lack of relief has put a considerable strain on Tracy, who can’t seem to go a game without making a hand-wringing pitching decision. He used to turn to Carrara in tight spots, but the Dodgers’ confidence in him appears to be waning.

Carrara’s role has diminished since the first half, when he was a primary set-up man, and that has reduced the bullpen’s depth.

“If we have a chance to win now, we’re going to go for it,” Tracy said. “We’re not going to get beat at the expense of getting so-and-so straightened out.”

Shuey’s struggles have strained the back of the bullpen. When the Phillies loaded the bases in the eighth inning against Shuey on Friday night, Gagne, who has nine relief appearances of more than one inning, wasn’t even warming up.

“We need to build the bridge to Quantrill and Gagne, because if we look beyond that and get ourselves in a situation where we’re going to other guys sooner, they’re going to get tired out there,” Tracy said. “I can’t pitch Gagne in the eighth inning every day.”

A rash of close games, most determined in the late innings, has caused the bullpen much duress.

“I haven’t been fatigued, but for me, the mental part of being up a run, tied, or down a run late in the game day after day has been tough,” Quantrill said. “You don’t often go out there and say, ‘You know what? Today I’m going to work on my slider.’

“We’re always tight and, mentally, it gets to be draining when you’re tight every night.... There hasn’t been a lot of room for error, and even if you give up one tough run, it can give you a loss. Sometimes that can put you in a slump, because you let the team down. But you’d rather be in tight games every night than getting spanked.”

The bullpen could receive a huge boost with the addition of left-hander Omar Daal, who could be demoted from the rotation when Kevin Brown returns this week. But if Kazuhisa Ishii remains in the rotation ahead of Daal, it will be on a short leash. If the struggling Japanese left-hander has another rocky start or two, Tracy probably will replace him with Daal, leaving the bullpen a little thinner.

An effective Shuey would have the biggest impact on the bullpen.

“Bullpens live and die together--when everyone is doing their small job, everyone can do the big job easier,” Shuey said. “I plan to be a key ingredient in this, and I’m trying to help, but for whatever reason, it isn’t working out.

“There’s no change in my routine or thought process here. I’ve gone 0 and 2 to a lot of guys and haven’t finished them off. I have to have faith that I’m going to come out of it, and if I do, it will be beneficial for the team. I just can’t put too much pressure on myself.”

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*--* No Comparison Paul Shuey’s statistics have dropped dramatical ly since switching leagues this season: 2002 G IP HPI HR BBI SOI W L SV BSV BA ERA Cleveland 39 37.1 0.83 1 0.27 1.04 3 0 0 2 225 2.41 Dodgers 9 6.2 1.8 1 1.7 1.2 1 2 0 2 364 10.80 KEY: G-games; IP-inning pitched; HPI-hits per inning; HR-home runs allowed; BBI-walks per inning; SOI-strike outs per inning; W-wins; L-lossesSV -saves; BSV-blown saves; BA-opponen ts’ batting average; ERA-earned run average

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