Grissom Takes a Grim View

Marquis Grissom played for Montreal in 1994, the year the Expos had baseball’s best record in August before a strike wiped out the rest of the season, including the playoffs and World Series.

So the Dodger outfielder wasn’t about to get all misty eyed or lament the possibility of another work stoppage laying waste to a promising Dodger season. The current labor dispute, which led to the players setting an Aug. 30 strike date Friday, is all about business, and Grissom puts business before pleasure in this game.

“All the fans look at is the money, not the history of the game and what players have done for salary arbitration and free agency,” Grissom said. “We can’t just let that go down the drain. A lot of players paved the way for us, stood up for us years ago, and we have to do the same. This is for the betterment of the game.”

For those same reasons, Dodger catcher Paul Lo Duca, who signed a three-year, $7.25-million contract in spring training, does not view his responsibilities as the team’s union representative as a burden.

After arriving in New York from Montreal around 3 a.m. Friday, Lo Duca and about a dozen bleary-eyed Dodgers were in the union office by 10 a.m. to sit in on a conference call of the union’s executive board.

“I spent a lot of time in the minor leagues trying to get to this point,” Lo Duca said. “Guys like [Kevin Brown] and a lot of others went through this in 1994 and did the right thing for me, so I could get the money I’m getting now, and I want to do the right thing for the guys after me.

“I know a lot of the young guys don’t want to strike, but that’s the way it works. Guys like [45-year-old Dodger reliever] Jesse Orosco went through this a few times for me, and that’s why we stick together.”

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Negotiations to this point have been considered cordial, especially compared to the hostility surrounding the 1994 work stoppage, but with a strike date now set, players believe the rhetoric--and battle over public opinion--will intensify.

“[The owners] have to make their side look as best they can, and we have to do what we have to do,” Grissom said. “When we set a date, I know it looks like we’re the ones stirring up all the chaos.

“We had to do that to put our foot down and get things going, so that maybe something gets done in the next few days. That’s what we’re hoping for. But the same thing happened in 1994, and I’m not expecting anything different unless a miracle happens.”

That’s why Grissom wasn’t enthusiastic Monday when a management lawyer said he was optimistic that an agreement might be reached in the next couple of days.

“I wasn’t too happy when they said they were real close to getting something done,” Grissom said. “To me, that’s a bad sign.”

Grissom seemed skeptical that another work stoppage could be avoided, but most players were still confident an agreement could be reached without a strike.

“My gut feeling is, something will get done,” Lo Duca said. “Things are a lot better now than they were in 1994.... I can understand the fans’ point of view and their frustrations, and I know both sides will be calling each other out.

“But we’re light years ahead of where we were in 1994 at this point, which gives us a ray of hope.”

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Players chose an Aug. 30 strike date--as opposed to mid-September--in hopes that if there is a work stoppage, it will end soon enough to maintain the integrity of the schedule and postseason play.

But Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said that if there were a strike of 10 days or more, the quality of play would be affected when games resumed.

“If pitchers miss a start, that could drastically alter the number of pitches that could be thrown [in a return start],” Tracy said. “To think a starter could throw 100 pitches ... that’s a dangerous proposition.

“If a strike lasts three or four days, it could help the position players. It would rejuvenate them. But if you go a week to 10 days [without playing], then you’re going to see some rusty looking swings. The ball will appear a lot smaller than it did.”

TODAY

DODGERS’

ODALIS PEREZ

(10-8, 3.14 ERA)

vs.

METS’

PEDRO ASTACIO

(11-5, 3.14 ERA)

Shea Stadium, 4:30 p.m. PDT,

Channel 13

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

Update--Dodger left fielder Brian Jordan, who missed the previous six games because of a protrusion in his lower back, returned to the lineup Friday night. Second baseman Mark Grudzielanek batted leadoff for the first time this season but struck out in two of his first three at-bats. The Dodgers have signed reliever Mike Magnante to a minor league contract, and the veteran left-hander, who was released by Oakland on Aug. 4, was assigned to triple-A Las Vegas.