Tracy Has a Spring in His Step

He lost one of the game’s best right-handed batters, an All-Star starting pitcher and an All-Star closer, two of his top pitchers must rebound from serious elbow surgery, his woeful center-field and leadoff spots were not upgraded, his shortstop will likely be an untested 21-year-old rookie, and his roster is bloated with fat contracts that are virtually impossible for his general manager to trade.

So why is Dodger Manager Jim Tracy so giddy?

Well, wouldn’t you be excited if you were about to embark on your first real spring training as a major league manager?

Tracy may have been the Dodger manager last spring, but in name only, not spirit. He was more psychologist than field general, more counselor than coach, because many days and sleepless nights were spent worrying whether a time bomb named Gary Sheffield would explode and send shrapnel through the clubhouse.

But Sheffield and all his disruptions--his daily blasts at Dodger Chairman Bob Daly, his claims of being underpaid and disrespected, his threats he wouldn’t play hard if he wasn’t given a lifetime contract--are gone, dealt to the Atlanta Braves for outfielder Brian Jordan and pitcher Odalis Perez in January.

Without Sheffield, Dodgertown is likely to feel more like a baseball camp and less like a hostage situation. Pitchers and catchers will hold their first workouts today, and Tracy will face all sorts of questions for six weeks: Who will be his closer? Who will be his fifth starting pitcher? Who will start in center field and at shortstop? Who will bat leadoff? Who will win bench spots?

But no Sheffield crisis.

“This is going to be fun, it’s going to be refreshing,” Tracy said. “I missed out last year on enjoying the whole sphere of your first year as a major league manager. You respond to challenges when they surface; unfortunately, mine came even before I put my uniform on, and I had to deal with it.”

This spring, the only question regarding Sheffield is how the Dodgers will replace him. For all the grief he caused, Sheffield averaged 37 home runs and 103 runs batted in the last three seasons, power numbers that Jordan is not expected to match.

That’s fine with Tracy, who believes if Jordan can produce his usual 25 homers and 100 RBIs, and right fielder Shawn Green and catcher Paul Lo Duca have superb seasons, and first baseman Eric Karros and third baseman Adrian Beltre return to form after injury-plagued 2001 seasons, and the Dodgers are more aggressive on the basepaths, they should have enough offense to compensate for Sheffield’s loss.

Karros is sound after batting a career-low .235 with 15 homers and 63 RBIs in a season marred by lower back problems. Beltre is back at full strength after his harrowing ordeal last winter and spring when he underwent surgery to close a wound in his abdomen after a botched appendectomy in the Dominican Republic.

“We’re healthier, we’re more athletic and we’re deeper this year,” Tracy said. “My third baseman showed up a year ago with a hole in his body. Green stretched ligaments in his thumb sliding in his first spring training game. Kevin Brown had an Achilles’ problem, Karros had a back problem, we had that other [Sheffield] issue.

“But things seem to be falling into place in a lot more peaceful manner. That situation last spring is such a thing of the past for me.”

If Brown and Andy Ashby recover from elbow surgery, the Dodger rotation should be deep and competitive, with Japanese pitchers Kazuhisa Ishii and Hideo Nomo joining Brown and Ashby, and Omar Daal, Eric Gagne and Perez battling for the fifth spot.

If Brown and Ashby suffer setbacks, the Dodgers could struggle, because their rotation won’t be as good, and they don’t appear to have an offense that can out slug teams. Even with Brown and Ashby, the Dodgers need to be more creative on offense.

With the speedy Cesar Izturis at shortstop, a sound Beltre able to steal 20 or more bases and the athletic Jordan replacing Sheffield, the Dodgers could have more weapons. But Jordan will have to hit consistently to prevent opponents from pitching around Green.

“We had 58 one-run games last year and went 29-29 in them,” Tracy said. “Was there a situation where we could have taken the extra base, gone from first to third [on a single], stolen a base? When you see a healthy Beltre, an athletic Jordan, a good baserunner in [second baseman] Mark Grudzielanek, I think we can do a much better job on the basepaths.”

An effective leadoff batter would help. Tom Goodwin, who batted .231 with a .286 on-base percentage, and Marquis Grissom, who batted .221 with a .250 on-base percentage, provided little in the way of table-setting. McKay Christensen and Dave Roberts will push them for the center-field job, and the winner will likely bat leadoff.

“Are we going to have a guy step forward and become a catalyst for this club?” Tracy said. “That’s something we missed last year. We don’t really want to step out of house to look for an answer, but someone has to make that statement.”

Tracy feels the same way about his closer situation. The Dodgers let Jeff Shaw (43 saves in 2001) go and are confident Matt Herges can matriculate from set-up man to closer, but Herges has only two career saves. If Herges, Paul Quantrill or possibly Giovanni Carrara don’t step up this spring, the Dodgers will increase efforts to trade for a closer.

“I’m a big believer in opportunity,” Tracy said in regards to Herges. “Once you get the opportunity, if you don’t take advantage of it, then it’s up to us to take the next step.”

What’s the next step for the Dodgers? They went 86-76 despite a barrage of injuries last season, finishing six games behind eventual World Series-champion Arizona. Though their rotation looks stronger, their offense and bullpen look weaker.

Despite a trimmed payroll, the Dodgers will still spend more than $100 million for a team many don’t expect to challenge Arizona and San Francisco in the National League West. Then again, if they stay healthy, pitch well and find some offensive balance, they could contend.

“I look at spring training this year as being a continuation, and I don’t think the Dodgers have been able to say that for a few years,” Tracy said. “We’re always picking up the pieces, starting over. Have we made changes? Yes. Could we improve through some more changes? Yes. But I’m excited about building on the foundation we laid last year.”

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Brown will not be in camp today when the team holds its first spring training workout. He received permission from the Dodgers to report late, and the right-hander likely will be in camp by Monday.