Slump Nothing to Yell About

While the Dodger offense was muffled Tuesday and Wednesday, mustering only four hits in consecutive shutouts at the hands of the New York Mets, barely a peep could be heard out of the Dodger clubhouse.

No raised voices. No heated closed-door meetings. No players challenging their teammates. No vocal leadership, some would say. Hogwash, first baseman Eric Karros would say.

“To come in here and rant and rave just to hear yourself talk, that’s not what we’re lacking right now,” Karros said before Thursday night’s game against the Expos. “A lot of times those things are done so you can tell the media that someone got up and spoke. That doesn’t mean [anything].

“People made a big deal about [former Dodger pitcher] Carlos Perez beating up a water cooler. Does that mean he’s more emotional than everyone else? No. That’s the biggest amount of bull out there.”

The Dodgers don’t seem to have that fiery clubhouse presence they had when Kirk Gibson played in Los Angeles. There is no veteran player you can point to and say, “This is his team,” as the Boston Red Sox could with Mo Vaughn in the mid-1990s and the Oakland A’s could with Jason Giambi in recent years.

Karros, the most veteran of Dodgers, has never been a vocal presence, the type to call a team meeting or challenge a teammate publicly. Right fielder Shawn Green is the team’s most prominent position player, but he’s also one of baseball’s most reserved players and shies away from the spotlight.

Left fielder Brian Jordan has a reputation for being a team leader, but he has been a Dodger for only three months. He also sat out the last three games and said he’d be uncomfortable speaking up from the bench.

Catcher Paul Lo Duca seems to have the potential to become a prominent clubhouse presence, but he’s in only his second full big league season, leaving him short on the experience required for such status.

“But if something needs to be said, there’s a group of guys here who will approach somebody and say something,” Karros said. “Just because we don’t have an outwardly vocal guy doesn’t mean those types of players don’t exist. Certain clubs need that. That’s the least of our concerns.”

After opening the season with 9-2 and 12-0 losses to San Francisco, the Dodgers called a team meeting in which several players spoke. They won six of their next eight games.

“It’s not about one guy leading a team,” Jordan said. “The media has that perception, but it’s all about the team. A leader may call a meeting, but the point of a meeting is that everyone speaks up.”

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Jesse Orosco, the team’s left-handed relief specialist, went on the disabled list Wednesday night because of a strained left rib-cage muscle, an injury that has sidelined some pitchers for as much as six weeks. Orosco’s injury does not seem that severe, but the Dodgers are being cautious with him.

“It might take a week, it might take two or three weeks,” Orosco said. “My main concern is it’s a muscle that is very vital to pitching. You don’t want to throw a pitch in a game situation and blow it out. You want to make sure it’s 100%. I feel bad it happened, but the Dodgers made the right move.”

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Jordan, who suffered a slight strain of his lower back Monday night, said he felt “a little better” Thursday but was unavailable for the third consecutive game. He did not take batting practice or throw. Asked how many games Jordan would have to sit out before considering him a candidate for the disabled list, Manager Jim Tracy said, “We’re playing it by ear, taking it a day at a time.” ... Center fielder Dave Roberts sat out his fourth consecutive game because of a strained right quadriceps. The leadoff batter hoped to start Thursday, “but it’s just not 100%,” Roberts said. “I was optimistic [Wednesday], but it didn’t get any better [Thursday]. Hopefully, it won’t be much longer, but it’s definitely not a DL situation.”

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

HIDEO NOMO

(2-5, 3.91 ERA)

vs.

EXPOS’

TONY ARMAS JR.

(5-3, 3.53 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 7

TV--Fox Sports Net 2.

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

Update--Nomo will try to solve the control problems that have led to 29 walks in 481/3 innings on the season and have prevented him from being effective in his last two starts. Nomo gave up 10 earned runs, 15 hits and nine walks in a no-decision against Atlanta on May 7 and a loss to Florida on Sunday. Armas gave up only one earned run in 13 innings in two games against the Dodgers last season.