Beltre Gets Some Support

Teammates are offering support to struggling third baseman Adrian Beltre, whom many in the organization believe won’t be with the club next season unless his deteriorating relationship with management improves soon.

“If he wasn’t so talented, people might look at what he does bring to the team, rather than what he’s capable of bringing,” right fielder Shawn Green said. “For some people, it’s hard to get past that he’s capable of being one of the top run producers in the game. It’s easy to get caught up in that whole concept. But he’s a great defensive third baseman who hits 20 [homers] and drives in 75 to 85 [runs]. That’s more than a lot of third baseman.”

The situation has been a hot topic in the clubhouse. Teammates said Beltre appears to be trying harder, arriving early to watch videotapes of his at-bats and generally displaying better body language.

Whether that translates to consistent run production remains to be seen.

Ron Coomer, Mike Kinkade and Jolbert Cabrera are considered capable reserves, but aren’t in Beltre’s class defensively. The Dodgers also don’t have a big league-ready prospect at third base.

Although teams are interested in Beltre, two National League general managers said the Dodgers probably won’t receive what they want in a deal, at least at this point, because Beltre is batting only .164 with two home runs, four runs batted in and 13 strikeouts. Moreover, Beltre has a salary of $3.7 million and can become a free agent after the 2004 season, making it even more difficult for General Manager Dan Evans to get an acceptable deal.

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Closer Eric Gagne, a native of Montreal, has been monitoring the SARS outbreak in Toronto.

“I’ll be concerned if there are some cases in Montreal,” said Gagne, whose wife, Valerie, and daughter, Faye, recently returned to Montreal. “Toronto is right there, it’s only a four-hour drive, so a lot of people are talking about it. I’ve talked to a lot of doctors, and they said it’s OK to be there right now.”

The commissioner’s office has issued travel guidelines for games in Toronto, but not for Montreal, where the Dodgers play the Expos in early May.

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Leadoff batter Dave Roberts was hitless four at-bats, ending his career-high hitting streak at 10 games.

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ON DECK

Opponent -- Pittsburgh Pirates, three games.

Site -- PNC Park.

Today -- 4 p.m. PDT.

TV -- Channel 13.

Radio -- KFWB (980), KWKW (1330).

Records -- Dodgers 9-13, Pirates 10-11.

2002 record vs. Pirates -- 4-2.

Saturday, 4 p.m. PDT -- Hideo Nomo (2-3, 3.03) vs. Salomon Torres (2-0, 1.93).

Sunday, 10:30 a.m. PDT -- Kazuhisa Ishii (1-1, 3.57) vs. Jeff Suppan (4-0, 1.37).