A Surplus of Starters Is a Good Thing for Tracy

It’s a problem the Dodgers would be elated to have, even if an ego is bruised late in March. The Dodgers have six starting pitchers -- Hideo Nomo, Odalis Perez, Kevin Brown, Kazuhisa Ishii, Darren Dreifort and Andy Ashby -- and if all are sound, one will have to open the season in the bullpen.

But if that’s the case, that means Brown, limited to 10 starts because of back and elbow problems last season, and Dreifort, who hasn’t pitched in 20 months because of elbow and knee surgeries, will have rebounded from serious injuries.

And the Dodgers would have rotation depth and insurance against a pitching injury, two things they lacked for most of 2002.

“They would have some tough decisions to make,” said Ashby, who gave up two hits and struck out two in two solid innings of the Dodger’ 6-5 exhibition victory over the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday at Roger Dean Stadium.

Ashby’s contract could complicate matters. Ashby, who went 9-13 with a 3.91 earned-run average in 181 2/3 innings last season, needs to throw 168 1/3 innings this season for his $8.5-million option to vest in 2004.

The Dodgers would never say it publicly, but they prefer it not to happen. A month or so in the bullpen would likely prohibit Ashby from pitching enough innings for the option to vest.

“I would hope it wouldn’t be like that -- I don’t think they’d [put me in the bullpen] so I wouldn’t get the innings, but I agreed to the contract,” Ashby said.

“I would rather start, and the other guys would too, but I have no control over it, so why worry about it? I’m getting too old to stress out about it. If they make a decision, I can’t change it.”

Ashby, 35, hasn’t made a regular-season relief appearance since 1993, when he made 11 for Colorado, but he did pitch in relief twice for Atlanta in the 2000 National League division series against St. Louis, giving up one run and one hit in 3 2/3 innings.

“I about had a heart attack every time the phone rang in the bullpen,” said Ashby, who made his Grapefruit League debut Tuesday after being slowed by a back injury the first week of camp. “That [experience] added five years to my life.”

Ashby, in the final year of a three-year, $22.6-million contract, has a healthy attitude toward the situation. If he’s demoted to the bullpen, don’t expect him to ask for a trade, as Omar Daal did in 2002.

“There comes a point in time where you have to realize it’s not a one-person show,” Ashby said. “The bottom line is we’re all in this together. When we break camp, hopefully we’ll all still be here.”

Ashby’s $8-million contract for 2003 and his 2004 option make it unlikely a team would trade for the right-hander. As for his future, Ashby hasn’t given it much thought.

“If I don’t get the innings I’ll go somewhere else [next season],” Ashby said. “And if no one wants me, I’ll go home and sit on the porch.”

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Cardinal center fielder Jim Edmonds was in Edison Field for all four of the Angels’ home World Series games last October. Edmonds was the Angel center fielder from 1994-1999 before being traded to St. Louis in 2000, and while the Cardinals have made the playoffs in each of his three seasons in St. Louis, they failed to reach the World Series.

But that didn’t make the Angel success hard to swallow.

“I was very surprised by my feelings because I thought it would be tough to watch,” Edmonds said. “But it wasn’t hard at all. Of all the people there, I was closer to those guys than anyone except the people in the family section. But it was awesome. When Troy [Glaus] won the MVP, I had tears in my eyes.”

There was no need to be jealous, Edmonds said, “because I’m so satisfied in my life right now. I was excited for them ... I was standing on top of my chair most of the time.”

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Dodger minor league pitcher Masao Kida, who suffered moderate injuries in a head-on car crash Saturday that severely injured the Dodgers’ Japanese interpreter, Teppei Shiokawa, returned to Dodgertown on Tuesday with a soft cast on his lower right leg and a sore lower back.

“But in any event, both Teppei and I are alive,” Kida said through an interpreter, “and I’m happy with that.”

Shiokawa, a passenger in Kida’s vehicle, suffered life-threatening injuries; he had surgery to remove his spleen and repair a torn bowel and had internal bleeding.

Though he remained in intensive care in an Orlando hospital Tuesday, the 27-year-old is expected to make a full recovery.

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Brown’s 75-pitch bullpen session Tuesday “went fine,” Manager Jim Tracy said, and the right-hander is scheduled to throw two innings Thursday. Dreifort also had a bullpen session and is scheduled to pitch three innings Friday.... Ron Coomer, hoping to land a utility infield job, hit his second home run in as many days. Calvin Murray, competing for a reserve outfield spot, had two hits and made a diving catch in center field.... The Dodgers will hold a pregame ceremony today in Holman Stadium to honor Eddie Murray and Gary Carter, former members of the organization who will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer. Former Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda is expected to attend.