Doubt at Third

Adrian Beltre is still at third base after all these years, surprising himself and the Dodgers.

The odds were against them reaching this point because of Beltre’s performance and the Dodgers’ expectations, but here they are.

He’s on the verge of free agency and the Dodgers are determined to spend wisely under new management. Beltre wants to do more, what with the Dodgers in need of offense and no impact hitters on the horizon, and this might be his last stand.

“I know I have more potential than I’ve showed the last couple of years, there’s no doubt about that, and I can do a lot better,” Beltre said. “This year is probably going to be my most important year because I’m going to be a free agent and people in the front office in L.A. expect better things from me.”

The Dodgers have expected more than Beltre has delivered since he was rushed to the major leagues at 19 in 1998, bypassing triple A and arriving at Dodger Stadium during those chaotic days that followed the trading of All-Star catcher Mike Piazza. Tom Lasorda, then the interim general manager, figured it would be better for the organization’s top prospect to learn on the job, and Beltre has accomplished enough to reach his sixth full season at Chavez Ravine.

However, the ride has been bumpier than the Dodgers expected.

They have tried various forms of motivation, from encouragement to confrontation, hoping to inspire Beltre, using scare tactics when all else failed by acquiring players to push him for playing time. But Beltre withstood the challenges and the Dodgers had no viable in-house alternatives, so they brought him back for $5 million this season.

“In some respects, the expectations on Adrian have been unfair,” center fielder Dave Roberts said. “Talent has never been a question with Adrian, so people have always expected certain things out of him. That’s a compliment in one sense, but it can also be difficult to try to live up to.”

Beltre has had his moments.

He tied for fourth among National League third basemen last season with 23 home runs and 80 runs batted in while batting .240 and playing what Manager Jim Tracy described as “the best defense we’ve seen yet from Adrian Beltre.”

With 99 homers, Beltre, who will turn 25 Wednesday, is second to Albert Pujols (114 homers) among major leaguers 25 and under. His 215 RBIs since 2001 are the fifth-highest total among NL third basemen during that span.

“Belly has done well in the past,” right fielder Shawn Green said. “Even if he just plays the same as he did last year, he’s one of the best third basemen in the league.

“But if everything clicks and he gets off to a good start ... well, then he’s an All-Star. Then, he’s capable of putting up incredible numbers.”

And that’s the Dodgers’ problem with Beltre, who has been a notoriously slow starter.

In his first five-plus seasons, Beltre batted .249 with 38 homers and 164 RBIs in the first half, and .274 with 61 homers and 225 RBIs after the All-Star break. Beltre continues to search for answers amid seemingly daily questions about his uneven performance.

“The questions are going to be there until I have a better first half, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “Even for myself, I’m like, ‘What is it?’ So the questions don’t bother me at all because I have questions too.

“I just know that I want to have a good first half. That’s always been my problem, but the team needs me to be consistent this year.”

It certainly appears that way, considering that the Dodgers made few moves to bolster an offense that scored the fewest runs in the majors last season. Working with what he has, Tracy promoted the free-swinging Beltre to third in the batting order, in front of Green.

Beltre responded with a solid performance this spring, batting .319 with three homers and 13 RBIs in Grapefruit League play.

New batting instructor Tim Wallach has stressed plate discipline and patience in individual sessions with Beltre, and the Dodgers are keeping their fingers crossed that the project proceeds well into the regular season.

“It would be like adding a guy to the team, because that’s a position where you’re going to be called on to drive in runs,” Roberts said. “He’s going to be in a situation this year where he’s going to get an opportunity, and I expect huge things from him.”

Beltre embraces his new responsibility.

“I feel great about it,” he said. “It’s my favorite spot in the lineup. I always hit third in the minor leagues and I liked it. Especially when you hit in front of Shawn Green, you have to like that.

“You’ve got the best hitter on the team hitting behind you, so you know you’re going to get some good pitches to hit. Now that I know I have that big bat behind me, I’m going to feel more confident.”

His improving relationship with Tracy also has bolstered Beltre’s confidence.

Tracy’s repeated benching of the struggling Beltre last April stirred clubhouse friction, culminating in a heated closed-door session in which Beltre told Tracy the manager had misled him and that if the Dodgers didn’t want him, “There are 29 other teams out there.”

Tracy does not discuss his conversations with players and Beltre declined to comment about the meeting.

“Maybe there were some misunderstandings last year,” Beltre said. “There were probably a couple of things said that ... they didn’t need to be said that way on his part. I think he was trying to help me, but he didn’t get the right message out.

“It didn’t hurt me, but I just didn’t want to let it go that way. We talked later in the year and we were on the same page, so I don’t think what happened last year is going to be anything this year.

“He was just trying to help me, and I think he is my best manager so far. He believes in me, I know that, so that makes me feel a lot better. I want to do my best this year so I don’t let him down.”

New General Manager Paul DePodesta believes Beltre should receive more credit for what he has done well.

“I don’t think that he’s gotten enough recognition for how good of a defensive player he is,” DePodesta said. “I know people say they’re waiting to see him put together the six months of offense, but at least, from what I can tell, he does do the defense for six months.

“That’s a great foundation from which to start. As for the offense, it was the last three months of last year that he tore up the league, so hopefully he can just continue that pace that he set in the second half of last year.”

Tracy hopes so too.

The manager is in the final year of his contract, and he’s counting on an improved Beltre to help the Dodgers start right.

“I would like to think that this year for Belly is going to be the beginning of something new and very special for him for the remainder of his career,” Tracy said. “We know he’s that talented. We’ve seen spurts of it. The consistency is what is left.

“There are a number of players people have patiently waited for, for a long period of time, to have that thing to happen. This year could be the beginning of Adrian Beltre with no longer the word ‘potential,’ but Adrian Beltre with the word ‘star.’ ”