Valentin Aware Beltre Is Casting a Long Shadow

It’s difficult for the Dodgers to forget Adrian Beltre.

The third baseman who slugged 48 home runs for them last season continues to talk about his former team from the spring training clubhouse of his new team, the Seattle Mariners.

Meanwhile, the current Dodger third baseman continues to make it clear he is not trying to be Beltre. But in a 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, Jose Valentin’s play would have made any third baseman proud.

He hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning and made two great plays, backhanding a shot by Doug Mirabelli in the first and bare-handing a slow roller by Kevin Millar in the fourth.

“I’m going to hear about Beltre all year,” Valentin said. “The only way to be positive is to motivate myself every time I hear his name. I cannot be Beltre, but I can do my job.”

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Scott Erickson and Edwin Jackson are auditioning for spots in the starting rotation. Both pitchers sparkled against the Red Sox.

Erickson was nearly as impressive in his third start as in his first two. The right-hander extended his scoreless innings streak to eight before Manny Ramirez homered on a hanging curveball to open the fourth.

Erickson, 37, set down the next three batters, and struck out five in his four-inning stint.

Jackson, 21, did not give up a run or hit but struggled with his command, walking four in 3 1/3 innings.

“We are starting to see in Edwin a kid who understands what he did from one pitch to the next and is making adjustments,” Manager Jim Tracy said.

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Tracy might miss a game to attend the funeral of his former coach, Don Schaly of Marietta (Ohio) College. Schaly, 67, died Wednesday of cancer. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Schaly retired in 2003 with 1,442 victories and three NCAA Division III titles in 40 seasons.

“He had a tremendous impact on my life,” Tracy said. “The program he built, the way he ran it, was a fraternity.”

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Former Dodger pitcher Steve Howe handed player development director Terry Collins a small yellow can of liquid and told him to try it, saying the drink was “really good.”

Collins stared at the can suspiciously, and who could blame him? Howe was suspended seven times for drug use in a career that began with rookie-of-the-year honors for the Dodgers in 1980 and ended 16 years later with the New York Yankees.

These days Howe is an executive for an Austrian company that makes an energy drink containing vitamins, caffeine and guarana. He visited Dodgertown to promote the product.

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Dodger historian Mark Langill has published “Dodgertown,” a pictorial account of the team’s 57 years of spring training at the sprawling complex in Vero Beach. Langill pored through thousands of photographs and chose 200 shots, many of which have never been published.

Proceeds from the book will be donated to the Indian River County, Fla., United Way.

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Odalis Perez is scheduled to throw in the bullpen today or Saturday for the first time since injuring his biceps Feb. 23.... Catcher Paul Bako is expected to sit out at least two more games because of a sore wrist.... The Dodgers will play a “B” game Sunday against the Florida Marlins to replace the game rained out against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Wednesday.