[clari.sports.baseball] Baseball: Analysis of a Dodger Demise

clarinews@clarinet.com (MIKE BARNES, UPI Sports Writer) (09/21/89)

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_'_8_9_ _D_o_d_g_e_r_s_ _Q_u_i_c_k_l_y_ _G_o
 From Champs to Chumps

	LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- When the Los Angeles Dodgers were officially
eliminated from the National League West race, not many fans were on
hand to witness the end.
	A crowd of 13,026 -- the smallest at Dodger Stadium in 13 years --
yawned through an 11-3 loss to the Houston Astros. Many who came to the
park on the afternoon of Sept. 14 were more interested in the
bikini-clad girl in the front row than they were in the game.
	Around Chavez Ravine these days, the Dodgers are saying what all
World Series champions say after failing to make it two in a row: What a
difference a year makes.
	``Disappointed? No question about it,'' Manager Tommy Lasorda said.
``I really had high hopes coming out of spring training. Peter and Fred
(owner O'Malley and general manager Claire) made every effort to give us
what we needed. It just didn't pan out.''
	Injuries wrecked the club, sucking power and speed from the
offense. Trades didn't quite work out as well as expected, and a
mysterious slump by John Shelby put the finishing touch on a third
second-division finish in four years.
                             _I_n_j_u_r_i_e_s
	Kirk Gibson, the inspirational core of the club, played just 71
games before undergoing season-ending ligament surgery. He batted just
.213 with nine homers and 28 RBI after hitting .290 with 25 homers and
76 RBI in 1988.
	``Anytime you lose the Most Valuable Player, you're losing a lot,''
Claire said.
	The health of Gibson's outfield mates wasn't much better. Mike
Marshall will miss more than 50 games this year because of a bad back.
Franklin Stubbs and Mike Davis missed about 100, and even Kal Daniels
underwent knee surgery shortly after arriving from Cincinnati.
	At one point, the Dodgers had five left-handed hitters and six
outfielders on the disabled list. That didn't include left-hander John
Tudor, who will be lucky to pitch in 10 games this season.
                         _P_e_r_s_o_n_n_e_l_ _M_o_v_e_s
	The Dodgers did not stand pat after winning the World Series. Eddie
Murray was acquired from Baltimore for three players. Willie Randolph
and Mike Morgan were signed as free agents. And Daniels was obtained
from the Reds in July for Tim Leary and Mariano Duncan.
	Even though Murray was batting just .254 through Sept. 18, Claire
thinks that trade has worked out well.
	``Eddie has come in and done an outstanding job,'' he said. ``He
leads our club in homers (19) and runs batted in (85), and he plays
every day. We would have liked to have added Eddie to a lineup with
Gibson, Shelby and Marshall.''
	Randolph, a replacement for Steve Sax, was batting .282, far better
than most expected. However, the former New York Yankee had just seven
steals, while Sax had 42 last year.
	The Randolph-Sax exchange wasn't the only reason the Dodgers were
slower. Gibson had only 12 steals compared to 31 last year, and Shelby
had eight after managing 16 last year.
	Morgan, among the league leaders in ERA at the start of the season,
stumbled and was relegated to the bullpen. Daniels hit .342 with the
Dodgers, but that deal can't be properly assessed until 1990.
                        _S_h_e_l_b_y_'_s_ _S_t_r_u_g_g_l_e_s
	The soft-spoken, sure-handed outfielder had a 24-game hitting
streak and was a major factor in Los Angeles' outstanding start last
year. But this season he was batting .156 and striking out with alarming
regularity when he was demoted to the minors July 19.
	``It was almost like starting over,'' he said.
	By the time Shelby regained his hitting stroke -- he was hitting
.273 since his Aug. 25 return from Albuquerque -- the Dodgers were out of
contention. Without him, they lost speed, offense, defense and a
possible leadoff hitter.
                      _W_h_a_t_ _A_b_o_u_t_ _N_e_x_t_ _Y_e_a_r_?
	``Our emphasis remains where it has been, to utilize our farm
system,'' Claire said. ``As far as free agents (and trades) go, we'll
look at them as an avenue to improve our ballclub.''
	Morgan, Tudor, Shelby, Davis, Fernando Valenzuela, Mickey Hatcher,
Dave Anderson and Rick Dempsey will be free agents after the season.
Will Valenzuela, 10-12 with a 3.28 ERA after shoulder surgery last year,
be back?
	``He has had a very good season; he has made steady progress,''
said Claire, refusing to speculate on the future of the left-hander in
Los Angeles.
	One item on the off-season agenda, though, is certain.
	``We need to have the opportunity for our players to rehabilitate
and be ready for the season, particularly in the case of Kirk, Kal and
Stubbs,'' Claire said.
	And once the Dodgers' health improves, perhaps the mental wounds
from this season will heal as well.
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