The Los Angeles Times du lieu suivant : Los Angeles, California • Page 51

(NOELES TIMES WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 1995 C7 Dodgers Pin Loss on Distraction BASEBALL DAILY REPORT DODGERS Ventura at Top of Wish List The Chicago White Sox will ask third baseman Robin Ventura today if he will waive his no-trade clause to clear the way for a possible trade to the Dodgers, according to a high-placed source familiar with the negotiations. Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, engaged in trade negotiations Tuesday for Ventura. Ventura, 28, has driven in more runs the last five years than any third baseman in baseball and easily is considered the best available player at the position. Yet there is a price. The White Sox not only are seeking two top-line prospects for Ventura, including outfielders Karim Garcia, Roger Cedeno or Todd Hollandsworth, but Ventura is guaranteed $18 million over the next three seasons.

The Dodgers, according to a source, also had trade discussions with the Florida Marlins for veteran Terry Pendleton. But Marlin General Manager Dave Dombrowskl said the Dodgers were unable to meet their asking price, and Pendleton will stay put. "We're still looking," Claire said. "We'll see what happens." The Dodgers want to make a trade by 9 p.m. Thursday, when playoff rosters must be submitted to the league office.

do that," Met catcher Todd Hundley said. "Bring a scab in there like that, wow, that's horrible." Worrell insisted that the distraction surrounding Busch had po effect on his performance once he was on the mound, but still, he believes it will be a detriment to the team. Worrell came into the game in the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead and was within one out of securing the save. Instead, Jeff Kent hit a two-out solo homer to tie the game. Worrell then walked Rico Brogna, and yielded a single to center by Ryan Thompson.

Butch Huskey, who hadn't hit the ball out of the infield during the game, hit a comebacker to the mound. The ball squirted off Worrell's glove, and third baseman Rick Parker's bare-handed throw barely missed getting Huskey at first. The defeat wasted the Dodgers' three-run rally in the eighth, and prevented them from gaining a game on the slumping Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers (60-55), i who didn't get a hit off starter Bobby Jones until two outs in the fifth, remain a game ahead of the Rockies, leaving them one game up in the National League West with 29 games remaining. Baseball: They don't get hit until fifth inning.

Worrell blows save as Mcts win, 4-3. By BOB NIGHTENGALE TIMES STAFF WRITER Mike Busch barely was permitted to sit on the bench Tuesday night, much less step on the field, but, yep, he was the one who was targeted for the Dodgers' 4-3 defeat to the New York Mets. Busch, the strike-replacement third baseman who was brought up to the Dodgers much to the anger and resentment of his teammates, knows it will be a role that could become dreadfully familiar during the pennant stretch. He will be the team scapegoat. "There was obviously a lot of frustration out there said Dodger closer Todd Worrell, who for the first time this season blew his second consecutive save, in front of a paid crowd of 38,756 at Dodger Stadium.

"I just don't understand why we're in this predicament, especially this time of year. "We don't make the decisions, but this greatly affected the players. I have definite strong feelings I Associated Press Met starter Bobby Jones reacts after giving up his first hit in the fifth inning against the Dodgers. toward scab players, but the overriding issue is the pennant race. "To me, that's the priority, but I just find it very unfair to the players who have been all "I don't know why they would Third baseman Tim Wallach decided Tuesday to reject season-ending knee surgery and instead will attempt to rehabilitate his left knee in an effort to return this season.

Wallach has a tear of the posterior cruciate ligament and another tear from an old injury. BUSCH Second baseman Dellno DeShlelds says his biggest disappointment about the call-up of Mike Busch was that he believes Dave Hansen can be the everyday third baseman. "I think Dave can do the job, I just wish they'd let him," DeShields said. "Dave's got to be the man. He can do it if they let him." But the Dodgers are suspicious of Hansen's defensive abilities, and replaced him in the ninth inning with Rick Parker, who made his major-league debut at third base last week.

"The whole thing's a shame," DeShields said. "When guys called me this spring, I told them, 'If you've got a legitimate chance to be in the big leagues, don't cross the picket "But unless you're in a guy's shoes, and know what he's feeling when he makes the decision, how can you be critical?" was the best candidate to replace third baseman Tim Wallach. Wallach was put on the disabled list with two ligament tears in his left knee, and although he opted not to have season-ending surgery, the Dodgers are not counting on his return. Claire had trade discussions Tuesday in an attempt to acquire third baseman Robin Ventura of the Chicago White Sox or Terry Pendleton of the Florida Marlins, but if no trade is made, they'll go with a third-base platoon of Dave Hansen and Busch. Like it or not, Claire insisted, Busch is staying.

"We knew there was going to be a certain amount of controversy out there," Claire said. "You'd have to be naive not to think it would happen. I understand the emotions. I can't say anything today that has happened shocked me. "But we had a real need, we wanted someone with experience and ability, we identified that player, and it was Mike Busch.

"I'm going to make decisions the way I've always made them based on a player's ability." Busch did not encounter any open resentment or hostilities at Albuquerque, but outfielder Rick Parker and pitcher Jim Bruske, both of whom declined to become replacement players this spring, acknowledged he was chastised behind his back. So what will this do to the Dodgers, a team that began the night one game ahead of the Colorado Rockies, but now must deal with the distractions of having only the second replacement player in the National League? "Look at what happened to the Houston Astros," Butler said. "They called up Craig McMurtry, and they lost 11 in a row. I don't know if there's anything to that but believe me, this definitely makes it hard." "I kind of took it personally when he did it," said Ashley, who spent three years with Busch in the minors. "We were close, you know.

We were teammates. was as if a good friend of mine stabbed me in the back." Busch, 27, a former All-America football player at Iowa State, was surprisingly stoic during the commotion. Maybe when he got home, or called his family on the telephone, he would show emotion. But not in front of about 40 reporters and camera crews, and 24 teammates who refused to acknowledge him. "I have no regrets about my decision," Busch said, "and if I had to do it all over again, I'd do the same thing.

I thought long and hard about it. It wasn't easy. But I made the decision. I'll live with it. No regrets." Busch paused, momentarily appeared emotional, then blurted out: "I still consider this the best day of my life.

"This situation is not going to take anything away from it I'm the lucky one here. I'm here to do business. I'm here to play baseball and help this team win." Busch was told that he would have the opportunity to privately address his teammates and was eagerly looking forward to explaining his decision, but the Dodgers reconsidered and refused. "The question was asked, 'Does anyone want to hear from Mike "Butler said. "The answer was no.

It was unanimous." Said Busch, who decided to become a replacement player six weeks after having a baby girl: "I kind of wanted to get everything out in the open, but what are you going to do?" Busch, who was hitting .269 with 18 home runs and 62 runs driven in at triple-A Albuquerque, was called up, Claire said, simply because he Continued from CI said Dodger center fielder Brett Butler, "and there will be individuals who'll treat him as such." This is why the Dodgers kicked Busch out of the clubhouse, held a 40-minute team meeting, tried to coerce Fred Claire, executive vice president, to change his mind, and told the world that they don't want this guy anywhere near them. The Dodger players voted unanimously that they don't want Busch on the team, and prohibited him not only from being in their meeting, but refused to even let him speak. Yet the only vote that counted was that of Claire, and after listening to the players' pleas, he decided that nothing would change. Busch is staying. "We tried to get Claire to reconsider," said Butler, who led the clubhouse meeting.

"The players said this would be a deterrent. He said no. "Obviously, the players aren't happy with the decision that was made. There's a lot of pressure on everybody right now. Our focus is on trying to win a world championship, and distractions are not what we need right now." The Dodger players not only plan to ostracize Busch, but also his wife, Lyvier, when she attends games.

They have no plans to dine with him, be with him, and said he'll be considered a teammate in name only. The Dodgers also decided that if they make the playoffs, Busch will not be voted a playoff share. And if there's a brawl on the field, if an opponent hits Busch intentionally because of his role in the strike, no one can promise they'll be there to back him up. Welcome to the big leagues. Mike Scloscla, the Dodgers' roving catching instructor, joined the club to work with catcher Mike Piazza for the remainder of the home stand.

Dodgers activated outfielder Chris Gwynn from the disabled list and optioned Garey Ingram to triple -A Albuquerque. The Dodgers will bring Ingram back to the big leagues Sept. 1 when rosters can expand. Catcher Tom Prince, who has a clause in his contract that stipulates he join the Dodgers when rosters expand, will be added to the roster Friday. -BOB NIGHTENGALE ANGELS Boskie to Start on Friday Pitcher Shawn Boskie will help the Angels ring in September when he makes his long-awaited return Friday against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park.

It will be his first Angel start since July 5, after which he went on the disabled list because of elbow tendinitis. The former Chicago Cub pitcher, who made four minor-league rehabilitation starts, was asked if this would be his first start in a September game that mattered. "Are you kidding me? This was the first June that mattered," said Boskie, who was 6-2 with a 4.81 earned-run average before the injury. "September games usually meant trying to pitch well to win a job for next season. Now I want to do well to get the team into the postseason." Boskie, who will take Mike Harkey's spot in the rotation, will return against one of baseball's hottest teams, and he'll probably square off against three-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens.

"Might as well throw me into the fire and get going," Boskie said. "I'm sure I'll feel some pressure, but I plan on being the same the reason I did well earlier was because I was determined to keep the ball down in the strike zone. I have to keep that frame of mind." Harkey will go to the bullpen, but if Mark Langston (shoulder tendinitis) is not ready to pitch Saturday, Harkey could take his spot in the rotation. Associated Press Pirate pitcher Paul Wagner acknowledges fans af ter coming within an out of throwing a no-hitter. NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP For Wagner, Good Queries for a Change From Associated Press Paul Wagner usually gets asked how he could pitch 1 so poorly.

Then, on one almost inexplicable night, he was asked to explain how he pitched so well. Wagner, leading the National League in losses, 'came within one strike of pitching a no-hitter Tuesday night, finishing with a one-hitter as the Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-0, at Pittsburgh. Only Andres Galarraga's slow-rolling single on a' 3-and-2, two-out pitch in the ninth inning, a tapper 'hit so softly that it barely skipped by a sprawling Wagner, prevented the league's least-successful starter from getting his no-hitter. "I saw the ball all the way. I saw every seam on every hop, but I just couldn't get to it," Wagner said.

"I really thought I was going to get it. It was 3-2, two outs in the ninth and I remember thinking, 'In this situation, the guy swings and misses and everything works out Galarraga, who had struck out twice and flied out, said, "It was kind of good pressure. I'm thinking I've got to do it. We don't want to be no-hit. I didn't really make solid contact, but once it was past the pitcher, I figured I had a chance." I Until then, the Rockies, who lead the majors with 166 homers, had been so frustrated by Wagner's fastball and hard-breaking slider that NL home run leader Dante Bichette even tried to bunt in i the seventh inning.

"I was getting tired, but when he did that and he's hitting .700 against me I said, 'Hey, somebody thinks I can do this," said Wagner, who had never before i pitched even a shutout in the majors. "I kicked everything into a different gear after that." Remarkably, Wagner (3-13) was winless in his previous 11 starts and was starting only because 11 -game winner Denny Neagle has an eye infection. Wagner didn't come close to allowing a hit until the ninth inning, permitting only two balls out of the infield against a team that is leading the NL in hitting and was threatening to set a league record for home runs in a month. Houston 11, Atlanta 9 The Astros ended their team-record 11 -game losing streak, hitting five home I runs in a game for the first time in nearly 18 years to beat the Braves in 13 innings at Atlanta. Tony Eusebio led off the 13th with a home run, and the Astros added another run on a suicide-squeeze bunt by John Cangelosi.

a. The Astros, with only their fourth victory in 22 games, moved within half a game of Philadelphia and i Colorado for the wild-card lead. Cincinnati 4, St. Louis 1 Mariano Duncan hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Dave Burba gave up five hits over eight innings at Cincinnati as the Reds won for the fifth time in a row. Duncan, subbing in left field for Ron Gant and- batting cleanup, hit his fifth homer of the season after Barry Larkin singled with two outs.

Burba (9-2), who is 5-0 since being acquired from San Francisco on July 21, struck out seven and walked one. San Francisco 6, Philadelphia 4 Barry Bonds doubled to the center-field wall in the seventh inning, driving in two runs to snap a tie as the Giants won at home. Terry Mulholland (4-10) was the beneficiary of the Giants' four-run outburst in the seventh, winning his second in a row after losing a career-high nine in a 'row. Rod Beck worked the ninth for his 25th save. Chicago 10, Florida 6 Ozzie Timmons had two doubles and two RBIs at Miami as the Cubs, handed the Marlins their first home loss since July 27.

Florida had won 14 consecutive home games, the longest streak in the National League since Philadel- i phia won 16 in a row at home in 1991. Montreal 2, San Diego 1 Jeff Fassero recorded his career-high 13th victory and beat San Diego for the fourth time this season as the Expos defeated the 'Padres at San Diego. Fassero (13-10) gave up one run and nine hits in 7V6 innings. The Walt Disney proposed purchase of a minority share of the Angels will not be on the agenda for the Sept. 12 baseball owners meeting in Detroit.

Owners will probably vote on the matter during a conference call shortly after the season so the Autry family, Angel owners since the franchise's inception in 1961, can finish this season without disruption. Disney will then assume operational control of the team. ways do what's right Baseball prides itself as a big believer in second chances. When the players went back to work, they pleaded with their fans: "Please, let's put the strike behind us." When the players and owners declared a truce, they spoke in unison: "The strike is over. Let's put it behind us." Remember how any time a beleaguered Darryl Strawberry pulled one of his stunts, Dodger after Dodger asked that the public give the guy a break, that he was only human and made mistakes? Remember when a player popped a firecracker or made a vulgar gesture, how player after player asked that we please not hold a grudge against someone who simply made an error in judgment? Funny how this forget-and-for-give business works.

Whenever a baseball player reports late to camp, or holds out until his contract is resolved, hurting his team, likely as not someone will say: "He's only looking out for his family." Well, wasn't Mike Busch only looking out for his family? He has an eight-month-old baby. Busch became a scab player, right or wrong, because he believed it was necessary to his family's well-being. "I'd do it again," the newly arrived third baseman said at Dodger Stadium, two hours before Tuesday's game, while teammate after teammate tip-toed around him like poison ivy. "I did what I felt I had to do." He did the same thing that Manny Mota's son, Jose, did when he reported to the Kansas City Royals as a replacement player, so I suppose the Dodgers won't want their coach's kid ever dropping around. And their manager, Tom Lasorda, who hugged and raved about replacement Dodgers while his real Dodgers were out of work, they must not like playing with him, either.

Personally, it so happens that I detest what Mike Busch did, and I understand thoroughly the feelings that most of the Dodgers harbor toward him. But, let's face it, these are baseball players, so Busch hardly stole food from their children's plates. He made a decision, same as Lasorda did and same as Sparky Anderson did. Decisions are hard. Fred Claire made one himself.

The Dodger general manager felt Mike Busch could be of some help. The players disagreed, angrily. They might be right. But what's done is done. This team doesn't need a pariah; it needs a pennant.

Somebody please fjat this kid on the cap and say: "Forget it. Let's put it behind us." His shirt reads Dodgers. DOWNEY Continued from CI them one bit. But, you know what? You don't need to like a guy to go to war with him. And cold-shouldering a brother Dodger which this guy is, like what he did or not is a spiteful and self-destructive act that in no way can help the Los Angeles Dodgers win baseball games, particularly since everyone in this organization, top to bottom, will tell you that nothing matters more to them than winning and teamwork.

Vindictiveness is the last thing the Dodgers need now. Player after player has spoken of the "healing process" that baseball has been undergoing since the strike. Well, physicians, heal thyselves. Dodgers have embraced teammates guiltier of far worse sins than those Mike Busch ever committed in his 27-year-old life. So, the Christian thing to do-pardon a religious allusion as well as the wise thing would be for Brett Butler, Tom Candiotti, Tim Wallach and the rest of the Dodger veterans to reconsider their freeze-out of Mike Busch, forgive, forget and show a little human kindness to a person who like them doesn't al Shortstop Damlon Easley, who has tendinitis in his rotator cuff, felt some discomfort in his shoulder and was held out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game.

He is expected to return today. -MIKE DiGIOVANNA AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES Tarasco Suspended, Fined Tony Tarasco of the Montreal Expos was suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount by the National League for instigating a bench-clearing incident against San Francisco. Tarasco has appealed the suspension, and is eligible to play pending a hearing. Meanwhile, NL' President Leonard Coleman upheld a two-game suspension of Chicago's Brian McRae for bumping an umpire. The Milwaukee Brewers claimed left-hander Kevin Wlckander off waivers from the Detroit Tigers.

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