The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 56

10 Part III Thursday, September 28, 1989 CoaAnfleUs Stones 1 It isn't that there isn't talent closer to the big leagues. Albuquerque sent the Dodgers two players who became starting pitchers at midseason Ramon Martinez and Wetteland. And the Dodgers double-play combination of the future is at Albuquerque (soon-to-be second baseman Vizcaino) and San Antonio (shortstop Jose Offer-man). But considering this is an organization that could use a power hitter, there is little help above Class A Bakersfield. Only three players at Albuquerque hit double figures in both homers and runs batted in.

One, Mike Huff, struggled in limited major league action. Another, Javier Ortiz, was traded and still another, Tracy Woodson, quit the team. Only one player at San Antonio had double figures in homers and RBIs, Luis Lopez. But even though he was a No. 2 draft pick, his future is not considered bright since he was picked six years ago.

"I'll be the first to admit, we have had better younger players in the last few years." said Wade, who was a Dodger scout in the 1968 glory days. The scouting department's slump began in 1983, when the Dodgers decided that they needed a left-handed pitcher. So in the first round, they passed on a young right-hander from Texas named Roger Clemens and took Wichita State's Eric Sonberg. You can reach Sonberg in the office of Beverly Hills agent Dennis Gilbert, where he is embarking on a new career. "We just had to have that lefthander," Wade said.

"That happens sometimes." The next year, their First pick was another left-hander. Oklahoma State's Dennis Livingston. He has long since been released by this organization, and several others. In 1985, their first pick was outfielder Chris Gwynn of San Diego State. Because of injuries, he has appeared in only 61 big league games since.

"We'll never know what kind of pick that was until he stays healthy," Wade said. Then came the first of three first-round picks, from which the Dodgers have yet to recover: Outfielder Mike White, 1986: He was the Tennessee high school player of the year, a great contact hitter who could run. "But we were stunned when he was taken in the first round," said one longtime scout, who said he immediately asked his boss if he should have been checking White out. "My boss told me no, that he wasn't even on our organization's first three-round list," the scout said. "It was like the Dodgers knew something nobody else knew." Said Wade: "It's easy to second-guess now.

But we liked the kid." Wade, however, admitted he never saw him. "No, I never saw him play, but we had enough people who did," he said. "I guess right now, I'd have to admit it was a bad pick." Pitcher Dan Oppcrman, 1987: The Las Vegas high school star would have been everyone's first pick except for a twinge in his right elbow. The Dodgers were the only ones who had the elbow examined. "We were told he was fine," Wade said.

Baseball people used to say that Dodger scouts weren't just lucky, but good. In 1968, with many of the same scouts who work today, the Dodgers put together what is generally agreed as the best draft in history. They signed nine players who later made the major leagues, among them Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes and Ron Ccy. That picture has changed. Not counting last June's, it has taken the Dodgers their previous five drafts combined to find nine big league players.

And of those nine, only pitcher John Wetteland, drafted in 1985, plays a major part in immediate Dodger plans. Of the 32 active Dodgers who will end the season, only eight were acquired in the draft And in the annual September recall of triple-A stars, only five players were recalled. "They've had some seriously lean years over there," one scout said of the Dodgers. "They always took players nobody else would touch, like they thought they were smarter than everyone else. Lately, they haven't looked so smart." They recovered in last June's draft to make three first-round picks that became the envy of baseball.

Pitchers Kiki Jones and Jamie McAndrew combined to go 19-0 with a 1.62 earned-run average for Great Palls in the Class A Pioneer League, and outfielder teammate Tom Goodwin hit .308 and stole a league-record 60 bases in 63 games. But even those players know the problems they were hired to solve. "We know we are coming in to try and rebuild the Dodgers," Jones said during a break in Arizona. "We know we've got the pressure." the quiet, polite Bene walked 56 batters in 27 innings at Bakersfield and Class A Salem. He had nearly as many wild pitches, 18, as strikeouts, 24.

He appeared in only 14 games, not because he was injured, but because the Dodgers couldn't trust him. When he was so wild in one Bakersfield batting practice that he broke the wrist of outfielder Bryan Beals, the Dodgers thought they would try something innovative. They had no idea one little mannequin could cause such a stir. "I go into the clubhouse after a road trip one day and I see this feminine-looking mannequin at my locker." Bene said. "They wanted me to pitch to it I said fine.

I would try anything." So he put a mustache on the dummy, dressed it up like a Dodger, called it Harold, and pitched to it But just twice. "Then a couple of infielders started pitching to it and hit it right across the pelvic area," he said. "Its arms went one way, its legs went another way, and that was it." Said minor league pitching instructor Dave Wallace: "As strange as it may seem, it probably worked." The Dodgers hope something will work. "It was a gamble, and I know if he doesn't make it, a lot of people are going to take some heat," Wade said. "But look at all he's overcome.

He'll be fine. "I mean, all he's got to do is throw the ball over the plate." Bene sighed. "I hope it ends soon," he said of his wildness problem. "This has been like a joke. This has been the nightmare of my life." Three hours after he reported to Great Palls, while pitching in the bullpen, the elbow collapsed.

A couple of weeks later, he had reconstructive surgery. Last season, in his last simulated game before trying a regular-season comeback, the elbow collapsed again. There was another operation, this time to clean out scar tissue. Put on a slow rehabilitation schedule that allowed only a couple of innings per start, Oppcrman finally began pitching this year for Class A Vero Beach. Because he left most of his games before he was eligible for a victory, he went 0-7 despite a 3.54 ERA.

But in his last start, he pitched a strong 5V6 innings. And because he is 20, the Dodgers remain hopeful. "I would take him again," Wade said. "Nobody in the organization has said a word to me about it, nobody has laid any blame on me, because he can still be a good pick." If nothing else, he will be a pick with a motive. "I'm going to try and stop all this bad talk about me," Oppcrman said quietly.

"I know it's put-up or shut-up time for me. And I'd like to shut everybody up." Pitcher Bill Bene, 1988: The scouts knew that this former Cat State Los Angeles outfielder still had an outfielder's wild arm. The Dodgers, as usual, saw this not as a problem but a challenge. "Give them credit," one scout said. "Most of us were afraid to take a first-round chance on taming this guy.

If they can do it, it's a great pick." So far, they haven't done it. In a streak of wildness unmatched this summer in professional baseball. MINORS Continued from Page 1 such as Great Falls, MonL, and Bakcrsfiold, Class A towns. Many will spend next summer in San Antonio, the doublc-A town. And then there will be a summer in triple-A Albuquerque.

It is here, then, that one realizes the Dodger future is not now, but more like 1992. And it is here that one can plainly sec why. On one mound is 1988's No. 1 draft pick. Bill Bene, a pitcher working on control that at one point was so poor last year, the only hitter he was allowed to face was a mannequin.

On another mound is 1987s No. 1 draft pick, Dan Oppcrman, who because of injuries suffered before the draft has pitched 19 games in three seasons. Then there's 1986's No. 1 draft pick, Mike White. He's not on any field.

After batting .227 for San Antonio this summer, he was not invited. "He's sitting home, trying to figure out why he had such a poor year," Wellman said. The results of a series of bad and unfortunate drafts have been transferred from here all the way to the big league Dodger lineup card. In a recent September scries against Atlanta that featured an average of five Brave prospects on the field per night, the Dodgers had one shortstop Jose Vizcaino, a non-drafted signee from the Dominican Republic. "Scouting is just a guessing game," said Ben Wade, who has been the Dodgers' scouting director since 1973.

"You have to be lucky." In all three late-inning rallies, he was saved by the glove. After Riles' single, Williams hit a fly to deep center field that John Shelby leaped and caught at the wall. "I thought it had a chance to get out." Williams said. "Just found the biggest part of the park." It also found one of Wednesday's biggest players, as Shelby did nearly the same thing in the eighth. After Oberkfell had singled with two out.

and pinch-runner Donnell Nixon had moved to second base on a wild pitch, Butler hit a fly to deep center that Shelby chased down for the third out Finally, to lead off the ninth, right fielder Jose Gonzalez made a leaping catch of Laga's fly ball against the right-field wall. Then Billy Bean made a diving catch of a Clark bloop in left field. After Mitchell's single, Gonzalez made another running catch of a fly ball to end a game that had, appropriately, started when Willie Randolph made a diving stop of Clark's grounder in the first inning to stop Butler from scoring from second. "Those plays kind of took the wind out of their sails," said Randolph, who offered a different sort of Dodger view on the proceedings. "I'm not the kind of guy who gets all goofy over this stuff," he said.

"The bottom line is, they are going to the playoffs and we aren't And no matter what we do, that's no fun." Dodger Nates Dr. Nttau Zaatal will perform Tint Batcher hand surgery this morning at CenUnela Hospital Medical Center. Belcher injured his hand while batung in St Louis April 30. The ball hit him during a check swing. The hand would swell after he pitched but usually felt better four days later.

Infielder Dave Aaderaea said Wednesday that if the Dodgers did not offer him a contract by the end of the World Series, he would probably declare himself a free agent The Giants will tentatively use a playoff pitching rotation of Seat! Oarrelts, Rltk chtl and Dan Bialaaaa. ago, a winning streak that began seven weeks ago and a work-day that began seven hours ago when the Padres started filtering into the clubhouse. Bip Roberts, who has been as responsible as anyone for the Padres' comeback, stepped to the plate to face John Franco. He said later it was the biggest at-bat of his life. Franco was in control, working the count to 1 and 2.

Roberts hung in there to line a single to left field. Roberto Alomar tried to advance him with a bunt He failed twice. So, he swung at the third pitch and stroked a single to center, with Roberts stopping at second, not about to challenge Davis. That brought up Gwynn, the league's most prolific batter over the past six seasons but who was in a two-for-17 slump. Last Friday, when Gwynn was faced with a similar situation, he elected to hit away.

He popped up to shortstop, and the Padres wound up losing, 3-2, to the Dodgers. This time, he bunted Roberts to third and Alomar to second. With first base open, the Reds intentionally walked Jack Clark, bringing up James, who was in the midst of an 0-for-15 slump. James slapped a 1-1 pitch to shortstop Jeff Richardson, and Roberts took off. Richardson scooped it up and thought briefly about throwing home.

He decided not to chance it and went to first to get James. With two outs and first base open, the Reds walked Templeton to bring up Benito Santiago. The count went to 3 and 2. The crowd then let out a cheer, and Franco stopped, looked around to see what the commotion was all about It was because the scoreboard had announced that the Dodgers' victory was official. They cheered even louder.

Franco toed the rubber, set threw to the plate, and the runners took off. Santiago jumped away from the PADRES Continued from Page 1 victories in 36 games, they have been one of baseball's best teams. So, how do you figure the Padres would lose two of three at home to the Reds and collapse when they still had a chance to win? And certainly the crowd of 17,136 that left San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium had to be wondering why in the world the Padres were pitching to Eric Davis in the 13th inning. The situation was this: Herm Winningham was standing on second base with two outs in the 13th when Davis came to the plate in a 1-1 game. He has hit 34 home runs and driven in 100 runs this season, including six homers and 20 RBIs against the Padres.

Padre pitching coach Pat Dobson went to the mound to consult with Calvin Schiraldi. "We talked about what we were going to do with him." Padre Manager Jack McKeon said. "We gave Schiraldi a choice of who he was more comfortable pitching to, and he said he'd rather pitch to Davis." Davis slapped a 1 -and-0 pitch off the left-center-field wall, scoring Winningham. Todd Benzinger, the man who Schiraldi opted not to face, flied to center for the final out The Padres made one last gasp when Gwynn opened the bottom of the 13th with an infield single, then was sacrificed to second by Phil Stephenson. Chris James hit a grounder to shortstop for the second out while Gwynn ran to third.

But he advanced no farther as Garry Tern-pleton swung at a third strike. At 10:56 p.m., the Padre season was over. The Padres were three outs away from elimination in the ninth, when they were trailing, 1-0. It came down to three outs of a season that started seven months of San Diego. "We are going to do that if the Padres win or lose," Matt Williams said before hearing the news.

"We need to relax." Indeed, they had just been swept in a series for the first time this season. They had not lost a series this season until Belcher recorded his seventh consecutive victory and league-high eighth shutout while four Dodgers made big-league catches behind him. Playing before 34,210 fans at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers got their game-winning hit in the first inning. But even that hit had drama as Mike Davis singled home Alfredo Griffin from third base for his first RBI since June 30. 'There's not a heck of a lot to celebrate for us, not a heck of a lot to look forward to," Belcher said afterward.

"So tonight was it" Give that man not only a gold star, but a purple heart Moments after the game began, it was announced that he would have surgery today to remove bone chips in his right hand. After the game, he revealed that he had broken the hand April 30 but had asked the Dodgers to keep the news quiet until now. "What was the use of telling anybody?" Belcher said. "If I did, then everytime I pitched bad somebody would blame the fracture. And everytime I pitched good, they would call me a he-man.

"That didn't make sense. You've got to pitch with pain in this game, and there's nothing huge or unusual about it." And so he finished with his most huge and unusual game of the season. The game's first batter, Brett Butler, looped a ball into left field for a single. But then Belcher didn't give up a hit to the next 21 batters, walking only one during that stretch. After giving up a bloop single by Ernest Riles with two out in the seventh, he then yielded a Ken Oberkfell single in the eighth and a Kevin Mitchell single in the ninth.

pitch. The crowd screamed. Alomar danced across the plate. Sorry. Strike 3.

Twice the Reds threatened, loading the bases in the 10th, putting runners on first and second in the 1 1th. Twice they failed. It appeared that the Padres finally were going to break through in the 11th. They were one hit or one walk, or one balk, or one sacrifice fly, or just about one anything away from winning. Alomar opened the 11th with a single to center.

Gwynn bunted, and first baseman Benzinger couldn't pick it up. Everyone was safe. That brought up Stephens, who had pinch-run for Clark in the ninth. Stephens bunted the runners along, leaving them at second and third with one out. Norm Charlton, who started the inning, intentionally walked James, bringing up Templeton.

Franco's first pitch was a ball. The second pitch was slapped to Luis Quinones at shortstop. He threw to home and forced Alomar, who jarred the ball from catcher Jeff Reed, but he already was ruled out Pinch-hitter Carmelo Martinez, representing the Padres' last hope in the 11th, slapped another ball to Quinones. He picked it up, hesitated, then threw to second, just getting James. It seemed like almost an eternity since Tony Siegle, Padre vice president for personnel, had received a conference call at 8:30 Wednesday morning from National League President Bill White.

It was time, he said, for the coin flip, deciding where a one-game playoff game would be played, if needed. Giant President Al Rosen was asleep when White telephoned his hotel room in Los Angeles and told Rosen that since his club was in first place, he could make the call. Rosen: "Tails." White: "Heads." Siegle: "Al, I hope this isn't the only thing I win from you." Sorry, wait till next year. I. DODGERS Continued from Page 1 roadblock by the Dodgers.

Holding a four-game lead with three games in San Diego remaining, the Giants' next important stop will be in Chicago, where they will meet the Cubs Wednesday in the first game of the National League Championship Series. "This feels as good as doing it on the field this feels even better than when we did it in 1987," shouted Will Clark, parading around in just his jeans and a Giant hat that read, "We Won. 1989." Added Clark: "In 1987. we felt like we were lucky. Now, we feel like we've got a World Series to get to." Other Giants had no such explanations.

"My heart is thumping so loud right now, I can hardly breathe," Chris Speier said. On a night that was as unusual as it was long, that figures. The Giants' loss to the Dodgers on a four-hit shutout by Tim Belcher ended about 9:30 p.m. Minutes earlier, the Padres had tied the Reds, 1-1, in the ninth at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. So, while the Dodgers were in their clubhouse celebrating that they might be sending the Giants into a three-game showdown in San Diego, the Giants were in their clubhouse listening to the radio and being confused.

Their wait lasted nearly an hour and a half. "Hey. it's OK, if the Padres win; we can just beat them tomorrow," Mike Laga said. When he was informed that the first game of the Padre series was not today, but Friday, he shrugged. "That shows you how pumped up we are," he said.

"Shoot we'll play them in an intrasquad game tomorrow." Not necessary. In fact, today the Giants will have their team party at Manager Roger Craig's home east ftiMTNA Wfl tax 60 mo, doaad and tmtt. ma. on ap-provad cradH S311S Purch opt al term. Tol.

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