Los Angeles Dodgers TOWER OF BABEL

TANNED, FOCUSED AND LOADED/NL WEST

This season marks the beginning of the end. The O'Malley family
has owned the Dodgers for 48 years, but soon one of the National
League's legendary franchises will be merely another rib in a
corporate umbrella. The players are pleased. They think Rupert
Murdoch's News Corp. will mean more money for salaries, and
what's more important than that? For the club itself, this
season is one long final exam to see if the parochial school
values the O'Malleys hold dear--that neatness counts, that
punctuality does too, that hard work will get you closer to
God--are still meaningful as the century closes.

But the value that is popularly supposed to be at the core of
the O'Malley family has been absent from the Dodgers for years:
family unity itself. Of course, Bill Russell, the manager, will
tell you that togetherness is overrated, that on the mighty L.A.
teams of the 1970s, for which he played, there were guys who
couldn't stand each other. No doubt true--but at least there was
passion.

Last year the Dodgers were talent-rich (catcher Mike Piazza,
rightfielder Raul Mondesi, first baseman Eric Karros,
righthander Ramon Martinez, third baseman Todd Zeile) but
emotionally disengaged. They finished second in a division they
should have manhandled. In June, Piazza told the Los Angeles
Times that the team's problems were cultural and social, that
the team wasn't a melting pot but a mosaic, with big gaps
between the tiles. He was trying to rattle the team out of its
lethargy. Instead, the catcher was called insensitive, not only
by some fans, but also by some teammates. It's an awful thing to
be misunderstood.

Nothing's changed, at least on paper. The team pretty much stood
still over the winter. Los Angeles once again has the most
international roster in baseball, including a starting rotation
with five pitchers whose native language is not English:
Martinez is Dominican, Hideo Nomo is Japanese, Chan Ho Park is
Korean, and Ismael Valdes and Dennis Reyes are Mexican. What's
more, three of the every-day eight are from overseas: Mondesi
and shortstop Jose Vizcaino are Dominican, and centerfielder
Roger Cedeno is Venezuelan. When asked about Team United
Nations, the players shrug and mumble--if the guy can play, who
cares where he's from?

That's what they say. Who knows what they think. The most
important question about the 1998 Dodgers is also the simplest:
Is winning games the players' highest priority? "There are a lot
of young veterans on this team, players at the peaks of their
careers," says Russell. "They've shown they can put up numbers,
they've proven to themselves they can make a lot of money. What
they still have to prove is that they can win a ring."

Maybe the most significant problem in the Los Angeles clubhouse
is, by team custom, lack of a tap. The Elias Sports Bureau has
not yet made a study in this area, but the teams with the best
chemistry are generally among those 15 or so clubs that have a
keg flowing in the trainer's room after games. The ritual is an
ancient one, common to many societies, in which grown men,
unencumbered by the distraction of family, encircle a large
metal cylinder, imbibing its contents while nursing wounds and
commiserating about the opposition. This is known in the
literature as male bonding.

Lack of unity on the Dodgers isn't only a function of
birthplace. Some players live so far from the ballpark that when
games are over, guys split, and split fast. In most American
metropolises, your income dictates precisely where you live.
Greater Los Angeles defies demographers. In Los Angeles, your
residence reveals not so much your economic class but your
lifestyle. Piazza lives in Manhattan Beach, among the hard
bodies. Park lives in Glendale, where the newsstands carry
Korean papers. Zeile lives in Westlake Village--suburban, gated,
conservative. On the Dodgers, there are players who live 50
miles from one another.

Last year, on an off day during a road trip, 20 members of the
Padres got together for golf. Hearing about this act of
companionship, one Dodger said, "We couldn't get a foursome
together." But last year is another lifetime in baseball. At
spring training, several young Caribbean players were trying to
keep a count in Korean. Or was it Japanese? They weren't quite
sure. They knew it wasn't Spanish.

--M.B.

COLOR PHOTO: RONALD C. MODRA YOUNG AND RESTLESS The Dodgers' pitching and power galore notwithstanding, speedy Eric Young should fire L.A.'s engine.

COLOR PHOTO: V.J. LOVERO [Todd Hollandsworth]

BY THE NUMBERS

1997 Team Statistics (NL Rank)
1997 record: 88-74 (second in NL West)

BATTING AVERAGE .268(4) OPP. BATTING AVG. .241(1)
RUNS SCORED 742(7) ERA 3.62(2)
HOME RUNS 174(2) FIELDING PCT. .981(8)

OFF-SEASON MOVES

WHAT THEY NEEDED: A closer. A shortstop. Team harmony.

WHAT THEY GOT: Outfielders Trenidad Hubbard and Matt Luke.
Shortstop-second baseman Jose Vizcaino. Pitcher Jim Bruske.

WHAT IT ALL MEANS: Every year the Dodgers add marginal talent
with the hope that it'll be enough, and it rarely is. This
year's no different. Vizcaino, a solid fielder with an effective
bat, is an improvement over the retired Greg Gagne. Todd Worrell
also hung up his uni, but Los Angeles thinks Antonio Osuna is
ready to take over the closer's role. With the emerging Dennis
Reyes, the departure of aging starter Tom Candiotti probably
won't hurt.

THE X-FACTOR

Todd Hollandsworth could teach the Nanny a thing or two about
chutzpah. After winning the 1996 NL Rookie of the Year, he stunk
last season, batting .247 with four home runs and 31 RBIs, a
performance that got him a 16-day stint in the minors. So, what
happened? Hollandsworth demanded a $600,000 raise during the
off-season, to $1.15 million (he lost his arbitration and was
awarded $700,000). For the Dodgers offense to reach maximum
potency, Hollandsworth must return to rookie form--meaning a
.291 average, 12 homers, 59 RBIs, 21 stolen bases ... and zero
days in the minors.

Projected Roster With 1997 Statistics
Manager: Bill Russell (third season with Los Angeles)

BATTING ORDER B/T BA HRs RBIs SBs

2B Eric Young R .280 8 61 45
SS Jose Vizcaino[**] S/R .266 5 50 8
C Mike Piazza R .362 40 124 5
1B Eric Karros R .266 31 104 15
RF Raul Mondesi R .310 30 87 32
3B Todd Zeile R .268 31 90 8
LF Todd Hollandsworth L .247 4 31 5
CF Roger Cedeno S/R .273 3 17 9

BENCH

IF Paul Konerko* (R) R .323 37 127 2
OF Billy Ashley R .244 6 19 0
OF Eric Anthony L .243 2 5 2
C Tom Prince R .220 3 14 0
IF Juan Castro R .147 0 4 0

STARTERS W L IPS BR ERA

RH Ramon Martinez 10 5 6.1 1.47 3.64
RH Chan Ho Park 14 8 6.6 1.18 3.38
RH Ismael Valdes 10 11 6.6 1.12 2.65
RH Hideo Nomo 14 12 6.3 1.42 4.25
LH Dennis Reyes 2 3 6.3 1.49 3.83

RELIEVERS W L IPS BR ERA

RH Antonio Osuna 3 4 0 1.07 2.19
RH Darren Dreifort 5 2 4 1.27 2.86
LH Scott Radinsky 5 1 3 1.22 2.89
RH Darren Hall 3 2 2 1.54 2.30
RH Dan Hubbs* (R) 6 4 3 1.53 3.90
LH Mark Guthrie 1 4 1 1.46 5.32

[**] New acquisition (R) Rookie B/T: Bats/throws
IPS: Innings pitched per start BR: Base runners per inning pitched
*Triple A stats