Dodgers : For Heep, Last Season Was a Heap of Trouble

VERO BEACH, Fla. â€”  Spring had already turned into summer by the time Danny Heep reported to work last season. His only preparation was playing catch by himself against a concrete wall and cruising the local batting cages in San Antonio.

Heep, affected by last spring’s free-agent freeze out, did not sign with the Dodgers until June 12. Less than two weeks later, Heep had been activated but wasn’t at all active at the plate. He hit .163 with 9 runs batted in 60 games.

“My spring training was the season ,� said Heep, who had several solid seasons with the New York Mets. “By the time I felt ready to play, the season was over.�

This spring, Heep has punched the time clock with everyone else. In fact, he came two days early. It won’t make up for a nightmarish 1987 season, but Heep says he has forgotten about that, anyway.

“Well, I’m trying to forget it and start over,� said Heep, who had a single Sunday in a Dodger intra- squad game. “I still sometimes think to myself, what could I have done to change things last season? The answer is nothing, so I try not to worry about it.�

What Heep should worry about is his place on the Dodgers, if, in fact, there is room for him. The Dodgers have no less than 12 outfielders in camp and more than their share of pinch hitters, and his job status as one of Manager Tom Lasorda’s left-handed pinch hitters is shaky.

“They are going to have to decide a lot of things,� Heep said. “We’ve got a lot of younger guys who have been in Triple-A a few years. And they’ve got a lot of new guys to begin with. If (the Dodgers) want to include me in a trade, that’s all right. But I’d like to make it here.� Until last season, Heep had been a productive pinch hitter and utility player for the New York Mets. In 1986, when the Mets won the World Series, Heep hit .282 and had 33 RBIs. Much of his market value dropped after last season’s performance, but Heep still is hoping to play somewhere.

Already, Heep appears in better sync than at any time last season. He had singles in both Saturday’s and Sunday’s squad scrimmage, which at the very least is a start. Actually, anything Heep might do this spring would be an improvement over his miserable February and March last year.

“It was all right for awhile (last spring),� Heep said. “I had regular workouts with some guys (minor leaguers who live in San Antonio). Hitting and fielding and running. Then, they left for spring training, and I got left out in the cold.

“I was throwing balls off concrete walls to keep my arm strong. I would go to pitching machine places that little leaguers use. I was looking to do anything. I was desperate.�

Last spring, Heep didn’t start fretting until the end of February, when he noticed that even the premier free agents, such as Tim Raines, weren’t getting any phone calls, either.

Said Heep: “About a month into spring training, Raines hadn’t signed and (Andre) Dawson and (Ray) Knight had signed for a lot less than what they were worth. What did that say about my situation? When spring training was over, my agent (Alan Hendricks) told me I’d probably have to wait until June 2 before I signed.�

That is the date when free agents can sign with a team without the team having to provide compensation to the player’s old team. Heep signed with the Dodgers, but remained in San Antonio--where the Dodgers’ Double-A team plays--to try to work himself into shape.

“You can’t get in shape during the season, at least not when you’re not playing every day,� Heep said. “That’s because you’re only seeing batting practice pitching. You need to play.�

Heep primarily was used as a pinch hitter, and he failed miserably in that role.

“You can’t make a living just by pinch hitting,� Heep said. “You can do it, but you need to start one or two games a week. I don’t mean starting three games in a row, then sitting for three weeks.

“Over the course of a 162-game season, there’s no reason why you can’t use your bench. The Mets did it (in 1986), with all their talent. You don’t want to wear out your starters. We have a lot of talent in the clubhouse. We (the reserves) are capable of being almost as competitive as the starters. I think we’ll have a lot of depth on the bench.�

Heep can only hope he will be on the Dodgers and not heaving a ball against handball courts.

Dodger Notes

In the eyes of Dodger coaches, the highlight of Sunday’s intrasquad scrimmage--in which four runs were scored--was an RBI drag bunt by Mariano Duncan. The Dodgers have been trying to convince Duncan to bunt more, and the result was impressive Sunday. With Mike Scioscia on third and two out, Duncan bunted between the pitching mound and first base. While Scioscia scored, Duncan beat first baseman Len Matuszek to the bag for a single. “That’s what they’ve been talking about,� Duncan said. “This makes me happy. I want to try and (bunt) some more.�

Another highlight was the surprisingly strong pitching of non-roster reliever Ron Davis, who retired all six batters he faced, striking out two. Davis has been refining a submarine delivery that he worked on in earnest late last season after being signed by the Dodgers. Sunday, he used several different release points and said he was pleased by the way his pitches were sinking. “If I start throwing all the way under, I’m not as effective,� Davis said. “If I have a couple of release points, it keeps the hitters from looking for that one box (where the ball is released) on the mound.� Pitching coach Ron Perranoski said he wants Davis to keep one release point, so “he can keep the ball down.� Regardless of his performance Sunday, Davis, 32, still is the longest of shots to make the Dodgers. The veteran reliever realizes that and said he is willing to go to the Dodgers’ Triple-A club in Albuquerque. “I don’t want to bounce from organization to organization,� Davis said. “I’ll go to Albuquerque and work there, if they want. If it has to be as an insurance policy, I will be that.�

Reliever Jay Howell, limited to nonpitching workouts in recent days because of the flu and a stiff back, is expected to slowly begin pitching again today. Dodger trainers said Howell’s back stiffness is not serious, but it apparently has happened to him in previous years when he pitched for the Oakland A’s. . . . Kirk Gibson, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Sax were the only regulars not to play in either intrasquad scrimmage. All continued individual workouts over the weekend.

Hitting highlights from Sunday’s squad game included doubles by Mike Scioscia, Mike Davis, Alex Trevino and Mike Sharperson and two singles by Franklin Stubbs. . . . In addition to Davis, solid pitching efforts were turned in by Tim Belcher (two innings, no hits) and Brian Holton (two innings, one hit). Reliever Tim Crews gave up four hits and three runs in a poor sixth inning. Crews said he wasn’t worried because he was specifically working on a sinker. “Two weeks from now, they won’t be hitting me,� Crews said. “I guarantee that.� . . . Injury report: Tracy Woodson suffered a bruised right ankle after being spiked. He is not expected to miss any workouts.