BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Trade Deadline No Big Deal to Claire

The trading deadline for deals without obtaining waivers is at midnight tonight. The Dodgers are not expecting to make a deal, even for a relief pitcher.

“I’ll have the phone by my side,� Executive Vice President Fred Claire said, “but we don’t have anything hot.�

Claire again emphasized that the Dodgers will not trade any of their young prospects for a quick fix in the bullpen.

“We think that in the people we have here and the guys we’re developing in the system, we have a strong bullpen for the future,� Claire said.

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One of the most popular of the former Dodgers at the old-timers’ game Saturday night was Sweet Lou Johnson, the meteoric star of the mid-’60s.

Few remember that Johnson was a member of the 1961 expansion Angels. “I made such an impression that halfway through the first game in their history, they traded me to Toronto for Leon Wagner,� Johnson said with a laugh.

As expected, the old Dodgers, for the most part, were heavier and looked older. Willie Davis was an exception. The slender center fielder hasn’t gained an ounce in two decades. He looked ready to take off on one of his graceful runs for a triple.

Tommy Davis, the last Dodger to win a batting championship--in 1962-63--is a bit heavier, but he can still swing a potent bat. During batting practice he hit one into the left-field bullpen and during the game he lashed a ball into the gap in left-center to drive in the first run.

Clem Labine, who came West from Brooklyn in 1958, remembered how tough it was to pitch in the Coliseum with its close screen in left. “We had a poor first season,� he recalled, “but we won it all the next year and the fans loved us.�