Four’s a Crowd in Center

VERO BEACH, Fla. â€”  Tom Goodwin looked to his left and saw teammate Marquis Grissom. Across the room was McKay Christensen. In a hallway outside the Dodger clubhouse was Dave Roberts. Goodwin didn’t have to be a general manager to know he and the other three center fielders all won’t be around when the regular season starts.

“They’re going to weed us all out; some are staying and some will be going,” Goodwin said Monday. “This may be L.A., but it’s not la-la land. Things don’t always work out best for everybody.”

Dodger Manager Jim Tracy would like a solid defensive center fielder who could bat leadoff, an offensive sparkplug who could reach base at a .400 clip, steal some bases and score at least 100 runs.

“Average is not a priority, on-base percentage is,” Tracy said. “I would like for one guy to tell me, ‘I want that job.’”

Neither Grissom nor Goodwin has earned it based on last year’s performance. Grissom hit .221 with a .250 on-base percentage, and Goodwin hit .231 with a .286 on-base percentage. The only numbers more painful for the Dodger front office are the ones on their contracts: Grissom is guaranteed $5 million this season, and Goodwin will make $3.25 million.

Christensen showed promise in 28 games last season, batting .327 with a .400 on-base percentage, but the 26-year-old has only 125 major league at-bats. Roberts, acquired from Cleveland, played in 33 big-league games last season, hitting .333.

“There are a lot of outfielders, which is good, because we’ve got to compete,” Grissom said. “If you can’t compete against all these guys here, you can’t compete in October.”

Grissom, 34, has the most power of the four--he had 21 home runs and 60 runs batted in last season--but he also struck out 107 times while drawing only 16 walks. He would enhance his chances by showing more patience at the plate, but at this stage of his career, the 12-year veteran isn’t sure he can change.

“Last year I was slugging; I wasn’t up there looking for walks,” Grissom said. “I’ve always been an aggressive player, I’ve always swung the bat, and you have to have confidence in your game to be successful. I don’t know if I’m a leadoff hitter, but I told [Tracy] if that’s where he needs me, that’s what I’ll do.”

Goodwin is one of baseball’s fastest players, an asset in the leadoff spot, but you know the old cliche: you can’t steal first base.

“I’ve got to improve my bunting and my on-base percentage; I’m not blind to that,” Goodwin said. “Last year, I was thinking too much instead of just coming out and playing the way I know I can. If that’s not good enough, we’ll go our separate ways.”

The Dodgers would like to package Grissom or Goodwin in a trade for a center fielder or closer, but to do so they’ll probably have to eat a large chunk of their contracts. If Grissom or Goodwin doesn’t perform well in camp, either or both could also be released.

“You’ve got to have some worth first before someone trades for you,” Goodwin said. “We didn’t have good years in 2001, so why would some other team want us?”

*

Because the American Embassy in Tokyo was closed for Presidents’ Day Monday, Japanese left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii was unable to pick up his visa until today, further delaying his arrival to Dodgertown. Ishii, who signed a four-year, $12.2-million contract, is expected to arrive in camp Wednesday afternoon and join in workouts Thursday.