BASEBALL PREVIEW : Managers Hope to Parlay Bad Attitudes Into Mean Streaks : National League: It worked for the Reds, and now suddenly everyone is trying to be nasty.

It was bound to happen.

After watching members of the Cincinnati Reds bullpen throw fastballs and temper tantrums while leading their team to the world championship last fall, the National League’s general managers were bound to start wondering.

Hmmm, maybe this is what it takes. Players who hate management. Players who hate each other. Players whose street clothes are camouflage, and who kill alligators during days off. Yeah, maybe this is the secret . . .

It was bound to happen. Suddenly, everyone in the National League is trying to be nasty. Mean is in. Bad is good.

Everyone thinks that if an attitude could work for Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton and Randy Myers of the Reds, then why couldn’t it work for the players on their team?

The Chicago Cubs wanted to make their move on the East Division-champion Pittsburgh Pirates, so they signed Cincinnati’s Danny Jackson, a pitcher who was once so mad at life he set his uniform on fire. Just to make sure Jackson stays mad, the Cubs also signed Toronto malcontent George Bell, who has promised to never threaten his manager again.

The Dodgers wanted to make a move on the West-champion Reds, so they signed one of the most celebrated, controversial sluggers in the game, Darryl Strawberry. Remember, this is a guy who once got into a fistfight during a team photograph.

And the list goes on . . .

The Pirates whipped Barry Bonds in an off-season arbitration hearing, making him mad enough that he engaged in a shouting match with Manager Jim Leyland during spring training. Heck, maybe he’s mad enough to win another MVP award.

The Philadelphia Phillies signed unshaven and unedited Wally Backman. The New York Mets signed the quietly angry Vince Coleman. The Montreal Expos traded nice-guy Tim Raines for Ivan Calderon and his temper.

The San Francisco Giants . . . well, if you’ve got Will Clark, you don’t need any more attitude.

Of course, there is one problem in all of this. The original Nasty Boys are still in the league, and they are still downright nasty.

“You know, we don’t give a damn where people pick us to finish,” snarled Charlton last week, his chip firmly in place. “If those people who predict baseball knew anything about baseball, they would be playing instead of us.

“Go ahead, pick us last, just like last year. Go ahead.”

No thanks.

A look at the teams, in predicted order of finish:

WESTERN DIVISION CINCINNATI REDS

* 1990 finish: 91-71, first.

* Outlook: What’s not to like? They are essentially the same team that led the division from start to finish last season before defeating Pittsburgh and Oakland to win the championship.

And that was with average performances by many of their stars.

What if Eric Davis decides he will hit more than 24 home runs and collect more than 86 RBIs? He’s done it before. Who says Barry Larkin, who hit .342 in the first three months of 1989 before being injured, can’t do better than his .301 average of last year?

What happens when first baseman Hal Morris, who hit .340 in 107 games, has a full season in the big leagues? And think about what second baseman Bill Doran, fully recovered from back surgery, can do when playing more than 17 games in his hometown.

* New faces: Pitcher Ted Power.

* Must have: Consistency from starting pitchers Jack Armstrong and Scott Scudder.

* Don’t have: A left-hander in the bullpen to replace Norm Charlton, who is in the starting rotation.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

* 1990 finish: 86-76, second.

* Outlook: Their two biggest battles this season will be with, in order, the Reds and themselves.

If their bullpen is sharp, they can handle the Reds. The unknown is, how will they handle themselves?

This is a clubhouse of immense talent and experience. The only problem is, many of them have never played in a clubhouse of such immense talent and experience.

Tom Lasorda, as always, will fill out the lineup card, lean against the back wall of the dugout, and let them play. And if they play .600 baseball as expected, everything will be fine.

The unknown is what will happen if they don’t play so well?

This club has depth in the lineup. What they must prove is depth of the spirit.

* New faces: Strawberry, Brett Butler, Bob Ojeda, Kevin Gross, John Candelaria, Gary Carter, Barry Lyons.

* Must have: Good years from three players in two key batting slots, No. 2 hitter Juan Samuel and alternating No. 6 hitters Jeff Hamilton and Mike Scioscia.

* Don’t have: Proven relief pitcher who is not recovering from some sort of injury.

ATLANTA BRAVES

* 1990 finish: 65-97, sixth.

* Outlook: Yes, they can finish in third place, and even challenge the Dodgers and Reds for the championship.

Why not? That’s what the Braves asked themselves when they signed exciting Deion Sanders, the football star who has suddenly found himself as their opening day left fielder.

Why not? That’s what they asked themselves when they signed two veteran free agents, Terry Pendleton and Sid Bream, to seal the corners of their infield. Bet they don’t lead the league in errors again.

The Braves are the first team to finish more than 20 games out of first place for six consecutive seasons since the San Diego Padres did it from 1969 to 1977. They have not even had a winning month since May, 1987.

But the Braves have done many other daring things. They traded Dale Murphy, which gave Dave Justice a chance to be Rookie of the Year. They demoted Ron Gant to Class A two years ago, and guess who is now their star center fielder and baseball’s most unknown 30-30 player (32 home runs, 33 stolen bases last year)?

* New faces: Bream, Pendleton, Sanders, catcher Mike Heath.

* Must have: Maturity from starting pitchers.

* Don’t have: Enough players who have experienced winning.

SAN DIEGO PADRES

* 1990 finish: 75-87, tied for fourth.

* Outlook: With a good upper batting order featuring Bip Roberts, Tony Gwynn, Fred McGriff and Benito Santiago, this team is not as bad as everyone thinks.

And with Jack Clark and Mike Pagliarulo gone, maybe everybody in the clubhouse will stop screaming at each other.

But they are cursed with something far worse than in-house fighting--they are playing for a manager with an uncertain future. Greg Riddoch has a one-year contract and less than one year of experience and everybody knows that if the Padres don’t get off to a fast start--which they never do--he could be gone.

Riddoch’s chances will improve if Roberts can bat over .300 again, Gwynn can play happy again, and Santiago can stay calm long enough to prove, once again, that he is baseball’s best catcher.

How well McGriff and shortstop Tony Fernandez will adjust to the National League after being traded from Toronto is anybody’s guess.

* New faces: McGriff, Fernandez, third baseman Jim Presley, pitcher Larry Andersen.

* Must have: Good years by young starter Andy Benes and veteran Bruce Hurst, who are capable of more than they’ve shown.

* Don’t have: Great faith in their leaders, yet.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

* 1990 finish: 85-77, third.

* Outlook: Sorry, all of you Giant fans who have spent the winter working on your voice so you can shout disparaging remarks to Lasorda while huddled under a blanket on a beautiful summer day at Candlestick.

Sorry, but your team can no longer thrive on Roger Craig’s pitching miracles. Despite possessing the best middle batting order in baseball, the Giants will not have enough offense to overcome a starting pitching staff that is either too old or too hurt or too inexperienced or just too average.

Bud Black is a nice guy who didn’t deserve the abuse he took for signing that large off-season contract, but he is no staff ace. John Burkett is another nice guy, but he is probably the NL’s least-qualified opening day starter.

Nobody knows what to expect out of Scott Garrelts and Mike LaCoss any more. Dave Righetti is their heralded new bullpen ace, but scouts say he doesn’t throw that hard any more.

* New faces: Black, outfielder Willie McGee, Righetti.

* Must have: Lots of home runs and RBIs from the heart of their lineup: Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell and Matt Williams.

* Don’t have: One proven, experienced, consistently healthy starting pitcher.

HOUSTON ASTROS

* 1990 finish: 75-87, tied for fourth.

* Outlook: This is the worst team to take the field on opening day since Joey Cora was the starting second baseman for the 1987 San Diego Padres.

When Astros ownership decided to dump most of its large contracts during the off-season to make the team easier to sell, it obviously forgot that nobody wants to buy a stinker, which describes the Astros precisely.

This is a team so full of holes, when rookie Jeff Bagwell couldn’t unseat Ken Caminiti at third base, the Astros shrugged and moved him to first, where he will be the opening day starter even though he has never played the position. No big deal, he’s only replacing Glenn Davis.

* New faces: Pitchers Curt Schilling, Pete Harnisch, outfielder Steve Finley.

* Must have: A major trade in which they acquire most of the Oakland A’s.

* Don’t have: A prayer of winning the championship.

EASTERN DIVISION

CHICAGO CUBS

* 1990 finish: 77-85, tied for fourth.

* Outlook: Finally, a Cubs team that is as unique and sturdy as its Wrigley Field home. Like the population of the Wrigley bleachers on a July afternoon, the Cubs lineup contains a little bit of everything. And each person has the potential to raise a ruckus.

Ryne Sandberg, the second baseman, is baseball’s most solid infielder. Andre Dawson is one of baseball’s most classy outfielders. Shawon Dunston may rank second among baseball’s most exciting shortstops, trailing only that guy who works across town, the White Sox’ Ozzie Guillen.

Jerome Walton is a versatile center fielder who, at age 25, is only getting better. Mark Grace has reached base 200 times in each of his three big-league seasons, a remarkable feat matched by only four other active players, one of them Sandberg.

If all of these players are so good, and they all played for the Cubs last year, how come Don Zimmer didn’t get a chance to redeem himself in the postseason? This is why they acquired power hitter George Bell, fiery starting pitcher Danny Jackson and laid-back reliever Dave Smith, a contrast to Mitch Williams and owner of 199 career saves.

* New faces: Bell, Jackson, Smith.

* Must have: Good performance by low-profile starters Shawn Boskie and Mike Bielecki.

* Don’t have: A steady third baseman, so Gary Scott will move from double-A to the starting lineup.

MONTREAL EXPOS

* 1990 finish: 85-77, third place.

* Outlook: Buck Rodgers might be baseball’s best manager, and this could finally be the year everybody sees those skills at work in October.

Sure, the Expos traded Tim Raines, but in exchange they received the enormously talented outfielder Ivan Calderon, who hit 70 homers in four full seasons with the Chicago White Sox.

Calderon, who also learned how to steal bases last year with 32, is joined in the lineup by other heavy hitters such as Tim Wallach and Andres Galarraga.

The pitching staff that led the league in ERA last year--bet you didn’t know that--is mostly intact. Dennis Martinez and Oil Can Boyd lead the starting rotation.

* New faces: Calderon, relief pitcher Barry Jones.

* Must have: Steady play at shortstop from leader Spike Owen, and steady catching from Mike Fitzgerald, who should return from a hand injury soon.

* Don’t have: Problem players of the past. Rodgers could take this amiable group far.

NEW YORK METS

* 1990 finish: 91-71, second.

* Outlook: Finally, finally, they have found a place for Gregg Jefferies to play. The lineup will no longer evolve around his precious needs. He will start the season at third base and he will stay there.

And Howard Johnson has also been granted stability. He will stay at shortstop, where he did not make an error for 39 consecutive games late last year.

Hubie Brooks may not be a statistical equal to Strawberry, but he will offer veteran leadership both in right field and in the clubhouse. Vince Coleman, the new center fielder, will offer leadoff-hitting leadership.

This could be a very good team if the starting pitching stays strong.

* New faces: Brooks, Coleman, catcher Rick Cerone.

* Must have: Ron Darling return to form after being given another chance to start.

* Don’t have: One catcher who can both hit and field adequately. Charlie O’Brien fields, Mackey Sasser hits.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES

* 1990 finish: 95-67, first.

* Outlook: As long as tough Jim Leyland is managing, mutiny will be suppressed. But you have to wonder about the staying power of a team whose two biggest names, Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla, want to leave town.

Contract troubles have cost the Pirates more than just the good will of Bonds and Bonilla. It also cost them a good first baseman when Sid Bream left because he received more money from Atlanta, of all places.

Replacing Bream will be the platoon of Gary Redus and Carmelo Martinez, neither of whom remind people of championship first baseman. The rest of a strong infield returns, with Jose Lind, Jay Bell and Jeff King.

Of course, the outfield is still baseball’s best. The heroics that Bonds and Bonilla concoct with the bat are equaled by three-time Gold Glove winner Andy Van Slyke in the field.

* New faces: None.

* Must have: Peace off the field.

* Don’t have: Enough money to make all these guys happy.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

* 1990 finish: 70-92, sixth.

* Outlook: Everybody who thinks they will be so terrible hasn’t seen some of these young guys play. The voids left by Terry Pendleton, Willie McGee and Vince Coleman could be filled--and quickly.

Scouts say the outfield of Felix Jose and rookies Bernard Gilkey and Ray Lankford can be one of the most exciting in baseball.

And before you are too quick to criticize Todd Zeile for not making it as a catcher, understand he still managed 15 homers and 57 RBIs last season as a sometimes confused rookie. He could be solid at third base.

The starting rotation was severely damaged when Joe Magrane was lost for the season because of elbow surgery. This is the biggest reason they might not contend.

* New faces: Pitcher Juan Agosto, first baseman-outfielder Gerald Perry.

* Must have: A fast start, to build confidence in younger players

* Don’t have: Whitey Herzog, a manager who would have liked this team if he could have endured last year’s malcontents.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

* 1990 finish: 77-85, tied for fourth.

* Outlook: The Phillies problem is that all these people are saying their pitching rotation may be the worst in baseball. The problem is that the people talking are other Phillies’ players.

The Phillies are truly an example of a ship setting sail while taking water at the same time.

With Ken Howell lost for much of the year because of shoulder surgery, the ace of the staff is Terry Mulholland, who won nine games last year.

* New faces: Infielder Wally Backman.

* Must have: Cy Young

* Don’t have: The sense of humor necessary to make it through this season.