BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Sharperson Is Put on Bench

Mike Sharperson, the team’s only All-Star, has been benched while the Dodgers take a long look at two prospects, third baseman Dave Hansen and second baseman Eric Young.

“I just work here, I don’t make out the lineup,” Sharperson said of the decision. “I’ll wait a few days and see where they’re headed. They told me they were going to play Eric and Hansen to see what they can do. What can I say?

“I think I’ll still be playing some. I just don’t know how much.”

Sharperson was batting .330 on July 8, but his average has since fallen to .306. Entering Friday’s game, he had batted .195 (eight for 41) since the All-Star break.

Left-hander Bob Ojeda was relieved to have survived Friday’s 9 p.m. trading deadline.

“Being a left-handed starting pitcher in my prime, I’m sure other clubs had to look at it,” he said of his 5-5 record and earned-run average of 3.28. “I think it (left-handed pitching) is definitely an asset to have, but they feel that way here, too.”

The team’s vice president, Fred Claire, wouldn’t comment on inquiries about Ojeda or other Dodgers, only to say that “the phone lines weren’t burning.”

After the Dodgers’ victory Thursday night, several fans saluted players with the chant, “Way to go Albuquerque,” a reference to the team’s youth movement.

Said veteran Brett Butler of the new-look infield of Hansen, Jose Offerman, Young and Eric Karros: “Well, at least they’ve played together before.”