BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Lasorda Looks Beyond Current Job
Manager Tom Lasorda said he was “absolutely shocked” when he heard Buck Rodgers was fired. Lasorda, who has managed the Dodgers for 18 seasons, has the longest tenure among managers. But Lasorda says he has given some thought to what he would like to do when Dodger President Peter O’Malley changes the guard.
“There are two things I would like to do, but only if I’m not managing” Lasorda said. “I would love to coach the Olympic baseball team because I would like to win a gold medal for this country. The other thing I would like to do is go all over Southern California looking at all the high school baseball players. Then I would like to take 30 of the best I see and go to their parents and say, ‘How would you like your son to play for me?’ We would play a 60-game schedule in the summer against other American Legion teams and I would work with them all day long.”
But wouldn’t Lasorda, who has worked for the Dodgers for 45 years, prefer to work in another capacity for the Dodgers? “Well, yeah, but I can’t say I want somebody’s job,” Lasorda said.
*
Broadcaster Vin Scully realized quickly he erred when he told Lasorda that Orel Hershiser had been his golf partner on Tuesday. Lasorda, who doesn’t let his players play golf on the road, immediately fined Hershiser $250.
“So Orel tells me he’s giving me a check for $1,000, because he’s playing three more times on this trip,” Lasorda said.
*
Raul Mondesi leads the league with nine outfield assists, already placing him among some of the notable L.A. Dodger outfielders. Frank Howard has the record with 19 during the 1962 season, Willie Davis had 16 in 1963-64, Reggie Smith had 15 in 1980 and Cory Snyder had 14 last season. . . . Ramon Martinez, who left Monday’s game with lower back stiffness, was still sore Tuesday but believes he will be able to make his next start on Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds. . . . Jose Offerman suffered a mild strain in his upper back during batting practice and was replaced by Snyder to start the game. Offerman, who has started all but three games this season, was unhappy with the decision to rest him, and brooded in the clubhouse. . . . Todd Worrell threw on the side for the third time Tuesday and said he doesn’t know if he will be activated on Friday. Worrell, who has been rehabilitating a strained rib-cage muscle, said he feels much improved. He will throw again Thursday.
More to Read
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.