Dodger Desire Is Questioned After 5-0 Loss

PHILADELPHIA —  It has been whispered among Dodger players for several days, and Manager Tom Lasorda and his coaching staff have talked about it behind closed doors.

After losing Tuesday night for the fifth consecutive time, 5-0, to the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium, the matter came to the surface.

Veteran closer Todd Worrell, saying he spoke for several players and coaches, questioned the commitment of some of his teammates.

“We look like we don’t really want to win at times,” Worrell said. “If you’re struggling, you’ve got to make adjustments, and we’ve got some guys who aren’t doing that.

“I don’t care if you’re a pitcher or a hitter, you’ve got to make constant adjustments. You can’t just sit back and continue to feel sorry for yourself like we’re doing. That’s not what this game is all about. The guys who really want to win will make those adjustments. The guys who won’t, don’t understand what this game is all about, and that’s a shame.”

The Dodgers’ frustration after their 13th loss in the last 17 games dropped their record to 13-19, permeated the clubhouse:

--Starter Tom Candiotti let everyone know he was furious about Lasorda’s decision to remove him after four innings.

--Right fielder Raul Mondesi let the paid crowd of 21,044 know he was angry with first base umpire Charlie Williams, and soon had the crowd booing his every move.

--Catcher Carlos Hernandez, who had figured that his playing time would increase substantially when Mike Piazza went on the disabled list, wondered aloud if he’d be better off traded than benched for the seventh consecutive game.

And despite the spectacular starts by first baseman Eric Karros and Worrell, their performances have been tarnished by the team’s failures.

“This takes away from everything I’ve done personally,” said Karros, who is batting .362 and extended his hitting streak to a career-high-equaling 14 games. “It’s like ’92. It was nice having the year I had, but we lost 99 games. I was just miserable from June on.”

Worrell said: “As good as I’ve pitched, it’s not fun. How can it be playing like this?”

The Dodgers, who have provided several opposing pitchers with career achievements on this trip, gave Phillie rookie Tyler Green a night to remember.

After never having lasted longer than six innings in a major league game, the 25-year-old Green pitched a seven-hitter for his first shutout.

He’d never had a shutout in four minor league seasons, spanning 74 games and 59 starts.

“I was really surprised,” Lasorda said, “not that he pitched so well, but we couldn’t hit him.”

The Dodgers managed only seven singles off Green and had only one runner reach third base.

“There’s a lot of frustration right now,” said Candiotti (2-4). “We’re facing a pitcher--at least on paper--who looks like he’s struggling. Not tonight. He pitches a nine-inning shutout.

“It just doesn’t make sense.”

The decision to remove him in the top of the fifth inning for a pinch-hitter, Candiotti said, was mind-boggling. He had yielded only three hits, and all four runs in the Phillies’ third inning were unearned--courtesy of center fielder Roberto Kelly’s three-base error, a passed ball and a wild pitch. Yet, trailing, 4-0, Lasorda removed Candiotti for pinch-hitter Garey Ingram.

“I was pretty upset,” Candiotti said. “I just don’t understand what we were trying to do. I mean, as it turned out, one run would have been enough to beat us tonight.”

The decision to remove Candiotti had nothing to do with performance, Lasorda said, but everything to do with generating offense. It made no difference, and as Mondesi can attest, it simply was a rotten evening for everyone involved.

Mondesi’s problems started when he led off the Dodger fourth with a walk, and was promptly picked off. He vehemently argued the call and, when done, walked slowly back to the dugout. He then threw his batting helmet toward the backstop and mocked the crowd by clapping.

“That’s the first time the crowd got on me like that,” Mondesi said, “but I don’t care about those guys. I’m just going to play my game.”