A SLOW BURN

The telephone rings in the morning at Eric Karros’ home in Manhattan Beach. His friends are calling. They want to know if he’s being traded.

The telephone rings in the afternoon. His parents. They want to know if he is OK.

The telephone rings at night. His fiancee. She wants to know if she can help.

This is supposed to be his refuge, free from all of the distractions and hysteria running rampant in Los Angeles, wondering just what is wrong with the Dodgers.

Why aren’t the Dodgers winning? Why aren’t they hitting? Why isn’t Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, on the telephone trading away half the team? Why isn’t Manager Bill Russell making them run wind sprints after games for punishment?

And, oh, yes, what in the world is wrong with Karros?

Isn’t he the reason for all of the Dodgers’ woes?

Did the Dodgers make a $20-million blunder by signing him when they could have traded him away and created an opening at first base for All-Star catcher Mike Piazza.

Karros listens to the talk, and his dark brown eyes smolder. He wants to say something derogatory, maybe even inflammatory, but he is shrewd enough to keep from speaking his mind.

“It’s hard to believe all of the stuff I’m hearing,” Karros said. “I’m not sure if people are writing me off, but for people to get upset this early, all I can say, for a lack of better term, is that they’re front-runners. They should go back to running their rotisserie teams.

“I guess they really haven’t followed my career.

“I guess they want to say my last two years is a fluke.

“I’d like to say it doesn’t bother me. I’d like to say I can tune it out and shouldn’t be listening or give any credibility to what is being said. Most of the stuff doesn’t deserve a reaction.

“But I’m human, you get tired of hearing the same stuff day after day after day. You just want it to stop.

“If they want to make me their scapegoat, there’s nothing I can do.”

Karros looks up, winces, and shakes his head. He can’t believe he’s sitting here defending himself, not after what he has meant to the organization.

This is a player who has averaged 33 home runs and 108 runs batted in the last two seasons.

This is a player who probably should have been on the disabled list most of April because of severe tendinitis in his left shoulder, spending hours each day in the trainer’s room, but refusing to even publicly acknowledge he was in pain.

This is a player who has accepted much of the leadership responsibilities, screaming at pitcher Ismael Valdes during a clubhouse meeting--that led to a confrontation in the showers--because of a perception that Valdes was putting his personal statistics ahead of the team.

This is a player who donates more of his time to community service and charitable organizations than any Dodger.

This is a player who is considered Mr. Dodger, the heart and soul of the team, and who is beloved by ownership and the front office.

This also is the player who has taken the brunt of criticism for the Dodgers’ slow start at 26-23.

“I hear the stuff every day,” Karros said. “They say, ‘If this guy had been doing anything, we’d be winning.’ Nobody ever said a word how this is just the normal start for me.

“Come on, do people really believe I lost all of my power? Do they believe I can no longer drive in runs? Do they believe I suddenly lost my ability to hit?

“If they want to believe that, they’re wrong.”

You want proof that this is just a typical season for Karros, the first Dodger first baseman to hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs in successive seasons since Gil Hodges in 1953-1954?

Karros begins tonight’s four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium batting .242 with seven homers and 22 RBIs.

After 29 games last season, Karros was batting .226 with eight homers and 26 RBIs.

Sound familiar?

“That’s why you don’t see Eric concerned at all,” Dodger outfielder Brett Butler said. “He’s confident in his ability. Someone who is not confident in his ability might panic, but not Eric.

“He knows the numbers will be there in the end. We all do.”

Said Dodger outfielder Billy Ashley, perhaps his closest friend on the team: “I call him the Ice Man. The emotion is there, you see it in the dugout, but he doesn’t let his frustrations get the best of him.

“He does everything possible to win, without the showboating. There’s no doubt in my mind that he wants to win as badly as anyone I’ve ever seen, and gets so mad when he can’t do it himself.”

Karros, a graduate of UCLA with a degree in economics, has no explanation for his traditional slow starts. He can’t tell you why the Dodgers can’t seem to get jump-started until the All-Star break. All he will tell you is to look at the track record, and everything will be fine in the end.

“I don’t know if there’s so much a panic in here,” Karros said, “but on the outside, that gets to you after a while. I don’t think anyone is immune from it. Everyone feels it.

“The only one who seems immune . . . is Fred [Claire]. You don’t see him panicking at all. He’s been rock-solid throughout this, saying how much he believes in this team. And I’m sure people are upset at his demeanor.

“But . . . do people think we just threw guys together in spring training and said, ‘This is the team that’s going to win the National League pennant?’ A lot of thought and energy went into putting this team together.

“The way people make it sound, we’re the worst team on Earth.”

The Dodgers’ 26-23 record--three games behind San Francisco--is actually one game ahead of last year’s pace when they were 25-24 after 49 games and 5 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres.

Karros concedes that perhaps the urgency of winning is more intense this year. The Dodgers realize that although they could become the first Dodger team to reach the playoffs three consecutive years, it would be a miserable failure not to at least reach the National League Championship Series, if not the World Series.

And Karros won’t lie and tell you he has not allowed his four-year, $20-million contract to have a bearing on his performance.

“There’s a sense you want to go out and prove you’re worth every penny,” Karros said. “There’s no doubt you want to try to justify what you’re making. You don’t want people saying, ‘Look at him, now he’s complacent. That’s the worst deal ever.’

“You actually want to make it look like the club is getting a deal, if you can actually fathom that.

“I’m not saying the money isn’t great, but it’s not what drives me.

“The arrogance and ego, and the fear of failure, that’s what drives me.”

The Dodgers, who signed Karros rather than risk losing him as a free agent at the season’s conclusion, gladly would make the same deal. In fact, considering the way salaries have escalated just since Karros’ contract, it might even be a bargain.

“There’s nothing ever guaranteed,” Claire said. “You can’t just look at the back of somebody’s bubble-gum card and say he’ll do the same thing year after year.

“But when you look at a player like Eric, the background is there. And Eric has played long enough, with his past experience and dedication to the game, to make a reasonable projection.

“In my judgment, it wouldn’t make a difference if Eric was being paid the minimum or $5 million a year. You’re still going to have the same work ethic and approach. Eric is going to go out there every day, pound away, and do everything possible to help this team.”

This is why Karros, two months before even receiving the contract that will pay him $6 million this year, began working out three to five hours a day, six days a week. This is why his body fat shrank to 9.8%. And this is why he was so thoroughly frustrated when shoulder tendinitis stripped him of much of his power. But he refused to use it as an excuse.

“I get so sick when I hear guys say all of that stuff, like they’re looking for an excuse,” Karros said. “If you’re on the field, you’re good enough to play. There shouldn’t be any talk about how your wrist hurts or your knee is sore or anything. If you’re not good enough to play, then don’t go out there.

“I never understood that. There’s nothing worse than seeing a guy roll around on the field, bounce up 10 minutes later and say he’s all right. I don’t know why that bothers me so much, it just does.

“That’s why all of this stuff drives you crazy. I mean, what would you rather have, a guy hitting .350 at the end of May that winds up hitting .220 with 10 homers and 60 RBIs, or do what I do?

“If I don’t hit my 30 homers and drive in my 100 runs, then you can come back to me in October and rip me all you want.

“Just give me a chance, my numbers will be there, believe me.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

‘97 through 29 games; DODGERS: 26-23, 3rd, 3 behind; KARROS: 7 HR, 22 RBI, .242

‘96 through 29 games; DODGERS: 27-25, 3rd, 6 behind; KARROS: 8 HR, 26 RBI, .230

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The May Poll

Eric Karros’ statistics in 29 games are not much different the last two seasons:

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STAT 1997 1996 Final ’96 AB 179 164 608 Runs 23 16 84 Hits 43 37 158 2B 6 4 29 3B 0 0 1 HR 7 8 34 RBI 22 26 111 BA .242 .226 .260

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