Wetteland Doesn’t Deliver Reason to Smile : Dodgers: He gives up four home runs to Mets, hurting his chances for fifth starting spot.

VERO BEACH, Fla. —  A card taped to John Wetteland’s locker reads, “I Love Your Smile.”

Wetteland sat below the sign Friday and frowned. He grabbed his head. He tightened his jaw.

He pulled off one pant leg and then stopped. After an eight-run undressing by the New York Mets, he was too upset for another one.

“I have not spent the past week preparing to face the New York Mets today, I have spent it preparing for the regular season,” he said. “At least, I hope so. Because today was pathetic.”

After a windy afternoon at Holman Stadium, there was no Wetteland smile to love. He was pounded for eight runs on eight hits in a 12-9 loss.

He didn’t love his fastball, since it had been hit for four home runs, one by triple-A infielder Tim Bogar. He didn’t love his curveball, which had been tagged for four sharp singles and two line drives that were saved by Lenny Harris’ diving and leaping catches in left field.

The only player in the Dodger clubhouse while Wetteland fumed was Mike Morgan, who dressed quietly and left. It was coincidental but appropriate. If Wetteland is not the fifth starter, Morgan will be.

Said Wetteland: “I know I can start. I will go to the bullpen, but I don’t see myself in the bullpen full time.”

Said Morgan: “I do better as a starter. I can do more things for the team there.”

Morgan, 30, was acquired by the Dodgers from the Baltimore Orioles last spring as an all-purpose pitcher. After joining the starting rotation April 14, he nearly became an All-Star. At the midseason break, he led the league with a 1.79 earned-run average, although he had a 6-8 record.

Then, according to Morgan, the Dodgers looked at his contract. When he lost his first three games after the All-Star break, he was sent to the bullpen for reasons, he said, that might not have been completely baseball oriented.

“I was going to be a free agent,” he said. “They didn’t know if I was coming back. I’m guessing they wanted to give a younger guy a look,” Morgan said.

That younger guy was Wetteland. He was 23, a free spirit who threw the ball harder than nearly everyone in the National League. He also threw it more wildly than almost everyone, eventually accumulating 16 wild pitches, one short of the Los Angeles Dodger record set by Sandy Koufax.

For the rest of the season, however, the situation remained the same. Morgan sat in the bullpen and Wetteland started. The eight-year veteran watched while the kid was put in a position to star.

Morgan fretted but finally settled into a 1.72 ERA as a reliever. Wetteland never settled down. At one point he gave up 19 runs in 24 2/3 innings. He finished the season 2-6 with a 4.97 ERA as a starter.

Friday’s performance by Wetteland further muddled things. Morgan, who gave up one run in three innings of a minor league game in his only outing this spring, will get his first test Monday against Montreal. Wetteland will work again Wednesday against Montreal.

Then, both are scheduled to pitch April 7 in Dodger Stadium against the Angels in the Freeway Series.

“One good thing,” pitching coach Ron Perranoski said. “They both can start or relieve. They both have the kind of arms where they can pitch every day.”

Last season, Wetteland averaged 8.416 strikeouts per nine innings, the second-highest such figure by a rookie pitcher in Los Angeles franchise history. The highest was Fernando Valenzuela’s 8.423 in 1981.

“I’ve been pumping a lot of iron, I feel stronger than ever,” Wetteland said. “And I know my work isn’t finished today, tomorrow or the next day. I am learning every day.”

Although Morgan was 6-11 as a starter last year, there was a mitigating circumstance. Morgan was given the worst run support for a starter in the major leagues, 2.53 runs every nine innings.

And although Morgan has the lowest winning percentage among all active pitchers with at least 100 decisions--at 42-79, a .347 percentage--he has played on some bad teams. He pitched for Toronto in the early ‘80s, when the Blue Jays were terrible. He pitched for Seattle in the mid-80’s, and the Mariners are always terrible. And shortly before joining the Dodgers, he pitched for Baltimore during the Orioles’ awful 1988 season.

He grew so depressed while playing for Toronto that he caught a plane for his Las Vegas home during the middle of the season’s final game. More than once, he has considered quitting and working at a casino or sports book.

“Hey man, I know about some hard times,” Morgan said. “Going through this thing about the fifth starter, that’s nothing compared to what I’ve gone through.

“I’ve learned, you can’t dictate what a team will do to you. All you can do is work hard and listen. And that’s all I’m doing.”

Not that he hasn’t already looked up a certain date.

“Our first game in Houston, a Friday night, the first spot for a fifth starter . . . I’ll be ready,” Morgan said.

And Wetteland?

“First thing I’m going to do is call my fiancee and tell her what a beautiful day I had,” he said Friday with a sarcastic laugh. “Then I’m going back to working my buns off. And I’ll be ready.”

Dodger Notes

Eddie Murray hit his third home run of the spring and Jeff Hamilton hit his first. Don Aase gave up two runs in two innings, his second poor performance since getting the victory in the Dodgers’ spring opener. Outfielder Kal Daniels ran the bases hard for the first time Friday and will make his first appearance in the lineup either today or Sunday. “Don’t worry,” Daniels said. “I’m right on schedule”

The Dodgers sent six players to the minor leagues, leaving the roster at 32, with eight cuts remaining. Infielders Dave Hansen and Jose Offerman were sent to triple-A Albuquerque, where they will start at third base and shortstop, respectively. Outfielder Braulio Castillo and pitchers Isidrio Marquez, Dan Opperman and Zak Shinall were sent to double-A San Antonio.