Blowers Waiting to Exhale

The Dodgers aren’t pointing fingers. No one is whispering behind anyone’s back. There’s certainly plenty of blame to be spread around so that no one feels left out.

Yet, if you’re Mike Blowers, the new guy on the block, the publicized power hitter the Dodgers acquired this winter to stabilize third base, you can’t shed the rotten feeling that’s making life miserable.

The Dodgers lost, 3-1, to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night in front of a paid crowd of 35,570 at Dodger Stadium, and although virtually everyone in the clubhouse took responsibility for their latest defeat, no one blamed himself more than Blowers.

Blowers’ agony was prolonged another night when he made an error that cost the Dodgers one run, and struck out twice in four at-bats, although his second-inning single raised his batting average to .138.

“It’s been a struggle, to say the least,” Blowers said. “It’s tougher than I thought not having seen these pitchers before. Guys can tell you one thing, but unless you see it for yourself, it’s hard to know what to expect.”

If nothing else, Blowers realizes, there’s no reason to panic. Rotten Aprils have become a spring tradition. He has a career .203 batting average in the month.

“My confidence is still good, but I just have a hard time getting out of the gate, “ Blowers said. “Last year, it took about 100 at-bats for me to get going.

“I just hope to God it doesn’t take that long this year.”

The Dodgers (3-6) also share the same hope about this season, already falling three games behind the San Diego Padres in the National League West. The Dodgers’ largest deficit all of last season was five games.

“The biggest thing is believing in yourself as a team,” Braves shortstop Jeff Blauser said. “It’s a little easier with us because we’ve had success in previous years, but the Dodgers should be fine.

“If you have the players, you should be there at the end, and not let a bad start keep you down. There’s a lot of time left.

“You just have got to make sure you don’t dig yourself into such a deep hole that you can’t get out of it.”

The offense, which has failed to score four runs in a game this season, is responsible for much of this mess. They have scored only two runs the last 19 innings, managed one extra-base hit, and have struck out 21 times--including 10 times Tuesday.

In nine games this season, the Dodgers have the National League’s worst slugging percentage, and have struck out more times (83) and left more runners on base (77) than any team in baseball. And the heart of their lineup--Mike Piazza and Eric Karros--has yet to produce an extra-base hit this season.

“We’re leaving entirely too many men on base,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda. “We still need to start producing. We’re just not being situation hitters. We’ve tried to impress upon them that they have to be different hitters with men in scoring position, but they’re obviously pressing, trying to do too much.”

Atlanta starter John Smoltz (1-1), who yielded five hits and struck out 10 in 7 1/3 innings, provided the Dodgers’ only opportunity to get back into the game. Smoltz, staked to a 3-1 lead after back-to-back homers by Ryan Klesko and Javier Lopez in the sixth inning, finally started to struggle in the eighth.

Shortstop Greg Gagne, who put on a dazzling defensive display, led off the eighth with a walk. Pinch-hitter Milt Thompson lined out to Blauser for the first out. Delino DeShields--who along with Gagne has more extra-base hits (seven) than the rest of the team combined (six)--lined a double into the right-field corner. Dodger third base Coach Joe Amalfitano held up Gagne at third, realizing there was only one out and the heart of the order was due up.

Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox brought in left-handed reliever Terrell Wade to face Brett Butler. Wade induced a shallow fly ball to left for the second out, and then stepped aside for closer Mark Wohlers.

Next up was Piazza, who’s batting .405 this season and barely missed hitting a homer in the first inning. In a classic confrontation of power against power, they battled for eight pitches before Piazza walked.

With the bases loaded, up stepped Karros, who hit 32 homers and drove in 105 runs last season. Yet, that was when he was healthy. Karros, still battling a sore shoulder and strained hamstring, swung at the first pitch, and grounded to Blauser for an inning-ending forceout.

Still, no one blamed himself for the loss more than Blowers. He hit a career-high 23 homers and drove in 96 runs last season for the Seattle Mariners, but still is waiting for his talent to emerge.