Park Goes Back to the Bullpen

Manager Tom Lasorda gently delivered the news Sunday morning, hoping his young pitcher would understand.

Chan Ho Park is out of the starting rotation.

“Hey, it’s better than going to the minor leagues, right?” said Park, who was 2-2 with a 2.48 earned-run average in six starts.

Ramon Martinez is coming off the disabled list Tuesday, and the Dodgers decided that Pedro Astacio, not Park, will remain a starter.

“It was very hard, it was not an easy decision,” Lasorda said. “It came down to two things. Number 1, Astacio has been pitching good. The second thing is that the other guy [Park] started in the rotation because of Ramon, and now that Ramon is back, he goes to the bullpen.”

Several veteran players privately said they were pleased that Astacio (2-3, 2.88 ERA) will start. It meant the decision was based on merit, they said, and was not influenced by Park’s popularity or potential ticket sales that Park generates.