Dodgers Zero In on Weaknesses

Winning baseball comes down to three things: pitching, pitching and pitching.

The Dodger-related news from Wednesday just happened to help the team in three departments: pitching, pitching and pitching.

They signed Andy Ashby. They brought back former pitching coach Dave Wallace. And they still have a chance to re-sign Darren Dreifort.

That’s more than a good start. It’s a Maurice Greene-style jump from the blocks.

Having Ashby and Dreifort in the fold would solidify the starting rotation, giving the first four spots to Kevin Brown, Chan Ho Park, Dreifort and Ashby. It isn’t Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Orlando Hernandez and Mike Mussina, but it would match up well with just about any staff outside Atlanta.

And bringing Wallace back to L.A. after his three seasons with the New York Mets assures the Dodgers will have the proper maintenance for this machine.

Wallace also lends credence to this commitment to revamping the minor league system the Dodgers keep talking about. Wallace--the same man who helped develop Dreifort, Park and former Dodgers such as Pedro and Ramon Martinez--will work with players throughout the minors and the majors.

Many of the Dodgers’ problems on the mound could be attributed to Wallace’s departure in 1997. Getting him back was a coup, and also an in-your-face to the Mets. New York had steadfastly denied the Dodgers permission to speak to Wallace, but the Dodgers kept at it and when the Mets finally relented, the L.A. crew was able to quickly reach an agreement before the contractual window for Wallace to leave the Mets expired Wednesday.

General Manager Kevin Malone and Chairman Bob Daly aren’t taking any mess this off-season.

Then again, this is the first winter in which the Sheriff and Showbiz Bob aren’t operating out of desperation or negotiating without any leverage.

In 1998, the Dodgers desperately needed a star pitcher. So they bid against themselves, broke the nine-figure barrier and threw in the team plane for Brown.

Last winter they had to get rid of Raul Mondesi after he went off on the team’s authorities in R-rated terms. So they shelled out $14 million a year for Shawn Green.

This time they didn’t have any emergencies. They’re simply looking for pieces. They need a lot of pieces, granted, but they aren’t exactly starting from scratch.

So when Ashby and his agent stalled and backed off from what the Dodgers thought was a contract agreement, the ballclub yanked its offer off the table. That got Ashby’s attention, and within 24 hours he was a Dodger, on Daly and Malone’s terms: $22.5 million for three years.

By acting promptly they avoided a potential catastrophe.

If they let Dreifort escape without bringing anyone else aboard they would be stuck trying merely to replicate last year’s rotation in a dwindling free-agent market.

The options weren’t great to begin with. With restraints on their check-writing hands, the Dodgers took themselves out of the bidding for Mussina, who signed with the Yankees for $88.5 million. And now it looks as if it will take Mussina-like money to land Mike Hampton.

The Dodgers never really had a shot at Denny Neagle, who might have been the best pitcher among the next tier of free agents, because he wanted to pitch near his family in Colorado.

So Ashby, who has a 43-32 record and 3.99 ERA for the last three seasons, became the best fit for the Dodgers.

In one move they have insurance if Dreifort leaves, and improvement if he stays.

The Dodgers had better re-sign Dreifort, otherwise they’ll have to go through their phone system and delete his holiday greetings from the tape that plays while callers are on hold.

(Not that the new manager is little-known or anything, but Jim Tracy was the only person I heard give his job title along with his name--in case anyone was about to say, “Who?” Remember when you didn’t have to wonder who was managing, because it was the same person as the year before, and the 20 years before that?)

Could the big Christmas present be on the horizon? There’s always the Fox factor, that element of unpredictability combined with those deep pockets. If the Dodgers get enough pieces in place they might just decide to make an all-out run for the World Series and open the safe for Alex Rodriguez.

That still remains a fantasy. The moves the Dodgers made were based in reality, taking the necessary steps to return to the status of contenders.

After preaching for so long about the need to get back to the basics, it’s good to see them follow their own advice.

*

J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: ja.adande@latimes.com.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Pitching Matchup

The Dodgers, who had pursued free-agent right-handers Andy Ashby and Rick Reed, signed Ashby, 33, to a three-year, $22.5-million contract. Reed, 36, re-signed with the Mets for three years and $21.75 million. A comparison:

*--*

2000 Ashby Reed W-L 12-13 11-5 ERA 4.92 4.11 G 31 30 IP 199 1/3 184 BB 61 34 K 106 121

*--*

*--*

Career Ashby Reed W-L 84-87 60-45 ERA 4.10 3.93 G 254 181 IP 1,542 1/3 1,020 1/3 BB 457 199 K 1,016 636

*--*