Berblinger Still Not Out of Picture at Second Base

All of the second base talk has focused on rookie Wilton Guerrero, but the Dodgers still are not convinced that he is ready.

And that has permitted Jeff Berblinger to stay in the picture. According to several Dodger officials, he still could become their starting second baseman.

There’s nothing flashy about Berblinger, 26, but he can handle anything hit to him and he hustles.

“The talent is there,” Manager Bill Russell said Monday before the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss to the Montreal Expos in West Palm Beach. “It’s just a matter of whether he can do it now for us.”

Berblinger, who never has advanced beyond Class AA, has looked overmatched at the plate. He’s batting only .200 with one extra-base hit, and has struck out seven times in 15 at-bats. The Dodgers’ problem is that if he does not make the team, they must offer him back to the St. Louis Cardinals.

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Former Dodger Orel Hershiser, moved by Tom Lasorda’s election to the Hall of Fame, said that he would ask the Cleveland Indians if he can leave the team to attend the ceremony Aug. 3 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

“If I’m not pitching, I want to be there with Tommy,” Hershiser said.

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Lasorda said that he would listen if baseball was interested in making him the next baseball commissioner. “Sure, why not?” he said. “If they wanted me, I’d do it.” . . . The Expos scored two runs in the ninth and won the game on a bases-loaded wild pitch by Antonio Osuna and a bases-loaded passed ball by catcher Ken Huckaby. Starter Ismael Valdes pitched four scoreless innings and Billy Ashley hit a solo homer.