BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : He Doesn’t Need This Now

As if Mike Piazza has not faced enough distractions as the Dodgers’ top prospect, he woke up Friday to discover his father, Vince, in the headlines as an embattled potential owner of the San Francisco Giants.

Add this to the fact that the Dodgers are playing the Giants this weekend, and it was almost enough to make Piazza forget about his failure to call timeout Thursday night against the San Diego Padres.

“Sure, it’s a little bit of a distraction,” Piazza said. “It’s weird, seeing those things about my dad. This is the most difficult league I’ve ever played in, or will play in, and that just makes it more difficult.”

Piazza said he finds it unusual that so many reporters are asking him about the sale.

“It’s my Dad’s venture, not mine,” he said. “I will gladly talk to anybody about anything, but I don’t have anything to do with that Tampa thing.”

Brett Butler attempted to play a game within hours of root canal for the second time in two weeks Friday, but he was overcome with pain and was scratched from the starting lineup. Butler underwent his most recent root canal Friday morning. . . . Eric Davis will undergo wrist and shoulder surgery Thursday at Centinela Hospital Medical Center. He will be double-teamed by Drs. Norman Zemel (hand) and Ralph Gambardella (shoulder). . . . At Least One Thing Went Right This Year Dept.: The Dodgers, led by chairman Orel Hershiser, raised $64,000 for Cystic Fibrosis research during their recent “65 Roses Fashion Show.” . . . The entire squad attended the team’s rescheduled photo session. Seven players were tardy for the original session Thursday.