Match Play

By ROSS NEWHAN

Sept. 10, 1997 12 AM PT

The addition of Eric Young, Otis Nixon and Darren Lewis has clearly given the Dodgers a new dimension.

Speed at the top. Offensive creativity. More pressure on the opposing pitcher. Better pitches for the big hitters in the middle.

How far can the legs help carry the Dodgers?

Assuming all roads lead through Georgia, the better question may prove to be: Can those legs help lift the Dodgers past the Atlanta arms?

An initial answer could be provided in the two-game series that began at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, when John Smoltz and Mark Wohlers shackled the speed and the Braves won, 4-3.

The ultimate answer could come in the National League’s championship series, steppingstone to the World Series, of which the Braves have played in four of the last five.

At the present, providing they win their respective divisions, the Dodgers would play the wild-card Florida Marlins in one divisional series and the Braves would play the Houston Astros in the other.

The road is strewn with potential potholes, but this much is certain:

The Dodgers are a different team than the Braves played in the first half and a far different team than they chilled in last year’s division series sweep, yielding only five runs in the three games.

“That club seemed dead in the water,” said Tom Glavine, who faces the Dodgers tonight. “I don’t know if they were exhausted from the race, but they didn’t even seem to give themselves a chance.

“We know they have a lot different club and a lot different attitude. They’ve become a force to be reckoned with. If they’re not the best club in the second half, they’re close to it. They can create havoc with those two guys [Young and Nixon] at the top of the lineup.

“With the big boppers behind them, it puts a premium on keeping them off base.”

One of the boppers, Mike Piazza, doesn’t have to remember how it was in October. He knows how it has changed since early August.

“We pretty much lived and died with the long ball,” he said. “We were a station-to-station team. Now we have more ways to create opportunities. Now we can throw up four or five runs in a hurry.

“I think we matched up pretty well with the Braves before, but we’re definitely a different team now. We have much better balance.”

Speed, of course, could prove pivotal against the world-class pitching of the Braves, but these are two teams that have become mirror images in many ways, with speed at the top, power in the middle, respectable defense and outstanding pitching.

The mirror reflected the following before Tuesday’s game: The Braves and Dodgers were 1-2 in NL earned-run average and tied for second in team batting at .271.

In comparing the ’97 Braves to the Atlanta teams that have dominated their division in the ‘90s, broadcaster Don Sutton, the former Dodger pitching star, sounded a lot like Piazza describing the Dodgers now.

“Deeper pitching and more weapons in the arsenal, more ways to beat you,” Sutton said. “There is either actual or the hint of speed. They don’t have to count on pitching or a three-run homer.”

The emergence of 20-game winner Denny Neagle as the latest Cy Young Award candidate in a rotation of Cy Young winners has provided the Braves, Sutton said, with “quite possibly the four best pitchers ever assembled in one rotation.”

The addition of outfielders Kenny Lofton and Michael Tucker, the ongoing maturation of Andruw Jones and the added experience of Chipper Jones, Javier Lopez and Ryan Klesko have enhanced the offensive capability.

It is frightening to think that the Braves have actually struggled in several areas and at different times, but they are 36 games over .500 with a major league-high 90 wins.

“Talent-wise, this is probably the best team we’ve had, but it remains to be seen if it ends up the best,” Glavine said. “It’s been a strange team. We have a ton of talent, but it’s struggled in just about every aspect in the second half. We haven’t been able to put a roll together like we usually do. I mean, it’s a sharp contrast to ’91 when we weren’t nearly as talented but did the right things night after night to win.”

Some of it, Glavine conceded, may be the price of success and the built-in expectations.

“Since we’ve done it in the past, there’s a natural tendency to expect it to happen again,” he said. “Nothing wrong with that. You want everybody here to think they’re better than everybody else, but you’ve got to make it happen, you can’t just go out each night expecting it to happen.

“It’s a fight that the veteran players have to wage with our young players at times. I mean, just because we’ve won consistently doesn’t make it a God-given right. Some of us remember losing a hundred games in a year.”

The Braves can be expected to make it happen, but there are questions approaching October:

Can Mike Cather and Chad Fox, up from triple A, continue to provide the middle and setup relief that was missing in the first half? Can the inconsistent Klesko and Fred McGriff provide consistent power? Can Tony Graffanino adequately replace injured second baseman Mark Lemke? Can Smoltz regain his 24-win consistency of last year? Can the catalytic Lofton shake the mind-set that has disrupted his aggressiveness since missing nearly six weeks because of a midseason groin pull?

The five-time American League stolen base leader has attempted only 11 second-half steals, making good on four.

“The mind is making me hesitate,” Lofton said. “My body says, ‘You can try it today.’ I take off and my mind says, ‘Watch yourself.’ I’m messed up.”

Not totally. Lofton is batting .345 as the Braves close in on 100 wins.

The Dodgers? They want to win one more than the San Francisco Giants. They have that speed now but must hope that Ramon Martinez’s shoulder holds up, that Hideo Nomo resolves his mechanics and that Todd Worrell finds his form.

It’s never easy, and there were more things to think about than making a statement in this series with the Braves.

“It’s just too early to look ahead,” Piazza said. “We’ve made that mistake before. We have to focus on the division. The Giants are obviously not relenting. It’s going to be a fight.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

HOW THEY COMPARE

Dodgers

RECORD: 81-64

RECORD Before All-Star Break: 45-42

RECORD After All-Star Break: 36-32

Braves

RECORD:90-54

RECORD Before All-Star Break: 57-30

RECORD After All-Star Break: 33-24 *

Dodgers

BATTING AVG.*: .271