With Roberts Hurt, They Can’t Take It From Top

Saturday night’s first pitch came steaming toward home plate and Dave Roberts squared around to stop it, silence it, answer it.

The bunt trickled foul.

Saturday’s third pitch came flying toward the plate and Roberts squared around to make a statement, set a tone, steal a hit.

The bunt rolled directly into the first baseman’s mitt.

Last season, Roberts sprinted into the hearts of Dodger fans eager to celebrate their first true leadoff hitter in a decade.

On Saturday night at Edison Field, he trudged into the grasp of Manager Jim Tracy, who threw an arm over a shoulder to offer counsel, a career .249 hitter now teaching hitting, and heaven help us all.

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If it seems as though the Dodger batting order has been stumbling through the first half of the season as if its head has been cut off

That head is leadoff-hitting Dave Roberts, who, hampered by a hamstring injury, has struggled to repeat those wonderful little things that last year either inspired or shamed the Dodgers into fruitful imitation.

“It’s so frustrating,� Roberts said quietly. “On a team that doesn’t need to score a lot of runs, for me not to get things going for us, it’s very hard.�

To the shortcomings of Shawn Green and Adrian Beltre, to the injuries suffered by Brian Jordan and Fred McGriff, add the pained struggle of the little guy who bats in front of all of them.

“It’s taken us years to find a leadoff hitter who understands the role like Dave does,� said Jack Clark, the Dodger batting coach. “When we lose him, we lose a lot.�

Saturday’s eyesore of a 3-1 loss to the Angels was about another raggedy lineup that General Manager Dan Evans must address, and another wasted mid-inning threat that only the Dodger hitters can fix.

But, as much as anything, it was another postcard from a player on the edge.

Leading off the first inning, Roberts bunted Kevin Appier’s third pitch to Scott Spiezio.

“I’ve had five bunts this year that could have been hits if my timing could have been better,� Roberts explained before the game. “That’s five runs that could have meant wins.�

With a runner on first and two out in the third inning, Robert popped to second baseman Benji Gil, his fourth out in the air in his last five at-bats.

“Fly balls? That’s not me, that’s not me,� Roberts said. “I have to hit the ball on the ground.�

In the fifth inning, with runners on first and third and two out, he impatiently knocked a 2-and-1 pitch directly to shortstop David Eckstein, a gift from one struggling leadoff hitter to another.

Last year, maybe he draws a walk against Appier, or grounds that ball into the hole.

“His game is a one-dimensional game, and when that’s not happening

When that’s not happening, one need only look at the statistics and standings to calculate the damage.

Remember the guy who would battle the pitcher like Brett Butler once did?

Before Saturday, Roberts ranked 15th among 20 National League leadoff hitters in on-base percentage (.326) while his team ranked last in the major leagues (.308).

Not coincidentally, the top NL’s two leadoff hitters in that category -- Ray Durham and Marquis Grissom -- both play for the San Francisco Giants.

And remember the guy who batted .277 while slapping the opponents silly like Maury Wills once did?

This year he is hitting only .248, at least 60 points fewer than either Durham (.315) or Grissom (.308).

And please, no jokes about how the Dodgers are paying Grissom more than they are paying Roberts.

Of course, they are doing just that, shelling out $1 million to their former leadoff hitter while paying $400,000 to their current one.

That’s both as crazy and as understandable as the chant that arose in the ninth inning Saturday from the fans at Edison Field: “Beat L.A. Beat L.A.�

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Dave Roberts said it felt like someone had stuck him with a knife.

Someone did just that, figuratively, to the Dodger attack on April 25 in Pittsburgh, when Roberts strained his hamstring running to first base on a leadoff bunt to pitcher Kip Wells.

“I was safe, I was off to a good start, everything was great,� said Roberts. “Then it all start going the other way.�

He jogged to the outfield before realizing he could barely run. The next morning he had difficulty bending over to put on his pants.

He missed a week, amazingly stole two bases in his first game back, but then went on the disabled list for 15 days when his leg worsened.

When he returned to the lineup June 1, he realized the sore leg would never fully heal this summer. He also realized he didn’t have a choice.

“The injury took away my best weapon, my legs,� he said. “But everybody plays through pain and I will play through this. I can make it work.�

But will Evans give him time to make it work? Jordan’s injury has now made a trade a necessity -- anyone else notice those three bench players who started Saturday? -- and this could involve Roberts.

Even though he’s not 100%, Roberts is still a rarity, a born leadoff hitter who comes relatively cheap ($400,000), and some teams have been asking for him in trade talks that will soon be boiling.

You want our cannon? Give us your squirt gun.

Evans, who will probably also have to trade one of the Dodger relievers to acquire a power hitter, must decide whether to pull that second trigger.

Roberts hopes he doesn’t. Considering even a rebuilt Dodger offense needs his style at the top, here’s hoping Evans agrees with him.

“This is my kind of offense, it fits me, I fit it, I love it here,� said Roberts, a leadoff hitter struggling to lead, atop a lineup struggling to follow.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at [email protected].