A PRODIGIOUS RETURN AND ALL IS FORGIVEN.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

Well, it's settled now, if the spring-training controversy wasn't settled already. Never again will Gary Sheffield ask the Dodgers to trade him.

After what happened on opening day at Dodger Stadium, he must realize there will never be a happier home than Los Angeles for a self-centered baseball player with a knack for talking his way into trouble. All Sheffield has to do is hit a home run every game.

He hit a long one Monday to give the Dodgers and pitcher Chan Ho Park a 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, and 53,154 fans responded as if Sheffield had never issued his pay-me-or-trade-me demand, never ripped his bosses and teammates and never intimated he was too distracted to play his best.

``Anything's possible,'' Sheffield said after the game, as if he, too, couldn't believe how it turned out.

Sheffield was booed when the Dodgers lineup was introduced a few minutes before the first pitch and booed the first three times he came to the plate. It wasn't as loud as he deserved, but it was louder than the jeers at the exhibition games Friday and Saturday.

Then, leading off the sixth inning against Brewers right-hander Jamey Wright, he crushed a 1-and-0 fastball over the center-field wall, a line drive officially estimated at a muscular 439 feet. The fans jumped to their feet and gave Sheffield a standing ovation as he circled the bases.

In Philadelphia, they might have booed anyway. In Chicago, they might have thrown the ball back. But here, they love a plot with a Hollywood twist, a tale of redemption and forgiveness.

When he got back to the dugout, the fans chanted, ``Gary! Gary! Gary!,'' and demanded a curtain call. Sheffield, who earlier claimed he's so ``focused'' during a game that ``I really don't hear anything,'' bounded up the steps and tipped his cap to the stands.

``The way these people responded speaks volumes,'' said new Dodgers manager Jim Tracy, ``about the way they love this baseball team.''

It also speaks volumes about the mindset of Dodgers fans as the 2001 season begins.

The Dodgers haven't played in a World Series since 1988. Haven't won so much as a playoff game in those 12 years. Haven't had a Most Valuable Player or a Cy Young Award winner since Kirk Gibson and Orel Hershiser. Fans are starved for the kind of success they got used to in the decades when the Dodgers never went more than eight years between pennants or major awards.

They just want to win, and who makes it happen doesn't matter. That's good news for general manager Kevin Malone, CEO Bob Daly and Fox - if the team wins, you, too, will be off the hook.

While Park and two relievers pitched a shutout, Sheffield played a nearly perfect game Monday.

He ran to the left-field foul pole to catch a Geoff Jenkins fly ball for the third out of the first inning, coming away limping after banging his right knee on an unpadded portion of the short fence.

He might have caught Jeffrey Hammonds' two-out double in the fourth but played it off the wall neatly and threw a bull's-eye to make the play close at second base.

And in four times at bat, he walked twice, singled to center and hit his first opening-day homer in 14 major-league seasons.

``I wouldn't have wanted to be in his spot,'' said Mike Fetters, the first Dodgers reliever. ``When I heard them boo, I felt sick to my stomach. I wouldn't have been able to go out and play. But Gary Sheffield can do that.''

Truth be told, the fans were kind, beginning before noon during the shameless public-relations stunt in which Dodgers players and coaches greeted customers at the turnstiles for nearly 15 minutes.

``Thanks for staying,'' a woman said to Sheffield, who stood next to Manny Mota at the left-field field-level gate and stoically handed fans souvenir towels with ``Opening Day 2001'' logos.

Most fans looked surprised to see the guys in Dodgers uniforms, especially Sheffield, and simply said, ``Thanks.''

Others were more generous: ``We still love you.'' ``Welcome home.'' ``Have a great year.''

One woman pulled her mother away from Sheffield and grumbled, ``We don't want his towel.''

Tom Reinken of Irvine blew past Sheffield without taking the rag.

``First, I don't particularly need a towel,'' Reinken said as he walked away. ``I have real mixed emotions about Sheffield now. I just want him to go out there and keep his mouth shut.''

But, Reinken said, ``I have no reason to boo him. He's settled it. Daly and Malone have settled it. Let's play. It's opening day. It's beautiful. Everyone's semi-optimistic about the season.''

Sheffield later said, ``I didn't hear one negative thing. It helped me relax and enjoy the game.''

Coached by team officials and agent Scott Boras, Sheffield was saying all the right things.

--``L.A. is a great team. I enjoy myself here. Hopefully, it'll be a great marriage.''

--``We need the fans' support to get to the World Series.''

--``I understand the fans' frustrations.''

--``My teammates are there for me. I just want to be there for them.''

--``It was a big day for our team.''

--``The bottom line is to win.''

That's the bottom line, all right. Sheffield and the fans proved it on opening day.