ARBITER ARRIVES TO HEAR CASES ORDER OF FIRST SUSPENSIONS SET; DODGERS OBJECT TO ROBINSON'S HANDLING.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

One day after 16 Dodgers players, three coaches and the bullpen catcher were suspended and fined, the issue remains far from resolved.

Paul Beeston, chief operating officer of Major League Baseball, is expected to arrive in Los Angeles next week to begin an appeals process that could last a month. A high-ranking Dodgers official said he believed each appeal would be handled as a separate case rather than in an all-encompassing investigation.

The players union is handling the appeals of the players while the Dodgers appealed the penalties of the coaches and bullpen catcher Travis Barbary.

It used to be Major League Baseball would wait for teams to go to New York to hear appeals, but that has changed. Baseball is taking an active approach this season to hearing appeals, wanting to do so within 10 days of the suspension date.

That means the Dodgers scheduled to begin their suspensions Wednesday - catcher Chad Kreuter (eight games), pitchers Antonio Osuna (three) and Darren Dreifort (three), first-base coach John Shelby (eight) and Barbary (five) - would have their cases heard first.

That would be followed in the order in which Frank Robinson, Major League Baseball's vice president of on-field operations, set up the suspensions.

Pitchers Chan Ho Park (three) and Alan Mills (three) were scheduled to serve their suspensions May 28, left fielder Gary Sheffield (five) was May 30, pitcher Terry Adams (three) was May 31, bullpen coach Rick Dempsey (eight) was June 3, pitcher Carlos Perez (five) was June 4, utility outfielder F.P. Santangelo (five) and first baseman Eric Karros (three) were June 5, outfielder Shawn Green (three) was June 8, pitcher Eric Gagne (three) was June 9 and outfielder Geronimo Berroa (three) and third-base coach Glenn Hoffman (eight) were June 11.

Right-hander Mike Fetters (four) is on the disabled list, and lefty Onan Masaoka (three) was sent to the minors Monday, so neither had a suspension date. Both were to be determined.

Not only were the Dodgers unhappy about the number of suspensions and fines totaling 89 games and $77,000, they were displeased Robinson decided on which date players would serve their suspensions.

Though the suspensions were staggered so no more than three players would miss games at a time, the Dodgers contend they should be able to decide when players sit.

``The rules say the commissioner or the league presidents, when they were in place, will mandate when the suspensions start,'' Robinson said. ``It's never been up to the team. (The Dodgers) are not very accurate in their facts. All I'll tell you is the league, the office of the commissioner, dictates when suspensions are served.

``(The setting of the suspension dates) has been done over the course of time. (The Dodgers) do not decide what day players serve (their suspensions).''

But the Dodgers say this is different because of the number of players suspended, which is believed to be the highest total in baseball history.

``When you're talking about 16 players, you are now managing the team,'' said Derrick Hall, Dodgers senior vice president of communications. ``This is a completely different situation. You're not talking about two or three people, we're talking about over 60 percent of our roster.''

When the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox brawled late last month, Robinson handed down stiff suspensions in which several players appealed. But Beeston reduced the time of only two suspensions, cutting Detroit's Rob Fick's from five to four games and Tigers coach Juan Samuel from 15 to 10 games.

But the Dodgers and the players association believe there is a chance for suspension reductions because they think the punishments were handed down in a blanket ruling.

``No. 1, anybody that went into the stands drew a suspension,'' Robinson said. ``The severity of it depended on what they did. If they were aggressive, they got more time. If it was a player who didn't go into the stands, but they were being aggressive, they were suspended.

``Quite a few stayed on the (the bullpen bench) and on the top of the wall, but they weren't being aggressive, so they didn't get anything.''

The suspensions are a result of the May 16 melee between Dodgers players and fans at Wrigley Field. It began when Kreuter was allegedly hit in the back of the head by a fan while seated in the Dodgers' bullpen along the right-field line. The fan then stole Kreuter's cap, and the catcher went into the stands to retrieve it.

Kreuter told Robinson during the investigation that on his way out of the stands he was hit repeatedly by several other fans. The rest of the Dodgers hurried over to the stands and the incident lasted nine minutes.

DODGERS VS. PHILADELPHIA

Time: 7:10 p.m., at Dodger Stadium.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2; 1150-AM, KWKW-AM (1330 Spanish).

Matchup: The Phillies make their first trip to Chavez Ravine as these teams meet for the first time this season. Off day and inclement weather have forced the Dodgers to juggle their rotation much of the month, but in this case Thursday's scheduled day of inactivity means right-hander Kevin Brown (3-1, 2.41 ERA) pitches the series opener against right-hander Paul Byrd (1-3, 7.75). Brown threw a complete-game victory in his last outing, a bombing of Florida. Brown's ERA is the lowest on the Dodgers and despite missing two weeks to injury he leads the team with 48 strikeouts. Saturday: Darren Dreifort (3-1, 3.33) vs. Robert Person (4-2, 3.24); Sunday: Carlos Perez (4-2, 5.74) vs. Randy Wolf (3-2, 4.50).

- Brian Dohn

CAPTION(S):

box

Box: Dodgers vs. Philadelphia (see text)