BELTRE'S STAR HASN'T RISEN.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

The problem with ``potential'' is that even though the word is intended as a compliment, it can feel like an albatross to the recipient if that potential goes unfulfilled for too long.

Nobody in baseball would suggest that Adrian Beltre, at the tender age of 23, is washed up or that he has no future in the major leagues. However, his poor play since the start of last season has left many to wonder when, or if, his breakthrough will take place.

``The guy has got so much talent, it's ungodly almost,'' Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca said. ``The potential is there, but I think he's trying too hard to reach that potential instead of just letting it happen. But one of these days he's going to be a superstar, he's got that much talent.''

That much has never been in question. Beltre has been touted as a future star since he joined the Dodgers as a rookie in 1998 but now is on pace for perhaps the worst season of his brief career.

In spring training, Beltre, fully recovered from a botched appendectomy that hindered him last year, was expected to break through this season. Teammates called him a ``five-tool player'' and predicted 40-home run, 30-stolen base seasons.

Instead, Beltre is batting .244 and has hit six home runs with far more strikeouts (40) than RBI (26) through 68 games entering today's series-opening game against Toronto.

The Dodgers can bury Beltre's bat in the order, as manager Jim Tracy did by dropping him to the eighth spot in the lineup last weekend, but they can't hide his glove. Beltre is tied for the National League lead with 11 errors at third base.

That goes against Tracy's baseball philosophy, the idea that a player's performance at the plate shouldn't affect his play in the field. Certainly, Beltre, whom Tracy once called a potential Gold Glove candidate, should be fielding better.

``There are two segments of the game,'' Dodgers general manager Dan Evans said, ``and you can't let your effort in the field slide, regardless of what happens at the plate.

``(Shortstop) Cesar Izturis had some struggles at the plate earlier in the season, but he remained outstanding in the field.''

It's difficult to say exactly what Beltre is feeling because he hasn't spoken to reporters for more than a week. Tracy and Evans have issued public support for Beltre and said there are no plans to replace him at third base, but there is concern.

``We will need him to hit in order for us to have a really good season,'' Evans said.

Tracy has said twice in the past week that ``we need this guy.'' And every day, Beltre's production seems to decrease.

An 11-game hitting streak elevated Beltre's average to .312 on May 4, but that figure has dropped 55 points over the subsequent month and Beltre has three hits in 27 at-bats in his past nine games.

That earned him a demotion to the eighth spot in the lineup for last weekend's games against the Angels and he'll probably stay there for now.

``I think Tracy is trying to challenge him, not let him slide on this and bring the best out of him,'' second baseman Mark Grudzielanek said. ``I don't think that's asking too much, because the guy is capable of great things.''

Tracy, ever the optimist, said the lineup change was not a form of punishment but a chance for Beltre to work out his problems without benching him.

Plus, it's not as if an overflow of candidates are waiting to replace Beltre at third. The most likely choice, Dave Hansen, is hitting .213, and Tracy said he doesn't want to use Hiram Bocachica at third because he's unfamiliar with the position.

Beltre has a powerful but undisciplined swing that lends itself to strikeouts and he remains impatient at the plate. Tracy said he sees specific mechanical problems in Beltre's swing that can be corrected.

``I just want to give him an opportunity to get himself going again offensively,'' Tracy said. ``You do whatever you can to create the best environment for your hitters and give him a chance to get himself out of it. Just let him be there and let him do his thing.

``I know what it's like to go through what he's going through, I know what it's like to go through what Shawn Green went through earlier in the year. ... He'll work through it.''

However, even Tracy must acknowledge the difference between Green, who hit 49 home runs in 2001 but struggled for most of the first two months this season, and Beltre, who has yet to prove himself a top-flight hitter in the majors.

Beltre made the jump from Double-A for half of the 1998 season and earned the starting job at age 19 in 1999.

His breakthrough appeared to come in 2000, when he hit the ball particularly well in the second half of the season and finished with 20 home runs and 85 RBI. Then came the botched surgery that left him weak going into 2001 spring training and he had a mediocre season.

The sight of a healthy, confident Beltre in spring training gave teammates hope that he could finally reach his potential and give the Dodgers a strong bat in the middle of a batting order that had questionable power.

``I think even me, and the rest of his teammates, we put a little too much pressure on him,'' Lo Duca said. ``We all know he has the potential to be a 40-home run guy, but he just needs to go out there and be himself and good things will happen for him.

``He's 23 years old, a lot of people his age are still in college, so that's pretty phenomenal, when you consider that I think he's handling it pretty well.''

Beltre's age and flashes of brilliance at the plate have given the Dodgers reason to show patience and confidence.

He has plenty of time to establish himself as an All-Star third baseman, but with the Dodgers battling Arizona for first place in the National League West, they'd like to see that potential realized sooner rather than later.

``A lot of people forget that he was promoted out of Double-A and he's still a young guy,'' Evans said. ``Between Jim Tracy (and Dodgers coaches) Jack Clark and Manny Mota, they're going to get him through this tough spot.

``I'd be concerned if he didn't have this coaching staff to help him get through it, but I'm confident he will be fine.''

DODGERS vs. TORONTO

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

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

Matchup: Dodgers RH Andy Ashby (6-5, 2.87 ERA) has won four of his past five starts but makes his first career appearance against Toronto. Blue Jays RH Roy Hallady (7-3, 3.40 ERA) leads Toronto starters in victories and ERA but allowed five runs in 6 1/3 innings in his last start Wednesday. Raul Mondesi returns to Dodger Stadium for the first time since the trade that sent him to the Blue Jays in exchange for Shawn Green. Mondesi has 41 RBI in 66 games but is hitting just .218; Green is hitting .289 with 20 home runs and 52 RBI. Wednesday - Dodgers LH Kazuhisa Ishii (10-2, 3.61 ERA) vs. Toronto RH Justin Miller (4-3, 5.81 ERA); Thursday - Dodgers LH Odalis Perez (7-3, 2.62 ERA) vs. Toronto RH Esteban Loaiza (3-3, 4.75 ERA).

- Rich Hammond

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) ADRIAN BELTRE

(2) Touted as a future star, the Dodgers' Adrian Beltre has failed to live up to his potential, hitting just .244.

Krista Niles/Associated Press

Box:

DODGERS vs. TORONTO (see text)