DEJA BLUE DODGERS' CHANGES MIGHT BE MORE OF THE SAME.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

A new day is dawning at Dodger Stadium. Or at least that's what they want you to think.

There is a new owner, who has made no secret of his desire not only to revive the Dodgers' great tradition, but to improve upon it. There is a new general manager, who comes from a few hundred miles up the coast, where he worked in a front office that for years was maligned for trying to reinvent the wheel, right up until they actually managed to do it.

The question, then, becomes this: Has anything really changed?

The Dodgers scored 574 runs last season, the lowest in the majors, and they batted .243, the worst in the National League. All of which explains what otherwise would be inexplicable, that being, how a team with a collective ERA (3.16) almost half a run better than anyone else in baseball didn't get into the postseason.

The Dodgers went into the winter with an obvious need to add offense, and the fact they didn't add much of it wasn't for a lack of trying by former general manager Dan Evans. Pushes were made to sign free agent Vladimir Guerrero, who eventually went to the Angels; to acquire Magglio Ordonez, who to this day remains with the Chicago White Sox; and to obtain Nomar Garciaparra, who at last report was still slugging away in Beantown.

Ultimately, though, the pending ownership change, the absence of approval from above and his own refusal to part with pitching prospects Edwin Jackson and Greg Miller prevented Evans from getting either Guerrero or Ordonez. The failure of Boston and Texas to reach a deal for Alex Rodriguez stonewalled the Garciaparra deal.

And so, here the Dodgers are, poised to begin another season with a pitching staff that might or might not be as good after shedding Kevin Brown and Paul Quantrill and taking on Jeff Weaver and an offense whose major addition, Juan Encarnacion, never has hit 20 home runs and never has driven in 100 runs.

Paul DePodesta, the guy new owner Frank McCourt hired to replace Evans after buying the team in February, says he is happy with the roster, one that he didn't put together but that he did slightly tweak late in spring training.

``I think we have tremendous depth of pitching,'' he said. ``And when you have that, I think it gives you a chance. What we're trying to do now is assemble a versatile offensive team where we can take advantage of matchups and try to get the most out of what we have.''

DePodesta, a protege of Oakland GM Billy Beane and that whole ``Moneyball'' thing, believes he has taken the first steps toward adding that versatility by acquiring Jason Grabowski from Beane's A's and Jayson Werth from Toronto, where GM J.P. Ricciardi is another former Beane sidekick. There will be many more deals in the future, big and small - DePodesta has a five-year contract - but if the new GM thinks the way Evans did, on an urgent need to obtain an impact hitter for the middle of the lineup, he isn't saying it.

McCourt, who warned three weeks ago against looking at the acquisition of one power hitter as a ``panacea,'' isn't saying it either.

So, for better or worse, the Dodgers will open the season with an aging Robin Ventura at first base, defensively gifted but offensively challenged Alex Cora and Cesar Izturis up the middle and Adrian Beltre, who has moved to the three hole and will have to carry more of the load, at third; Encarnacion in left, Dave Roberts in center and Shawn Green in right; Paul Lo Duca, who also can play first or left, behind the plate; and for some mind-boggling, logic-defying reason known only to manager Jim Tracy, backup catcher David Ross on the bench.

Ross is the guy who has 11 major-league homers in 134 career at-bats. Lo Duca is the guy who can play two other positions but whom Tracy feels is too valuable to the pitching staff to move.

All in all, it isn't exactly a formula for fireworks. Which means, once again, that the pitching staff will have to carry this club. And when you consider that, you must also consider the odds that this pitching staff can repeat its performance of a year ago.

``I think our pitching is going to have to be near the top of the league,'' DePodesta said. ``I'm not saying I think it has to be number one in the league by half a run again, but we certainly need to be near the top. That's certainly the strength of our team. But I do think the offense has improved. I really believe we're going to score more runs than we did last year.''

The Dodgers went 60-17 last season when scoring four or more runs. They went 25-60 when scoring three or fewer. It adds up to 85-77, which was good enough for second place but bad enough to leave a 15-game gap between the Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

By all accounts, the division is weaker this year. The Giants will open the season without Robb Nen (disabled list), Benito Santiago (signed with Kansas City), Jose Cruz Jr. (signed with Tampa Bay) and Rich Aurilia (signed with Seattle). The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired Richie Sexson in a major trade with Milwaukee, but they also traded Curt Schilling to Boston. San Diego signed David Wells, traded for Terrence Long and has a jewel of a new, downtown ballpark, but the Padres finished 36 1/2 games out last year. And the Colorado Rockies, well, they're still the Colorado Rockies.

All of which means that while 85 victories probably won't be enough to win the West, and while the West probably isn't strong enough to produce a wild card, 88 to 90 wins might be enough in 2004. Although the Dodgers went a respectable 26-23 in one-run games, those 23 losses were glaring, because the Dodgers were 10 well-placed runs shy of winning 90 games and 30 shy of winning 100.

Every other team in baseball, including those 119-loss Detroit Tigers, scored at least 30 more runs than the Dodgers.

There will be injuries, roster moves and various adjustments. Ultimately, Tracy might decide he needs Ross in the everyday lineup, or that Jolbert Cabrera's potent bat is more important than Cora's velvet glove. But already, while not mentioning the departed Brown or Brian Jordan or Andy Ashby by name, Tracy has said he sees more cohesion and professionalism this year, and that those factors tend to correlate to what takes place on the field.

It is clear that things have changed atop Chavez Ravine. What isn't clear is exactly what that means.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 3 boxes

Photo:

Versatile Dodgers catch Paul Lo Duca (left) will aslo play first base and left field to help keep him fresh for the stretch run.

Rick Silva/Associated Press

Box:

(1) DODGERS AT A GLANCE

(2) TOP OF THE ORDER

(3) 2004 DODGERS SCHEDULE