DODGERS DEFYING TYPECAST ROLES WHAT YOU EXPECT ISN'T WHAT YOU GET.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

The Dodgers, run by a man who presided over the production of countless blockbuster Hollywood movies, seem almost impossible to typecast into defined roles during this early stretch of the 2001 season.

The speedy leadoff batters have reached base just six times in their 31 combined at-bats. The usually light-hitting No. 2 man has five home runs, tied for the best in baseball. The cast of no-name extras at the bottom of the order helped fuel two double-digit-run games against a tough divisional foe.

But when the plot of this season is played out, the most important characters in the Dodgers' offense will be the three hitters in the middle of the lineup - Gary Sheffield, Eric Karros and Shawn Green - and how well that threesome can complement and protect each other and give the Dodgers' offense some spark.

So far, as the Dodgers head out for the first road trip of the season, beginning tonight at Arizona, the results have been mixed. Sheffield hit a game-winning home run on opening day, and Karros and Green broke free from their poor starts with strong games over the weekend.

Sheffield figures to put up big numbers throughout the season, but the Dodgers will likely need Karros and/or Green to be enough of an offensive threat to protect Sheffield at the No. 3 spot.

``Gary takes a lot of walks, whether he's being pitched around or not, and when he's had his most successful years, he's walked an awful lot,'' Karros said. ``If there are guys on base, they're not going to walk him. If there are guys hitting strong behind him, they're not going to walk him. If there's no place to put him, they're going to have to pitch to him.''

In the first week of the season, manager Jim Tracy rotated Karros and Green in the cleanup spot, with the other batting fifth. Tracy has praised Green's start - ``He's hitting the ball hard and he looks good at the plate,'' the manager said - but Karros and Green don't necessarily believe that Sheffield sees fewer good pitches when the players behind him struggle.

Karros brings up the example of Mike Piazza, who has thrived even though his ``protection'' in the middle of the New York Mets' order is Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile, two players held in much less esteem.

``I think there's a lot made of that,'' Karros said. ``If somebody was getting intentionally walked four times a game it would be a problem. I think a lot of times in baseball your reputation precedes you. Even if you're having a horrible year, that's still so-and-so at the plate.''

Perhaps just as important for the hitters in the middle of the order is the productivity of the guys at the top. Even though Tom Goodwin and Marquis Grissom, the Dodgers' rotating leadoff hitters, struggled through the first seven games, No. 2 hitter Mark Grudzielanek is off to a remarkable start and was a big reason why the Dodgers put up consecutive 10-run games against the Giants last weekend.

``It's important for everybody to get on base,'' Green said. ``Everybody has their own job to do, and it trickles down throughout the lineup. If the leadoff guy or the second guy gets on, it makes it easier for the three and four guys, and it goes that way all through the lineup.''

Karros, who spent the better part of the 1990s hitting behind some questionable leadoff hitters, knows the importance of the guys at the top of the order.

``It's easier to pitch around a guy when there's nobody on,'' Karros said. ``That goes for anywhere in the lineup, not just at the top. So if you want to pick out a certain player, you say, `OK, what are the guys in front of him doing?' If the guys in front of him are getting on, it's tough to pitch around that guy.

``I think offensively we're going to be fine. I think that's kind of what everybody is trying to jump on right now, as far as, `Oh boy, offensively they're really going to struggle, that's going to be their downfall.' Well, we'll see at the end of the year.''

DODGERS vs. ARIZONA

Time: 6:35 p.m., at Bank One Ballpark

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2; 1150-AM

Matchup: The Dodgers play their first road game of the season and get their first look at Kevin Brown, who is recovering from a strained right Achilles tendon. Brown doesn't get an easy first assignment, as he will oppose right-hander Curt Schilling (1-0, 1.29 ERA), who dominated the Dodgers last Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits in seven innings and striking out 12. The Diamondbacks hit Darren Dreifort for six runs in 4 2/3 innings and beat the Dodgers 7-2. This is the start of a nine-game road trip that will also take the Dodgers to San Diego and San Francisco.

- Rich Hammond

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DODGERS vs. ARIZONA (see text)