DODGERS NOTEBOOK: DODGERS STILL LOOKING FOR ARMS DEAL.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

PITTSBURGH - Even though right-hander Eric Gagne has pitched well since his latest call-up from the minor leagues, the Dodgers are shopping him in hopes of getting a veteran starter in return.

However, while they continue discussions with a number of teams regarding several possibilities, sources said the Dodgers aren't close to acquiring a veteran to help one of the youngest starting rotations in baseball.

But Dodgers interim general manager Dave Wallace and his top assistant, Dan Evans, continue to pursue trade options.

``(The Dodgers) are not pushing the panic button and not rushing to judgment on any given situation because it's obvious that this guy (Gagne), like Luke (Prokopec), is starting to get it,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``I said this earlier at the time we had to send him out (to the minors), that, ya know, some guys come quicker than others.

``Some guys take longer. In his case, he's been a little bit longer maybe than (we) would like to have seen, but I keep going back. I keep going back to that situation I witnessed in Montreal with Javier Vazquez. That wasn't an overnight success. That took a little bit of time and he's become a pretty damn good pitcher.

``To me, I just feel like you put yourself in a situation where you're looking at having a guy for a short period of time and not knowing whether he's going to be around for the long term, and the price that pay to do that ... do you put yourself in that position? I don't know about that, especially when you see the guys doing the job that they're doing.''

The Dodgers continue to scout Colorado right-hander Pedro Astacio, who allowed three runs in eight innings in losing to Oakland on Tuesday, but many of the Dodgers' decision-makers aren't high on him because of his inconsistency, a $9 million option next season and an asking price that is much too high. Astacio is 6-11 with a 5.14 ERA.

According to officials from other teams, among the other starting pitchers the Dodgers have discussed are San Diego's Sterling Hitchcock and Woody Williams, Toronto's Joey Hamilton and Esteban Loaiza, Pittsburgh's Jason Schmidt, the Chicago White Sox's James Baldwin and Kansas City's Jeff Suppan.

But the Dodgers are trying to make a trade without giving up Gagne, or young pitching. Instead, they're trying to make a trade using low-level position-player prospects to make a deal for a No. 3-type starter. Gagne has turned heads by allowing three runs in his last 15 innings.

--Farm director fired: Jerry Weinstein, director of player personnel since the end of the 1999 season, was fired.

Weinstein met with Wallace recently and asked if he was in the Dodgers' plans. Wallace said he was but not in the same position. Wallace added he told Weinstein the organization had a lesser position for him, but Weinstein said he wasn't interested. At that, he was fired.

``Basically, a few weeks ago I talked to Jerry and he asked me to be honest with him and up front with him,'' Wallace said. ``I didn't think Jerry was a fit in that position.''

Wallace, who oversees minor-league development among other things, said he has no interest in the job once he's done with his interim general manager duties. He added that Joe Vavra, who was a long-time member of the organization before leaving to be a college coach in Wisconsin, will run the day-to-day operations for the minor leagues. Vavra rejoined the organization a few months ago.

--Springer to start: The Dodgers will purchase the contract of former Angels knuckleballer Dennis Springer and start him against the Rockies on Friday at Coors Field. It's a shift in the original plans, but it keeps lefty Jeff Williams in the bullpen, where Tracy feels he's a bigger asset to provide protection for Jesse Orosco.

``I feel very strongly about the fact that I wanted to keep this bullpen intact,'' Tracy said. ``There's just too many positive things going on down there where guys are complementing one another.''

Springer, 36, is 4-5 with a 4.23 ERA at Triple-A Las Vegas. He's pitched with five teams since making his major-league debut in 1995. He's 23-46 with a 5.23 ERA in his career.

Tracy said the Dodgers will place right-hander Kevin Brown on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Monday) today and shift right-hander Darren Dreifort to the 60-day disabled list.

DODGERS vs. MILWAUKEE

Time: 7:05 p.m., at Dodger Stadium.

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

Matchup: The Dodgers fly 2,500 miles for two games against the Brewers before going back on the road for six games. RH Chan Ho Park (8-6, 3.20 ERA) will make his first start since getting rocked by Oakland. He allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings. Park's worst outing in 47 starts ended a streak of 15 consecutive quality starts. Brewers RH Allen Levrault (4-3, 5.05) is 3-3 with a 5.72 ERA in 10 starts this season.

- Brian Dohn

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DODGERS vs. MILWAUKEE (see text)