DODGERS NOTEBOOK: OUTFIELDER UPBEAT DESPITE LOSING CASE.

Byline: Matt McHale Daily News Staff Writer

Todd Hollandsworth was all smiles Friday afternoon, surprising for a guy who just lost his salary arbitration case.

The usually intense Hollandsworth was downright chatty after participating in his first workout with the Dodgers. He arrived here at 4 a.m. and was on the field by 10, a much different environment than the one he faced at his hearing in Phoenix.

``I'm not saying I liked losing, but watching the process was pretty interesting,'' said Hollandsworth, who was awarded the Dodgers figure of $700,000 rather than the $1.15 million he was seeking. ``It's weird having your team on the other side of the argument. But I'd do it again. This is my livelihood. But there definitely are no hard feelings.''

Not from a player who tried to double his 1997 salary despite driving in just 31 runs and playing only 106 games due to injuries and inconsistency. Hollandsworth was even demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque for 13 games.

The only thing Hollandsworth, 24, wanted to think about Friday was regaining the form that led him to the 1996 National League Rookie of the Year Award. That season he batted .291 with 12 homers and 21 stolen bases. He hit .310 in September.

``There is no reason he can't get back there,'' manager Bill Russell said. ``In fact we are counting on it. It's hard to stay at the level he played at two years ago. But he's the only left-handed bat we have in the lineup and his production is going to be important.''

Hollandsworth injured his right knee early in the season during a collision with teammate Eric Anthony. On Aug. 1, he fractured his right elbow at the plate in Chicago and missed more than a month. But much of the enthusiasm that marked his 1996 season was gone. His bat speed was missing and there was little pop at the plate.

Hollandsworth's arbitration case was based primarily on his 1996 performance. The Dodgers hadn't gone to arbitration since 1987 with Orel Hershiser. They did so with Hollandsworth because the two sides were $450,000 apart and neither wanted to settle at the midpoint - as is often the case.

``It was a business decision, not punishment for last season,'' Dodgers executive vice president Fred Claire said. ``We looked at the numbers and didn't see the possibility of a settlement.''

Despite playing only two full seasons, Hollandsworth was eligible for arbitration because he received a year of service time in 1995. He played only 41 games with the Dodgers and went on the disabled list twice, with a fractured right thumb and right hand.

Arbitrator James Gross was required to make a decision within 48 hours, but he came back less than 24 hours later in favor of the club.

Most arbitration figures are based on players with the same service time and comparable performance.

Last season, Philadelphia shortstop Kevin Stockier earned $890,000 for his third year. Oakland's Brent Gates made $810,000, San Diego's Chris Gomez $850,000, Florida's Kurt Abbott $650,000.

``The only thing that matters now is playing injury free and getting this team to the World Series,'' Hollandsworth said. ``(Thursday) was offseason stuff. Now the fun begins.''

SPRING TRAINING '98

DODGERS

FACT: Crowds are down for the workouts at Dodgertown. Once the only team north of West Palm Beach on Florida's East Coast, the Dodgers now compete with the Florida Marlins, who are based an hour north in Viera, and the Mets, 45 minutes south in Port St. Lucie. After 51 years in St. Petersburg, the St. Louis Cardinals moved to Jupiter, 1-1/2 hours south of Vero Beach. Montreal also moved from West Palm to Jupiter. The Dodgers play 17 of their 27 Florida exhibition games against these four teams.

NOTES: Third baseman Todd Zeile will miss Monday's workout to shoot a television commercial in Orlando. Spike Lee will produce, direct and appear in the commercial for New Era baseball caps, which also will include the New York Mets' Todd Hundley and Bernard Gilkey, Philadelphia's Scott Rolen and Atlanta's Mark Wohlers. Hundley, who was expected most of the 1998 season after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery, now says he will be back by the All-Star break.

QUOTE: ``He is a veteran who can still play and he has been in big games during his career. We've liked what we've seen so far, but we'll see what he has left,'' manager Bill Russell said of Mike Devereaux, whose 11-year career began with the Dodgers in 1987. ``He went to winter ball (Venezuela) looking to get a job and he might have found one.''

ANGELS

FACT: Cecil Fielder arrived in camp at Tempe, Ariz. for the first day of full workouts expressing high expectations for himself and his new team. The memories of a disappointing 1997 season with the New York Yankees behind him, Fielder vowed to return to the form that made him one of the most prolific home run hitters in the game from 1990-96 and help the Angels reach the playoffs. ``Last year was very difficult for me,'' he said. ``I asked for a trade and was hoping it would come, but it never did. I got booed on opening day in New York after hitting .391 in the World Series. I spent two months on the disabled list after injuring my thumb. It was a season to forget.''

NOTES: The Angels agreed to terms on a one-year contract with right-handed pitcher Pep Harris. The 6-foot-2 reliever was 5-4 with a 3.62 ERA. His 61 appearances were the fourth highest among rookies in Angels history while total relief appearances rank third. . . . Manager Terry Collins was a little upset with the damp, rainy conditions for the first day of practice but managed to get his team outside for a few hours to begin working on the basics. ``Last year we had one day of rain all spring; this year it has rained every day since we've been here,'' Collins said.

QUOTE: ``We felt we needed somebody in the middle to hit behind Tim Salmon and carry some of the load,'' Collins said about Fielder. ``There's no reason for us to think that he can't be productive.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: HOLLANDSWORTH

Box: SPRING TRAINING '98 (See Text)