DODGERS NOTEBOOK: UMPS GIVE GUERRERO BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT.

Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer

It figures that Dodgers second baseman Wilton Guerrero, just back from an eight-game suspension for using a corked bat, will be under close scrutiny by umpiring crews and opposing managers for a while. Especially if he should flick his wrists and send one to the wall.

But Terry Tata, chief of the umpiring crew that worked the Dodgers-Astros series, said Wednesday, ``We don't have any premeditated feeling about whether he's using one.''

Tata explained that a league directive allows umpires to inspect a bat once per game per hitter, before or after an at-bat - never during.

A suspicious bat may be confiscated, but in a player's home park, where there can be concerns about the security of the umpires' room, sometimes storage can be a problem. One umpire, Tata said with a chuckle, taped one such bat to the backstop so he could keep an eye on it.

Tata, not surprisingly, takes a dim view of the practice of corking. ``It's stupid,'' he said. ``If you break your bat, you're going to get caught red-handed. You're really rolling the dice.''

Missed opportunity: Dodgers left fielder Billy Ashley, whose infrequent starting opportunities are limited to when opponents use left-handed pitchers, had to be removed from the lineup just before game time because of stiffness in his neck and upper back. Thus, he missed a crack at lefty Mike Hampton, who brought a 5.87 ERA into the game.

Short-lived experiment: Third baseman Todd Zeile was moved out of the No. 2 batting slot after a four-game trial. Zeile batted .292 with two home runs while positioned there.

Manager Bill Russell's rationale was two-fold: the desire to get Guerrero's speed up high in the batting order and the need to have a productive bat behind catcher Mike Piazza.

DH designs: Four consecutive games in American League parks, beginning tonight in Oakland, will give Russell a welcome opportunity to rest Piazza, who has been taking a beating behind the plate.

Of the opportunity to position Piazza in the designated-hitter spot, Russell said, ``Usually, managers rotate catchers. We don't have that luxury because of how important his bat is to our lineup.''

In a pinch: In the wake of tiffs with starting pitchers Ismael Valdes and Pedro Astacio after yanking them for pinch hitters, Russell also figures to welcome the DH for other reasons. ``If (starters) are pitching well, and you're in the seventh inning of a close game, you let them stay out there,'' he said. ``You don't have to worry about that.''