PEREZ PLEASED WITH OVERHAUL, HONESTLY.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

Having dumped their October heroes, broken up baseball's surest-handed infield, lost the major-league home runs leader, laid plans to trade an old 40-homers man, and tinkered with the ballpark's pleasing contours,the Dodgers made their riskiest move of the winter Monday.

They handed a live microphone to Odalis Perez in a room of reporters seeking reaction to the Dodgers' roster shakeup.

As we learned a couple of seasons back when Perez was asked about the Dodgers offense, the pitcher is in the habit of saying exactly what's on his mind.

``To be honest, I'm honest,'' is how Perez explains himself. ``This might be my problem.''

So it should come as a relief to his Dodgers employers - and a source of encouragement to the club's shell-shocked fans - that Perez likes what the front office is doing this offseason.

Steve Finley, Jose Lima, Alex Cora, Adrian Beltre and Shawn Green - departing. J.D. Drew, Jeff Kent, Jose Valentin and Derek Lowe - arriving. To Perez, it's a net plus.

``It was hard at the beginning not to see Beltre playing third and Cora playing second,'' Perez said at a Stadium Club news conference to make official the left-hander's re-signing to a three-year, $24 million contract with a fourth-year option.

``I would say Kent is not a great fielding second baseman, but he's a guy who can hit 30 home runs and drive in 100-something runs, and we need somebody like that. (Third baseman) Valentin is the same way. Even if we don't have those good fielders, we're going to have better hitters. J.D., Kent and Valentin, these are guys who can produce 85 to 90 home runs.

``Our team is complete. We have a great pitching staff. I don't think you're going to see (another) major-league pitching staff with four quality starters.

``We're going to win the division. We're going to go all the way.''

Win the division? Go all the way?

``The division is getting stronger,'' Perez said. ``I see San Francisco getting (reliever Armando) Benitez, getting (outfielder Moises) Alou, getting (catcher Mike) Matheny. Even the Diamondbacks, with Troy Glaus and Shawn Green, will not be easy. San Diego has a great team, too. It'll be a tough division.

``But when you see our team, we are ahead of them.''

So he honestly likes all this change?

``It seems like (general manager Paul DePodesta) and (owner Frank) McCourt aren't afraid to make moves to improve the offense of this team,'' Perez said. ``What they have done the last couple of weeks has been great.''

In 2003, Perez ticked off teammates by saying the club needed ``to find somebody who can start producing (runs).'' That summer, you'd have guessed that of the young and in-their-prime Dodgers, Perez would be the first to go. Instead Beltre, Cora, Green, Paul Lo Duca and Dave Roberts are gone, and Perez is left to survey the new landscape.

Since DePodesta was hired by McCourt in February, the GM has replaced seven of the eight everyday position players, only shortstop Cesar Izturis remaining. Since the playoff loss to St. Louis in October, five of the eight hitters are gone, Izturis, Jayson Werth and Milton Bradley staying. The Lakers, the Bush Cabinet and the network news anchors haven't experienced such turnover.

For a metaphor, all you needed Monday was to look downstairs at the soggy construction zone where a seating reconfiguration is dramatically shrinking Dodger Stadium's foul territory.

The final major personnel change will come when the Dodgers announce soon that Green, the one-time 49-homer hitter who has faded since a shoulder injury, has been traded to Arizona for young catcher Dioner Navarro and other prospects, and the salary savings used to sign Lowe, the 31-year-old Boston right-hander whose 2.58 ERA in 2002 exploded to 5.42 by 2004.

``Hopefully, it's coming to a close,'' DePodesta said of the upheaval, an effort to replace ``a team with a lot of short-term contracts'' with ``a foundation (of players) that's going to be here for a while.''

``I knew there was going to be a lot of turnover in the first two years,'' DePodesta said. ``Rather than drag it out for 24 months, (the club decided to) do it in 11. ... What we've tried to do here is rebuild and win at the same time. That's a bit of a magic trick. But we feel like we can do it.''

It's not as crazy as it may sound to fans who fell head over heels (over logic) for the Dodgers' 2004 division champions.

Compare the batting orders from the 2004 opener and the 2004 playoffs opener to how they'd line up if the 2005 opener (April 4 at San Francisco) were happening today. Even without Beltre and Green, and with unproven hitters Hee-Seop Choi at first base and David Ross behind the plate, pending further transactions, the current order has marginally better numbers than last year's if you add up the individuals' 2004 stats. The collective average and on-base percentage falls (versus the playoff lineup), but home runs (4.2 per 100 at-bats, up from 4.1), runs (16.4- 14.6), RBI (14.5-13.9) and slugging percentage (.462-.456) rise.

That's music to the ears of Odalis Perez, 27, who suffered from the lowest run support in the majors while going 7-6 with a 3.25 ERA in the 2004 regular season.

``They know what they're doing,'' Perez said of Dodgers executives. ``If (replacing fan favorites) makes our team better, go ahead and do it.''

Honestly?

``Yes, yes,'' Perez said with a laugh. ``It's a great team.''