SHEFFIELD MAKING HIS CASE.

Byline: Kevin Modesti

One campaign has moved out of town, and another has rolled in to take its place. Sheffield 2000 is holding its convention at Dodger Stadium this weekend.

Gary Sheffield has been stating an eloquent case for winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award, hitting three home runs in 21 hours against the New York Mets' strong pitching, including his 39th and 40th homers of the season in the Dodgers' 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon.

It helps that Sheffield was able to show off for the New York press. It helps that Sheffield's display Saturday occurred on national TV, in the second of three consecutive Dodgers appearances on Fox's game of the week. It helps that he is winning the comparison with MVP rival Mike Piazza (who homered and singled in a run to lead the Mets Friday, and sat out the ensuing day game).

It helps, as well, that this is happening at the end of a two-week period in which Sheffield's candidacy has been taken seriously for the first time by the national press. It is making its way onto the cover of Baseball Weekly and into Sports Illustrated, and earning the Dodgers star opportunities to tell his story on ESPN's ``Sunday Conversation'' and major-league baseball's weekly media conference call.

An MVP candidacy is, after all, no one-man endeavor. It requires contributions not just from the player but from team publicists and the news media (even before the votes are cast by members of the baseball writers association), and from teammates.

Which brings us to the weakness of the Sheffield candidacy - the teammates.

To win the award, Sheffield must fend off Piazza, Colorado's Todd Helton, St. Louis' Jim Edmonds, Chicago's Sammy Sosa, Montreal's Vladimir Guerrero, San Francisco's Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent, and Arizona pitcher Randy Johnson.

And he must overcome all the Dodgers players who have dragged the team out of the pennant race.

Maybe if you're a member of the Chicago Cubs, you can be an MVP on a losing team. Hank Sauer won the award in 1952 (when the Cubs finished fifth), Ernie Banks in 1958 (fifth) and 1959 (fourth), Andre Dawson in 1987 (sixth and last). The Cubs aren't supposed to win.

The Dodgers are supposed to win. No Los Angeles Dodger has been MVP in a disappointing season for the club; Maury Wills won it in 1962, when the team finished in a first-place tie before losing a playoff to the San Francisco Giants, and Sandy Koufax, Steve Garvey and Kirk Gibson won it in pennant years.

Sheffield's 40th homer tied him for the major-league lead with Sosa and equaled the Los Angeles Dodgers record set by Piazza in 1997. Sheffield and Helton are the only National Leaguers among the leaders in batting, homers, RBI and runs scored.

But no matter the numbers Sheffield puts up, his chances are hurt by the fact he cannot be said to be leading his team to a title. You have to go back only as far as 1997, when the Cubs' wild-card playoff berth earned Sosa the MVP over the more productive Mark McGwire, to know a tough decision will go to the guy with the better team.

Unlike a presidential candidate, a would-be MVP cannot get up in front of the national and declare he is ``my own man,'' separate from the team of which he is a part.

``I don't believe (that) the team's performance should reflect on one individual,'' Sheffield said Saturday after raising his average to .333 and his RBI total to 96. He thinks the voters' weakness for winners cost him MVP Awards in the election years of 1992 (when he nearly won the Triple Crown as a San Diego Padre) and 1996 (when he was a Florida Marlin).

And Sheffield is right. The award should honor the best performer, period. It would be simpler and fairer if ``Most Valuable Player'' were edited to ``Player of the Year.'' The originators of the award in the 1930s obviously didn't intend to restrict it to contenders - four of the first eight National League MVPs played for fourth-place teams.

But being right won't help him if his teammates don't help him. If the season ended now, it would be a close MVP race among a handful of men. It would boil down to the players from playofound teams. Bonds and Kent would split the Giants vote. Piazza would win.

Sheffield would be out of luck after the greatest batting season in Los Angeles Dodgers history.

``You can say he's carried us as far as we've come, in spite of our shortcomings,'' catcher Chad Kreuter said. ``He's our MVP, and hopefully he'll be the league's MVP. That will be determined by how we play down the stretch.''

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their left fielder.

L.A.'S MVPS

Year Player, Pos. How Dodgers did

1962 Maury Wills, SS 2nd in NL

1963 Sandy Koufax, P won World Series

1974 Steve Garvey, 1B won pennant

1988 Kirk Gibson, OF won World Series

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo: (1 -- color) Gary Sheffield tied Mike Piazza's Los Angeles Dodgers record with 39th and 40th home runs Saturday.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(2) Gary Sheffield is having an MVP-calibre season for the Dodgers.

Reed Saxon/Associated Press

Box: L.A.'s MVPS (see text)