They’re Not Stopping Short of Calling Him a Bargain

The Dodgers got their man.

He might not be the man. If he were the kind of shortstop who could shift the balance of power in the National League West, the Giants would have tried to keep him when he became a free agent. He’s no Jay Bell, John Valentin or Mark Grudzielanek.

But Bell would have cost the Dodgers twice as much money and Valentin or Grudzielanek would have cost them young pitchers, two commodities Fred Claire is reluctant to part with.

Frankly put, Jose Vizcaino is the best shortstop the Dodgers’ money could buy.

When the season ended, Claire and Bill Russell surveyed the list of available shortstops and determined only two met both their needs and their budget--Vizcaino and Walt Weiss. They liked Vizcaino.

There’s little not to like.

He’s a younger version of the steady and savvy Greg Gagne, which means, Russell said Monday, that the Dodgers will be at least as good as they were at the position last season, perhaps a little improved.

One plus is that Vizcaino, unlike Gagne, wants to be on the West Coast. A native of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, Raul Mondesi’s hometown, Vizcaino lives in El Cajon during the off-season.

Vizcaino, 29, said Monday he has wanted to return to the Dodgers, his original team, since they traded him in 1990 because they thought Jose Offerman was their shortstop of the future.

From the Cubs, the Dodgers received second baseman Greg Smith, who proved to be the answer only for the young assistant in the team’s minor league operations office who married him.

“She told me later, ‘Fred, that was a great trade,’ ” Claire said. “I told her, ‘In all due respect, you’re the only one in the whole organization who thinks so.’ ”

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Colorado Manager Don Baylor recently ripped Andres Galarraga for leaving to sign with Atlanta, proclaiming players now are loyal only to the dollar. . . .

So what about Brady Anderson? . . .

The Oriole center fielder could have gotten more money by pursuing other offers but chose instead to thrash out a deal allowing him to remain in Baltimore. . . .

All it took was a series of private dinners with Oriole owner Peter Angelos. . . .

Anderson says Angelos picked up the tab. . . .

Did he ever. Even at a bargain rate, he’s paying Anderson $31 million for five years. . . .

When he heard that, Dodger Executive Vice President Bob Graziano advised his boss, Peter O’Malley, “Don’t take any players out to dinner.” . . .

Maybe he could make an exception for Mike Piazza. . . .

Look for Otis Nixon to sign with Atlanta. . . .

The Dodgers wanted the free-agent center fielder back, but not at the $2.5 million he earned last season. . . .

With the return of Eric Young and Vizcaino, the Dodgers’ only projected regular who didn’t start with the organization is third baseman Todd Zeile. . . .

The Giants will replace Vizcaino with Rich Aurilia. . . .

He’s just like Vizcaino. Except younger and cheaper. . . .

One loud cheer erupted from USC’s Lyon Center when Jerry Manuel was named White Sox manager. . . .

His sister, Barbara Williams, is an administrative assistant to Trojan women’s basketball Coach Chris Gobrecht. . . .

You know the odds UCLA Coach Steve Lavin is working against when only one of his players, J.R. Henderson, was too tall for the height limitations on Disneyland’s Splash Mountain on Friday. . . .

Jeff Fellenzer worked on The Times’ sports desk when George Kiseda, our legendary copy editor and journalistic conscience, ruled the room. . . .

One of Kiseda’s rules was that no event could be called a “classic” in print unless it was one. . . .

Even though The Times has gotten lax since Kiseda’s retirement, Fellenzer still follows “the Kiseda rule.” . . .

As the organizer of a new basketball tournament in Oakland scheduled for Dec. 22 and featuring Indiana, California, San Francisco and BYU, Fellenzer chose to call it the Pete Newell Challenge instead of Classic. . . .

“You don’t call yourself a classic until you become one,” Fellenzer says. . . .

Another former Times employee is Texas A&M;’s star running back, Sirr Parker, who worked for the paper part-time while attending Locke High. . . .

We knew him when he was called Mr. Parker.

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While wondering if Kato Kaelin can be far behind, I was thinking: Latrell Sprewell thought those Converses were ugly shoes anyway, he’s going to spend the rest of his life trying to find out who really hit P.J. Carlesimo, NBA litigation, it’s fan-tastic.