STRAWBERRY'S FRIENDS FEEL DISAPPOINTED, LET DOWN

DENVER -- Lenny Harris doesn't know what to feel.

Hurt? Angry? Disappointed? All of the above? Harris, though, knew
this: He was stunned by the news that his friend and former teammate,
Darryl Strawberry, had been arrested Wednesday in Tampa for possession
of cocaine and soliciting a prostitute.

``I was watching TV when I saw Darryl's face on the screen,'' said
Harris, who played with Strawberry in Los Angeles in 1993 and now
plays for the Colorado Rockies. ``I thought it was an old clip or
something. But then I heard what happened and couldn't believe it.

``I had to call my wife and let her know. She was pretty much shocked
because she's pretty close to the Strawberry family. She and his wife
are friends. It was a shocking moment to me -- for a guy like him, who
was getting his life back together ... and he fell again.''

Harris, who signed with the Rockies as a free agent in October, said
he and Strawberry had spoken regularly during the offseason as the New
York Yankees slugger continued his recovery from colon cancer.

Strawberry, 37, underwent surgery to remove a tumor in October. He has
been working out at the Yankees' extended-spring-training camp in
Tampa, where police said he offered an undercover officer $50 for sex.
Police later found 0.3 grams of cocaine in his wallet.

``He's a great person, but he's got problems and he's the only one
that can fix it,'' Harris said. ``His (baseball) ability is
unbelievable. Hopefully he can get his life straightened out again. He
needs to get his life together.''

Strawberry, who launched his career with the New York Mets, was
suspended for 60 days by Major League Baseball in 1995, after he
tested positive for cocaine. The year before, he spent a month
undergoing treatment for substance abuse at the Betty Ford Clinic in
California.

``It was a struggle for him,'' Harris said. ``He admits that he's
living day by day. It's tough. But I thought when he got cancer, maybe
that would wake him up. I mean, (Yankees owner) George Steinbrenner
gave him all the chances in the world. What more can you ask for?

``Hopefully, he can pray and the guys around him can straighten him
out. But it's up to Darryl. I really hope this is just a slip and not
a fall.''

Harris said he would try to call Strawberry after the Rockies' 6-4
victory over the San Diego Padres at Coors Field. He already had
called Deion Sanders, a mutual friend who also was trying to reach the
talented-but-troubled outfielder.

``I am very close to Darryl,'' Harris said. ``It hurt me for this to
happen. Darryl's one of the guys -- one of my mentors _ and we sit
down and talk all the time. He says the right things. But then
something like this happens.

``Like I said, it's up to Darryl. He has to make the decision to
change. He has to wake up. He had a second chance. Maybe he will get a
third chance. I hope so.''