Dreifort Takes a Small Step

Left fielder Brian Jordan sat out Tuesday night’s game against the New York Mets because of a lower back strain, center fielder Dave Roberts didn’t start because of a quadriceps strain, reliever Jesse Orosco was unavailable because of a strained rib-cage muscle suffered in batting practice, and catcher Paul Lo Duca moved to left field because his left hand is sore from being hit with a bat last week.

Amid the gloom in the Dodger training room came a medical ray of hope: Pitcher Darren Dreifort threw off a mound Tuesday for the first time since undergoing elbow reconstruction surgery in July, tossing about 12 pitches in the bullpen after a lengthy warmup.

“It’s a starting point--there’s still a long way to go,” said Dreifort, who had been throwing off flat ground the last two months. “It’s just another step. I moved up one rung on the ladder, which is nice. But I know what lies ahead--time.”

Dreifort, in the second year of a five-year, $55.4-million contract, has been down this road before. He missed the 1995 season because of elbow reconstruction surgery and is trying to bounce back from the same procedure again.

The Dodgers’ target return date is sometime around the All-Star break, and if Dreifort makes it back, “it will almost be like acquiring one of baseball’s best sinkerball pitchers,” General Manager Dan Evans said. “It’s really encouraging because he’s comfortable and pain-free. He’s showing all the signs of making a full comeback.”

Dreifort, who tore a ligament and tendon in his right elbow at San Diego on June 29 and had surgery on July 9, isn’t getting his hopes up too high, because he knows with rehabilitation comes the potential for setbacks.

“I don’t share their enthusiasm so much because [rehabilitation] is like a baseball season, and I’m only in spring,” Dreifort said. “This is a marathon. It’s hard to get excited about one day because you never know what the next day will hold. I want to go from flat ground to the mound, to batting practice, simulated games and a [minor league] rehabilitation assignment. It’s like the Tour de France. There are several stages left.”

Pat Screnar, the Dodgers’ physical therapist, said Dreifort is “progressing smoothly,” and that the next few weeks will determine if the right-hander can return in July. Dreifort, who will likely have to pitch out of the bullpen, prefers not to set a specific target date.

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Add Jordan to the long list of critics of Dodger Stadium’s rubber-like warning track. The Dodger left fielder, who is already suffering from tendinitis in his left knee, injured the left side of his lower back Monday night after fielding Timo Perez’s ninth-inning shot down the line, planting himself on the warning track and making a long, hard throw to second to hold Perez to a single.

Jordan underwent treatment Tuesday but said his back was “real tight.” Jordan doubted the injury was serious enough to put him on the disabled list, but he could miss several games.

The Dodgers replaced the dirt warning track with a rubber-like surface at the beginning of the 2000 season, and several players have complained about it.

“That rubber [stinks],” Jordan said. “And stopping on that didn’t help my knee, either. That’s for track athletes, not baseball players.”

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

KAZUHISA ISHII

(6-0, 2.93 ERA)

VS.

METS’

JEFF D’AMICO

(2-3, 4.03 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 7

TV--Fox Sports Net 2.

Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

Update--Roberts tested his strained right quadriceps with several wind sprints and cutting drills Tuesday and felt no discomfort. He was available as a pinch-hitter Tuesday night and could return to the lineup tonight. Orosco is questionable after he felt a twinge in his left side during batting practice Tuesday. “I was really feeling good on the mound, so I hope this isn’t serious,” said Orosco, who has a 3.12 earned-run average in 14 games. “I’m sure they won’t have me taking batting practice any more.”