DODGERS NOTEBOOK: BROWN RETURNS FEELING BETTER.Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer Kevin Brown The name Kevin Brown can refer to several different people, including the following:
Considering where he'd been two weeks ago, that was no small victory. Brown had back surgery Tuesday and was released from the hospital Thursday. On Friday, he was back with his teammates. Dr. Roberts Watkins performed surgery on a protruding pro·trude v. pro·trud·ed, pro·trud·ing, pro·trudes v.tr. To push or thrust outward. v.intr. To jut out; project. See Synonyms at bulge. disc in his lower back. Brown said the pain was so excruciating it was a chore to get out of bed. He was immobile for nearly two weeks. ``Night and day,'' Brown said of the difference after the surgery. ``No doubt about it, as soon as I got out of surgery, I felt better. I don't have any doubts in my mind that I made the right decision.'' Brown, who was uncharacteristically talkative and agreeable Friday, has no timetable for his return, although he's hopeful it will be this season. His back had been hurting to the point where he didn't attend a home game nearly two weeks ago. ``I was glad to see him in there,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy
Brown said he was off pain medication almost immediately after surgery. He said he felt instant relief. ``They ask you when you go in what your pain is on a scale from 1 to 10 and I told them my scale was way off,'' Brown said. ``It doesn't go from 1 to 10. It goes from 1 to 8 and 8 to 1,000. It's kind of an exponential growth Extremely fast growth. On a chart, the line curves up rather than being straight. Contrast with linear. when it gets up there.'' Brown has lost an estimated 10-15 pounds since the surgery. He was on the disabled list with inflammation in the back of the right elbow. Tracy said the fluid in Brown's elbow is decreased. Brown's rehabilitation over the next week or two will involve walking. --Surging Roberts: Center fielder Dave Roberts For other uses, see Dave Roberts (disambiguation). David Ray Roberts (born May 31, 1972 in Okinawa, Japan), is a Major League Baseball center fielder for the San Francisco Giants. is batting .320 with 21 walks and a .403 on-base percentage. He is being platooned in center with Marquis Grissom ``I think my job is to make (Tracy's) decision tougher and tougher,'' Roberts said. ``I'm just happy we're winning. I don't make the lineup. I'm just here to play. I know Marquis has done a good job. He's been a positive influence on me. We root for each other.'' --Dreifort's progress: Pitcher Darren Dreifort --Signing on the line: The Dodgers signed Esperanza High of Anaheim pitcher Greg Miller Greg David Miller (born November 3, 1984, in Orange, California) is a Major League Baseball pitching prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system. Greg was on the fast track to the majors in '03, but a shoulder injury in the spring of '04 slowed him. on Friday. The Dodgers selected him with the 31st pick in this month's amateur draft and will give him an estimated $1.3 million signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee by a company as an incentive to join that company. These are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee e.g. if the annual salary is lower than they desire. . Miller, who watched batting practice Friday at Dodger Stadium, is expected to report to Great Falls, Mont., which is the organization's short-season Single-A team. ``It's awesome,'' Miller said. ``It's something you always dream about. It will be awesome to just get out there and get my feet wet.'' --Odds and ends: Mark Grudzielanek said his back is feeling much better. Grudzielanek said Thursday's off day helped and his back has loosened up. ... It was a year ago today that pitcher Andy Ashby had surgery to repair a tear of the flexor flexor /flex·or/ (flek´ser) 1. causing flexion. 2. a muscle that flexes a joint. flexor retina´culum see entries under retinaculum. muscle on his right elbow, which ended his season. Ashby is 6-5 with a 2.87 ERA. ``I just thank God everything's going smoothly,'' said Ashby, as he knocked on the wood of his locker. DODGERS vs. ANGELS Time: 7:10 p.m., Dodger Stadium. TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2; 1150-AM (English), 1330-AM (Spanish). Matchup: LHP LHP Left-Handed Pitcher LHP Left Hand Path LHP Lighthouse Point (Broward County, Florida city) LHP Left Half-Plane LHP Lead Hollowpoint (bullet) LHP Living History Project LHP Landslide Hazard Program Scott Schoeneweis (5-4, 4.50 ERA) makes his fourth career appearance against the Dodgers. Schoeneweis has allowed six home runs in 12 starts this season. LHP Odalis Perez (6-3, 2.62 ERA) struck out a career-high 10 batters in a 2-1 victory June 9 at Baltimore. He's walked none in six of his first 13 starts and 13 all season, for an average of one walk per game. He's struck out 64. - Jill Painter CAPTION(S): box Box: DODGERS vs. ANGELS (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion