DODGERS NOTEBOOK: COLBORN NOT AT EASE.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

Dodgers pitching coach Jim Colborn has found a little time to relax despite an injury-plagued rotation, one-run games and juggled lineups. That is, if one inning constitutes much peace of mind.

Things haven't been particularly easy for Colborn, who's had to oversee everything from Chan Ho Park pitching out of constant jams to two of his relievers - Giovanni Carrara and Terry Adams - being inserted in the starting lineup.

``It's stressful every day,'' Colborn said. ``I feel drained after most road trips. Every pitch is important because we've had so many close games. The other day we had a 7-0 lead in Arizona and Chan Ho Park was pitching and I thought, `If ever there was a game I could relax, it's this one.' I never did relax until it was 8-4 in the ninth.''

The bullpen hasn't had an opportunity to feel really comfortable either. With Carrara and Adams now in the starting rotation, the bullpen has been stretched. Still, it hasn't unraveled.

``You lose an Andy Ashby and a Kevin Brown but you call up Luke Prokopec and he steps right in and he takes over,'' reliever Gregg Olson said. ``Then you pull guys out like Terry Adams and Gio. They've really picked it up. The thing we're missing now is Adams and Gio haven't been able to build up the innings. You could see that a little bit in the game in Arizona on Thursday (a 13-9 loss). The bullpen was a little bit worn and that probably cost us the game.''

Despite the duress, the pitching staff, which has a 3.95 ERA, has, as Dodgers manager Jim Tracy likes to continually say, weathered the storm.

``I think they like that stuff,'' Colborn said.

--Constant trouble: Chan Ho Park has the stuff to pitch himself out of jams, which he's done all too often his last few starts. The trick is trying to get Park to pitch where he doesn't have to face so many sticky situations.

Park walked six and hit two on Saturday. He faced 14 baserunners but allowed just one run in seven innings. Park seems to work better with men on base but it does nothing to calm the nerves of the Dodgers coaching staff.

``In one of the chapters of my baseball coaching (manual) is the lecture to pitch to stay out of trouble, not to get out of trouble,'' Colborn said. ``But then how do you create the urgency before? There's ways and techniques. ... One thing is that I think it's something pitchers have to learn from experience.''

--And the beat goes on: Mark Grudzielanek extended his hitting streak to a season-best 12 games. Angels left fielder Garret Anderson had two Grudzielanek putouts, including a shoestring catch in the third. But Grudzielanek singled in his fourth at-bat off Lou Pote in the seventh.

--Slowly but surely: Adrian Beltre's weight is up to 210 pounds. Beltre, who had two offseason stomach surgeries, had dropped to 170 pounds. Beltre is batting just .222 in 26 games but Tracy isn't concerned with his statistics, down from last year's career-high .290 batting average and 85 RBI. Beltre missed all of spring training, which has played a role in that, according to Tracy.

--Injury report: Eric Karros, on the disabled list with a back injury, continues to make progress. ... Pitcher Andy Ashby (elbow) threw a bullpen session on Sunday but Tracy said it was ``just OK'' and that he would be re-evaluated today.

--Miked up: Dodgers public-address announcer Mike Carlucci was selected to be the public-address announcer for men's and women's hockey at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He'll do announcing in English and French.

DODGERS vs. TEXAS

Time: 7:10 p.m., at Dodger Stadium

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2; 1150-AM, 1330-AM (Spanish)

Matchup: Dodgers right-hander Luke Prokopec (6-2) will face Rangers left-hander Darren Oliver (4-2). The good news: A-Rod is coming to town. The bad news: He's bringing the Texas Rangers with him. A-Rod - aka Alex Rodriguez - is among the American League's top 10 in virtually every offensive category. He's hitting .330 with 19 home runs and 54 RBI. He's leading the league in runs scored, and he's up there in hits, doubles, on-base percentage and total bases, as well. None of which has helped the woeful Rangers, who are last in the AL West. This is the second of three successive interleague series for the Dodgers; after the Rangers it's a rematch with the Angels next weekend in Anaheim. The Dodgers lead the all-time series with Texas 7-6.

- Gordon Verrell

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Chan Ho Park and the rest of the Dodgers pitching staff haven't given pitching coach Jim Colborn much time to relax.

Kim D. Johnson/Associated Press

Box: DODGERS vs. TEXAS (see text)