DODGERS NOTEBOOK: CORA: NO PLANS TO STOP SHORT.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

VERO BEACH, Fla. - Alex Cora hears the talk about the hotshot young shortstop, Cesar Izturis, the athletic kid acquired from Toronto in the offseason and the heavy favorite to win the starting job.

Dodgers manager Jim Tracy is acutely aware of all things happening in his clubhouse, so he sought out Cora for a one-on-one talk about the situation. And Tracy said the decision would be made based on performance, not potential.

Cora plans to win the job.

``He's going to make his decision later on, but I know I'm capable of doing the job,'' Cora said Thursday at Dodgertown. ``The only thing you can do is take care of your job and play 100 percent. That's all you can do.''

Izturis is the favorite, but Dodgers history and the 22-year-old's experience tells Cora the decision is far from final.

In a reversal of roles, Cora reported to camp two years ago as the overwhelming favorite to win the job but lost out to Kevin Elster. Last season, right-hander Eric Gagne beat out veteran Ramon Martinez for a spot in the starting rotation.

``I know (Izturis) has pretty good hands, and I saw him swing the bat a little bit,'' Tracy said. ``He appears to me to be a little bit stronger than some of the descriptions I had been given. The way you can determine if a guy has soft hands is that you see him field every ground ball, and no funny bounce appears to be a funny bounce or a bad hop to him as a fielder. And I saw a couple of balls bounce a little bit awkward, and he's unfazed.''

Indeed, there's plenty for Cora, 26, to overcome. His defense was shaky at the beginning last season, he batted a miserable .217 and didn't drive in a run after August. Also, the new front office made it a priority to upgrade the athleticism in the middle of the field.

For that reason, Izturis, 22, was acquired from Toronto along with Paul Quantrill for Luke Prokopec and a minor-leaguer in December.

``I know this is a numbers game, but at the same time there are some things you do as a player that the stats don't show up,'' Cora said. ``Defensively, (Tracy) knows errors are sometimes overrated. Numbers are overrated. I do a lot of things defensively that don't show up on stats and stuff like that.''

--Jordan, Brown talk: Dodgers left fielder Brian Jordan, who got into a shouting match with staff ace Kevin Brown last spring after getting hit with a pitch as a member of the Atlanta Braves, spoke with his new teammate and reports no problems.

Jordan was upset about being hit numerous times by Brown pitches in his career.

``We talked about it,'' Jordan said. ``Nothing there. Everything is fine. We're teammates now.''

Brown also said there were no ill feelings.

--Brown's bullpen: Brown gave his surgically repaired right elbow its most stringent test to date, throwing 40 pitches from the mound for the first time in his rehab. Brown even mixed in a few curveballs and continues to make progress toward his opening-day start.

``It felt good. It felt like I was back home,'' Brown said. ``They want to make sure I don't get too excited about my progress and just try to push it too fast. I really don't think it's an issue. They said first day, don't try to throw 100 percent off the mound.''

One thing Brown must combat is his go-getter personality, always pushing ahead with vigor.

``I hadn't had any anxieties when I was getting ready to turn the ball loose,'' Brown said. ``I don't think that's really been an issue. It hasn't really given my anything up to this point a reason to be concerned just about letting go. Again, the anxiousness comes from trying to find that level as you try to increase it gradually step by step, just trying to visualize in your mind where you should be at.''

--Odds and ends: Japanese lefty Kazuhisa Ishii partook in his first workout. And seemingly before it started, it was over.

``In Japan, they'll practice well into the night. Here, it's only three or four hours,'' Ishii said through interpreter Scott Akasaki. ...

Dante Bichette, a nonroster invitee who is favored to win a reserve outfield spot, is taking grounders at first base to add a dimension to his game.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

KEVIN BROWN

The ace threw 40 pitches Thursday and is making progress toward starting on opening day.