DODGERS NOTEBOOK: ISHII, BROWN, DREIFORT ALL RETURN.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

VERO BEACH, Fla. - Whether the Dodgers were arrogant or ignorant or anything else doesn't matter. Manager Jim Tracy and pitching coach Jim Colborn said they were oblivious to whom Kazuhisa Ishii's opponent would be when they made his pitching schedule for this spring.

When they found Ishii's first outing was against Houston, the same team that knocked him out with a line drive off his forehead in September, they said they didn't care.

Perhaps they had reason to think that way.

Ishii's uneventful two-inning stint Saturday highlighted a positive day for the Dodgers in which potentially three-fifths of their starting rotation, each returning from injuries, made their spring debuts.

Right-hander Kevin Brown, who had back surgery in June, pitched a scoreless inning, and right-hander Darren Dreifort allowed three unearned runs in two innings. It was Dreifort's first appearance against another team since undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery 20 months ago.

``It was a big day,'' Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca said. ``(Brown) threw awesome, and I though (Dreifort) threw the ball really, really good. And the whole key is you ask them after and there's no pain. That's they key. If you have those three guys healthy, you have a shot to have the best pitching staff in all of baseball.''

However, Ishii's outing drew the most interest since it was the first time he faced a batter since Houston's Brian Hunter lined a ball off Ishii's forehead Sept. 8. Perhaps not coincidentally, Hunter led off Sunday's game against Ishii and grounded the ball past the pitcher's mound for an infield single.

Ishii didn't flinch after delivering his pitches, was aggressive in throwing his fastball and showed no trepidation while facing seven batters. He allowed one hit, struck out one and hit Jeff Bagwell with a breaking pitch.

``I was a little nervous at first, but I got better as the game went on,'' Ishii said through an interpreter. ``I had a lot of energy and emotions going through, and that kind of impacted my form a little bit, but I got back on track.''

Hunter said he exchanged e-mails and phone calls with people close to Ishii but never talked to him after the incident. However, about an hour before the game, Hunter met Ishii outside the Dodgers clubhouse and the two spoke for several minutes.

``The main thing was just to see that he was doing well,'' Hunter said. ``We don't want to see any other players hurt, so whenever you can get a chance to see a guy go through that type of experience and come back and to be back out here pitching in the major leagues is great.''

Ishii said it was important to meet with Hunter and discuss the situation before pitching.

``It was a good start for me to begin from step one and revisit that and then forget about it and move on,'' Ishii said. ``I'm happy, but I think the thing that made me the most happy was sitting on the bench again with my teammates. It was a good experience for me, and I'm relaxed.''

Lo Duca saw the irony in Ishii's first batter being Hunter.

``To me, Ishii didn't show any fear out there at all,'' Lo Duca said. ``He threw all his pitches for strikes. That's big. That's tough to do to come back after something like that. It's not easy, and for him to go out there and throw the way he did was awesome.''

Afterward, Tracy declared the issue of Ishii's return to the mound over, saying the team is ``beyond it.''

--Odds and ends: Unable to reach agreement on a one-year deal, utility player Mike Kinkade had his contract renewed at $320,000. ... Right-hander Andy Ashby will make his spring debut Tuesday in a ``B'' game against St. Louis. ... Infielder Alex Cora started at second base and ended the game at third base.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Dodgers pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii (17) delivers to Brian Hunter, Ishii's first live batter since Hunter's line drive hit him last September.

Rick Silva/Associated Press

Box:

DODGERS vs. FLORIDA

- Brian Dohn