DODGERS NOTEBOOK: ISHII'S ILLNESS SURPRISES COLBORN.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO - It seems that the recent controversy over Odalis Perez skipping a start because of a chipped fingernail might have made something of an impact in the Dodgers clubhouse.

Pitching coach Jim Colborn said after Sunday's game that Kazuhisa Ishii had a severe headache and vomited during the game, but apparently neither Colborn nor manager Jim Tracy knew about Ishii's ailments until after the game. Ishii gave up five runs in three-plus innings, but the Dodgers beat San Francisco 7-6.

``I don't know a thing about it, I only read about it on the injury report,'' Colborn said before Monday's game, referring to the post-game sheet given to coaches, off of which Colborn informed reporters of Ishii's ailment.

Ishii did not answer questions about his illness after Sunday's game and refused an interview request Monday. If nothing else, the timing is interesting, given the negative reaction Perez received from teammates when he said he didn't want to pitch last week in part because he didn't want to embarrass himself.

Colborn said he wasn't concerned about Ishii's nondisclosure, and Ishii ran before Monday's game and appeared to be in good health. Still, Colborn said he didn't immediately see anything wrong with Ishii's mechanics Sunday and called the start ``unusual.''

``But he would tell me if he thought something was affecting his pitching,'' Colborn added. ``All of (the pitchers) do that.''

--All clear? Tracy said he met with catcher Paul Lo Duca on Sunday. Lo Duca was upset that Tracy mentioned a chest injury as a reason for Lo Duca not playing Saturday and insisted he was not injured. Tracy said the matter had been resolved.

``Just a misunderstanding, that's it,'' Tracy said. ``I don't know that there's a player in a baseball uniform that I respect more than Paul Lo Duca.''

--No real advantage: Should the Dodgers rebound from Monday's loss and remain in the National League wild-card race into the final weekend, they might have something of an advantage. San Francisco manager Felipe Alou said over the weekend that he would rest his offensive starters in two of the four games against the Dodgers.

Tracy wouldn't concede that the Dodgers had an advantage, and pointed to Sunday's game, in which the Giants rested most of their regulars.

--Odds and ends: Another continuance was issued in the DUI case of Dodgers reliever Guillermo Mota. Lawyers will convene again in a Oct. 22 pretrial meeting. ... Darren Dreifort will undergo surgery today in Boston to repair a torn labrum in his right hip. ... Tommy Lasorda celebrated his 76th birthday Monday.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com