DODGERS NOTEBOOK: NOMO'S STATUS HARDLY CERTAIN.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

DENVER - Hideo Nomo is scheduled to start Tuesday but it shouldn't come as a surprise if he doesn't.

Nomo, diagnosed Wednesday with inflammation in his rotator cuff, talked for the first time about the injury. Not that he said much.

``My shoulder is a little fatigued but I don't have soreness or any pain,'' Nomo said through an interpreter. ``That's all I have to say.''

When asked whether he was confident he could start Tuesday, Nomo said he wasn't talking again until he pitched. He played catch Friday and is scheduled for a bullpen session Sunday.

Assuming that goes well, he'll probably start Tuesday. But it's not a sure thing.

``Let's put it this way, we'll probably make alternative plans,'' pitching coach Jim Colborn said. ``If he can do it, he will.''

Nomo has missed one start and last pitched Aug. 22. He is 15-9 with a 2.88 ERA, obviously a critical player as the Dodgers fight for a wild-card berth.

--Roberts out: Center fielder Dave Roberts, who has a sore neck, didn't play Friday and could be out for the entire series with the Colorado Rockies.

Roberts suffered the injury last weekend when he slid head first into second base and hit Ronnie Belliard's leg. Jolbert Cabrera will play center field this weekend and Cesar Izturis is batting leadoff.

``The neck is still bothering him,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``He's very stiff and a lot of it has to do with his ability to quickly turn his head in one direction or the other. Because it's on his right side, he's having a problem with it offensively on his right side. He'd relegated to opening his stance to get his head turned around to where he can see where he has to be. We're not going to do that. It's too much compensation to try to do it that way.''

--Green's injury: Shawn Green's season-long right-shoulder injury, which will require surgery after the season, was a secret until earlier this week.

It wasn't a shock to outfielder Rickey Henderson.

``I did it many years,'' Henderson said. ``I'd take 80 percent out there and take the criticism. That didn't matter as much. At times, I had a manager that wouldn't let me say I was hurt because it would affect the club. You have to just take it. I learned to take it. But I tell young players, `please, don't go that route.'

``The public doesn't know. You do what's best for the ballclub. You can't care about the perception.''

Green hit 49 home runs in 2001 and 42 last year. He has just 12 this season.

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- Jill Painter