DODGERS NOTEBOOK: SEO'S PERFORMANCE SO-SO.

Byline: Tony Jackson Staff Writer

VERO BEACH, Fla. - Manager Grady Little said repeatedly during the first five weeks of spring training that he was looking forward to finally seeing Jae Seo pitch in a Dodgers uniform. But what Little saw in Thursday's Grapefruit League game, a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in front of 5,941 at Holman Stadium, was hardly worth the wait.

Fresh from going 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in three starts for Korea in the World Baseball Classic, Seo struggled through five lackluster innings in his Dodgers debut, allowing three runs on eight hits. Meanwhile, it took him at least a couple of innings to get in sync with catcher Russell Martin, who never had caught Seo in a game situation.

``Initially, I went with (Martin's pitch selection) because I needed to learn how he calls a game,'' Seo said through an interpreter. ``(Later), I went with my style so he could see how I throw, as well.''

Seo is a finesse pitcher who throws a curve, slider, changeup and splitter and whose fastball rarely tops 90 mph. Because of his extensive repertoire, his relationship with his catcher is vital to his success.

``It took a little while to get into the flow of the game with him and to try to get on the same page with the pitches,'' Martin said. ``I think after we got through the lineup one time, it went a little smoother the second time through. He started locating his fastball better to both sides of the plate and mixing his pitches better, and I started to figure out what he likes to throw with two strikes and where he likes to locate it.''

In the first inning, Seo was burned by a one-out walk to Chris Duncan, who eventually scored on Jim Edmonds' groundout. Seo gave up four hits in the second, including RBI singles by David Eckstein and Duncan. But the right-hander settled in after Edmonds' leadoff double in the third, retiring the next eight batters before a pair of two-out singles in the fifth put runners on the corners.

Seo got out of that by getting John Gall to ground to third, then left the game.

``He has had better outings than this one,'' Little said. ``But I think he's still in the mode of being with a new ballclub. The last couple of innings, we saw him get a little more into his comfort zone. We're pleased with what we saw.''

Seo's spot on the team is secure, and his role as fifth starter and occasional long reliever is locked in. Thus, he isn't pitching with anything on the line, and club officials aren't concerned about his results. He probably will start again Tuesday against Detroit, make an abbreviated appearance in the Freeway Series finale April 2, then be available in long relief the first week of the season.

Because of an off-day April 6, Seo won't start until April 11 at Pittsburgh.

--More cuts: The Dodgers optioned outfielder Andre Ethier and reassigned right-hander Takashi Saito to minor-league camp. Despite the escape clause in his minor-league contract, Saito, who spent the past 14 seasons with the Yokohama Baystars of the Japanese Central League, agreed to begin the season at Triple-A Las Vegas.

``We liked his stuff, we liked him as a person, and we liked his character,'' Little said. ``You could see he would be an awfully good teammate, and there is no doubt we will need him on this ballclub before the year is over.''

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

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- Tony Jackson