DODGERS NOTEBOOK: TRACY TRUSTS IN BELTRE.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

It was just one plate appearance, not even an official at-bat, but the way Adrian Beltre led off Saturday night's game gave Dodgers manager Jim Tracy a smile.

Beltre worked Florida starter Michael Tejera to a 3-1 count, then watched a pitch dip low for ball four and just Beltre's seventh walk of the season. Beltre finished the game 0 for 3, dropping his batting average to .190, but manager Jim Tracy said Sunday afternoon he believes Beltre is on the right track.

``What gives me the utmost confidence is that he's working hard with his at-bats,'' Tracy said. ``I'd be frustrated, too, in a positive way, because he's having quality at-bats and he's not getting results from them. He's hit the ball hard, four or five times, right at the right fielder. His approach is correct.''

With leadoff hitter Dave Roberts out of the lineup for at least two weeks, even more attention will be focused on Beltre, who hit in the leadoff spot Saturday for the first time this season but was given Sunday off. Beltre's first at-bat, during which he walked and scored, earned him some words of appreciation from Tracy in the dugout.

``He went up there as a leadoff hitter, and he saw some pitches,'' Tracy said. ``He went up there and worked the count, went deep in the count. There's an understanding that that type of patience will work, and has to work (in the leadoff spot), but it will work in another spot in the lineup, too.

``If you're patient and not overanxious and try not to get it done too quick, you're going to get some good balls to swing at, ... then more opportunities will come your way.''

--Making the most: The Dodgers' depth is good for the team, but not so good for the ambitions of Jolbert Cabrera. In a rare start Saturday night, Cabrera doubled in the second inning, hit a solo home run in the sixth and drove in a run with a fielder's-choice grounder in the eighth.

Yet even though Beltre is struggling and Tracy said he would consider using Cabrera at third base under certain circumstances, Tracy said he won't make the change and move Cabrera into a full-time starting role in the near future.

``The role we envisioned for him is (as) a multipurpose-type guy,'' Tracy said. ``I think he has had great at-bats and has made great contributions in the role we have given him. Would I like to make him an everyday player? No, not really, and that's no slap at him, but if I have to make him an everyday player, then my bench isn't as good as it is.''

--Family loss: Former Dodgers trainer and longtime team employee Bill Buhler died Saturday, the team announced. Buhler started working for the Dodgers in 1952 and became head trainer in 1960, a position he held until his retirement in 1995.

--Odds and ends: Tracy said Darren Dreifort will start Thursday's afternoon game against Colorado, largely because of the Rockies' struggles against right-handed pitchers this season. After that, Dreifort will switch spots in the rotation with Odalis Perez and will not start again until May 29, a six-day rest period. ...

Tracy said backup catcher Todd Hundley, on the disabled list with a sore back, responded well to a second epidural shot, but no timetable for Hundley's return has been set.