DODGERS NOTEBOOK: WERTH UNINJURED AFTER SCARE.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

VERO BEACH, Fla. - Five weeks shy of beginning what is expected to be his first full season as an everyday player in the major leagues, Dodgers left fielder Jayson Werth was struck just above his left wrist Wednesday by what he thought might be his worst nightmare.

Werth went to one knee and stayed down for about two minutes after he was unable to get out of the way of a tailing fastball from Florida's A.J. Burnett in the third inning of both clubs' Grapefruit League opener, a 4-2 Dodgers victory in front of 2,800 at Holman Stadium. Manager Jim Tracy and assistant trainer Matt Wilson came out to check on Werth, who immediately left the game and went to the clubhouse for treatment.

``At first, I was definitely scared,'' Werth said. ``My initial reaction was pretty negative. I thought there was a pretty good chance it was broken, just based on where it hit, how it felt and how it sounded.''

Ultimately, those fears proved to be unfounded. An X-ray showed no serious damage. Werth has only a bruise and is listed as day-to-day, although he is expected to miss at least a few days.

``It's sore, but not broken,'' he said. ``Hopefully, it'll be all right.''

Werth, 25, spent the first two months of last season on the disabled list. He made a pinch-hitting appearance on opening day, then strained an oblique muscle taking batting practice before the second game of the season.

When he returned in early June, he gradually played himself into a role more prominent than the extra outfielder's spot club officials had envisioned when they acquired him from Toronto with a week left in spring training.

Finally, when both Juan Encarnacion and Dave Roberts were traded at the deadline, Werth became a regular. He finished the season batting .262 with 16 homers and 47 RBI, and he is expected to be a key figure in the Dodgers lineup in 2005, probably from the second spot in the order.

``Anytime somebody takes one in that spot, you have to be concerned,'' Tracy said. ``It was very near the wrist. We'll wait and see, but I assume it will probably be a couple of days.''

--Nakamura arrives: His visa problems rectified, non-roster third baseman and Japanese superstar Norihiro Nakamura arrived in camp Wednesday and worked out with the Dodgers for the first time since last spring, when he spent about three weeks in Los Angeles as part of a working agreement with his former club, the Kintetsu Buffaloes.

Nakamura, who at the time had bleached his hair platinum blond, now sports his natural black.

``I thought about my age, and I changed it,'' said Nakamura, speaking through an interpreter.

New Dodgers pitcher Derek Lowe welcomed Nakamura, whom he met during an All-Star tour of Japan after the 2000 season, by having some fun at his expense. Lowe donned Nakamura's jersey No. 66, then mimicked him by pulling his pants up and muttering incoherently.

``I would never do this if he couldn't take it,'' Lowe said. ``He's like Elvis (in Japan). People love him. Over here, he'll be more subdued. Over there, he had all different colors of hair, sometimes long, sometimes short. He wore hot-pink wristbands, yellow wristbands. If he was a serious guy, or if I had never met him before, I wouldn't do this.''

--Bigger role: For most of two seasons before the Dodgers traded him to the Marlins on July 30, Guillermo Mota was Eric Gagne's dutiful understudy, a lights-out setup man who pined for a day when he would get his chance at closing games. Now, with free agency carrying former Marlins closer Armando Benitez to San Francisco, Mota is getting that chance.

``Armando told me last season he didn't think (the Marlins) were going to re-sign him,'' said Mota, who pitched a hitless fourth inning against the Dodgers on Wednesday. ``He told me I had to be ready to be the closer. I'm just happy to get the chance.''

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

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