DODGERS NOTEBOOK : BUTLER WORKING TO OVERCOME SHOULDER NUMBNESS.

Brett Butler was cleared to begin work toward returning to baseball, following Wednesday's examination of the nerves in his right shoulder.

``We're optimistic his strength will return,'' Dodgers physical therapist Pat Screnar said. ``It is difficult, though, to put a time frame on it.''

The nerves were injured during cancer surgery, and Butler has experienced numbness since. Screnar said that because the damage is to his right, or front, shoulder it might make hitting difficult. Throwing should be not be a problem for the left-handed center fielder.

Screnar said Butler would be monitored for the next four weeks, during Butler's recovery work in New Orleans.

``He's got a long road ahead of him,'' Screnar said. ``He knows that. A month from now we'll know a lot more about what his chances are.''

Sad news: It didn't take long for the news of Tom Lasorda's retirement to reach a certain Italian restaurant in Exton, Pa.

Lasorda's Marchwood Tavern, not far from Philadelphia, is run by several of Tom Lasorda's brothers, including Morris.

``We're getting a lot of people stopping in and telling us how sorry they are he had to retire,'' Morris Lasorda said just before the dinner rush. ``But they all agree it's the best thing for him, for his healthy and for his family.

``Everybody's kind of sad. His life was around baseball. Hopefully that will continue in his new position. But we're a little sad about it.''

The walls of Lasorda's are filled with baseball memorabilia. And you can buy a baseball autographed by Lasorda at the counter on the way out.

``I know,'' Morris said, ``this was the hardest decision he's ever made in his whole life.''

Add Lasorda: Lasorda, who suffers from arthritis, has been told that he must wait at least five months before undergoing knee replacement surgery. He said Wednesday that the surgery was moved back because of his recent heart attack and subsequent angioplasty.

Also: Mike Piazza has thrown out only 17 of 122 basestealers. The Piazza-Hideo Nomo battery has failed to throw out 33 of 37. . . . Mike Blowers will have his anterior cruciate ligament replaced during surgery Friday. Dr. Ralph Gambardella will graft a portion of a tendon from the front of Blowers' knee in place of the ACL. . . . In a coaching career that began in 1967, Dodgers third base coach Joey Amalfitano has worked under nine managers in 10 different tenures.