DODGERS NOTEBOOK : DRAVECKY FLASHES TO '89 LEARNING OF BUTLER'S PLIGHT.

Dave Dravecky and Bob Knepper, once teammates with the San Francisco Giants, on Wednesday were in Dravecky's office, about an hour's drive from Coors Field in Denver.

Knepper turned the conversation to another former teammate, also a member of their 1989 World Series club.

``Hey,'' he said to Dravecky, ``did you know Bugsy broke his hand?''

On Aug. 10, 1989, Dravecky returned from a bout with cancer after nearly a year. Brett Butler was his center fielder. Five days later, Dravecky made the last start of his career, which ended with the broken left arm he sustained when he threw a pitch.

Butler's left hand was broken by an inside pitch, in his fifth game after returning from cancer, seven years later.

``I watched the television highlights and thought, `My goodness, this is deja vu, all over,'' Dravecky said. ``How weird was that? There definitely was a flashback. My heart went out to him again.''

On Tuesday night, when Butler's season and perhaps his career ended with that fastball, his wife, Eveline, said dully, ``History is repeating itself.'' Dravecky called it, ``Shades of '89.''

The significant difference is that Butler's injury was not related to the cancer, found four months ago in his tonsil.

``We were grateful, if you can say grateful, that it had nothing to do with the cancer,'' said Dravecky, who had his left arm amputated as a result of his cancer. ``He can heal and come back again, if he chooses.''

Just as there was none for Butler, Dravecky, also a spiritual man, said he experienced not a shred of anger when his comeback failed so dramatically.

``You know why?,'' Dravecky said. ``Putting it in the context of my own personal experience, the reason he's not angry, is because, much like me, Brett was told he'd never play in the big leagues. So, the first day we put the uniform on, we beat the odds. Everything after that was icing on the cake. I can't begin to think anything but that for Brett. He did it, against the odds, just because of his size, to say nothing of what he's gone through.''

Also: With a sharp single to right in the first inning, catcher Mike Piazza extended to 19 games his career-high hitting streak. The streak matches the Dodgers' season high, accomplished by Mike Blowers. . . . Manager Bill Russell, in explaining two lineup wrinkles against St. Louis' left-handed starter, Donovan Osborne, said, ``You go with who's hot and who's making things happen.'' Switch-hitter Chad Fonville led off and played at second base ahead of the slumping Delino DeShields (1 for his last 29). The left-field platoon was abandoned, meanwhile, as Todd Hollandsworth started over Billy Ashley against a left-hander. A no-brainer, really: Hollandsworth entered the game batting .267 against lefties, while Ashley was at .213, with 27 strikeouts in 75 at-bats. . . . Visiting Dodger Stadium for Hideo Nomo's start - and throwing out the first ball - was former Japan prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.