DODGERS NOTEBOOK : LASORDA COULD LEAVE HOSPITAL ROOM TODAY.

Former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda, who on Friday underwent his second angioplasty, could be home and at his granddaughter's first birthday party today, according to his doctor.

Dr. Michael Mellman said that Lasorda's recovery would be ``dramatically different'' from his first, which came after a heart attack.

``This was almost a planned event that was part of the follow-up that we had planned for him since his last hospitalization,'' Mellman said.

He added that the restenosis, or reclosure of the same artery, ``is a statistically expected event that occurs most commonly over the first year after an angioplasty is performed. The closer to the original angioplasty, the more likely the subsequent stenosis, and this can happen more than once. With each subsequent angioplasty . . . the likelihood of it staying open is greater, and the likelihood of Tommy being as ornery as ever is greater.''

Lasorda, who turned 69 on Sept. 22, underwent the initial angioplasty June 26, shortly after suffering a heart attack. He resigned on July 29, after nearly 20 years as Dodgers manager, and was retained by the club as a vice president.

He complained recently of chest pain and told his wife, Jo, that his chest felt ``heavy, with a burning sensation,'' she said.

``It wasn't drastic,'' Jo Lasorda said, ``so we were blessed again. He was lucky a small pain in his chest was warning enough to have it checked.''

Lasorda had a routine examination on Thursday. As a result of those tests, Dr. Anthony Reid, who performed both angioplasties, had Lasorda return Friday. Lasorda did not suffer a second heart attack and did not suffer muscle damage, according to doctors.

``Naturally, he's not happy about this,'' Jo Lasorda said. ``He's not the best patient. This is difficult for him.''

The incident, she said, further reinforced his midsummer's decision to retire. And while her husband's name has come up for some of the baseball's managerial openings, Jo Lasorda said, this ought to end that speculation as well.

``This shows you, I think, that he did the right thing,'' she said. ``Sometimes it takes more than one warning.

``Once you've had a heart attack, your mind doesn't let you think about anything else.''

When she saw Tom after surgery for the first time, she told him, ``I think you better stay a vice president and take care of yourself.''

Encourage the ump: The six umpires were given a standing ovation by the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium crowd when they entered the field just before game time. They tipped their caps and waved and smiled at thousands of people who a few minutes later would shout insults at them. It's ball.

Same ol', same ol': When they were swept by the Cincinnati Reds in last year's division series, the Dodgers used the same rotation and took the same beating. In Game 3 against the Reds, Hideo Nomo allowed five runs in five innings. A year later, he allowed five runs in 3-2/3 innings, his shortest outing in more than a year.

Also: Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley watched the game from a box adjacent to the Dodgers' dugout. He did not do the Macarena. . . . There have been three division sweeps in the short history of the wild card. The Dodgers have been on the short end of two of the three.