DODGERS UPDATE: ISHII: `I WON'T WORRY' LEFT-HANDER BACK FROM HEAD INJURY, SET ON IMPROVING.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

The ball exploded off Brian Hunter's bat and hit a helpless Kazuhisa Ishii squarely on the forehead, leaving him bloodied and sprawled on the mound.

It was Sept. 8, and the Dodgers were playing the Houston Astros. The last pitch the left-hander from Japan threw in 2002 was hit with such force he needed a two-hour operation to remove bone chips from his skull and have a titanium plate planted in his head.

``It was nasty,'' Dodgers third baseman Adrian Beltre said. ``It was tough to see, but it's nice to have him back. Hopefully, he can forget about it and just go out there and pitch well. I know some people get mental about that and probably get frustrated, scared to get hit again.

``We're hoping he can come back strong and forget about what happened last year.''

Such incidents have ended careers, the latest example being former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bryce Florie. He never recovered.

However, the Dodgers say Ishii is different. And they're taking their lead from the player himself.

``It's not a problem for me,'' Ishii said Friday before participating in the Dodgers' last winter workout at Dodger Stadium. ``I haven't met any consultants or psychologists. I've never been hit by a line drive, and from now on, I won't worry about it at all.''

Ishii's situation adds another question to a Dodgers starting rotation that is more a riddle-me-this quiz than anything etched in stone, given right-handers Darren Dreifort and Kevin Brown both are coming back after two operations apiece the past two seasons.

``If it's an issue with Ishii, it's one that's created by the mass-communication people. That's my opinion,'' Dodgers pitching coach Jim Colborn said.

``From my point of view, there's absolutely no issue on any front with him, and he'll be treated like a fresh, young colt that's just been brought to the race track.''

Though Ishii said he has no fear of taking the mound and facing live batters again, he lives with the memory of last leaving the Dodger Stadium mound in an ambulance rather than through the dugout. However, in the offseason and throughout his recovery, team officials said Ishii never sought psychological help.

Instead, they suggested the circumstances surrounding the incident have helped Ishii make sense of it.

Because of the L.A. Marathon that day, the game started in late afternoon, when it's difficult for pitchers and batters to see the ball because of shadows near home plate.

Ishii said he never saw the ball come off the bat. Thus, the Dodgers consider it a freak accident, and they no longer will schedule twilight games in September, which has eased Ishii's mind.

As a result, Ishii is focused on improving on his 14-10 rookie season in which he had a 4.27 ERA but had serious control issues. He walked a major-league-leading 106 batters.

Ishii, 29, is more confident having pitched in the United States for a year after a distinguished career with the Yakult Swallows in Japan. He spent the past month working on his delivery and control and this spring plans to change his daily routine. For example, he plans to arrive earlier to get more work in before playing golf in the afternoons.

``Last year was a very good experience for me, but this year I would like to be more aggressive, not only in baseball but in the way of lifestyle,'' said Ishii, who continues to work on his English but uses an interpreter. ``Last year, I didn't know anything about the baseball here. But now that this is my second year, I know how the baseball parks are, how the players are, so I would like to aggressively communicate with the players surrounding me.''

If that's what happens, the Dodgers will be pleased. They've stated repeatedly Ishii will suffer no emotional scars from his ordeal, but they quietly admit no one really knows until he takes the mound and faces live batters for the first time.

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The return of Kazuhisa Ishii, shown on a stretcher at Dodger Stadium after he was hit by a line drive in September, adds to the intrigue surrounding the rotation.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer