DREIFORT LOST FOR THE SEASON RIGHT-HANDER TO HAVE RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

The news on right-hander Darren Dreifort was the worst possible for the Dodgers: He will have reconstructive surgery on his pitching elbow for the second time in his career.

The procedure will keep him out until after the 2002 All-Star break.

Interim general manager Dave Wallace, who also lost starter Andy Ashby to injury for the season, said he doesn't know whether the team will try to acquire a veteran starter for a playoff push.

``I don't think we address that until we get closer to the (July 31 trading) deadline and we play some more games,'' Wallace said. ``Two things have to happen. We're going to do everything we can to remain competitive. However, we also have to keep in mind what we're looking at down the line.

``We want to have a pretty good team for a while to come, so we don't want to offset that balance, either.''

An MRI on Dreifort's elbow showed a near-complete tear of his ulnar collateral nerve and that the flexor muscle tore off the bone. He will undergo surgery to repair both injuries Tuesday at Centinela Hospital Medical Center.

Team physician Dr. Frank Jobe, who pioneered the ``Tommy John'' surgery in 1974, and Dr. Ralph Gambardella will perform the surgery. A ligament will be taken from Dreifort's right forearm and placed in his elbow.

Jobe said he expects a full recovery. He added that the ``Tommy John'' surgery he performed on Dreifort in 1995 won't impact this rehabilitation. Jobe, who has performed close to 2,000 of these surgeries, couldn't recall any other pitcher having it done twice.

``It's just like playing the lottery, except it's not a lottery you want to win,'' Dreifort said. ``I want to go out and do my job every fifth day and help the team win and have a good season and get to the postseason and all that, and I won't be able to help them, at least on the mound for the rest of the year.

``I feel worse about that than getting cut on.''

Dreifort's injury gives the Dodgers $77.5 million worth of starting pitchers on the disabled list.

Ashby, who signed a $22.5 million, three-year deal in December, had surgery last month to repair a detached flexor muscle. He should be ready for spring training. Dreifort is in the first year of a $55 million, five-year deal that caught industry officials by surprise given a career mark of 39-45 at the time of the signing and a history of elbow and shoulder problems.

Both contracts are insured, which means the Dodgers would recoup a year's salary in each case if they miss an entire season.

Dreifort should be ready to throw a ball in four months, pitch off a mound in 10 months and return next July.

Jobe, who said the ligament was ``90 percent torn,'' acknowledged that a second reconstructive surgery on one player is uncharted territory, but he added, ``I know physiology a little bit, so that's why I told you I thought he would do well.''

Scouts have long said Dreifort's mechanics were flawed and his slingshot release makes him susceptible to elbow and shoulder injuries. His first elbow injury occurred in 1994 and he missed the 1995 season after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament the following spring.

Dreifort, who was 4-7 with a 5.13 ERA in 16 starts, had his 1998 and 1999 seasons end prematurely with soreness in his right shoulder.

``I don't think there's going to be a major change in mechanics,'' said Wallace, one of the top pitching mentors in baseball. ``That's something that everybody looks at and it sounds so easy, but the reality of it is it's a very, very difficult thing to do. And he's been pretty successful with the way he's been throwing the ball.''

Dreifort suffered the injury on Friday in San Diego but pitched at least another inning with it.

``It is sad,'' Dodgers staff ace Kevin Brown said. ``How can it be anything but? It's definitely not a time to rejoice, for him, for the team or anyone. I don't know what I can tell him. I haven't been through it. He's been through it. Unfortunately, he knows what he's going to go through. If anybody can do it, he can. He's a hard worker, the most dedicated I've ever seen.''

Wallace said the club was content to use a rotation of Brown, Chan Ho Park, Terry Adams, Luke Prokopec and Eric Gagne. Brown and Park are proven veterans, but Adams is a converted reliever, Prokopec is a rookie and Gagne has been unsuccessful at the major-league level in repeat opportunities. That trio has a combined 60 major-league starts.

There are also issues as to whether the back end of the starting rotation can handle the stress. Adams has made six major-league starts and hasn't pitched more than 101 innings in any major-league season. He's already thrown 63 2/3 this season.

``To say this will work, I really don't know the answer to that question right now,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``I think that time and games played over the next couple weeks or so will give us answer to that question. But having said that, it's much easier said than done to say that, hey, you're going to go out and look for a starting pitcher, a bona fide starting pitcher.''

DREIFORT'S HISTORY

--June 1993: Selected with the second overall pick by the Dodgers in the amateur draft.

--March 14, 1995: Underwent reconstructive elbow surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

--Sept. 1998: Didn't pitch after his Sept. 4 start because of soreness in his right shoulder.

--Sept. 1999: Last appearance was Sept. 15 because of tightness in his right shoulder.

--Dec. 2000: Signed a five-year, $55 million contract to remain with the Dodgers.

--June 30, 2001: Left start in San Diego after 5 1/3innings because of a torn ligament in his right elbow.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Darren Dreifort, left, will have surgery on his pitching elbow and won't return until the middle of next season. The Dodgers don't know whether they'll try to acquire a proven starter to replace him.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

(2) no caption (Darren Dreifort)

Box: Dreifort's History (see text)