FLUENT IN BASEBALL DODGERS CATCHER LO DUCA HANDLES STAFF WITH APLOMB.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

Fluent in Japanese, Dodgers pitching coach Jim Colborn was asked to rate catcher Paul Lo Duca's working knowledge of the language on a scale from 1 to 10.

``Can you do it out of 50? Then I'd give it 1 out of 50,'' Colborn said. ``One out of 10 is giving him too much credit.''

But Lo Duca understands Kazuhisa Ishii, who, like his countryman Hideo Nomo, speaks about as much English as Lo Duca does Japanese.

In fact, Lo Duca has little trouble understanding any of his pitchers. And that's quite an accomplishment considering four of the current starting five never had even played catch with Lo Duca before spring training.

Ishii, a rookie, is the winningest pitcher in the Dodgers rotation, and Nomo at times has resembled his old self. Odalis Perez, an 11-15 pitcher in four seasons in Atlanta, is 9-3 with two one-hitters in his first year with the Dodgers.

Andy Ashby, rebounding from elbow surgery, and Omar Daal, a disgruntled reliever filling in for disabled ace Kevin Brown, also are on the top of their games.

Even without Brown and Darren Dreifort, who also is coming off elbow surgery, the Dodgers have one of the majors' most effective starting rotations. This despite seeing 2001 starter Terry Adams, James Baldwin, Chan Ho Park and Luke Prokopec traded or unsigned by the Dodgers as free agents. Another, Eric Gagne, was converted to closer.

``It can be tough on a catcher,'' manager Jim Tracy said. ``To learn his repertoire, learn his little idiosyncrasies, which definitely help you along the way.''

Lo Duca calls bonding with pitchers one of the quintessential requirements of being a good catcher. It takes patience, a trait Lo Duca discovered painfully during eight years of fast-food meals and worst-class bus rides through the minor leagues.

It takes a supportive personality and tough love to guide pitchers through difficult innings. It takes playing shrink for someone who either can't throw strikes or watch strikes get crushed out of the ballpark. It takes knowing when to break out the pep talk. It takes knowing when to shut up for those who simply need a pat or a wink. And it takes an honest approach.

``Spring training was all you basically needed,'' Lo Duca said. ``Especially with Nomo and Ishii. They always thought the language barrier would be tough. But the body language and the terms are basically the same.''

It would seem that Lo Duca has been his own best interpreter. Each current starter's earned-run average is under 4.00. Gagne is 28 of 29 in save chances. The Dodgers are in first place. Dreifort could soon return.

``It's sort of like the jockey and the horse,'' Lo Duca said. ``The jockey gets the acclaim. I'm the jockey, but those guys are the horses. We always say it's 80 percent the horse.

``It's been a lot easier than people think.''

Perez, for example, wasn't expected to have this much success when he was a complement to left fielder Brian Jordan in the trade that sent Gary Sheffield to Atlanta. Perez had his second one-hit shutout of the season Tuesday against Colorado and leads the Dodgers starters with a 2.33 ERA.

The numbers can be attributed to several factors, topped by Lo Duca's ability to handle the staff.

``They know how to call the games,'' Perez said of Lo Duca and backup Chad Kreuter, who had made 15 starts at catcher before going on the disabled list Friday. ``They know how to take the approach for all of us. For us, most of the time we're going with whatever he calls.

``Lo Duca had a great year last year. It was the year where all the roads were open for him. He deserved respect. Because as a player, as a teammate and as a friend, he's unbelievable. It's nice to have him around.''

Lo Duca's rise was boosted mainly by his hitting, which last year was among the best for catchers. He's not on pace to match the 25 home runs he hit in 2001 (he has four), but he is batting an above-average .319 entering Saturday's game in Anaheim in the No. 2 spot. His job is setting up the middle of the lineup - Shawn Green, Jordan and Eric Karros.

``He's going to do that in his sleep,'' Green said of Lo Duca batting over .300. ``He's just that kind of hitter.''

The only flaw in Lo Duca's game is throwing out basestealers. He's caught fewer than 25 percent of them. But overall, Lo Duca is becoming a complete catcher.

And an underrated one.

``He's a lot better than a lot of people give him credit for,'' Tracy said. ``Not so much around here, but I think outside of the Los Angeles area, Paul Lo Duca gets taken for granted a little bit.''

CAPTION(S):

6 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Paul Lo Duca has had no problems with language barriers as the Dodgers catcher.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

(2) Paul Lo Duca

(3) Damian Miller

(4) Benito Santiago

(5) Javy Lopez

(6) Mike Piazza

Box:

A CHARGED BATTERY MATE