BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Howell Is Taking His Time This Time

Jay Howell’s recovery from a tender elbow is based on lessons learned last season, Howell said.

Last season Howell, the Dodgers’ top relief pitcher, was brought into two games in three days only 24 days after undergoing knee surgery. He pitched in pain the rest of the season, and had to undergo a second operation afterward.

Howell then sought an extension of a contract that expires after this season. But the request was denied, so he held out of training camp for a couple of days and demanded to be traded.

“I’m not going to hurt myself and the team again,” Howell said. “I’m not going to come back too soon. I’m going to try not to make the same mistake twice.”

Howell said he felt “better” after throwing in the outfield Friday. Because he has only thrown off a mound twice since going on the disabled list June 27, and felt bad both times, the Dodgers are still saying it could be at least a week before he returns.

Dave Hansen flew coast-to-coast from Vancouver to join the Dodgers from in Montreal Friday after being recalled from triple-A Albuquerque to replace injured Mike Scioscia. A couple of hours after arriving, he had his first hit of the season, a pinch single in the fifth inning.

But Hansen could be excused for worrying about how long he will be around. After all, in his first major league recall in 1989, he was summoned several thousand miles to Montreal from San Antonio, but stayed less than 24 hours before being sent back down.

“I’m getting pretty good at this,” said Hansen, who is in his second stint with the Dodgers this season. “The first time I got called up in ‘89, I brought four bags. Now I brought just one. Plus, of course, my guitar.”

Carlos Hernandez played third base in the ninth inning for the first time in his short major league career, and the first time anywhere since 1986. “At first I was going to go in as a catcher, and Gary Carter was going to third base, but then Bill Russell asked me, ‘You ever played third?’ ” Hernandez said. “I said, ‘Sure, let me go out there.’ I was hoping for a ground ball and a double play.” . . . Jeff Hamilton, who is on the disabled list because of torn knee ligaments, hopes to begin running next week in New York. . . . The four Dodgers in Toronto for the All-Star game weren’t the only players on the team who played last Tuesday. In an unusual workout, Jim Gott, Orel Hershiser and Dennis Cook practiced at Dodger Stadium.