BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Worrell Appears Ready to Return

As the bullpen goes, so go the Dodgers, and it looks as though relief might be on its way. Todd Worrell threw 29 pitches in a simulated game Saturday and said he felt good afterward. If he recovers well today, he will probably be activated Monday.

To make room on the roster, left-handed reliever Omar Daal is expected to be sent back to triple-A Albuquerque.

Worrell’s return will lessen the load on set-up man Jim Gott and Darren Dreifort, who took over for Worrell as the closer. Gott has appeared in 22 of the team’s 43 games, among the highest number of appearances in the league. He and Dreifort have each pitched 23 innings.

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Delino DeShields doesn’t exactly have good memories about Cincinnati, where he was quarantined at the start of last season with chickenpox.

“I caught them the last day of spring training and broke out when we were playing here,” DeShields said. “I was at the Hilton for three nights and they wouldn’t let me fly home (to Montreal) because of the chickenpox. So we drove to Detroit to try and cross the border (into Canada), and they wouldn’t let me into the country. So we had to go to Plattsburg, N.Y., and there we got a doctor who said it was OK to travel. It took me six days to get home to Montreal.”

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Former Dodger Lenny Harris, now with the Cincinnati Reds, was teasing Brett Butler while he was taking batting practice about reaching 2,000 hits last week. “It must be the hair,” Harris said, referring to Butler’s longer hair.

Harris, an infielder who played for the Dodgers from 1989-93, was not offered a contract after last season. He said that Manager Tom Lasorda called him and asked him if he was interested in returning, but Harris said no, that he felt it best to move on.

Harris has been the Reds’ most frequently used pinch-hitter with five hits in 19 at-bats. He has nine hits in his last 16 at-bats overall.