BASEBALL : Umpire Watches Dodgers’ Nomo Pitch, Sees a Problem

Ed Vargo, supervisor of National League umpires, watched Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo during a simulated game Tuesday in Vero Beach, Fla., and told him he needs to eliminate the hesitation in his delivery to avoid being called for balks.

“He needs a little fine-tuning because it’s got to be one continuous motion,” Vargo said. “It ain’t no big deal.”

A clue, perhaps, to why Nomo suffered from tendinitis last season and still has been unable to pitch in a minor league game this spring:

He has thrown more than 140 pitches in a game 61 times during his five-year career, and in two of them he threw 198 and 191 pitches.

He concluded the 1993 season by throwing 144, 182 and 177 pitches in his last three games, and had arm troubles the following season.

*

If the strike ends before opening day, Monday, Dodger replacement players still will receive $10,000 in bonuses. But they will miss out on $20,000 severance paychecks and $5,000 opening-day bonuses.