BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Wallach Gets OK to Stay on Roster

The Dodgers studied third baseman Tim Wallach as if he were a hamster in their science project Monday at Vero Beach, Fla.

They hit ground balls to his left and right. They dropped bunts in front of him. They pitched to him.

And they decided that Wallach was sound enough to be on their opening-day roster. But they will keep him out of the starting lineup until at least this weekend.

“It’s been a tough two weeks,” said Wallach, who has bulging disks in his lower back. “I’m not used to sitting. I don’t think I could have been a bench player. I would have had to retire.”

Wallach, who has difficulty bending for ground balls but can swing without pain, will be used as a pinch-hitter in the two-game series against the Florida Marlins. Dave Hansen will start in his place.

If the Dodgers had been dissatisfied with Wallach’s workout, they would have put him on the 15-day disabled list. Instead, they decided to activate him before their 6-5 exhibition defeat by the New York Mets, and optioned third baseman Ron Coomer to triple-A Albuquerque.

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Coomer asked over the winter to be released so that he could play in Japan but that was denied. He says now he has asked to be traded.

“I don’t think, except for Billy Ashley, there’s anybody that has done more than me in the minor leagues the last two years,” said Coomer, who batted .338 with 22 homers and 123 RBIs last season at Albuquerque. “Hopefully, there will be a need for me here. But if I can’t play here, hopefully it will be somewhere else in the big leagues.”

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Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo, appearing relaxed for the first time this spring, surprised Japanese reporters by chatting with them for nearly 30 minutes.

“At the beginning of camp, I was (uptight),” said Nomo, the Dodger’s fifth starter. “I just wanted to concentrate. I didn’t want anybody to bother me.

“I’m glad everything turned out so good.”

Nomo is scheduled to make his debut May 2 against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park and says he hopes the Dodgers will tinker with their roster.

He would like to be joined in the rotation by South Korean Chan Ho Park.

“It’ll be better for me if he comes up,” Nomo said. “Chan Ho is my friend.”

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Outfielder Mitch Webster, on learning that Nomo’s first start will be at Candlestick: “Hey, this might be the first time in history that a Dodger has been cheered there.”