Hundley Still Has Work to Do

Dodger officials are pleased with the progress of catcher Todd Hundley, who still is recovering from reconstructive surgery on his throwing elbow in September of 1997.

But Hundley has failed to throw out any baserunners in 10 steal attempts. Manager Davey Johnson and coach Rick Dempsey, a standout former major league catcher, worked with Hundley on his technique before Thursday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Johnson said it’s all part of the process on Hundley’s long road back.

“This is going to be a long ride,” said Johnson, who gave Hundley his second consecutive day off Thursday. “I’m getting more and more from him, but I don’t want to rush him.

“We’ve got to this point, and I feel good about that. Now, we can work on some other things.”

Johnson and Dempsey worked with Hundley on catching in motions that will help enable him to release balls as quickly as possible. Johnson and Dempsey said Hundley’s elbow isn’t the problem.

“Todd’s arm strength is there, but his rhythm and timing are off,” Dempsey said. “We worked on catching the ball in a forward motion to get the ball down to second quicker.”

*

Dodger officials, including President Bob Graziano, met here with leaders of the Fort McDowell Indian Community, who have proposed building the team a $50-million spring training complex.

Question have arisen about the ability of the Yavapai tribe--on whose reservation the complex would be built--to fund the project. Fred Coons, the ballclub’s director of business development, said funding was not discussed during the meeting.

“It was just a meeting to get reacquainted,” Coons said, “not to talk about anything specific.”

The Florida state legislature is working on a $20-million proposal to keep the Dodgers in Vero Beach. Coons said the Dodgers hope to review both proposals and reach a decision by the end of May.

*

Reliever Antonio Osuna pitched two scoreless innings in his third rehabilitation appearance Thursday for Class-A San Bernardino at Lancaster.

Osuna, recovering from off-season elbow surgery, gave up two hits and struck out two without a walk while throwing 28 pitches, 20 for strikes. Johnson said the Dodgers are considering activating Osuna from the 15-day disabled list this weekend.

Johnson said the Dodgers will probably carry 12 pitchers on the 25-man roster when Osuna is activated.

TONIGHT

* Opponent--San Diego Padres, three games.

* Site--Qualcomm Stadium.

* Tonight--7.

* TV--Channel 5 today, Saturday and Sunday.

* Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

* Records--Dodgers 6-4, Padres 4-5.

* 1998 record vs. Padres--5-7.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’ KEVIN BROWN (1-0, 3.29 ERA)

vs.

PADRES’ ANDY ASHBY (1-1, 7.88 ERA)

* Update--Brown faces his former team for the first time because of the rainout Sunday, which bumped everyone in the Dodger rotation back a day. The right-hander is coming off a strong outing last Saturday, pitching eight scoreless innings in a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Ashby, who replaced Brown as the Padres’ ace, also won in his last outing. Brown stirred anger among San Diego fans--and team executives--in the off-season, going to the Dodgers after leading the Padres to the pennant. The Dodgers lured Brown with a record-setting, $105-million contract, including unprecedented perks, and Padre officials, who offered Brown a six-year, $60-million deal, attacked their Dodger counterparts in newspaper stories for supposedly bidding against themselves. Brown is not expected to be warmly received by Padre fans during the opener of the weekend series expected to draw 150,000 to 160,000.

* Saturday, 7 p.m.--Chan Ho Park (0-1, 5.25) vs. Sterling Hitchcock (1-0, 6.75).

* Sunday, 1 p.m.--Ismael Valdes (1-0, 4.05) vs. Woody Williams (0-0, 3.46).