Ishii Hopes to Resolve Control Issues Tonight

Kazuhisa Ishii will make his long-awaited major league debut tonight against the Rockies, a start that seemed in jeopardy because of his ongoing confidence and control problems.

But as jittery as the left-hander from Japan has been in recent weeks--the worst of it was his 22/3-inning, five-run, seven-walk performance in Seattle last Sunday--Manager Jim Tracy said he never considered demoting Ishii to the bullpen or the minor leagues.

“A decision like that could have been even more detrimental,” Tracy said. “We’re showing him confidence, telling him we respect what he’s done, and we’re going to give him the opportunity to show us that spring training for him is like spring training for everyone else, a time to prepare for the season.”

Ishii was spectacular in his spring debut, throwing two shutout innings with four strikeouts and no walks against Atlanta on March 8, but he has struggled since, finishing the spring with a 1-2 record, 12.96 earned-run average and 10 walks in 81/3 innings.

He has spent countless hours in the bullpen the past two weeks trying to find a consistent rhythm to his delivery.

“I’m not so much concerned with technique as I am with the mental aspects of pitching, of concentration,” Ishii said through an interpreter. “In order to succeed I have to have confidence, and I’ve been working in the bullpen to rebuild some of that confidence that may have been lost.”

The Dodgers invested $23.46 million in Ishii this winter, an $11.26-million posting fee paid to Ishii’s former Japanese team, the Yakult Swallows, and a four-year, $12.2-million deal to sign him, so he will have every opportunity to succeed. Ishii also has an impressive pedigree--he went 78-46 with a 3.38 ERA the last 10 years and pitched in six Japan Series.

“It’s not like he’s brand new to pitching in important games,” Tracy said. “He’s pitched in six Japan World Series games, and I know what those are like, how significant they are.... You’re allowed to have concerns [about Ishii], but I think [starting him tonight] is the right thing to do.”

A Dodger hitting a towering home run?

That might seem like fiction given the club’s problems on offense, but it’s definitely science fiction as Shawn Green accomplishes the feat in a move titled “The Core.” The right fielder has a bit part in the big-budget Paramount production produced by David Foster and directed by Jon Amiel, but said he’s not considering quitting his day job.

“It’s just going to be for fun,” Green said. “It’s going to be an hour or so to just do a couple of shots at home plate. It’s not something that I ever want to pursue [as a career]. It’s really just to try something new and have some fun.” Asked if he’d consider pursuing an acting career, Green said, “No. Never.”

In the movie, which is still being filmed, a team of scientists goes underground to reactivate the Earth’s mysteriously stilled inner core with a nuclear device. Green is scheduled to shoot his scene today at Dodger Stadium, hitting his homer as a space shuttle flies low over the stadium. A computer-generated shuttle will be added later.

Green was reluctant to film the scene today because the team is struggling, so Foster arranged with Jeff Moorad, Green’s agent, to complete the work in about two hours in the afternoon.