Brown Not Ready to Pitch

Kevin Brown will not pitch against the New York Mets on Friday night, and until the right-hander proves to Dodger coaches he has regained his form, rhythm and velocity, his return from June 11 surgery for a herniated disk in his lower back will remain indefinite.

“I know what Kevin Brown looks like when it’s very right,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “And as the manager of this club, I’m not going to put Kevin Brown back on that mound feeling like we are compromising the situation because we’re sending a name and a reputation out there and not a name and a reputation with his good stuff. I won’t do that.”

Brown allowed one earned run and five hits in six innings for triple-A Las Vegas against Edmonton on Friday night, seemingly putting him on a course to return this week, but General Manager Dan Evans said Brown “didn’t have his best stuff.”

Brown’s fastball, in the 93-95 range when he’s in peak form, was clocked from 87-90 mph Friday. Asked what the reports were on Brown’s rehabilitation start, Tracy said, “He got guys out.”

Brown, who suffered two setbacks in his return from major elbow surgery, in April and May, struggled during a bullpen workout in Dodger Stadium on Sunday, and he threw again in the Olympic Stadium bullpen before Tuesday night’s game.

“He looked better than he did the other day, but we haven’t made any decisions,” pitching coach Jim Colborn said. “He was sharper, he had better command, he was more consistent.”

Asked if Brown showed enough to be activated, Colborn said, “He’s pretty close.”

Tracy said Brown will not make any more minor league starts, but Brown apparently didn’t show him enough Sunday or Tuesday to warrant a return this week.

“I’m not going to compromise this man,” Tracy said. “He pitched for us last year until all the fibers left in his elbow tore themselves away. He had no gas in the tank.”

Brown feels like he can pitch, “but the question is, what best serves the team’s interest?” Brown said. “My stuff is obviously not where it has been. Does it get better when you walk on the mound [with the extra adrenaline of a game]? That’s usually the case, but still, I can’t fault them for doing what they’re doing.

“It doesn’t do me any good to walk out there just for the sake of walking out there. I’ve got to be at the point where I’m going to help the team.”

Tracy believes Brown can iron out his problems in one or two good side sessions.

“But until he finds it, I’m not moving forward,” Tracy said. “Rhythm and timing are important elements. He’s been out for a while. To just think you can go out there and have it all fall in your lap, it doesn’t work like that. If the delivery is not in sync, things will get lost, and velocity is part of that equation.”

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Reliever Jesse Orosco, who was unavailable the last two games because of stiffness in his lower back, threw in the bullpen Tuesday afternoon and was available Tuesday night.... Dodger muscle therapist Bill La Seur, who vowed after an Aug. 6 loss to Pittsburgh not to eat solid foods until the Dodgers lost again--and lost six pounds during the Dodgers’ subsequent four-game win streak--was finally able to hit the postgame spread after Sunday night’s 6-3 loss to the Phillies. “I had a chunk of lasagna the size of a car battery,” La Seur said.

TODAY

DODGERS’

KAZUHISA ISHII

(12-7, 4.19 ERA)

vs.

EXPOS’

BARTOLO COLON

(5-1, 3.20 ERA)

Olympic Stadium, Montreal, 4 p.m.

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

Update--Ishii, who has given up 17 earned runs and 15 hits, including five home runs, and walked 13 in 12 2/3 innings of his last three starts, needs to rebound or face a possible demotion to the bullpen or the minor leagues when Brown comes off the disabled list. Montreal Manager Frank Robinson took advantage of Monday’s off day to skip No. 5 starter Britt Reames in the rotation, enabling his top two pitchers, Colon and Javier Vazquez, to pitch against the Dodgers.