Pitchers Deliver Encouragement

It’s still too early to determine whether the surgically repaired elbows of Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby will be 100% when the season opens, and whether Kazuhisa Ishii will be good enough to be a top-of-the-rotation type starter, but the Dodgers were very encouraged by what they saw Wednesday.

Ashby made his first exhibition start, giving up two runs and four hits in two innings of the Dodgers’ 4-2 loss to the Florida Marlins, but he felt good about his stuff and showed no ill effects from his 30-pitch outing.

Brown threw 37 pitches, 30 for strikes, in a two-inning simulated game, his fastball reaching 93 mph, and Ishii threw 41 pitches in a two-inning simulated game, giving up one hit and freezing Dodger right fielder Shawn Green with a nasty breaking ball.

“He has a really good slider,” Brown said of Ishii. “He has great stuff.”

Ashby, who hadn’t pitched in a game since last April 12, wasn’t as crisp--he gave up two hits and a run in each of his two innings--but it was more important to Manager Jim Tracy that Ashby threw “with no inhibition whatsoever. All he was thinking about was going after hitters.”

Ashby, who had surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his elbow last June, feels he’s transitioning from a rehabilitation mode to a preparation mode. Instead of wondering how his arm will respond to more work, he’s focusing on mechanics and location.

“Each time I go out there my stuff is better,” Ashby said. “My location wasn’t good, and I fell behind guys, but it’s been a long road, and I couldn’t be happier with the way my arm felt.”

Brown, who had the same surgery as Ashby, gave up two hits and was pleased with the movement of his split-fingered fastball and cut fastball.

Barring any setback, he will start an exhibition game Saturday or Sunday.

“The biggest thing is I was able to throw an inning, sit [for a half-inning], get back up and throw, and I had no problem getting loose,” Brown said. “It’s one more hurdle to clear.”

Some pitchers who have had flexor-tendon surgery have had problems regaining late movement on their fastball, “but to me, the biggest issue is velocity,” said Brown, who tops out at 96-97 mph. “If that comes back, I’ll feel good about my movement.”

Tracy liked the freedom with which Brown threw. “I didn’t see any type of restriction; he’s finishing his pitches,” Tracy said. “The crispness of his breaking balls was vintage Kevin Brown.”

Ishii’s fastball reached 91 mph, and he had some control problems, throwing one pitch to the backstop and hitting Mark Grudzielanek on the hip with a breaking ball, but he fared well in his first test against major league hitters.

“What you’re looking for at this point is a few good pitches,” pitching coach Jim Colborn said. “I saw a few good ones and a few great ones [from Brown and Ishii]. I’m 100% satisfied with both.”

Ishii will make his first exhibition start Friday or Saturday. He described his pitches Wednesday as “average, at best. I feel I can do a little better. “I want to use my curve to strike hitters out. I felt good, but with a little more work I should be OK.”

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A second precautionary MRI test on Grudzielanek, this one focusing on the right hip and lower back area, revealed no abnormalities Wednesday. Grudzielanek had an MRI test on his sore right hamstring last week, and that was also normal. The second baseman said he was feeling “a lot better” Wednesday, but he still hasn’t played in an exhibition game. “I’m getting antsy, absolutely,” Grudzielanek said.