Green Remembers Boos but Focuses on Future

Shawn Green was booed often at Dodger Stadium during his struggles in a disappointing first half.

These days, however, the veteran infielder-outfielder is a fan favorite again. Green has produced since the All-Star break, helping the Dodgers remain atop the National League West.

It has been a bumpy ride, but Green is focused on the road ahead.

“Sometimes it’s hard,” said Green, who went one for three Sunday in a 10-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. “That’s just the way it is in this game when you’re struggling. It’s not fun to go through, and it’s definitely not fun to get booed.

“I don’t care who you are, it’s tough. But your skin thickens a little bit and you just have to battle through it.”

The two-time All-Star is considered a streaky power hitter. Despite a productive 10-year career, Green often has had bad streaks.

“A lot of people think just because you’ve done it in the past, it should happen automatically,” Green said. “I wish that was the case for me, but it’s not. It doesn’t always come easy for me.

“Everyone from the outside seems to have all the answers when you’re struggling. Everyone tries to break it down into being some small mechanical flaw or something like that, but there’s always more to it.

“The good thing is that my swing feels really good right now, and we’re in first place. I’ve said all along that the first half is over and I can’t do anything about those games, what I can do something about is the games we have left.”

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Manager Jim Tracy said Kazuhisa Ishii would start Tuesday against the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium.

Although Ishii is tied for the team lead with 11 victories, Tracy has said he’s reluctant to have the left-hander in the rotation because of his erratic performance.

Ishii hopes to stay put.

“Whether or not I’m a starter, or who’s going to start, that’s all something that Tracy makes a decision on, not me,” Ishii said through an interpreter. “The only thing that I can control is, whenever I go out there, to do the best for my team. That’s all there really is to it.”

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There were mixed reviews of Hideo Nomo’s second minor league rehabilitation start for triple-A Las Vegas, and Tracy said the team had not decided how to proceed.

Nomo pitched four innings, giving up eight hits and four earned runs Saturday in Las Vegas’ 8-7 victory over Salt Lake. Nomo also had eight strikeouts and three walks in an outing that wasn’t as sharp as his first three-inning stint for the 51s.

“He got out there a ways, which was encouraging,” Tracy said of the length of the appearance. “He gave up four runs, but I think the ballpark he pitched in had a little to do with it. We’ll sit down and formulate our game plan for him beyond this point.”

ON DECK

Opponent -- Montreal Expos, four games.

Site -- Olympic Stadium.

TV -- FSN2 all four games.

Radio -- KFWB (980), KWKW (1330).

Records -- Dodgers 72-51, Expos 52-71.

Record vs. Expos -- 2-1.

Tonight, 4 PDT -- Odalis Perez (6-4, 2.75 ERA) vs. Sun-Woo Kim (3-4, 5.44).

Tuesday, 4 p.m. -- Kazuhisa Ishii (11-6, 4.84) vs. Rocky Biddle (4-6, 6.99).

Wednesday, 4 p.m. -- Jose Lima (11-3, 3.89) vs. Tony Armas (2-3, 3.99).

Thursday, 4 p.m. -- Jeff Weaver (11-10, 3.68) vs. Livan Hernandez (9-11, 3.62).