Carrara Has His Son in Mind

Chicago to Los Angeles. By air, it’s a journey of no more than a few hours, but for Dodger right-hander Giovanni Carrara, it was the longest trip of his life.

“I felt like I was on that plane for 24 hours,” he said.

Carrara made that trip at dawn last Wednesday after learning a few hours earlier that his 2 1/2 -year-old son, Giovanni, Jr., had suffered a seizure back home that had lasted 45 minutes. Carrara was preparing for bed in his Chicago hotel room after the Dodgers had played the Cubs when his wife, Dorian, informed Carrara of his son’s condition.

“I went crazy in that hotel room until they could get me a flight,” said Carrara. “I just wanted to be with my son.”

Carrara finally took off at 6 a.m., leaving all his belongings in his room for the club to pack up and, hours later, joined his wife and son at the hospital. There father and mother stayed by their son’s bedside day and night. Giovanni, Jr., had no repeat episodes after the initial seizure and was allowed to come home Saturday.

His father, anxiously awaiting test results he hopes will pinpoint the nature of the medical problem, rejoined the Dodgers Monday.

“I’ve got a job to do here,” he said, “but my thoughts are going to be there with my son until we find out what caused this.”

The swelling in the young Carrara’s brain must fully subside before definitive tests can be run. The boy had earlier suffered a seizure when he was 6 months old.

“It was a rough time, something I never want to go through again,” the Dodger reliever said. “It’s hard to see your son like that and know there is nothing you can do.”

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Dodger outfielder Milton Bradley, out for the season because of a torn tendon in his left knee, will have surgery to repair it Wednesday in Cincinnati. ... Dodger shortstop Cesar Izturis (sprained lower back) fielded ground balls Monday and took some swings in the batting cage, but, according to Manager Jim Tracy, Izturis is not expected to return Wednesday, when he’s eligible to come off the disabled list.