Even though Odalis Perez said Friday that the tendinitis in his right shoulder had improved to the point that he might be able to return before the All-Star break, the Dodger left-hander will be put on the disabled list today to make room for Edwin Jackson, who will be recalled from triple-A Las Vegas to start tonight against the Angels.
Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said Perez had not improved enough "to where we would want to even take a chance on it, knowing that we have a second half of the season to play."
Jackson, who won his only start of the season for the Dodgers, limiting the Milwaukee Brewers to three hits and one run in five innings June 2, will take Perez's turn in the rotation Thursday against the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium.
Tracy also announced Wilson Alvarez would replace the injured Hideo Nomo in the rotation at least through the All-Star break, starting Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium and July 10 against the Astros at Dodger Stadium.
Alvarez, who started the season in the bullpen and went 2-2 with a 4.05 earned-run average in five starts before returning to the bullpen in late May because of concerns about durability, said he was willing to go back into the rotation as long as the team needed him.
"I asked Tracy to put me in the pen because I was a little sore" from a strained left hip, Alvarez said, "but now everything's fine. If they need somebody, that's what I'm here for. Just give me the ball."
*
Frank Jobe, the Dodgers' team physician, examined Nomo during every homestand this season to monitor the veteran right-hander's progress from off-season shoulder surgery. But Nomo's high pain threshold and stoic nature apparently precluded the Dodgers from knowing the full extent of damage to his pitching shoulder until Friday, when an MRI exam revealed a bruised bone in his upper arm and inflammation in the rotator cuff.
"Being the warrior he is, he never complained of pain," said Dodger trainer Stan Johnston, noting Nomo was used to pitching with soreness because he once averaged about 185 pitches a game in Japan. "[But] there was always a question in our minds: Is he still in the recovery phase or is there something else there?"
Nomo, who was 0-9 with an 8.80 ERA in his last 10 starts, was placed on the disabled list Thursday and is not expected to pick up a baseball until next week, allowing his shoulder to rest and anti-inflammatory medication to take effect.
"We're going to take some time with it," Tracy said. "He will start doing some strength and rehabilitative-type exercises and eventually work himself into a throwing program. It's a gradual process."
The Dodgers could release Nomo if he is unable to regain the velocity he has lost since last season, though the team has few attractive alternatives barring a trade.
"We won't talk about that," Tracy said when asked about the possibility of releasing Nomo, who won 16 games in each of the last two seasons. "That's not even a point of discussion."
*
Dodger reliever Giovanni Carrara said he was "real happy to be back" with the organization that had released him near the end of spring training in 2003, prompting him to concede at the time that he took issue with the move after "it seemed like I did everything they asked for two years."
"Whatever happened, happened, it's in the past," said Carrara, who went 12-4 in a variety of roles with the Dodgers in 2001 and 2002. "Now it's my turn to do my job."
Making his first appearance of the season with the Dodgers on Friday, Carrara, who was acquired as a free agent in June, pitched three scoreless innings.
*
Alex Cora's third-inning homer gave him five homers in 77 games, tying the career high he set for a season in 2002.... Reliever Paul Shuey, recovering from a torn tendon in his right thumb, is scheduled to throw 30 to 35 pitches today for Las Vegas. Shuey gave up two runs in two innings with the 51s in his first two appearances.... The Dodgers' game against Houston on July 10 at Dodger Stadium, originally scheduled for 7 p.m., has been moved to 1 p.m. to accommodate Fox's national telecast. The Dodgers' game against Arizona on July 17, originally scheduled for 1 p.m., has been moved to 7 p.m. and will not be televised nationally.
*
Not that Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive-games streak was ever in danger, but Angel third baseman Chone Figgins had a nice little run of 63 straight games started until Friday night, when a mild concussion -- not fatigue -- sidelined the speedster.
Figgins suffered the injury Thursday in Oakland, when his head collided with A's second baseman Marco Scutaro's knee as Figgins slid into the bag to break up a double play on Vladimir Guerrero's seventh-inning grounder to shortstop.
Figgins "seemed fine" as he ran off the field, Manager Mike Scioscia said, and he was able to finish out the game, but he began experiencing fatigue and a severe headache later Thursday evening. He was examined Friday by team physician Craig Milhouse and will be reevaluated today.
