Hideo

Nomo

The Dodgers will be looking for him to go five innings. If he looks good, he could be activated next week. Speaking about Nomo’s first rehab start, manager Jim Tracy said, “It was far and away better than anything we had seen leading up to the time when he was placed on the disabled list.”

Given his bad pitching as of late, this does not come as a surprise. We would not keep Nomo in your fantasy rotation either.

Right now, manager Jim Tracy would go with a playoff rotation of Odalis Perez, Jeff Weaver, and Jose Lima. Nomo could either replace Lima, or become part of a four-man rotation. He’s worth starting against the Diamondbacks today in fantasy leagues.

Dodger manager Jim Tracy wants to give Nomo two starts to show he has fully recovered from right rotator cuff tendinitis. If Nomo pitches well, he will continue to stay in the rotation. Otherwise, Edwin Jackson is one more rehab start away from returning to Los Angeles.

In two starts at Triple-A Las Vegas, Nomo has given up five runs and 12 hits in seven innings, with 13 strikeouts.

Nomo is getting stronger, but Jackson is preparing for the start nonetheless.

“That last inning, he threw a couple of fastballs at 88, 90 [mph]. He made some big pitches when he had to,” Lo Duca said. “I looked at him and he looked back at me and said, ‘My timing finally got there.’ I really look for him to throw lights out the next time out.” Unfortunately, “next time” is Coors Field.

Manager Jim Tracy also announced that Odalis Perez will pitch the second game and Kevin Brown the third game of the opening series in Arizona. Tracy did not announce who will comprise the final two slots in the rotation. Kazuhisa Ishii, Darren Dreifort and Andy Ashby are the candidates.

''Where Hideo is as far as his velocity’s concerned, it’s safe to say there’s not a whole lot he’s going to get away with when he misses with a pitch,’' manager Jim Tracy said. ''You can’t afford to leave balls in the middle of the plate with his velocity not quite where it was for much of the last two seasons.’' Tracy said he did not know whether the decrease in velocity was attributable to Nomo’s age (35), off-season shoulder surgery or mechanical deficiencies. Not much about Nomo is very exciting right now, and he could easily have a DL stint in his future.

Nomo is coming along fine and will be the Dodgers’ Opening Day starter.