"There are aspects of baseball in this country that Hiroki Kuroda still isn't used to.

Heading into his third season in the major leagues, Kuroda hasn't completely adjusted to pitching every five days. Or to the slickness of American baseballs. Or to even the spring-training schedule.

So before leaving Los Angeles for Camelback Ranch last month, Kuroda picked up the phone and called the Japanese pitcher who overcame these obstacles better than any other. A pitcher who did that while wearing the same Dodgers colors Kuroda wears today.

He called Hideo Nomo.

Nomo is a part-time Los Angeles resident, but he and Kuroda had never met or talked. Kuroda had heard that Nomo was a guest coach in the spring-training camp of the Hiroshima Carp, the Japanese club for which Kuroda pitched in the first 11 years of his professional career.

Nomo-san. Kuroda desu.

Mr. Nomo. This is Kuroda.

Kuroda said that while the conversation wasn't long, it was helpful.

"Obviously, he's someone I respect a lot," Kuroda said.

Nomo offered him tips on how he could make adjustments between starts and maintain his form throughout a long major league season.

Perhaps most important was that Nomo provided some insights into how Kuroda could make slight changes in his mechanics when throwing the forkball.

"I've been struggling with it," Kuroda said.

The pitch used to be Nomo's out pitch. It was also Kuroda's when Kuroda was in Japan, but the weapon became less of one when he moved to the United States, the reason being that balls used here are slicker.

"What surprised me was how carefully he's been watching me," Kuroda said. "He knew enough about me to be able to point of some things I could change in my delivery.

"He's a very passionate person."

Last year was the year Kuroda was expecting to put into practice what he learned in his first season.

But the year was mostly lost because of two lengthy stints on the disabled list, the first because of a strained side muscle and the second because of a line drive that hit him on the head.

"I couldn't get in a rhythm," Kuroda said.

Kuroda believes the line drive by Arizona's Rusty Ryal that hit him on the head Aug. 15 resulted in the herniated disk in his neck that bothered him late in the season.

Kuroda returned to pitch in the National League Championship Series, but gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. His season was over."