VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Jeff Kent took formal batting practice Tuesday for the first time this spring, swinging easily and hitting line drives consistently.

Previously, he hit off a tee or with the ball being tossed from a short distance. This time, he hit from a batting cage with a coach doing the pitching.

“I don’t have a set program or plan,” said Kent, who underwent surgery on his right wrist Jan. 10 to remove scar tissue and repair a ligament. “It all leads to wanting to be game-ready.”

There is a finish line.”

And that, Kent said, is before April 3, when the Dodgers open the season against the Atlanta Braves.

Asked how many at-bats he might need during the exhibition season, Kent laughed and replied: “Maybe one.”

Kent, who turns 38 next week, is a five-time All-Star and baseball’s all-time leading home run hitter among second baseman, having hit 306 of his 331 homers as a second baseman.

“I’ve played the game a long time, I play it better with my head than with my body right now,” he said. “I’m not worried about the physical activity. I’m just swinging, 50 percent. I felt just fine swinging, I probably could have gone better. I didn’t even try. I was completely comfortable with my swing.

“I won’t even predict when I’m going to play (in an exhibition game). Spring training is overrated. I think it’s good for pitchers to get their strength. The other guys, maybe three weeks, four weeks.”

Kent downplayed his operation.

“This was a minor surgery,” he said. “They happened to find out when I was in there that there was a little tear. It wasn’t that big a deal.”

He said he was eating a burger 90 minutes after the operation.

Kent made it clear he wasn’t a big fan of the first World Baseball Classic, which begins later this week.

“I hope it doesn’t happen, but guys are going to get hurt – just because it’s so early to start playing games at full speed,” he said. “This is something that guys aren’t quite ready for yet.”

Then, with a smile, Kent said: “I hope everybody else gets hurt except for our guys.”

Notes: SS Rafael Furcal returned to his Dominican Republic home late Monday for what the Dodgers called personal reasons. Team spokesman Jose Rawitch said Furcal was expected to return to camp in time to participate in Wednesday’s drills. … RHP Brad Penny is scheduled to pitch Thursday when the Dodgers face the Atlanta Braves in their exhibition opener at Holman Stadium.

AP-ES-02-28-06 1628EST