A CAUSE AND ITS EFFECT; ANGELS' DISARCINA NEEDS SURGERY, SETTING OFF A CHAIN OF EVENTS.Byline: Joe Haakenson It's happening again. Shortstop Gary DiSarcina The Angels had reasoned that if their shortstop had to suffer an injury, it came at the right time because he had time to recover and be ready sometime around opening day. Instead, it's just another injury in a series of injuries that have hurt the Angels in recent years. After learning of the news on DiSarcina, the Angels traded third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker Dave Hollins The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. for shortstop Tomas Perez. Perez, 25, has played in 178 major-league games during the past four years. The Angels also released reliever Rich DeLucia Richard Anthony DeLucia (born October 7, 1964 in Reading, Pennsylvania), is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1990-1999. Teams
It's possible the Angels are planning to make another move soon, probably for a starting pitcher. That would allow them to move Omar Olivares from the starting rotation and into DeLucia's spot in the bullpen. ``I find it real odd,'' DeLucia said. ``Deep down I know it's about money. They can say whatever they want about health. I felt good this spring.'' By releasing DeLucia before 9 a.m. today, the Angels are responsible for only one-quarter of DeLucia's $700,000 salary, or $175,000. Angels general manager Bill Bavasi said the move was strictly a coaches' decision. The news DiSarcina will be out until possibly August comes at the worst possible time for the Angels, with opening day less than a week away. DiSarcina had hoped that after being re-examined and X-rayed this week, he'd be able to shed his cast and begin working out. A return to the field within the first two weeks of the season was anticipated. DiSarcina had a CT Scan CT scan: see CAT scan. See CAT scan. performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum on Monday, which showed the bone is not completely healed. Following a consultation, DiSarcina agreed to have surgery, which will include having a plate screwed into the ulnar ulnar /ul·nar/ (ul´ner) pertaining to the ulna or to the ulnar (medial) aspect of the arm as compared to the radial (lateral) aspect. bone. ``It's certainly a setback in the way we viewed our team at the outset of spring training,'' Angels vice president Tim Mead said. ``We'll make things work out. Truly it's a very resilient, gritty team. Knowing Gary's coming back is something we will all look forward to. But there's a lot of work to do before then.'' Perez played most of last season at Syracuse, the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate, hitting .252 with three homers and 37 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in in 116 games. He also played in six games with the Blue Jays, hitting .111 (1 for 9). As for sending Hollins away, the Angels have answered one of their biggest questions of the spring - who will start at third base? Troy Glaus, 22, will be the opening-day starter. ``We believe Troy Glaus is ready to be a successful third baseman on the highest level and we wanted to afford Dave the opportunity to play every day somewhere,'' Mead said. Hollins had an injury-plagued 1998, playing in 101 games and hitting only .242. But he had shoulder surgery during the offseason, battled through a spring hamstring injury hamstring injury Sports medicine A muscle injury of biceps femoris, seen in sprinters and runners, when a contracted muscle meets a lengthening force, overpowering intrinsic muscle resiliency Management RICE, NSAIDs, gradual ↑ of pain-free activity–eg, and began playing well in recent days. Hollins, 32, has a .262 career average in nine major-league seasons. Wire services contributed to this report. THE SHORT LIST With Gary DiSarcina expected to miss 3-4 months with a broken arm, the Angels are left thin at shortstop, with newly-acquired Andy Sheets and Thomas Perez left to pick up the slack. BIG SHOES TO FILL Last year's stats for the three Angels shortstops: BATTING FIELDING G AB R H RBI Avg. Pct. PO A E GARY DISARCINA 157 551 73 158 56 .287 .980 253 437 14 ANDY SHEETS 88 194 31 47 29 .242 .964 41 94 5 TOMAS PEREZ 6 9 1 1 0 .111 1.000 6 5 0 Dave Hollins statistics in his past two years: Year G AB R H RBI Avg. 1998 Angels 101 363 60 88 39 .242 1997 Angels 149 572 101 165 85 .288 CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) ANDY SHEETS (2--Color) TOMAS PEREZ (3--Color) GARY DiSARCINA (4) Dave Hollins Scott Troyanos/Associated Press BOX: THE SHORT LIST (see text) |
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