ANGELS NOTEBOOK: SO NOW THE WRIST IS UP TO SALMON.Byline: Andrew Baggarly Tim Salmon ``Man, I've been here before,'' the Angels right fielder right fielder n. Baseball The player who defends right field. Noun 1. right fielder - the person who plays right field outfielder - (baseball) a person who plays in the outfield said with sad smile. It was the worst kind of deja vu See DjVu. . For the second consecutive year, Salmon was breaking out toward a monster season when injury stopped it. Last year, a torn ligament in his foot landed him on the disabled list for two weeks in May and hobbled him the rest of the year. This time, a badly sprained wrist was the culprit. ``I've become an expert on my foot and it looks like I'm going to become an expert on my hand now, too,'' Salmon said. Salmon admitted he was shocked when results of an angiogram an·gi·o·gram n. An angiographic x-ray of blood vessels used in diagnosing pathological conditions of the cardiovascular system.//An x-ray of one or more blood vessels produced by angiography and used in diagnosing pathology in the cardiovascular showed a slight tear in the wrist, meaning it had to be immobilized and would keep him out at least four to five weeks. ``I thought they'd poke around a little bit and say, `OK, you're day-to-day.' '' Salmon said. ``I was shellshocked. I wasn't able to comprehend what they were telling me. My wife said, `Hey, you took that news pretty good.' Well, I was dazed daze tr.v. dazed, daz·ing, daz·es 1. To stun, as with a heavy blow or shock; stupefy. 2. To dazzle, as with strong light. n. A stunned or bewildered condition. .'' Salmon was batting .347 with a team-leading seven homers and 25 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 when he injured the wrist on May 4 while attempting a sliding catch. He's finally shed the slow-starter label. Now if he could just make it through May without landing on the DL. ``I'd rather have the slow starts and be healthy,'' Salmon said. Protecting Mo: Angels manager Terry Collins said he has no reservations about leaving Garret Anderson in the cleanup spot until Salmon returns. Anderson was hitting .301 entering Friday's game, and his seven home runs are more than he usually has this early in the season. But is he enough of a threat to keep opponents from pitching around Vaughn? In typical fashion, Anderson said he won't change his approach. ``It doesn't matter where I hit in the lineup,'' he said in a flat voice. ``If you're a run producer, you drive in runs. You either know how to do it or you don't.'' Total body workout: Second baseman Randy Velarde said the discomfort in his lower back is still there, though it's tolerable. Velarde started for the fourth consecutive game Friday after missing five with a bulging disc. Velarde has a Mr. Olympian physique and spends more time in the weight room than most players. Not enough time, as it turns out. ``I did weight training for every part of the body, but I neglected the small muscles of the spine and it caught up to me,'' Velarde said. ``If you don't take care of the small muscles, the big ones take over and it causes instability.'' ANGELS vs. TAMPA BAY Time: 7:05 p.m. at Edison Field. TV/Radio: No TV; KLAC-AM (570), XPRS-AM (1090, Spanish). Matchup: Devil Rays LHP LHP Left-Handed Pitcher LHP Left Hand Path LHP Lighthouse Point (Broward County, Florida city) LHP Left Half-Plane LHP Lead Hollowpoint (bullet) LHP Living History Project LHP Landslide Hazard Program Tony Saunders (2-3, 8.67 ERA) vs. Angels RHP rhp abbr. rated horsepower Ken Hill (1-2, 4.02 ERA). Saunders is a southpaw, which bodes well for the Angels, who are 5-1 versus left-handed starters this season. Wilson Alvarez, another lefty, will face the Angels on Sunday. - Andrew Baggarly CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box Photo: (1) HILL (2) SAUNDERS Box: ANGELS vs. TAMPA BAY (See text) |
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