BASEBALL DAILY REPORT
Garret Anderson was not surprised to hear Manager Marcel Lachemann questioned the feasibility of the Angels’ four-man outfield rotation, which has been more of a two-man rotation, with Anderson and Darin Erstad doing the rotating.
“They knew that going in--they’re not fooling themselves, because they know this can’t go on,†Anderson said. “Who knows what they’ll do? But they’ll be very careful when they do it.â€
One possible solution would be to trade designated hitter Chili Davis and rotate the spot among the four outfielders, but Davis’ age (36) and guaranteed salary for 1997 ($3.8 million) make him unattractive.
Davis said he heard rumors that Cleveland, which recently traded DH Eddie Murray to Baltimore, was interested, but Indian General Manager John Hart said he has had no discussions with the Angels regarding Davis.
Anderson, meanwhile, said his goal is to “not give them a chance to sit me down.†He entered Friday night’s game with a .293 average and was actually hitting much better against left-handers (.352) than right-handers (.260).
But his power numbers (nine homers, 42 RBIs) are down, and he’s hitting just .200 with runners in scoring position.
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Mark Langston’s right calf is fine, but his return to the rotation has been pushed back to Tuesday because he didn’t feel he had the arm strength to start today. Chuck Finley will start today, and Shawn Boskie will pitch Sunday. . . . Catcher Don Slaught will likely be activated from the disabled list today, but Lachemann said he’s leaning toward keeping three catchers, meaning Jorge Fabregas and Pat Borders would remain with the team and a pitcher would be sent to triple-A Vancouver. . . . Milwaukee closer Mike Fetters, a former Angel, signed a two-year contract extension Friday that will pay the right-hander $2 million in both 1997 and ’98. . . . Ben McDonald, who has a 6-0 record and 1.04 earned-run average in seven Anaheim Stadium starts, will pitch against the Angels today. “I can’t put my finger on it,†McDonald said of his Big A success. “I just hope it holds true one more time.†. . . Gary DiSarcina’s three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, which gave the Angels a 5-4 victory over the Brewers Thursday, marked the first time since July 31, 1993, when Eduardo Perez homered against Minnesota, that the Angels won a home game with a homer in their last at-bat. It was only the second time this season the Angels won when trailing after eight innings. Asked if he had watched a replay of the homer, DiSarcina said: “One too many times.â€
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