Edmonds Acknowledges He Needs Rest

Jim Edmonds was scratched from Friday night’s game, and there’s a good chance the Angel center fielder, who has torn cartilage in his left knee and a jammed right thumb, will be given the rest of this weekend off.

Asked if he might benefit from a stint on the disabled list, Edmonds, who has been hobbling since May 29, said, “Honestly, yeah . . . but I think three, four or five days off would be good too. But this is a crucial point of the season, and I’m trying to push through.”

The nature of Edmonds’ injury--”One night I feel OK, the next I can barely walk; one day I can get loose, the next I can’t move at all”--along with Darin Erstad’s elbow injury has forced Manager Terry Collins to juggle his lineup virtually every day.

“I’m just trying to find a way to keep guys in the lineup--heck, we could probably have four guys on the DL right now,” Collins said.

“And a couple of coaches too,” joked Dave Parker, Angel first base coach.

“There’s no question Jim would benefit from having a few days off, and he may this weekend,” Collins added. “But that will only help his thumb. He could get two, five, 10 or 15 days off, but unless his knee gets scoped it’s not going to get better. So he has to play with discomfort.”

Edmonds said he can handle the pain, but the tightness in his knee and hamstrings makes it difficult to run. So using him as the designated hitter wouldn’t necessarily provide relief.

“Striking out four times a game and walking back to the dugout would really help,” Edmonds said, “but that’s not what I want to do.”

Further clouding the Edmonds situation is that if the Angels were to place him on the disabled list they would not be able to recall the player they’d want--catcher Todd Greene, who is batting .370 with 23 homers and 67 RBIs at triple-A Vancouver, has a knee injury and has been limited to designated hitter duties this past week.

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Reliever Rich DeLucia, who had an MRI test on his sore elbow Monday, underwent a Doppler flow study Friday after experiencing what the Angels called “coolness” in his right ring finger. The circulation test showed no restriction of blood flow in DeLucia’s finger or arm, and the right-hander was available to pitch Friday night. . . . Kerri Hollins, wife of Angel third baseman Dave Hollins, is due to deliver the couple’s third child “any day now,” Collins said. Hollins is expected to leave the team for a few days to be with his wife in Orchard Park, N.Y. . . . No, that’s no typo or a prank in the Angel media guide. Reliever Mike James’ middle name actually is Elmo, and he was not named after a furry Sesame Street character. “My dad’s name is Elmo,” James said. “They called me that all through high school and college until I signed with the Dodgers. Then they started calling me Jesse.”

TONIGHT’S GAME

ANGELS’ JASON DICKSON (8-3, 3.31 ERA) vs. ATHLETICS’ ARIEL PRIETO (5-4, 4.66 ERA)

Anaheim Stadium, 7

TV--Fox Sports West. Radio--KTZN (710).

* Update--Dickson has lost two of his last four starts, but the rookie right-hander did not give up more than three earned runs in either of the losses. In fact, Dickson has allowed more than three earned runs in only two of his 15 starts this season. “Consistency has breeded confidence, and those two go hand in hand,” Dickson said. “When you’re confident, you’re getting ahead of hitters and making good pitches, and whatever you can do to get strike one makes it easier. You may give up some first-pitch homers, but you don’t walk as many guys.” Prieto is considered Oakland’s ace, but the right-hander has been extremely inconsistent and already has given up more home runs (14 in 87 1/3 innings) than he did in all of 1996 (nine in 125 2/3 innings).