Percival Is Likely to Call It a Career

Bad news zipped across the country Sunday, as the Angels learned of the fate of their former closer, Troy Percival, who canceled his comeback attempt with the Detroit Tigers because of an elbow injury and probably will retire.

“Percy has been pitching at such an incredible level for so long, but there’s a time for everyone ... where you’re past the point of no return, and the inevitable is around the corner,� Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said in Tempe, Ariz.

“But if you want to talk about having a career with no regrets, his is the textbook example. He got to pitch in the playoffs and World Series.... He loved to compete, and as the game got tighter, he got better. If this is the end, he’ll have nothing but great memories in this game.�

After throwing a one-inning simulated game in Lakeland, Fla., Sunday, Percival, who is tied for 10th on the all-time saves list with 324 -- all but eight coming with the Angels from 1995 to 2004 -- said his arm was “killing� him.

He met with Tiger Manager Jim Leyland and General Manager Dave Dombrowski afterward and told reporters he had “probably� thrown his last pitch.

“I always wait for something miraculous to happen,� said Percival, who was on the mound for all three series-clinching victories during the Angels’ 2002 World Series run. “I probably don’t think it’s going to happen, but I’ll keep doing what they ask me to do.�

Percival, who signed a two-year, $12-million deal with Detroit before the 2005 season, tore a muscle near his elbow while warming up to face the Angels in Anaheim on May 7.

Percival said Sunday that Dr. Lewis Yocum, the Angels’ team physician, advised him against trying to come back. But the stubborn right-hander gave it another try, forgoing surgery for a strength and conditioning program that would give him a chance to pitch in 2006.

“I’ve been fighting it all spring,� Percival said. “I thought I could give this organization an opportunity to make a decision. I tried to go back to the arm angle I’m accustomed to and it’s not there. There’s a lot of pain. Right now, I can’t help this club physically.

“Mentally and with my heart, I think I can, but I have to be realistic and say there’s just no way, physically, I can go out and help this club right now.�

-- Mike DiGiovanna

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Angry and disgusted with the latest comments from former slugger Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams fired back, calling the two-time most valuable player “an idiot.�

“He’s an idiot. He’s selfish. That’s why we don’t miss him,� Williams said. Since signing with the Oakland Athletics last month, Thomas has made it clear that he didn’t appreciate the way his 16-year run with the White Sox ended, saying that chairman Jerry Reinsdorf didn’t call him to tell him he wasn’t coming back. He also repeated that had he known the team wasn’t going to bring him back, he wouldn’t have participated in a couple of ceremonial functions during the postseason.

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Pitcher Zack Greinke left the Kansas City Royals’ camp with no indication when he might return. Club officials said he had gone home to Orlando, Fla., “for personal matters.� ... Baltimore third baseman Melvin Mora has pulled out of the World Baseball Classic after being asked to play center field for Venezuela.... Pittsburgh pitcher Kip Wells will seek a second opinion before deciding whether to have season-ending surgery because of a blood clot close to his right arm.