Edmonds, Vaughn Will Make Trip
Jim Edmonds and Mo Vaughn will accompany the Angels on their six-day trip, but Edmonds indicated that he is not near being ready to play.
“All this means is I’m going on the trip,” Edmonds said.
Edmonds, who has been out because of groin, lower back and shoulder injuries, hit in the batting cage the past two days, but said his right shoulder feels, “very sore.” He was eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list last Wednesday.
Edmonds was scheduled to be reexamined this weekend by Dr. Lewis Yocum. Angel officials, with their new don’t-ask, won’t-tell policy, said they did not know about an examination.
Manager Terry Collins, trainer Ned Bergert and Edmonds met before Saturday’s game to discuss the situation. Edmonds felt he needed a couple days of hitting before determining if he was ready.
Meanwhile, Vaughn is so eager to get back in the lineup, he said he will play on Tuesday--two days before he is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list.
The Angels are averaging six runs a game without Vaughn, who hit in the cage and fielded ground balls Sunday.
“That’s why this is such an exciting team,” Vaughn said. “I just hope I don’t slow them down when I come back.”
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Pitcher Jack McDowell was cleared by doctors to begin a progressive throwing program. He will begin the program Tuesday in Toronto.
McDowell has been out since undergoing shoulder surgery on Feb. 2.
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There is no doubt that UCLA prepared Angel third baseman Troy Glaus for the major leagues. A beanball war is certainly nothing new to him.
Seattle Mariner pitchers zeroed-in on Glaus this weekend, hitting him twice and knocking him down three times.
While at UCLA, Glaus was the center of a beanball war between the Bruins and Arizona State in 1996.
It started when Arizona State’s Ryan Bradley hit Glaus in the head, knocking him unconscious for five minutes. A month later, Bradley--now in the New York Yankee organization--hit Glaus again and the next day UCLA retaliated, resulting in Bruin Coach Gary Adams being suspended for six games.
Adams has offered this advice to those who hit Glaus in the future.
“[Bradley] never got Troy out again,” Adams said.
Seattle’s Brett Hinchliffe didn’t either after hitting Glaus in the first inning Sunday. Glaus bombed a 2-2 pitch from Hinchliffe over the left field fence in the fourth. Hinchliffe beaned Todd Greene with the next pitch, starting a bench-clearing brawl
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Greene got to the mound fast, but found himself alone for a few seconds. His teammates had trouble getting out to help because of the new fences installed in front of both dugouts to protect players from line drives.
“We had to all file out one-by-one,” pitcher Steve Sparks said.
Collins stayed clear of the fray, but did restrain the Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. Earlier in the game, Sparks hit Griffey.
“I said, ‘It’s a beautiful day, we have a nice crowd out here,’ ” Collins said. “I just didn’t want him to get in there and get hurt.”
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Seattle’s Jay Buhner has three hits lifetime against Sparks. All are home runs.
Buhner lined the first pitch into the right-center field seats in the third inning Sunday.
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