Hill Is Elbowing His Way Back

TEMPE, Ariz. â€”  Ken Hill is the wild card in the Angel rotation, a right-hander who is good enough to be the team’s ace if he’s sound and in a groove. But he could be lost in the shuffle if his elbow gives out again.

And with Hill, the fortunes of the Angel pitching staff--and perhaps the Angels--could swing this season.

Manager Terry Collins is confident workhorses Chuck Finley and Tim Belcher will throw 200 innings or more, and Steve Sparks’ knuckleballs put so little stress on his arm, it seems he could throw them forever.

If Hill makes a full recovery from 1998 elbow surgery and returns to the form that made him one of the American League’s top pitchers for the last six weeks of 1997, the Angel rotation could be formidable enough to win the American League West. If not . . .

“That’s the thing--it’s not just important for me to come back, it’s important for all of us,� Hill, 33, said. “I need to be healthy. I need to get my game back together so I can help this club get over the hump.�

Hill pitched the first two months of 1998 with a poker face, going 8-4 in 13 starts before getting bombed in a 10-2 loss at Arizona June 10.

Then he revealed he had been pitching in pain since mid-April, pain caused by a bone spur and bone chips. Surgery sidelined him for 2 1/2 months, and though Hill returned in late August, he was erratic in his last five starts.

A three-time 16-game winner, he hopes winter rest and a new, compact windup will ease the stress on his elbow.

“This is the first time in my career I’ve had a major arm problem, and when you’re not used to something like this, you’ve got to be patient,� Hill said. “You’re always wondering when you can come back, if you’ll be able to come back. But right now I feel good.�

He looks good too.

“I’ve seen the old split-finger fastball this spring, so that means his arm has to be feeling a heck of a lot better,� said Joe Coleman, the Angel bullpen coach who worked with Hill in St. Louis. “When his elbow is sore, I don’t see the same pitch I’m seeing now.�

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While his teammates worked out Thursday, Gary DiSarcina remained in the weight room, riding an exercise bike, his left arm in a cast and sling.

“What could be worse than to have the thing you love taken away from you?� said DiSarcina, who broke his left forearm Monday and will be sidelined for most of spring training.

“I remember in 1995 [when he sat out seven weeks because of a thumb injury] thinking, ‘I hope I never have to go through this again.’ And here I am. My day consists of little things, little strides.�