Slumping Brandon Wood goes on disabled list with hip injury
The Angels and Brandon Wood found an escape hatch to the horrendous slump that has gripped the young third baseman, a right hip flexor strain that sent Wood and his .156 average to the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.
Wood is out of minor league options, meaning he would have to clear waivers — where another team could claim him — before being sent to triple-A.
By going on the DL, Wood can take time to clear his head, rest his hip and start a minor league rehabilitation assignment, perhaps a lengthy one, in hopes of finding his swing.
“It gives me an opportunity to truly work on my swing without affecting the big club here,” Wood said. “I look at it as an opportunity to get better.”
Wood has three extra-base hits — two homers and a double — in 122 at-bats. He has 36 strikeouts, two walks and seven runs batted in. At Salt Lake, he will need to rehabilitate his approach as well as his swing.
“Mentally, just try to own the box you’re in,” Wood said. “I want to … take the defensive swing out of the equation. They wanted me to cut down my strikeouts without losing the power. I took it upon myself to try not to strike out so much that I’ve lost some power.”
Manager Mike Scioscia said it will be good for Wood to “decompress and take a little pressure off, go get some at-bats and get ready to come back.” But does Wood need to go to Salt Lake to get his head or his swing straight?
“It’s all connected,” Scioscia said. “It’s almost like a computer. Sometimes you have to reboot, and he will. We really believe in his talent. I think, when it’s all said and done, we’re going to see a kid who is very productive.”
But first, Wood needs to regain the confidence that made him the organization’s top power-hitting prospect.
“There is definitely some indecision in the batter’s box that you have to flush out,” Scioscia said. “You can’t be saying, ‘If I get a good pitch, I’m going to swing; if not, I’m going to take.’ You have to really stay aggressive until the ball is not in the zone, and he’s having a tough time getting into that mindset.”
Pomp and circumstance
Torii Hunter is an integral part of the lineup, a cleanup batter who is hitting .285 with seven homers and a team-leading 28 RBIs.
But when the center fielder asked to miss Tuesday night’s game to travel to Texas for his son’s high school graduation, Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher in his 11th season as Angels manager, did not hesitate in granting the request.
“High school graduation is a special time that I think all of us in this game shouldn’t miss,” said Scioscia, who missed a game in 2007 to attend his son’s high school graduation.
“You miss so much as it is, the birthdays, the [First] communions, the [school] plays. You miss so much in their lives that when one of your kids graduates from high school, I feel strongly … that you need to be there.”
Short hops
Hunter is expected back for Wednesday’s game.… Maicer Izturis, out since May 6 because of a sore shoulder, was activated off the DL and started at third base Tuesday night. Once he finds his timing at the plate, he will be a candidate to replace struggling leadoff batter Eric Aybar.… The Angels optioned reliever Bobby Cassevah to triple-A and recalled reliever Francisco Rodriguez.
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