Angel Notebook : Lucas Aggravates Back Injury in Exhibition

Two theories on the treatment of spring training injuries were submitted for approval Friday during the Angels’ 11-1 victory over the San Diego Padres in their exhibition season opener.

Theory A: Rest it--as Donnie Moore decided to do when the tenderness in his right rib cage refused to subside.

Theory B: Test it--as Gary Lucas chose to do when he took his regularly scheduled turn on the pitcher’s mound despite lingering stiffness in his back.

Score one for the passive approach.

While Moore elected to sit this one out, all Lucas got for his efforts were a session on the trainer’s table, an ice bag on his lower back and the apparent aggravation of an injury that sidelined him for two months last year.

With the Montreal Expos in 1985, Lucas spent March 26 through May 17 on the disabled list with pinched nerve endings in his back. Lucas describes it as a “lingering discomfort,” but eventually found relief. “I got a shot of cortisone in May and I pitched healthy the rest of the year,” he said.

Because the host Padres play in the National League, the designated hitter rule was not in effect Friday. So, Lucas had to bat in the top of the eighth inning after he had pitched the seventh.

As he was striking out against Gene Walter, Lucas swung hard and wrenched his back.

“I felt a shooting type of pain all through my back,” Lucas said. “There had been some pain while I was pitching, but this was much more severe.”

Angel Notes When Donnie Moore was scratched from the Angel pitching rotation, rookie Ray Chadwick was promoted from the B game to the A game. He made the most of his opportunity. Relying almost exclusively on his fastball, Chadwick retired all nine batters he faced, including a strikeout of Kevin McReynolds. . . . Was that really Reggie Jackson batting leadoff for the Angels? And was San Diego’s Eric Show really trying out a new pitch, the change-up, against Jackson? Affirmative on both counts. Show’s experiment still needs refinement as Jackson opened the game by drilling Show’s first change-up over the right-field fence. Instant 1-0 Angel lead. “The idea is to get me a couple of at-bats quick,” Jackson said of hitting at the top of the order. “Mauch’s the only guy to try it with me. I like it. . . . Rookie first baseman Wally Joyner also homered off Show in the third inning, sending a mammoth shot over the right-field fence.