Angel Notebook : Hitting Is Fine, but Injuries Blur the Pitching Picture

By the time the Angels got out of Phoenix, where they concluded their Arizona phase of spring training Thursday before heading for Palm Springs, they were carrying credentials slightly altered from those they brought with them a month ago.

Can this team hit? Get out of here. The Angels are scoring 6.4 runs a game, and the team batting average is .320.

But what about that pitching?

Who knows? Who’s healthy?

These days, the Angels hold pitchers’ meetings in the trainer’s room. Donnie Moore, with a pulled muscle in his rib cage, has yet to pitch in a spring game. Stewart Cliburn, who has a strained shoulder; John Candelaria, sore elbow, and Gary Lucas, bad back, have made one appearance apiece.

Mauch looks at the injury list and then at the calendar and feels one basic emotion, gratitude.

“From what I have seen, I feel very fortunate we’re only at the halfway point (of spring training),” he said.

Mauch is hoping for a calm stint in Palm Springs. The early signs, at least, have encouraged him. Candelaria and Lucas will both pitch today, and Moore is scheduled to work Sunday.

“I didn’t come here just to do a job,” Mauch said. “I came here to win. And that’ll be a lot easier with these guys.”

Some of Mauch’s other impressions at this point of the spring:

--On rookie first baseman Wally Joyner, currently batting .393: “He’s been everything as advertised. Maybe a little more.”

--On the Darrell Miller-as-a-catcher experiment: “He looks like a (Bob) Boone clone. At least mechanically. Nobody expects him to be as refined as Boone, but he’s made remarkable progress.”

--On the shortstop situation, suddenly clouded by the promise of rookie Gus Polidor and continued recovery of Rick Burleson: “I don’t have the slightest idea how it will turn out. I know we need improved offense from that position. The little guy (Burleson) has passed every test so far and Polidor has played wonderfully.”

--On right-field reclamation project George Hendrick, whose spring start (.200) hasn’t been scintillating: “He’s been just fine. He’s an excellent judge of the fly ball. He doesn’t have a lot of hits to show for how he’s hitting the ball. If you combined all A game and B game hits he’s had--and there’s no real difference in the pitching--he’d probably be around .300.”

And then there’s the Angels’ story of the spring--the never-ending saga of Reggie Jackson and his need to be wanted. So far, Reggie has produced more stories this spring than hits.

Mauch was asked if the daily Jackson watch has become a distraction.

“Not one iota to me,” Mauch said. “There’s gonna be controversy around Reggie Jackson wherever he goes. Always has and always will be.

“And if not, Reggie will find a way to get some started.”

Angel Notes Ron Romanick had his best outing of the spring, striking out five in four inning as the Angels beat the Oakland A’s, 4-3. Romanick now leads the Angels in victories with a 3-1 record. He has, however, had help. Romanick’s ERA is 7.42. . . . The full scouting report on Jose Canseco: Within the span of one inning, the A’s touted rookie flashed his calling card--what he produces with the bat, he reduces in the field. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Canseco powered a pitch by Jim Slaton into the trees beyond the left-field fence, a blast of at least 450 feet. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Canseco slipped while trying to backhand a diving line drive by Darrell Miller. Canseco came up empty and Miller wound up on second, credited with a single and an error on the left fielder.