Angel Notebook : Romanick Does His Bit, Stays Fit

Success on the Angel pitching staff is measured in different terms this spring.

One day, Don Sutton comes off the mound after six perfect innings and proclaims with a sigh: “At this stage, I just want to do my bit and come out healthy.”

The next day, Ron Romanick works six not-so-perfect innings, yielding nine hits and five runs--four in one inning. His fastball keeps floating high in the strike zone, which pleased the San Francisco Giant hitters and displeased Angel Manager Gene Mauch.

But when Romanick got back to the clubhouse, he checked his foot, which had been broken last season. It felt fine. The arm? No problem. The back? Strong and sound.

In short, a great day for Romanick.

With these Angels, healthiness is next to godliness.

And with Romanick, it’s a point of pride. Given the current uncertainty of the Angel arms, Romanick sees the need for some stability.

“I want to be somebody the club can always depend on,” Romanick said. “I’ll pitch on one leg if I have to, but I want to be there every fifth day for you.

“If the organization likes that and respects that, that’s my goal.”

Romanick did pitch the latter half of 1985 basically on one leg. With a broken bone loose in his right foot, he was unable to push off the mound with any real strength. Unaware of the exact problem at the time, he continued to pitch, but his results suffered. His record was 1-5 in his last 10 starts.

So Romanick knows the feeling as he watches Gary Lucas, John Candelaria and Co. struggle with mysterious injuries.

“These injuries have been kinda fluky,” Romanick said. “People keep saying this staff is going to be our best in years and, on paper, that’s right. But it’s not a given factor that they’re all going to be there when the bell rings.

“I’m not concerned--yet. I’ll get concerned if guys begin missing starts once the season starts. Right now, it’s just a case of good people protecting themselves.”

Sutton, though, who has been around a while longer, admits that the scene in the Angels’ training room makes him uneasy. In 20 years of major league baseball, he hasn’t seen anything comparable, he says.

“One year with the Dodgers, we had pitchers going down like they were being shot,” Sutton said. “In Milwaukee, we had a bunch of pitchers hurt all at once--(Rollie) Fingers, (Pete) Vuckovich, (Bob) McClure, all in one month.

“But I’ve never seen so many vital people go down at once. Let’s face it--Lucas, Moore, Cliburn and Candy are all vitals.”

A quote from “an anonymous player” that appeared in Tuesday’s Herald-Examiner was the topic of the day around the Angel clubhouse.

The player objected to Mauch’s praise of slumping right fielder George Hendrick, claiming that Hendrick was working as hard as anyone this spring. “That’s BS,” the player said. “George won’t even take extra batting practice.”

After reading the quote, Mauch was fuming before Tuesday’s game.

“That player’s a lying s.o.b.,” Mauch said. “If I find out who it is, that man is in trouble.”

The players reacted in a variety of ways.

Gary Pettis brushed past a cluster of writers in the dugout. “I saw the papers today,” said Pettis, a friend of Hendrick. “I ain’t talking.”

Doug DeCinces greeted reporters with mock indignation. “Now you know why we won’t let you in the clubhouse,” he said, alluding to General Manager Mike Port’s recent edict banning writers from the locker room while spring games are in progress.

Others tried to laugh it off.

In a players’ poll, Romanick, Jim Slaton and Kirk McCaskill all claimed to be the anonymous player.

“All three of us raised our hands,” Romanick said. “George knows it’s anybody but us. We’re agitators. We get on George and joke around with him all the time.”

Romanick said that Hendrick is handling the situation well.

“George is easy-going and he’s working hard,” Romanick said. “I just wish it would show for him on the field.”

Angel Notes

Jack Howell, struggling with a spring average of .240, broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the ninth inning with an RBI single, giving the Angels a 6-5 victory over the Giants Tuesday. Doug Corbett pitched a scoreless ninth inning and got the decision. Jerry Narron had three hits and two RBIs, with Ruppert Jones delivering his first home run of the spring. . . . Gary Lucas threw lightly off the mound for five minutes and experienced more discomfort in his back. “He still feels it,” team physical therapist Roger Williams said. “It’s not gone yet. We’ll shut him down (today) and possibly try it again on the mound Thursday.” . . . John Candelaria will miss his regular turn in the rotation today and will be given Thursday off as well. He is expected to throw on the sidelines again by the weekend. . . . Wally Joyner has become something of a fan favorite at Angels Stadium. On every at-bat, he is greeted with a loud chorus of “WALL-EE, WALL-EE.” Said Joyner: “I think it’s more a Wally George cheer than a Wally Joyner cheer.”