Angel Notebook : Cliburn Returns, but Results Not in Yet

For the second time this spring, Stewart Cliburn tested a previously injured part of his anatomy by pitching in an exhibition game Thursday.

For the second time this spring, Cliburn reported all was well after completing a two-inning stint.

Now comes the scary part: the Day After.

Cliburn said he felt great when he came off the mound March 15, his first appearance of the spring after being restricted to the sidelines with a case of shoulder bursitis. The shoulder passed the examination.

But the next day, new problems cropped up--this time, an aching triceps muscle.

It was 11 days before Cliburn returned to the mound.

When he did, the inactivity was immediately evident. Cliburn surrendered hits to the first three Oakland batters he faced. One run was in before Cliburn recorded an out.

He finally got out of the inning without further damage and allowed a single to Jose Canseco in his second inning of work.

“He looked exactly like a guy who hasn’t pitched in a long while,” Angel Manager Gene Mauch said. “The first inning, he didn’t have an idea, at all. The second inning, he tried to keep the ball down where it’s good.

“To me, the best thing was that I didn’t detect any tentativeness on his part.”

Cliburn agreed with Mauch’s assessment.

“‘I’ve got to get more work in,” he said. “I don’t care how much you run or throw on the sidelines, it’s not the same as getting into a game. I was not real comfortable when I first walked out there.

“But physically, there was no problem. I feel like I’m over the hump with these nagging injuries.”

Or at least until he awakens this morning.

Cliburn has been this route before. He was asked if he approached today with any apprehension.

“I can tell you right now that I feel a lot better now than I did my last time out,” Cliburn said. “I’m hopeful. I don’t know how much more of this I can go through.”

Just to make sure, Cliburn spent a half-hour lifting a light dumbbell to stretch out the triceps after he left the game.

“The triceps thing has been pretty discouraging, but it was not as major as the shoulder,” Cliburn said. “With the triceps, it was just a matter of not throwing. The muscle was weak, and when I pitched that first time, I strained it.”

Throughout this troubled spring, Cliburn has been attempting to renegotiate his 1986 contract. Arm problems aren’t helpful bargaining devices, but Cliburn said an agreement, and a raise from 1985, is in the offing.

“I should sign it within the next few days,” Cliburn said.

Around the same time, he hopes to pitch again--barring further complications. For Cliburn, that mean two reasons to celebrate.

Angel Notes

Oakland’s Jose Rijo and Steve Ontiveros combined to shut out the Angels, 5-0, with Rijo limiting the Angels to four hits over the first six innings. “Good pitching can make any team look bad; sometimes, it makes us look inept,” Gene Mauch said. “The kid who pitched against us today has good enough stuff to be one of the top winners in the league.” . . . Mike Witt, whom Mauch has designated as his opening-day pitcher April 8, also worked 6 innings, yielding 6 hits and 2 runs. Carl Willis pitched a rough ninth inning: 4 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs . . . Mauch, on A’s rookie Jose Canseco, who went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles: “He’s not only strong but he has a fast bat. He’s going to hit mistakes a long, long way. He’ll capitalize on mistakes for 30, 35 homers (a season).” . . . Mauch said he expects John Candelaria to pitch again the day the Angels break camp--Monday against the San Diego Padres.