Word’s Out on Witt’s Arm . . . It’s Ailing Him : Angel Pitcher Admits to Shoulder Stiffness After Outing Against Brewers

The veil of secrecy surrounding Mike Witt’s right arm was finally lifted Thursday night.

The valuable limb, which has produced 80 victories during a six-year major league career but has been sagging somewhat recently, is bothering the Angel pitcher.

Witt conceded as much Thursday night after he lasted just 4 innings of the Angels’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers, which the Angels won, 9-7, in 13 innings at Anaheim Stadium.

In a statement released by the Angels, Witt said he had difficulty getting loose and experienced some stiffness in the shoulder while allowing eight hits and five runs.

He was examined by team physician Lewis Yocum, who said that Witt’s discomfort was not serious and that he would be re-examined some time in the next few days.

Angel Manager Gene Mauch wasn’t sure what to make of Witt’s mysterious ailment.

“I don’t know if you’d call it an irritation,” Mauch said. “He just can’t seem to get loose for some reason. He needs to get well into an inning to do that.”

Witt’s concession that something was amiss was a major medical revelation in light of his recent comments about his health.

After laboring for 7 innings in his last start against Chicago Saturday, when the right-hander threw 127 pitches, Angel trainers said that Witt was bothered by periodic shoulder tendinitis.

Witt’s response?

“I don’t talk about it because it doesn’t bother me.”

In his previous start, June 22 against Texas, Witt--who left only two of 34 games before the seventh inning last season--lasted just 2 innings, allowing four hits and two runs.

Witt, again, denied that he was having any physical problems. Asked then about the condition of his arm, he said: “There aren’t any bones sticking out of it.”

But Thursday night, there was no hiding it. Though his earned-run average remained healthy (all five of the runs he allowed were unearned), he didn’t look too chipper on the mound.

Witt (9-5) got off to a bad start, misfielding Mike Felder’s chopper into a game-opening error. And then things got progressively worse.

A wild pitch moved Felder to second, and B.J. Surhoff followed with an RBI single for the first run. Rob Deer, Ernest Riles and Glenn Braggs then added RBI doubles as Milwaukee took a 4-0 lead.

Witt struck out two and held the Brewers scoreless in the second, but Greg Brock singled to open the third and advanced on Witt’s second wild pitch. He later scored on an error to make it 5-0.

After giving up a leadoff double to Brock in the fifth and striking out Deer, Witt was pulled by Angel pitching coach Marcel Lachemann in favor of reliever Gary Lucas.

The last pitch to Deer was a hard fastball, one that Mauch called Witt’s hardest pitch of the night.

“And that scared me,” Mauch said. “If he reaches back in a jam, I’m afraid something is going to be seriously wrong. When he’s throwing 79 or 80 miles per hour, that’s scary. I want him to throw 91, just like he does, but I want it to come rhythmically.”