BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Mystery Ailment, Miracle Recovery

There was nothing, at first glance, to distinguish Glenn Davis from the other Baltimore Orioles as they waited to take batting practice at Anaheim Stadium the other day, but Davis smiled and said, “I believe you’re looking at a miracle.”

If a miracle is getting the word that he will soon be able to play again, when there was some doubt about that, then that’s what a euphoric Davis represented.

Sidelined since April 24 with a damaged spinal accessory nerve that weakened his right shoulder to the extent that he was unable to lift a coffee cup, Davis revisited a neurological specialist in Los Angeles after the Orioles’ arrival this week and was told that he should be playing in two to four weeks, after making a remarkably fast recovery.

“The muscle may not be 100% until Christmas, but I’m over the hump,” Davis said. “No paralysis or long-term damage to the muscle. I’m going to play again. I’m one of the happiest people in baseball.”

That joy, of course, is shared by the Orioles, who are sixth in the American League East and 8-19 in games decided by one run.

The Orioles can only speculate as to how Davis’ power in the middle of the lineup might have changed some results, but they thought enough of the potential to trade three players (including pitcher Pete Harnisch) to the Houston Astros last winter and then sign Davis to a one-year contract at $3.275 million.

Davis, who averaged 27 home runs and 85 runs batted in while playing six seasons in the spacious Astrodome, remains eligible for free agency when the season ends and says that his bargaining power will be restored by a successful return.

But he has been frustrated, he said, by the inability to enhance his status as an imminent free agent, contribute to his new team and take advantage of what he considers “a long-ball league.”

“The ball flies out of some of these parks, and I’ve been sitting there dying for someone to hand me a bat,” he said.

“I’ve been like a kid in a candy shop who can’t reach the jars. That, and knowing I could help the team if I was healthy, had been driving me crazy. I was a basket case until they decided I was putting too much pressure on myself by traveling with the team. I’ve done most of my rehab in a Baltimore hospital.”

The Atlanta Braves lost Nick Esasky last year with a vertigo condition for which they haven’t found a permanent cure. The rare nerve injury suffered by Davis gets the dubious honor of being this year’s most mysterious ailment.

No one is sure how it happened.

Davis heard a pop in the area of his neck while doing stretching exercises in March and later thought it was spasms. He opened the season in the Baltimore lineup and continued to play until there was virtually no strength in his right arm. He became a left-hander at the dinner table and couldn’t raise his arm to throw.

The first specialist recommended surgery and said there was little chance he would play again. Others told him surgery wasn’t necessary, but could offer no assurances regarding the resumption of his career, particularly as early as this season. He has followed a program established by Dr. Robert Watkins, a Los Angeles back specialist.

“I worked out at the hospital six days a week, three to four hours a day,” Davis said. “I had ultrasound, ice baths and electro stem. I exercised in a pool and with weights.

“There were a lot of days I was ready to quit, a lot of times when I felt I was only abusing myself mentally and physically.”

Davis wasn’t alone in the workout room. There were handicapped kids, some missing an arm or a leg. Davis said he was stimulated by their spirit and resolve, by the commitment of the therapists to help make them self-sufficient.

“Seeing that made me realize I didn’t have it bad at all,” he said. “It helped to keep me going.”

Davis will require a minor league rehabilitation period before rejoining the Orioles in an active role. He will happily go anywhere for the chance to play again, having endured a period of doubt that was not without a measure of reward.

The time off has permitted Davis to take a more active role in the final construction stages of a ranch he is having built for abused children in the Columbus, Ga., area. He has never forgotten the chronicled abuses of his own difficult childhood. There are all kinds of miracles.

CARNEY’S COMEBACK

If not a miracle, the return of third baseman Carney Lansford to Oakland’s injury-riddled lineup Friday should provide the Athletics with a physical and mental boost at a critical juncture in a wide-open race.

Lansford had been expected to miss the season after tearing the primary ligaments in his left knee in a snowmobile accident on the last day of 1990. At 34, there was some question if he would return at all.

The A’s formed a third base platoon of Vance Law, who played in Japan last year, and Ernest Riles, obtained in a trade with the San Francisco Giants. As of Friday, they were batting a combined .218 with 29 RBIs. Lansford is a .292 career hitter who has driven in 50 or more runs in each of the last five seasons.

Sent to Tacoma on a rehabilitation assignment last week, he singled in his first at-bat and doubled in his second.

“Somehow, it doesn’t seem right to feel so good so soon at the plate,” Lansford said. The A’s are hopeful that feeling continues.

LOU’S LAMENT

With Scott Scudder and Chris Hammond struggling to reach their potential, Jose Rijo still on the disabled list and his Cincinnati Reds having lost 10 in a row before beating the Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday, Manager Lou Piniella has become openly critical of the front office for failing to trade for pitching help.

“They keep talking about our young damn pitchers,” said Piniella. “What? Four years from now? If we keep waiting to make changes the damn season will be over.”

The Reds got a boost Friday when Norm Charlton came off the disabled list, but even with that and the end of their losing streak, Piniella’s frustration showed as he exchanged words with Randy Myers when the relief pitcher objected to being pulled in the ninth inning of the 3-2 win.

TRADE WINDS

If the Dodgers are truly interested in Chicago Cubs left-hander Paul Assenmacher, as believed, the price has gone up, with Assenmacher replacing Dave Smith as the Cubs’ closer.

Smith has blown five of 21 save chances and has a sore right knee.

Assenmacher, only nine for 15 in save chances, reflected on the tenuous nature of his role and said: “One week you can be buried in the doghouse and the next week they’re in love with you. I don’t mind (becoming the closer), but I still feel that Smitty is the main guy. It’s no secret, for us to win, Smitty has to pitch.”

And of the Dodgers’ interest, Cub General Manager Jim Frey said: “Everybody wants pitching--even our pitching.”

BRAVE HOPES

The imminent return of David Justice and Sid Bream from the disabled list, a 6-1 start to the second half and the improved pitching of John Smoltz has the Atlanta Braves thinking that they are back in the National League West race to stay.

While Tom Glavine and Steve Avery were fulfilling expectations, Smoltz was 2-11 in the first half and the Braves lost 15 of his 18 starts. He is 2-0 in the second half, having accepted the recommendation of General Manager John Schuerholz that he visit a sports psychologist during the All-Star break.

“I’m treating it like a guy who just got traded here,” Smoltz said. “I’m starting over.”

TIGER TRACKS

The Detroit Tigers remain an enigma. They are last in the American League in batting and pitching but are second in the East, primarily because of the long-ball prowess of Cecil Fielder, Rob Deer and Mickey Tettleton.

Consider: The Angels hit 60 home runs in their 89 games through Friday, while the Tigers have hit 64 in their last 40 games.

But if the Tigers are to overtake the Toronto Blue Jays in the East, they must first overcome their own pitching.

Because of injuries, ineffectiveness and off days, Manager Sparky Anderson employed seven starting pitchers in the first seven games of the second half, including rookies Rusty Meacham, Mark Leiter and Scott Aldred on consecutive days.

Amid the instability and uncertainty, veteran Walt Terrell was asked when he would next start and said, “It could be today, it could be tomorrow or it could be next Sunday in a softball league.”

KEEP IT IN MIND

The next move by General Manager Joe McIlvaine of the San Diego Padres, the former New York Met executive who has already replaced more than 30 members of the organization and may eventually dump Manager Greg Riddoch, is likely to be the firing of scouting director Randy Smith and the hiring of Larry Corrigan, the Minnesota Twins’ West Coast scouting supervisor, as Smith’s successor.