BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Finley Scheduled to Miss His First Turn

Left-hander Chuck Finley will miss his first scheduled start in order to give his still-sore left big toe additional time to heal. Finley, who underwent off-season surgery on the toe, was scheduled to start Friday but he hyperextended the toe in Sunday’s Freeway Series finale.

Manager Buck Rodgers said Tuesday he can’t pick a replacement until he sees how much work is required of his relievers in the first four games of the season. His top candidates are Scott Lewis, Scott Bailes and Chuck Crim, with the likely solution being a combination of three or more pitchers.

“Chuck feels better, but we’re not going to take any chances,” said Rodgers, who will delay his decision on a replacement until Thursday night. “We fully expect him to be OK the first of (next) week. Whether he’ll be OK for his next start, we don’t know.”

Rodgers also said Finley wouldn’t throw again before Sunday. However, Rodgers said he doesn’t intend to make a roster move to bring his complement of healthy pitchers up to 10 again. “We don’t want to put Chuck on the DL at this point,” Rodgers said. “We think we can get by OK. It’s a gamble, but we’re going to try.”

Matt Keough had hoped to be in uniform for opening night at Anaheim Stadium. But after undergoing life-saving surgery March 16 to remove a blood clot from his brain, being able to throw out the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday was an accomplishment in itself.

Keough, who was applauded warmly by the crowd as he strode to the mound, threw a high, looping pitch to catcher Mike Fitzgerald. The two embraced on the mound after Fitzgerald made the catch.

“I obviously would have liked this to be under different circumstances,” said Keough, who was hit in the right side of his head by a foul ball while he sat in the visitors’ dugout at Scottsdale Stadium. “But I don’t think (former A’s owner) Charlie Finley would have asked me to do this. He would have asked me to pull the tarp on the field after the game.”

Keough, who is riding a Lifecycle and following a high-protein diet, has maintained a lively sense of humor throughout his ordeal. He gleefully showed his teammates his shorn head and the surgical scar that snakes across his head like train tracks. “I’m going to get some little railroad cars and Velcro them on. Maybe that’ll start a fad,” he said. “You’ve got to laugh. Life’s too short. You can always quit, but why do that now?”

The Angels’ efforts to trade shortstop Dick Schofield might soon pay off. They’re reportedly talking with two AL East teams. When asked about the status of Schofield trade talks, Angel Senior Vice President Whitey Herzog said: “I can’t talk about that.” . . . The Angels reached agreement with a pitcher from the Commonwealth of Independent States and two infielders from that nation following a trip made there by Bob Fontaine, the club’s director of scouting. Siberian-born Rudolf Razhigaev, 23, who played at Moscow State, reached a firm agreement with the Angels. Tentative agreements were reached with infielders Ilya Bogatyrev, 21, and Yevgeny Puchkof, 21, of the Moscow Mendelayer Institute team. The players are expected to report to Mesa of the Arizona rookie league.