BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Wathan Probably to Take Dugout Spot

Interim Manager John Wathan will probably move out of the third base coaching box and into the dugout next week, when the Angels return home to face the Boston Red Sox.

Wathan also said he plans to speak with Manager Buck Rodgers daily while Rodgers recovers from injuries he suffered in Thursday’s bus accident. Rodgers was to undergo surgery today at Centinela Hospital Medical Center to repair his shattered right elbow and broken left knee.

“If he wants to make up the lineup every day, that’s fine with me. He’s the manager,” said Wathan, who declined to move into Rodgers’ Anaheim Stadium office. “I’m going to try to do it like Buck would do it. A lot of times it’s going to come out like John Wathan would do it, but I think I know the personnel well enough that I can do some things.”

Wathan made two lineup changes, resting designated hitter Hubie Brooks and moving Von Hayes out of right and into the DH spot. Chad Curtis played in right. Wathan might use Brooks at first if Alvin Davis is sidelined because of the kidney bruise he suffered in the bus accident.

The Angels are considering taking legal action against the bus driver and/or Kevah Konner Bus Lines, depending on the outcome of an investigation by New Jersey State Police.

Driver Carl Venetz, 38, of Stanhope, N.J., was charged with careless driving--which carries a $66 fine--when a preliminary investigation found no evidence of the debris Venetz said he was trying to avoid when he swerved and drove the bus off the road.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigator met with New Jersey State Police on Friday regarding the Angels’ bus crash, and will examine “mechanical and human performance,” safety board spokesman Alan Pollock said.

Gary Gaetti, who homered during the third inning, has hit all three of his homers this season on the road. The homer was his first in 20 games since April 28. . . . Lee Stevens’ two-RBI game was his first this season.