BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Carew Says Hitters Lack Discipline

Rod Carew has found an explanation for the Angels’ hitting woes: a lack of discipline at the plate.

The team’s batting average is a league-low .240, down from .269 on May 3. It is also 88 points below Carew’s .328 career average--not that Carew expects the Angels to hit that well. He’s looking for patience and selectivity, and he doesn’t see them.

“I don’t know what else I can do. We can take extra batting practice and work and work, but when the game starts, they have to do it themselves,” Carew said. “I can talk to them on the bench between at-bats, but it’s all in their hands. What’s really perplexing about the whole thing is they come out and take good BP, good early hitting, and don’t carry it into the game.”

Carew also discounted the theory that the problems stem from the absence of Manager Buck Rodgers, who is still recovering from injuries he sustained in the May 21 bus accident.

“It shouldn’t matter. John (Wathan) is not any different than Buck. He doesn’t let them get away with things,” Carew said. “Buck shouldn’t have to be here for them to maintain their discipline. . . . I can’t say guys on this team don’t work hard. They do. But when you’re doing that work and concentrating on doing that work, you’ve got to concentrate on taking it to the plate with you, and that hasn’t happened.

“It’s frustrating to hear a guy come back to the bench and say, ‘How did I miss that pitch?’ I never did that. I tried to figure out how the guy got me out and not let him do it the next time. I see some of these guys (have a bad at-bat) and do the same thing the next at-bat. Even if I talk to them, it’s, ‘Yeah, yeah,’ and then they do it again.”

White Herzog, senior vice president, is beginning his second tour of the Angels’ minor league clubs. His first stop will be Class-A Quad City, “and then I’ll work my way back up,” he said.

Herzog also said he’s “very worried” about first-round draft pick Pete Janicki, who has yet to have his sore right elbow examined by team orthopedist Lewis Yocum. “Now I understand he won’t get an exam until next week. It was supposed to be Thursday,” he said.

The Blue Jays’ bullpen limited the Angels to three hits in four games, recording 13 strikeouts in nine innings. . . . In an effort to preserve his weakened arm strength, Bert Blyleven will long-toss before his next start instead of throwing. . . . Mike Butcher, recalled from Edmonton Saturday, made his major league debut in the eighth inning Monday and struck out Derek Bell. “I was a lot more nervous walking out to the mound than when I actually pitched,” said Butcher, who stranded two runners.