Rodgers Back at Home After More Surgery

Golf is back in Angel Manager Buck Rodgers’ plans after a successful operation Tuesday on his right elbow, which had been reassembled in a lengthy surgical procedure days after the team’s May 21 bus crash.

Rodgers, who underwent the second operation Tuesday at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, said doctors Lewis Yocum and Bob Chandler removed three pins and other hardware inserted during the first operation. Rodgers returned home to Yorba Linda Thursday.

“Hopefully, I’ll be out on the golf range again,” said Rodgers, an avid golfer who hasn’t been able to lift a club--or comb his hair--since the accident.

“I’m feeling good about the operation. I’m feeling not so good about the fact that it’ll never be 100%, but this at least will get me back closer to where I was, and that’s a big plus.”

Rodgers’ right arm was encased in a splint, which he will wear for four to six weeks. He will also begin therapy today to help increase mobility in the joint. “The doctors came in smiling afterward, so if they’re happy, I’m happy,” he said.

Yocum said an estimate of how much mobility Rodgers will regain “is premature, because it was such a devastating injury. Hopefully, he’ll regain enough for it to be functional. Golf would be a nice thing, but the reality is that everyday activity is the real goal.”

Rodgers’ operation hasn’t prevented him from watching and enjoying every game of the World Series.

“They’ve all been great,” he said. “I can’t believe everyone said last year’s Series was so great because there were a lot of mistakes on both sides. These games have been great, every one of them.”

Also Thursday, the Angels announced they had released 29-year-old left-handed pitcher Scott Bailes.

Bailes, acquired in a 1990 trade with the Cleveland Indians, pitched just 38 2/3 innings in middle relief for the Angels in 1992, compiling 3-1 record but a 7.45 earned-run average. He walked 28 and struck out 25. In 1991, he was 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA.