BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Phillips’ Bat Ruled ‘Clean and Legal’

Bat-gate is over--the American League Monday found Tony Phillips’ bat, confiscated Sunday by the Yankees, to be “clean and legal,” with X-rays showing no sign of tampering or an illegal substance.

“That was a joke . . . and when do I get my bat back?” Phillips said. “The only thing to come out of this is I lost my respect for [Yankee Manager] Buck Showalter.”

A league spokesperson said the bat was sent Monday via Federal Express to Boston. Manager Marcel Lachemann thinks it should come with an appendage. “In hockey when you ask to check [for an illegal] stick and [it’s legal], you get the penalty,” Lachemann said. “There were people who watched that game who don’t know Tony Phillips from the man in the moon, but that hurts his integrity. What should come back with that bat is an apology from the Yankees.”

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Starting catcher Greg Myers, sidelined since Wednesday because of a strained left quadriceps, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday, and second baseman Damion Easley might join him today.

Lachemann said if Easley’s sprained right wrist does not improve, “he might have to go on the DL.”

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Mark Langston won’t have time to brood about Sunday’s one-third-of-an-inning, eight-run performance Sunday against the Yankees. With Scott Sanderson still bothered by a stiff back, Lachemann said he will insert Langston into the rotation, on one day’s rest, for tonight’s game against the Red Sox.