BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Decision Monday on Owen Surgery

By ELLIOTT TEAFORD

July 23, 1995 12 AM PT

Monday is decision day on what to do with infielder Spike Owen, on the disabled list with an injured left shoulder since July 7. Surgery to repair a torn labrum, a structure in the shoulder joint, is a possibility.

Owen knew the injury would require surgery at some point, but was hoping to put it off until the end of the season. He took batting practice for the second consecutive day Saturday and still had a “biting sensation” when he swung the bat.

“It was a little better today,” Owen said. “I’ll come back tomorrow and see how it feels. Hopefully, it’s positive.”

But he acknowledged: “I’m not doing anybody any good by staying inactive on the DL.”

“They don’t know how bad it is until they scope it,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “It’s not his throwing arm, it’s his left shoulder. Then again, they could go in and see they have to do more and he’s out six months.”

Right-hander Scott Sanderson will probably undergo back surgery, Lachemann said. Sanderson, 1-3 with a 4.12 earned-run average in seven starts, has been on the disabled list since June 6 and hasn’t pitched since May 31.

Sanderson, who also had back surgery in 1988, has been discussing his options with team physician Lewis Yocum.

The news is better on Mike Bielecki and Shawn Boskie, two other starters on the DL. Bielecki, out because of an inflamed right shoulder, is scheduled to begin throwing on Monday. Boskie, sidelined by an inflamed right elbow, has been playing catch the last few days. Their return dates are still to be determined.

General Manager Bill Bavasi’s search for starting pitching continues, and while he’s at it he’s also looking for another left-handed reliever. The need for more left-handed help in the bullpen became more urgent when Bob Patterson, the Angels’ only left-handed reliever, sprained his left ankle while jogging near his home Saturday morning and was unable to pitch Saturday night.

Patterson had pitched in five of the past eight games and had given up no runs and two hits.