BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : Infielders Offer Advice on Repairs

Ozzie Guillen won’t reap the benefits--the Chicago White Sox are done playing the Angels this season--but he will be glad to hear that groundskeepers will give Anaheim Stadium’s infield a make over next week.

Representatives of the Phoenix-area company that supplies dirt for the infield were in town Friday, conferring with Angel infielders and front-office officials in preparation for their next project: renovating the dirt portion of the field during the team’s next trip.

A grounder bounced over Guillen’s head in the 13th inning of a June 17 game, giving the Angels a 9-8 victory. Guillen said the field was not “in big-league shape,” and Angel shortstop Gary DiSarcina concurred.

“I’ll be relieved when it’s fixed,” DiSarcina said. “When there’s a lot of traffic it gets real powdery--you can’t replace the divots, and the ball bounces every which way. It’s an infield you have to battle. You’re just happy when you catch a ball cleanly.”

Kevin Uhlich, Angel director of operations, said more clay will be mixed with the existing decomposed granite in an effort to firm up the infield.

“When it’s freshly dragged and watered it’s OK, but when it gets chewed up it starts causing problems for the players,” Uhlich said. “It’s not something you can fix between games, so we’re going to redo it during the next road trip.”

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Thursday night’s 18-2 loss to Oakland seemed the perfect time for struggling Jim Abbott to pitch out of the bullpen. But the left-hander was not available because Manager Marcel Lachemann, believing Abbott would not be needed, put him through an extensive pregame workout.

“We figured with Shawn [Boskie] pitching Thursday and Chuck [Finley] going [Friday], we’d take a gamble and work Jim more than usual,” Lachemann said. “Some things have to be done at a higher rate, so we needed to give him a longer workout.”

Abbott pitched a shutout inning in relief Friday.

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Lachemann said when center fielder Jim Edmonds (sprained right thumb) comes off the disabled list, Darin Erstad likely will return to triple-A Vancouver. “He’d only stay if he could play every day,” Lachemann said. “He’s not going to sit.” . . . Randy Velarde’s fifth-inning double Friday night extended his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games, and DiSarcina’s third-inning single extended his streak to a career-best 12 games. . . . Thursday night’s 16- run loss equaled the largest in team history, matching an 18-2 loss to Texas on June 17, 1993. . . . If Lachemann had to choose, he would pick reliever Troy Percival and right fielder Tim Salmon for the All-Star Game. “It’s hard to believe Salmon has never been on an all-star team,” Lachemann said. “But there’s so many good outfielders, it’s tough for him.”