Edmonds Says He Won’t Be Gone Long

Center fielder Jim Edmonds taped his sprained right wrist and took a few swings in the batting cage Sunday, and though he is not 100%, he does not expect to be sidelined for more than another day or two.

“I don’t plan on sitting on the bench for long,” said Edmonds, injured while diving for Fred McGriff’s line drive in Saturday night’s game against Tampa Bay. “I don’t want anyone complaining about me missing five games. Right now we’re struggling, so we need everyone.”

Edmonds’ aggressive outfield play helped earn him his first Gold Glove award last season, but all his diving and crashing into walls has contributed to a series of nagging injuries over the years.

“But this won’t cause me to change one bit,” Edmonds said. “If anything, it will get me ready for the rest of the year. The first [diving attempt] was painful, but I got it out of the way.”

Watching Sunday’s 6-0 loss to the Tampa Bay was painful for Edmonds as well. The Angels have lost six of eight and are suffering breakdowns in virtually every phase of the game.

“We’re not playing very good baseball right now,” Edmonds said. “We’re not hitting or pitching or playing good defense. Those are the only things you can do in baseball, and we’re not doing any of them right. It’s not like it’s something little that’s wrong.”

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Pitcher Allen Watson lost 15 pounds over the winter, worked extremely hard in the weight room and reported to spring training in the best shape of his life, all in an effort to avoid another slow start.

But after three games, including Sunday’s loss to the Devil Rays, the left-hander is 0-2 with an 11.08 earned-run average.

“It’s the same thing every year, I don’t know what it is,” said Watson, who gave up six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings Sunday. “Maybe for my next start I’ll just pretend it’s May or something.”

Better yet, why doesn’t he pretend he’s Chuck Finley? Watson resembled the Angel ace in the first two innings, retiring the first six Devil Ray batters, but the third and fifth innings were filled with mental lapses.

“I think they got six hits on change-ups,” Watson said. “I had a real good fastball today--I was blowing it by some guys and hitting spots, and then I start helping them by throwing change-ups and speeding up their bats.

“The whole team has to get it together, and that’s hard to do when you’re down, 3-0. I’ve put the team in a hole twice now, against Cleveland in my first start and [Sunday].”

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One bright spot for the Angels was their bullpen: Shigetoshi Hasegawa pitched 2 2/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief, and Mike James and Mike Holtz pitched hitless innings. . . . Manager Terry Collins was impressed with Devil Ray starter Rolando Arrojo, the Cuban exile who pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five and walking one. “He used different arm angles, different speeds. He was pretty impressive,” Collins said. “I guess that’s why they gave him all that money.” Tampa Bay gave Arrojo a $7-million signing bonus in 1997. . . . Darin Erstad’s center-field start Sunday was his first in the outfield since June 1, 1996.

ON DECK

Opponent--Baltimore Orioles, three games.

Site--Edison Field.

Tonight--7.

TV--Fox Sports West tonight, Tuesday night and Wednesday night.

Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090).

Records--Angels 7-9, Orioles 11-6.

Record vs. Orioles (1997)--4-7.

ANGELS’ KEN HILL (2-1, 2.50 ERA) vs. ORIOLES’ DOUG DRABEK (1-2, 7.63 ERA)

Update--The Angels, hungry for even a shred of good news, can take comfort in the fact they won’t have to face Oriole ace Mike Mussina, who was put on the disabled list Friday because of a wart on his right index finger. Baltimore recalled Sidney Ponson, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound right-hander from triple-A Rochester to replace Mussina, and either he or Scott Kamieniecki will start Tuesday night. The Orioles have cooled considerably since their 10-2 start, losing four of their last five games and, like the Angels, they are searching for some offensive consistency. “Perfect,” Collins said, when told of Baltimore’s struggles, “it will be a good matchup.” Scott Erickson, the Orioles’ Wednesday starter, has a 13-2 record and 3.58 ERA against the Angels.

Tuesday, 7 p.m. -- Jack McDowell (1-1, 3.86) vs. TBA, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.--Chuck Finley (3-0, 0.56) vs. Scott Erickson (3-1, 5.55).