Angels Given Shot in Arm Because Finley’s Is Sound

One of the Angels’ biggest questions going into spring training appears to have been answered.

Pitcher Chuck Finley, indicating he has recovered from the wrist injury that knocked him out for the last six weeks of last season, said Friday he has been at full strength since late October. He has been throwing three times a week for the last month and a half and has even mixed in a few forkballs, his signature pitch that can be taxing on the wrist.

“The only time I notice my wrist is when someone asks, ‘How’s your wrist?’ ” Finley said during a media tour of the renovated Edison International Field of Anaheim. “Everything’s aligned perfectly. . . . I feel great. I’m glad to be above ground and ready to go.”

Pitchers and catchers report to Tempe, Ariz., next Saturday, with the first workout scheduled for next Sunday. Finley, a 12-year veteran with a 142-120 record, plans to approach this as he has every other camp, saying he won’t take extra precautions because of his wrist.

“I’m not going near that training room,” he said. “They’ll put a little shock collar on you, and you’ll need a hall pass to get out of there.”

Finley won 10 consecutive games last season before a freak accident Aug. 19, when he slipped, fell and fractured a bone in his left wrist while backing up the plate in a game against the Yankees.

Catcher Todd Greene broke a bone in his right wrist the next night, and the two injuries dealt a staggering blow to Angel pennant hopes.

But the return of Finley and Greene, the addition of pitcher Ken Hill for the whole season, and the acquisition of power-hitting Cecil Fielder has buoyed Angel hopes this spring.

“But as in life, health is everything,” said Finley, the Angels’ projected opening day starter. “If this team stays healthy, we have a chance to have a very potent lineup, and I think we’ll be the team to beat in the division.

“We can sit here and say everything looks great on paper, but if we don’t come out of spring training with everyone in place, it’s going to be an uphill battle.”

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Greene said his wrist feels great, but his recovery from November surgery to repair a slightly torn labrum in his right shoulder has gone a little slower than he anticipated.

The young catcher, who had nine homers and 24 RBIs in 34 games last season, has only been throwing for a few weeks, and the Angels plan to be cautious with him this spring, not using him behind the plate until at least early March.

“I’ll be ready, but they don’t want to take the shackles off until the first week or two of March,” Greene said. “If it keeps progressing like it has in the past few weeks, I’ll be fine.”

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Angel players and coaches attending winter workouts at Edison Field have taken note of the distinct difference in dimensions from old Anaheim Stadium.

The field has been extended to 398 feet in left-center and 396 feet in right-center, some 12 feet beyond last year’s dimensions, and straight-away center has gone from 404 feet to 408 feet.

“It’s called the Watson Construction Co.,” joked third-base coach Larry Bowa, alluding to the major league-leading 37 homers given up by Angel left-hander Allen Watson in 1997.

Center fielder Jim Edmonds will have more ground to cover, and some long Angel drives that were homers in the past may die on the warning track. “But I haven’t heard any complaints from our pitchers,” Angel President Tony Tavares said.

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The Angels continue to negotiate with free-agent pitcher Jack McDowell, and General Manager Bill Bavasi said he believes the 1993 American League Cy Young Award winner, who is coming off elbow surgery, is healthy enough to start the season in a big league rotation.

Jim McDowell, Jack’s brother and agent, spent much of this week trying to discern the interest in and define the market for the pitcher, who missed the remainder of 1997 after his May 20 surgery but impressed scouts during two workouts last week.

The McDowells also spent an afternoon this week in Anaheim, touring Edison Field and meeting with Manager Terry Collins, pitching Coach Marcel Lachemann and front-office executives.

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Darin Erstad declined the Angels’ recent six-year contract offer, but agent Jeff Moorad said “there is mutual interest to put something together in the three- to four-year range, so we’ll discuss that. Darin doesn’t want to give up all of his arbitration years.” . . . Negotiations between the Angels and Watson have slowed, and Bavasi said there’s now a “50-50 chance” the two sides will go to arbitration Feb. 17. The team continues to work on long-term deals to secure Greene and pitcher Jason Dickson.