Angel Losses Mount With Injuries to Watson, Greene

A thoroughly frustrating afternoon turned into an even more dreadful evening for Manager Terry Collins, whose Angels lost to the Minnesota Twins, 9-1, Sunday in front of 24,728 in Edison Field.

The Angels managed only three hits, their bullpen was torched for five runs in 2 1/3 innings, and two errors by third baseman Dave Hollins paved the way for three unearned runs in the seventh inning.

But the game was merely one of three Angel losses on the day. An injury-ravaged team took two more hits when pitcher Allen Watson was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of tendinitis in his left forearm, and catcher Todd Greene, trying to rebound from shoulder surgery, suffered a major setback at triple-A Vancouver.

Greene, on the verge of returning to Anaheim this week, wound up with an extremely sore shoulder Saturday night after catching nine innings and making four throws to second base--all of them unsuccessful--against Calgary.

Greene’s condition is so severe that, when asked if he was confident Greene would be able to catch again, Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi said, “No, but I’m hopeful.”

Greene underwent shoulder surgery last October, then tried to come back too soon in spring training, suffering an injury that sidelined him for more than a month. He caught two games for Vancouver, but now the Angels aren’t sure when he’ll catch again.

“We are very, very concerned,” said Collins, who spoke to Greene on the phone Sunday. “He’s very frustrated, very down.”

Added Bavasi: “He’s sore, but in a different spot than he was sore in spring training. That could mean anything from he’s sore and will catch tomorrow to he’s sore and he will catch 10 years from now.”

Thought going through the minds of Angel fans: Is it too late to trade for Mike Piazza? Thought going through Collins’ mind: Doesn’t anyone know when to say when?

Second baseman Randy Velarde had to abort his comeback this month after only two games because he tried to play with a sore elbow, and Collins was perturbed because Greene tried to play through pain, as well.

“He felt fine at the start of the game and then got sore, and he played the whole nine innings?” Collins said in disbelief.

“I love Greene, but you have to look down the road and say, ‘Hey, I know I’m close, but let’s take a little step back, take a day off.’ ”

Collins wasn’t very pleased with Watson, either. The left-hander said Sunday that his elbow has been sore, off and on, since the Freeway Series, “but he did not say a word to me about it [before Saturday night],” Collins said. In his last two starts, Watson gave up a combined 12 runs on 16 hits in 5 2/3 innings, both Angel losses.

“I appreciate the fact that he tried to pitch through a sore elbow, but we have to know what’s going on, so maybe we can keep him from going on the disabled list,” Collins said. “If we knew his elbow was that bad, we could have used [Jason] Dickson or [Shigetoshi] Hasegawa. We have options.”

Watson, who has been pitching this season with a small bone spur in his elbow, acknowledged being influenced by Angel right-hander Jack McDowell, who fought through elbow pain to throw five solid innings Thursday night.

“But it just got worse and worse [Saturday night],” Watson said. The Angels aren’t sure when Watson will return, and the prognosis for Greene is even more cloudy. Shoulder reconstruction surgery, which could sideline Greene for up to two years, is a remote possibility, but the shoulder does not bother Greene when he hits, and he may be able to catch with proper rest and treatment.

“If we give up on his shoulder, designated hitter is our only option,” Bavasi said. “But there’s nowhere to fit him into this lineup. On the day he’s the DH, what do you do with Tim Salmon?”