Not All Breaks Bad for DiSarcina

Gary DiSarcina hasn’t spent much time feeling sorry for himself since undergoing surgery to have a titanium plate and seven screws inserted in his left forearm.

In fact, he’s feeling rather fortunate.

He was injured on the first day of spring training when he walked into a fungo bat swung by coach George Hendrick. The broken bone in DiSarcina’s left forearm supposedly was healing nicely when he suddenly ended up back in the operating room April 1. But he’s hardly bitter about the setback.

“Thank goodness [team physician Lewis] Yocum asked for the bone scan [that revealed the fracture wasn’t healing properly],” DiSarcina said. “He didn’t like the angle the bones were at in the last X-ray, so he ordered the CT scan.

“He told me we could put it back in a cast for another six weeks and roll the dice or do the surgery,” DiSarcina said. “It took me a split-second to decide. I wasn’t going to roll the dice with a career.”

DiSarcina, who now has a removable brace instead of a cast, can run and throw and says he plans to go on the road with the Angels next week when they travel to Toronto and Kansas City.

“At least I can chew [sunflower] seeds and cheer,” he said.

*

Mo Vaughn took a half-dozen ground balls and a few swings in the batting cage before Friday’s game and pronounced himself on schedule to return from the disabled list when he’s eligible Thursday.

“I’ve been working it three times a day and I’ve gotten a lot of good work in,” Vaughn said. “There’s still a little soreness, a little pain, but we’ve got it to the point where it’s flexible enough that we can work with it, so it’s going pretty good.

“It felt good to get out there and take some swings.”

Vaughn, who went on the disabled list after falling into the first base dugout and spraining his left ankle in the opener against Cleveland, was examined by Yocum Thursday.

“The prognosis is very favorable,” Yocum said. “The possibility of his return within a week is optimistic, but definitely reasonable.”

Asked how the ankle responded to Friday’s light workout, Vaughn said only, “It will feel better.”

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ KEN HILL (0-1, 7.56 ERA)

vs.

MARINERS’ FREDDY GARCIA (2-0, 3.65 ERA)

Edison Field, 7

TV--Fox Sports West. Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Hill walked seven in his last start and was making adjustments to his delivery during the game. After undergoing elbow surgery last season, Hill changed his windup to remove stress on the elbow. “When you’ve done something one way for 14 years and then you change it, you’re going to struggle,” he said. “Mechanically, I’m out of whack, but I’d be a lot more worried if my arm didn’t feel so good.” Randy Velarde, struck on the left elbow by a Kevin Jarvis fastball Thursday at Oakland, said he felt fine Friday. He singled and scored in the first inning, giving him at least one hit in nine of 11 games.

Tickets--(714) 663-9000.