Hill Pained by Struggles

Ken Hill is pretty harsh in his assessment of his brief Angel career. “I’ve been here for two years,” Hill said, “and I haven’t done . . . “

That’s not completely true. The right-hander went 3-1 with a 1.37 earned-run average in his last six starts in 1997, keeping the Angels in the pennant race, and he went 5-1 with a 2.50 ERA in six April starts in 1998.

But he has spent the rest of his Angel career in a haze of injuries and inconsistency, the low point coming on June 30 when Hill was booed off the Edison Field mound after giving up eight runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings of an 18-4 loss to the Texas Rangers.

Fans may not have known that Hill’s elbow was hurting him, so much so that he went on the disabled list a few days later, but Hill, who is 3-8 with a 5.58 ERA, could understand their frustration--in fact, he felt their pain.

“I’ve never been in that situation before, because wherever I’ve been, I’ve done my job,” Hill said. “I don’t like to embarrass myself. I don’t like to fail. You have the Disney people that signed you, and you want to give them their money’s worth. I haven’t done that.”

Hill, in the second year of a three-year, $16-million contract, has caused many of his problems by trying to pitch too often with pain. He went six weeks last season before revealing he had a bone chip in his elbow, and it wasn’t until he struggled for several June starts that he revealed he has had arthritis in the elbow for most of this season.

“This will probably be a problem for the rest of my career,” Hill said. “There’s nothing I can do about it except when I feel it coming on, I have to step back. I can’t go out and give up eight runs in two innings. That’s not doing anyone any good.”

Hill said the inflammation in his elbow has subsided and his arm is feeling much better. If all goes well when he throws off the mound today for the first time since going on the DL, Hill should be ready to be activated after the all-star break.

“I knew all along I just needed some rest,” Hill said. “I want to get back on my game.”

*

Angel Manager Terry Collins spent a good half-hour before Friday night’s game chatting and chuckling with Rockies’ Manager Jim Leyland, one of his best friends. Collins was Pittsburgh’s triple-A manager at Buffalo from 1989-91 and served on Leyland’s Pirate coaching staff in 1992 and ’93.

“Not only is Jim a close friend, this guy gave me so many chances to learn about managing at this level, and he was responsible for me getting my first job [at Houston],” said Collins, who spent three Septembers with Leyland in Pittsburgh after Buffalo’s seasons ended.

“We’re close in age, [Collins is 50, Leyland 54], so you can’t say it’s like managing against your dad, but that’s what it’s like. I just sat there for five years [in Pittsburgh] listening to him.”

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ OMAR OLIVARES (7-6, 3.26 ERA)

vs.

ROCKIES’ PEDRO ASTACIO (8-7, 5.30 ERA)

Coors Field, Denver, 5 PDT

TV--Channel 9.

Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Outfielders Tim Salmon, who has been on the disabled list because of a sprained left wrist since May 3, and Jim Edmonds, who has been sidelined all season because of shoulder surgery, joined the Angels on this trip--Salmon has started swinging at soft tosses, and Edmonds has been swinging off a tee. But Collins said there is no special significance to their presence other than the fact Angel coaches and trainers want to monitor their rehabilitation. The Angels are hoping to get Salmon back by the end of this month and Edmonds sometime in August.