Salmon Keeps on His Feet, but Only in DH Role

Tim Salmon’s sore right foot will relegate him to designated hitter for the rest of the season, and he is considering surgery to relieve the stress on his plantar fascia, the tight band of muscle beneath the arch of the foot.

When Salmon had the same surgery on his left foot in 1998, he said he was advised by St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire, who had similar foot problems, “to get both of them done--then you won’t have to worry about them.”

Salmon, who is suffering from tendinitis in the foot, will undergo an MRI test when the Angels return home to determine the extent of damage.

“If this was June or July, I’d probably be on the disabled list,” Salmon said. “Right now, I can’t deal with being on my feet in the outfield. It’s enough to just run the bases. I can run fine because I get a burst of adrenaline and the pain gets masked. But once I stop, it kills. It hurts to jog, to trot, to stand.”

Salmon, who played most of 1998 with a torn plantar fascia, said he has felt no ill effects from the surgery on his left foot, and that could encourage him to get his right foot done too.

But he is determined to finish the season, even if the Angels, who close against the division-contending Athletics and Mariners, are eliminated.

“I want to play because of the teams we’re playing,” Salmon said. “These games are going to make a difference.”

*

The Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns left their mark on the Oakland Coliseum turf, and not just with the yard lines and hash marks that were still visible Monday night after Sunday’s football game.

The infield dirt was so chewed up, and the outfield took such a beating that both teams had to cancel pregame batting and infield practice while the grounds crew repaired the field.

“It reminds me of the times we used to play in San Diego, San Francisco and Atlanta after football games,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s not a real smooth surface, and you’re going to see an erratic hop here and there, but it’s the same for both teams.”

The conditions forced outfielders to play a little more tentatively.

“You charge hard,” Angel third base coach Ron Roenicke said, “but you better come up under control and figure out where the hop is going to be.”

*

The A’s might have to travel from Oakland to Tampa Bay for a makeup game Oct. 2, then back to Seattle for a one-game playoff Oct. 3 to determine the American League West champion and to New York to open the division series Wednesday, a journey that would take them almost 10,000 miles in four days.

“That’s better than flying [home] to Burbank for the off-season,” Oakland reliever Mike Magnante said. “That means you’re in the playoffs, and that would be well worth it.”

TONIGHT

ANGELS’

SCOTT SCHOENEWEIS

(7-9, 5.14 ERA)

vs.

ATHLETICS’

TIM HUDSON

(18-6, 4.40 ERA)

Oakland Coliseum, 7

TV--Channel 9. Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Though Schoeneweis has been fairly consistent and dependable, pitching into the sixth inning in 21 of his 26 starts, he has won only three decisions since improving to 4-0 on April 26. He’s trying to snap a mini-slump in which he has given up 10 runs in seven innings of his last two games. Hudson, a right-hander in his second season, has gone 5-0 with a 1.17 ERA and two shutouts in his last five starts.