Wooten Tries to Put Injuries Behind Him

Since Shawn Wooten last played a game for the Angels 10 months ago, he has suffered injuries to his left wrist, right thumb and right side. He is expected to return within one month, but can the Angels count on the utilityman to remain sound enough to play?

“I can understand if they have a lot of concern, but I try to play through a lot of pain,” Wooten said. “I was never a top prospect that could miss two weeks and still have my job. I’ve played through hamstring pulls. I’ve played through a back problem. I did whatever I had to do to keep my job.”

Wooten’s injury siege includes partial or complete tears of muscle, ligament and cartilage. While doctors suspect increased steroid use is associated with the increased incidence of such injuries among major leaguers, Wooten said he has never used steroids.

“I’ve gotten this far without it,” he said. “Why would I?”

Wooten, 29, endured eight seasons in the minor leagues, and he said thoughts of steroids occasionally crept into his head.

“Have I thought about it on a 24-hour bus trip from Moose Jaw to Green Bay? Yeah,” he said. “Is the risk bigger than the reward? Yeah.”

He did say he had used creatine, a controversial but legal nutritional supplement, for one month while recovering from thumb surgery this spring. He said he limited his use, concerned about the potential side effect of dehydration, but said the product accelerated his rehabilitation.

“I put on six or seven pounds of muscle,” he said. “I felt 10 times better.”

*

The Angels, fed up with what they consider repeated acts of immaturity by pitching prodigy Bobby Jenks, kicked him off their double-A Arkansas team. General Manager Bill Stoneman said Jenks would be demoted to an undetermined lower-level team and did not rule out sending him to rookie ball, the lowest rung in the minors.

Jenks, 21, armed with a 100-mph fastball and ranked as the Angels’ top pitching prospect, was 3-6 with a 4.66 earned-run average at Arkansas.

“This has nothing to do with performance,” Stoneman said. “We expect players to conduct themselves in a way that puts them on a path to the major leagues. We want him to get back on track.”

TODAY

ANGELS’

SCOTT SCHOENEWEIS

(4-4, 4.77 ERA)

vs.

REDS’

JOEY HAMILTON

(3-3, 4.47 ERA)

Edison Field, 1 p.m.

TV--Fox Sports Net.

Radio--KPLS (830), XPRS (1090).

Update--The Angels’ Tim Salmon and the Reds’ Ken Griffey Jr. have sore right hamstrings; neither started Saturday. Salmon, who did appear as a pinch-hitter, is more likely than Griffey to start today.

Tickets--(714) 663-9000.