Anderson Held Up by Coach, Not Leg

After Saturday’s Game 1, when asked why Garret Anderson did not score from first base on a two-out double, the first thing Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said was that Anderson was playing with a tight hamstring and was “not 100%.”

Anderson strained his right hamstring while running out an infield single Sept. 14. He missed the next two games, but he has played regularly since.

Athletic trainer Ned Bergert said Sunday that Anderson still receives daily treatment for the injury, and third base coach Ron Roenicke said Anderson will not be stealing bases anytime soon.

However, Scioscia and Roenicke adamantly denied Sunday that the injury explained Anderson’s inability to score. The ball caromed directly to right fielder Reggie Sanders, and so Roenicke held Anderson.

“The reason I held him is because he would have been thrown out at home, not because I was worried about his leg,” Roenicke said.

Said Scioscia: “His hamstring did not hamper him. It’s not an issue.”

Anderson was unaffected by all the fuss.

“It’s not a problem,” Anderson said. “It’s nothing to write home about.”

*

The Angels did not strike out in Game 2 Sunday night, the first time that has happened in a World Series since the New York Yankees did it in Game 7 in 1960 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

*

A Canadian reporter asked Scioscia about Moose Jaw, the Saskatchewan hamlet where Shawn Wooten revived his career playing in an independent league.

“I’ve never been through Moose Jaw,” Scioscia said, grinning widely. “But, if this doesn’t pan out here, you never know.”

*

Some of baseball’s best stories are told around the batting cage and Sunday was no exception.

Standing with two of his former players, Scioscia and Angel hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, former Dodger manager Tom Lasorda recalled one of his favorite stories about the two.

“It happened down in the Dominican Republic, when Scioscia was playing down there,” Lasorda said.

Former Dodger general manager Al Campanis “was concerned about Scioscia’s weight,” Lasorda said, “so he ordered Scioscia to pedal a certain number of miles a week on an exercise bike.”

There was a mileage counter on the bike to keep Scioscia honest.

Or so the Dodgers thought.

This is where Hatcher entered the conversation. He said he was walking by Scioscia’s apartment one day and heard the sound of the bicycle click-clicking along.

“Boy, Scioscia is really working that bike,” Hatcher thought.

He turned the doorknob, looked in and a big smile crossed Hatcher’s face.

“There was Scioscia lying on the couch,” Hatcher said, “with a pizza in a box across his chest. And there was this Dominican kid pedaling away on that bike.”

And racking up the miles for the benefit of the Dodgers back home.

*

Lasorda said that if Scioscia doesn’t win American League manager-of-the-year honors, “there should be an investigation.”

What about Oakland’s Art Howe? Some think he deserves the award.

“For what?” Lasorda shot back to a Bay Area reporter who posed the question. “I like Art Howe, but don’t tell me he’s done a better job than this guy here.

“How many games did he make up from last year? Who rebounded from a tougher start? If you guys don’t vote him manager of the year, I’m gonna find out who voted, and I’m going after them.”

*

To pitch or not to pitch to Barry Bonds? That question faces every opponent of the Giants, and Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman, who played for the Cubs and Expos from 1967 to ‘73, knows how his pitchers are feeling this week.

Stoneman, who threw two no-hitters during his brief major league career, had his own Bonds-like dilemma. He had to face Hank Aaron, the Braves’ slugger who hit 755 home runs, more than any player in the history of the game.

“The joke was, how come everyone else comes to bat four times a game and he comes to bat eight times a game?” Stoneman said. “You didn’t want to face him.”

*

Among the celebrities in attendance for Game 2 were actors Jim Belushi, Dylan McDermott, Dennis Quaid, Ray Romano, Rob Reiner, David Hasselhoff, Michael Vartan, Damon and Marlon Wayans, Kiefer Sutherland and Arnold Schwarzenegger; Gov. Gray Davis, singer Fred Durst, tennis star Pete Sampras and Lakers Kobe Bryant, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry and Samaki Walker.

Hanging around the cage during batting practice were Willie Mays, George Brett, Ernie Banks and Lasorda, former USC coach Rod Dedeaux and former National League president Leonard Coleman.

Spotted in the Diamond Club: former Dodger manager Bill Russell.

*

Fox Sports lead analyst Kevin Kennedy is torn because of his ties to Scioscia, Giant Manager Dusty Baker and members of their coaching staffs.

“It’s not easy,” said Kennedy, who worked with Scioscia and many coaches in the Dodger organization. “You’ve got friends standing on both sides, so you wish they all could win. I guess that’s just baseball.”

*

Baker likes the way Angel fans have ratcheted up their enthusiasm and come to the games dressed in red to support their team.

“I haven’t seen this much red since St. Louis, or the old Cincinnati Reds’ stadium,” he said. “It is extremely loud. The people are into it.

“It’s difficult to communicate to our outfielders. Especially Benito [Santiago,] he has the catcher’s mask on, so I have to wave to J.T. [Snow] or Rich Aurilia in order to get his attention because he can’t hear me.

“I had [Tsuyoshi] Shinjo bring me one of those megaphones they use in Japan, those clackers, because it happened once I think someplace else, Chicago or someplace, he couldn’t hear me. So I had the megaphone, but I didn’t think the umpires would go for that too much.

“In Japan, it’s cool. Over here, I don’t know if they’re going to go for that.”

*

--Bill Shaikin; Steve Springer; Jason Reid; Bill Plaschke; Helene Elliott; Alex Kimball; Mike DiGiovanna