Erstad on Disabled List

The Angels’ fortunes over the next week or so may depend heavily on a hodgepodge of minor leaguers now that center fielder Darin Erstad has joined the list of regulars on the disabled list.

To replace Erstad -- who has tendinitis in his right hamstring and was put on the 15-day disabled list Saturday, retroactive to April 20 -- the Angels promoted outfielder Gary Johnson from triple-A Salt Lake.

When Johnson reported to Edison Field on Saturday, he saw a few familiar faces in the clubhouse. Pitchers Rich Rodriguez and Derrick Turnbow and outfielder Jeff DaVanon, all of whom started the season in the minor leagues, are now in Anaheim because of injuries and the death of reliever Francisco Rodriguez’s grandmother, which necessitated his return to his native Venezuela.

Starting pitchers Kevin Appier and Aaron Sele are on the disabled list, and third baseman Troy Glaus sat out Saturday’s game against the Boston Red Sox because of an infection in the little toe on his left foot. He is considered day-to-day.

“In a perfect world, if this is going to happen, you want it to happen now,” said Erstad, who has not played since leaving in the fifth inning of a game against Seattle on April 19. “Hopefully, we can get everybody healthy and make a push here. Right now, it’s tough.”

Erstad, batting .333 with two home runs and eight runs batted in, said the pain in his hamstring “just wasn’t going away,” necessitating time on the disabled list.

“I know the smart thing to do right now is to take a step back and let this thing get to a level where hopefully it won’t hamper him any more during the season,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “What that’s going to take, really, is letting it calm down for four or five days before you even think about testing it.”

Johnson gives the Angels a left-handed bat off the bench and a capable glove in the outfield. Eric Owens and DaVanon will continue to fill in for Erstad in center field, Scioscia said, with Johnson occasionally starting in right for Tim Salmon, as he did Saturday against the Red Sox in his major league debut, with Salmon moving to designated hitter.

Johnson, 27, thought his chances of making a big-league roster were slim as recently as July, when he suffered a broken arm when hit by a pitch. He missed the rest of the season.

“I thought maybe my window had passed,” said Johnson, who sat out two other seasons while serving on a mission for the Mormon church, “but I figured I had to give it a go, just rehab that thing, get back into shape and give it a shot this year.”

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Sele, scheduled to make his final rehabilitation start today for Salt Lake, could rejoin the Angel rotation during next weekend’s series at Toronto, Scioscia said. Appier will be eligible to rejoin the team the following week when it plays host to Cleveland.

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A Collection of Hits

Darin Erstad is one of six players in baseball who have averaged 190-plus hits per season over the previous three seasons (2000-2002):

*--* Player Team Hits Avg Todd Helton Rockies 198.3 Vladimir Guerrero Expos 195.7 Derek Jeter Yankees 194.3 Darin Erstad Angels 193.3 Garret Anderson Angels 191.3 *Jeff Kent Astros 190.7

*--*

*Played for San Francisco Giants

2003 ANGEL ALMANAC

Through Saturday

overall...11-13

home games...8-6

away games...3-7

vs. AL East...2-3

vs. AL Central...0-0

vs. AL West...9-10

vs. National League...0-0

vs. left-handed starter...3-5

vs. right-handed starter...8-8

on grass...11-13

on artificial turf...0-0

in day games...2-4

in night games...9-9