Anderson Still Seeking Answers

Garret Anderson’s visit Wednesday to the Pasadena rheumatologist who diagnosed the inflammatory arthritis in Anderson’s upper back last season did not yield many immediate answers.

With test results not expected back until today at the earliest, Anderson did not know whether the inflammation in his lower back is related to the serious arthritic condition that sidelined him for 43 games in 2004, how much longer he’d be out, or whether he would go on the disabled list.

“You’re asking questions I don’t have answers for,” Anderson said.

But the left fielder could answer one question definitively. Asked if he felt as poorly as he did last April and May, when he experienced pain and stiffness in his neck, upper back and shoulders, fatigue and problems sleeping, Anderson said no.

“I don’t feel too bad,” Anderson said. “I’ve been undergoing therapy, throwing, running. I haven’t swung a bat yet; that will come in time.”

Manager Mike Scioscia said Anderson’s injury, which has forced him to miss six of the Angels’ last eight games, “is nothing close to what he was feeling last year. Hopefully, we’re not going down that road.”

But Anderson’s road back to the lineup won’t begin until Anderson has a better idea of what he’s dealing with.

And that process could take a while if doctors have to tweak the combination of anti-inflammatory drugs Anderson takes for his arthritic condition, like they did last year.

“I’m not going to try to do anything until I feel I can play,” Anderson said. “I don’t feel any pressure to play. I’m not going to go out there injured, and I know they don’t want me to go out there injured.”

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Closer Francisco Rodriguez said he would try to turn the boos of Tuesday night, when he gave up two runs in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays, into a positive.

“It will motivate me more to do my job so I can gain their confidence,” Rodriguez said of the fans. “They’ve been a big part of my success because I feed off their energy. I have to prove that what I did [Tuesday] was wrong.”

Several Angels were surprised that Rodriguez, a star during the team’s 2002 championship run, was booed so loudly at home. But when compared to the ambivalence Angel fans used to be known for, players prefer reactions they’ve been getting from the edgier, more demanding fans with higher expectations.

“This is way better, even with the boos,” second baseman Adam Kennedy said. “It means the fans are into it, paying attention. We understand where they’re coming from when things are not going well for the team.”

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Test results for third baseman Dallas McPherson, who was sent to a Colorado specialist because of a recurring problem with his left hip, were not available, but the Angels didn’t seem optimistic that McPherson, on the DL since July 8, would return soon. Asked if McPherson could be out for the year, Scioscia said, “Hopefully not. But it’s a significant thing he has. When he can play again, I don’t know.” ... Pitcher Kelvim Escobar, recovering from elbow surgery, will throw a simulated game Friday and is scheduled to begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga next week.