Angel Notebook : Disaster Doesn’t Strike During Moore’s Return to the Mound

Saturday’s traveler along the Angel comeback trail was Donnie Moore, and unlike those who preceded him, disaster did not await him on the first off-ramp.

Moore did not end his day writhing in the dirt of the pitcher’s mound. Moore did not need to book an appointment with an X-ray specialist the following day.

Moore simply pitched two innings, as scheduled.

Nothing flashy, but at least it was painless.

“My main concern was the rib cage, and it passed the test today,” said Moore, who hadn’t pitched all spring because of a pulled muscle in his right side. “I don’t care about hits and runs. Right now, the big thing is how I feel.”

Moore allowed two hits and one run in his first inning as Milwaukee’s Juan Castillo walked, stole second and scored on a single by Rick Cerone. The following inning, Moore got three infield outs around an error by shortstop Gus Polidor.

“Control-wise, I was all over the place, but that’s to be expected,” Moore said. “I was all right. I kept the ball in the park.

“I was just happy to go out and finally pitch again. Doug DeCinces showed me the mound and the resin bag. I thanked him.”

Considering what happened to fallen comrades John Candelaria and Gary Lucas the day before, Moore might have understandably approached the mound with reticence. Scary, ugly things happened out there Friday.

Moore was admittedly a bit anxious beforehand, but he attributed that mainly to stage jitters. He said he wasn’t concerned about history repeating.

“I wasn’t concerned because I know myself,” Moore said. “I don’t try to rush myself.

“But I didn’t hold anything back. I threw as good as I could. I have no arm strength right now, but that will come with throwing.”

Still, Moore was clocked on the speed gun at 89 m.p.h. That wasn’t enough to win his pregame wager with Ron Romanick--Romanick bet Moore he couldn’t throw 91--but it was encouraging.

“Aw, I just wanted to boost his confidence,” Moore said of his bet with Romanick. “Eight-nine is pretty surprising for your first time out. I would have been happy with 85 or 86.”

The way Moore looks at it, he still has two weeks to get it pumped back up into the regular 90-plus range. Is two weeks enough to prepare a relief pitcher for a 162-game season?

“Damn right,” Moore said. “I just need a few more innings. There’s plenty of time.”

Lucas was standing as he spoke with reporters because standing is the best way to ease an aching back.

Just then, Doug Corbett sauntered by and called over, “If he was a horse, they’d shoot him.”

Lucas laughed. “Or a cat,” he said. “That way, I’d have another life.”

In this life, however, Lucas is plagued with a congenital back problem. With stretching exercises and periodic cortisone injections, he has been able to pitch through it.

At least until Friday.

Friday, Lucas collapsed on the mound as if someone had shot him, finishing his delivery and then falling to the ground in a heap.

“It felt like a knife going into my side,” Lucas said. “It was excruciating. I came off the mound and I was out of control. All I wanted was some relief.”

A day later, Lucas was running in the outfield and walking around the clubhouse as if nothing had happened. But there’s the rub with this injury, at least for the moment.

It only hurts when he throws.

“It has something to do with the pitching motion,” Lucas said. “It’s puzzling. They took a CAT-scan and it showed I’m nothing close to (needing) surgery. They tell me I have amazing flexibility considering the way I’m feeling. There has been no damage to the disc.

“But when my leg comes off the mound and lands toward the catcher, that’s when the shooting pain occurs. It’s hard to pinpoint the problem. Maybe it’s the adrenaline of being under the gun in a real game.”

Lucas will try tossing the ball lightly on the sidelines today. He will receive anti-inflammatory medication.

Another injection is a possibility, although Lucas has already had three this spring. None worked the way the cortisone shot he received with the Montreal Expos did last year, enabling him to appear in 49 games.

Angel Notes John Candelaria will undergo a CAT-scan today to determine if bone chips or calcium deposits are the cause of his sore elbow. Standard X-rays taken in Mesa before the start of exhibition play uncovered no irregularities. . . . Stewart Cliburn, who missed his last pitching turn Wednesday because of stiffness in his right triceps, threw for 15 minutes on the sidelines Saturday. He hopes to pitch in a game by the end of the week.

As expected, Reggie Jackson and Gene Autry met Saturday--in the dugout before the game to exchange jokes for five minutes. Their anticipated “peace meeting,” however, was put on hold for later this week. “We’ll have breakfast or lunch in a few days,” said Autry, who resides in Palm Springs. The Angels owner waved off the significance of the session. “Everything is all right,” Autry said. “A lot has been written about basically nothing.” . . . The Angels lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 12-3, as Mike Witt was shelled, surrendering nine hits and seven runs in four innings. Randy Ready and Rick Cerone both hit third-inning home runs off Witt. Rob Deer delivered Milwaukee’s third home run of the day against D.W. Smith. . . . For the Angels, Doug DeCinces drove in two runs with a home run and a sacrifice fly and Gus Polidor went 2 for 3.