Mauch Has Mild Bronchitis : Doctor Says Angel Manager Is Elated, but Return Uncertain

Angel Manager Gene Mauch received what attending physician Jules Rasinski called “great news” Tuesday when he was diagnosed as having a mild case of chronic bronchitis. It remains uncertain, however, when Mauch might rejoin the team.

Mauch, who left the Angels last Friday after complaining of lingering fatigue, spent two days under Rasinski’s care at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. After tests ranging from chest and colon X-rays to a CAT scan, Mauch was released Tuesday with what Rasinski termed a virtual “clean bill of health.”

“Gene is elated,” Rasinski said. “We all feared the worst at first, especially with a guy who smokes as much as he does. You start thinking about the big C (cancer) in the chest, you think about all the possibilities.

“Gene was real fortunate. It’s like a cat getting nine lives and using eight of them up, but finding out he still has one left. Gene was very enthusiastic.”

Chronic bronchitis connotes a long-standing inflammation of the bronchial tube and, Rasinski said, is best treated by medication, rest--and in Mauch’s case, giving up smoking.

Rasinski said he advised Mauch to do as much. “I tell all my patients to give up smoking,” he said.

And did Mauch heed the advice?

“And how!” Rasinski said.

Added Angel spokesman Tim Mead: “I think Gene recommended that he stop smoking, too. When he left Mesa last week, one of the last things he said was, ‘I’m going to stop smoking this weekend. Stop smoking and start sleeping.’ ”

Mauch, who told friends he had been averaging only about three hours of sleep a night, was also advised by Rasinski to take as much time off as he needed to recuperate, which leaves the question of Mauch’s return to the Angels open-ended.

One team source said that Rasinski had discussed a long leave of absence for Mauch because the game “was beating (Mauch) down.”

Another source said it was 50-50 whether Mauch would rejoin the team and that “although this is a reprieve for Gene, it still hasn’t replaced all the sleep he has lost in recent weeks.”

Rasinski said he had not told Mauch that he should step aside as Angel manager.

“I told him, ‘Just get well,’ ” Rasinski said. “He should wait until the inflammation goes down and he feels real good (before coming back).

“I told him to rest, take care of himself and get well. But he can do what he wants. He can make his own decisions. It’s his life.”

Mauch could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

Angel General Manager Mike Port called the diagnosis of Mauch’s condition “great news, absolutely” but was vague when asked about Mauch’s return to the club.

“I really don’t know,” Port said. “I think at this point, my plan is to leave it up to Gene.

” . . . I still hope to have Gene Mauch in uniform soon. He’s the best manager for this club, and I want him to be the manager of this club. I certainly hope that’s the case.”

Yet, Port added, “Whatever he felt last Friday was real. Happy though we feel today, Friday we happened to be looking at a different situation.

“This is good news, yes. I can finally uncross all my fingers and, for those so inclined, their prayers and hopes were answered. (But) I think I know Gene Mauch and where things were last week when he returned to Palm Springs. Gene does not do these things lightly.”

Cookie Rojas, the Angels’ acting manager while Mauch is away, is expected to remain in that role at least upon how much rest Mauch decides he needs.

“I hope he’s fine and back up here as soon as he can be, so I can go back to my duties,” said Rojas, normally the Angels’ advance scout. “When he finds out he has nothing, it might make him a new man.”

Rojas, who has known Mauch since 1963, when he played for Mauch with the Philadelphia Phillies, admitted to “private fears” when the Angel manager told him to take over the team so he could have physical testing.

“I think everybody had them,” Rojas said. “You’re thinking, ‘Is he really sick? Does he have cancer?’ All you know is he’s leaving the team--and who would want to leave anything to go to the hospital?”

Mauch checked into St. Joseph Sunday night and had two days of examination.

“He had a whole slew of tests,” Mead said. “CAT scans, you name it, they did it. They had to, because they didn’t know what they were looking for.”

When Port received no definitive results by Monday night, he said, thinking hopefully, that no news was good news.

“The longer we didn’t hear anything, the better the news got, we figured,” Port said. “At least now, we have some answers. We now know what it is not.”

Rasinski prescribed antibiotics for Mauch, and the manager will remain on medication for several days. Mauch will now get some rest.

How much, and for how long, is up to Gene Mauch.

Angel Notes

Dan Petry appeared in his first spring game after suffering a herniated disk in his lower back Feb. 25 and looked about as rusty as could be expected. Pitching 1 innings during the Angels’ 7-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants Tuesday, Petry allowed six runs--three earned--on five hits and three walks. He did not strike out a batter. “Obviously, I didn’t want to do what I did today,” said Petry after angrily throwing his glove, cap, shoes and jersey into an equipment bag. “Physically, I feel great. That’s why I’m so upset. I feel in the best shape I’ve been in for a long time and, though I wasn’t expecting a miracle, I was expecting to do more than this.” Petry opened the bottom of the fifth inning by retiring Brett Butler and Jose Uribe on easy infield outs--and then unraveled. He walked Robby Thompson and Will Clark and yielded run-scoring singles to Jeffrey Leonard and Mike Aldrete. In the sixth inning, Petry gave up two more singles to Matt Williams and Kirt Manwaring before fielding a grounder by pitcher Terry Mulholland, turning toward third base--and throwing the ball away for an error. Two outs later, Petry gave up a run-scoring double to Thompson--and then found himself out of the game. Petry took no consolation in the fact that two hits were of the bloop variety. “A bloop hit is nothing more than a ball up (in the strike zone) that they can muscle out into the outfield,” Petry said. “If the ball is knee-high, it’s hard to bloop it up. I was getting the ball in belt-high. I was getting the ball up and getting behind in the count too much.” Just then, relief pitcher DeWayne Buice entered the locker room and joked, “I got to thinking it was the trainer out there.” Petry didn’t laugh. “I’m not going to let this happen again,” he said. “I feel too good and I’m working too hard to get down again. To throw 50 pitches in 1 innings--that’s not what I waited all winter for.”

Injury update: Dr. Lewis Yocum was in camp to examine a trio of ailing Angel pitchers. Yocum said Greg Minton (sprained elbow ligament) was “progressing extremely well” and will complete a round of light-toss today. Donnie Moore (inflamed right elbow) has been placed on medication and has been told not to throw until after the team arrives in Palm Springs Friday. And Kirk McCaskill (slightly inflamed right biceps) was given the OK for a light workout Tuesday and is expected to make his next scheduled start. . . . Shortstop Dick Schofield sat out Tuesday’s game after fouling a pitch off his left ankle Monday but is expected back in the lineup for today’s Arizona finale against the Oakland Athletics. . . . Because of the rash of balk calls in spring games, the Angels asked umpire Don Denkinger to visit their training complex and instruct pitchers about the new balk rule. Denkinger obliged and met with Angel pitchers Tuesday morning. His basic message: You must come to a complete stop on the rubber, and you can’t pull your hands apart until beginning your delivery.